The small wooden boxes with red wax seals where used to transport gold.
People would buy gold (as a way to secure their paper money) and it was sent by mail in these wooden boxes. Also they were used to send gold to a jeweler to have a piece of jewelery made or restored. The jeweler would send back the jewelry to the owner in boxes such as these. Gold coins and other highly valuable small items where also sent in these sort of boxes, but mainly gold.
It is possible a false gold tooth could have been sent.
Or ashes of a beloved or any other of your amazing guesses, but that was not the main purpose of these little boxes.
Your comments where very realistic I would have guessed tea, tobacco, a solider's medals, spices, love notes, dog biscuits (nobody guessed that but I might have,) pharmaceutical items such as vials of blood, scented soap, truffles, seeds… condoms, yes many of you said condoms!
I found Jend'isere comment timely, she wrote:
"Today's
news happen to feature a man in northern France who dared to open a
metal tin found in a dumpster. It was filled with an address and neatly
arranged bills worth 100,000 Euros. He returned the life savings to the
aged owners, whose children had hastily discarded the unopened box
while clearing out their appartment. Aren't boxes made to be opened?"
Diogenes came close with: "Perhaps they were for mailing money? Like an early Western Union and that's why they are sealed?" Kel's response was very close as well: "Used for shipping diamonds and other jewels." I thought that I might have to declare you both the winners…but earlier this morning came the closest answer, it was from Jenny Mch.
The correct answer from Jenny Mch:
"My guess is a shipment of gold coins, hence the wax seals to be sure no one had opened the box."
Creative answers included: a piece of wedding cake, vials of holy water from Rome, fancy booze, soon to be stinky cheese, chocolate sardines (they are sent on the first of April!) silk stockings…
Kas wrote and won with:
"Unknown
to most, there is a tiny village near the coast of France where dear,
sweet, kindred spirits live and work. People from all over the world
package up their broken hearts, unfilled dreams, and deepest wishes in
small wooden boxes sealed with red wax and ship them to this little
village. The kindred spirits reverently whisper prayers of
encouragement to the boxes' contents. They hold the sealed boxes
lovingly in their hands and sincerely imagine the owner and hold deep
and good thoughts for him or her. Once the village has completed their
prayerful worship over the boxes they send them back to the owner
unopened. When the owner receives their box back the true test begins.
Will they leave the beautifully blessed box on the shelf or will they
open it and live? Corey, if the boxes you found where unsealed and
opened and there was nothing in them, then we have our answer! We know
the owner, in great anticipation opened the box and lived all the days
left before them in awe and wonder and joy."
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Thank you for playing and I hope I can stump all of you the next time!
Tomorrow I will post the letters I found between a husband and wife regarding their eye witness accounts during WWII.
________________Post Script______________
Laurie sent this in the comment section after I had posted, it is so very clever and original I just had to add it!!
"Monsieur
Camembert de Normandie, being a bit soft in the head, tried to Munster
up the courage to declare his love to Mimolette. She was a little
moon-faced ball of orange delight.
But alas, Neufchatel, one of the oldest families in France had sent her
his heart in a box, sealing the deal with a kiss of wax."
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