Colorless lead glass; blown and cut, silver. Rectangular-shaped box completely cut with diamonds on bottom and sides; rim ground and polished. Silver lid inscribed "Mary Sarah Dummer" with a floral pattern around edge. Marked inside "J. S. Thompson, New York".

As supplies of wood were depleted in the heavily populated East, glass factories there switched to coal. However, because coal often had to be shipped over great distances, it was considerably more expensive than the wood had been. Some glassmakers turned their attention from pressed glass to luxury wares, hoping to pass their higher manufacturing costs on to consumers. Many of these luxury wares were cut. This box for hairpins is cut with diamonds on the bottom and sides. The silver lid is inscribed “Mary Sarah Dummer.” This object descended in the family of Phineas C. Dummer, proprietor of the Jersey Glass Company in Jersey City, New Jersey. This company won a silver medal for excellence in glass cutting at the American Institute Fair in New York City in 1843.