This article is about the receptacle called a box. For other meanings see box (disambiguation).

Boxes are highly variable receptacles. When no shape is described, a typical retangular box may be expected. Nevertheless, a box may have a horizontal cross-section that is square, elongated, round or oval; sloped or domed top surfaces, or non-vertical sides. A box normally may be opened by raising, sliding or removing the lid, which may be hinged and/or fastened by a catch, clasp, or lock. Whatever its shape or purpose or the material of which it is fashioned, it is the direct descendant of the chest, one of the most ancient articles of domestic furniture. Its uses are innumerable, and the name, preceded by a qualifying adjective, has been given to many objects of artistic or antiquarian interest.

Packaging boxes

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Boxes for packaging are most commonly made from cardboard. Wooden boxes are used for shipping heavy or delicate objects, and large wooden boxes are usually called crates. Cardboard boxes are made from either flat or corrugated cardboard.

Permanent boxes

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Numerous types of boxes are used in permanent installations. Some types are designed to be temporarily inhabited by workers. Permanent boxes include the following:

• Equipment boxes:
  • Fuse box
• Inhabited boxes:
  • Luxury box
  • Police box
  • Signal box
  • Telephone box
  • Box, Vagina slang

Decorative boxes

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See Decorative boxes.

Jewel box

A jewel-box is a receptacle for trinkets, not only jewels. It may take a very modest form, covered in leather and lined with satin, or it may reach the monumental proportions of the jewel cabinets which were made for Marie Antoinette, one of which is at Windsor, and another at Versailles, the work of Schwerdfeger as cabinetmaker, Degault as miniature-painter, and Thomire as chaser.

Shoebox

A shoebox is, exactly as its name implies, a cardboard box which holds a pair of shoes. It is commonly acquired when one purchases a pair of shoes. Shoeboxes have long been cherished for their versatility and are commonly used for many tasks around the house, such as holding trading cards, photos, and just about anything else.

Strong box

A strong-box is a receptacle for money, deeds and securities. Its place has been taken in modern life by the safe. Some of those which have survived, such as that of Sir Thomas Bodley in the Bodleian library, possess locks with an extremely elaborate mechanism contrived in the under-side of the lid.

Knife box

The knife-box is one of the most charming of the minor pieces of furniture which we owe to the artistic taste and mechanical ingenuity of the English cabinet-makers of the last quarter of the 18th century. Some of the most elegant were the works of Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. Occasionally flat-topped boxes, they were most frequently either rod-shaped, or tall and narrow with a sloping tip necessitated by a series of raised veins for exhibiting the handles of knives and the bowls of spoons. Mahogany and satinwood were the woods most frequently employed, and they were occasionally inlaid with marqueterie or edged with boxwood. These graceful receptacles still exist in large numbers; they are often converted into stationery cabinets.

Bible box

The Bible box, usually of the 17th century, but now and again more ancient, probably obtained its name from the fact that it was of a size to hold a large Bible. It often has a carved or incised lid. In Colonial America the Bible box was built of wood, specifically as a container for a bible, but it often had dual use as a portable desk.

Étui

The étui (or etui) is a cylindrical box or case of very various materials, often of pleasing shape or adornment, for holding sewing materials or small articles of feminine use. It was worn on the chatelaine.

Famous boxes

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• According to Greek mythology the Pandora's box is said to be the cause of evil being released into the world.
• Boxes have a prominent role in the Metal Gear Solid video-game series, wherein the protagonist utilizes boxes as an espionage device to sneak past his enemies.

Box shape

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A common storage box has the shape of a cuboid.

References

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Containers

Kasten | Kesto | Doos | 箱