paper label on interior of lid reads This box was made by a prisoner in Jackson and was presented to W.H. Smith by John Evrett in 1870.
opening to a blue painted interior featuring polychrome painted turtles, each mounted on wire to allow movement of head, feet and tails.
Height 5 x width 13 x depth 9 1/4 inches.

The marquetry work made by inmates at Jackson State Prison (1838-1934) near present-day Jackson, Michigan is well known. This is the first box we have encountered featuring a folky interior such as this. The 1870 Federal Census lists John Everett, aged 31, living in Jackson, as an "keeper at State Prison." The same census lists three William H. Smith's in living in Jackson.  

The frogs represent the prisoner, while the swimming turtles represent the rest of the world.