Antique Red Star Codfish Wood Box Beardsley’s Eastport Maine Newark New Jersey For Sale

Contents: Absolutely Boneless Codfish
Weight: One Pound (net when packed)
Maker: J. W. Beardsley’s Sons
Locations listed: Newark, New Jersey & Eastport, Maine
Dimensions: 6" L × 4" W × 2 1/8" T
Construction: Finger-jointed softwood box with sliding lid
Printing: Stenciled black and red ink directly on wood

This box dates circa 1906–1918, and here’s why:

• The benzoate of soda statement on the side panel is a dead giveaway.

• Benzoate labeling became common after the 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act, which forced transparency about preservatives.

• By the late 1910s–1920s, public pushback and regulation sharply reduced this language.

• The finger-jointed construction and sliding lid are typical of early 20th-century export and wholesale food packaging, pre-cardboard dominance.

• The Eastport, Maine reference ties it directly to Maine’s cod-packing and export economy during its peak years.

Sweet spot: pre-WWI America, when cod was still king and refrigeration was… optimistic at best.

J. W. Beardsley’s Sons was part of a massive cod distribution network linking Maine fisheries to urban markets like Newark and New York. Eastport, Maine—called out right on the box—was one of the most important cod shipping ports in the U.S., sending salt cod domestically and internationally.

This box once held salt-cured cod, stacked tight, meant to survive long transport without spoilage. The benzoate note reassured housewives that the preservative would wash away—because nothing says “trust us” like early food chemistry.

Cod like this fed:
• mill towns
• immigrant households
• boarding houses
• coastal New England kitchens

This is working-class food history you can actually hold.

• Original surface with excellent, readable stenciling
• Strong red star graphic (these usually fade badly—yours didn’t)
• Age wear, edge softening, staining consistent with real use
• Tight finger joints
• Sliding lid present
• No modern repairs or refinishing
• Wonderful dry wood patina throughout

This looks right. Over-cleaning would only hurt it.

This hits multiple collector lanes:

• Maine / New England maritime history
• Codfish & fishing ephemera
• Early food packaging
• Primitive wooden boxes
• Graphic folk advertising
• Kitchen / pantry display pieces

Small cod boxes with legible graphics are far scarcer than large fish crates. The size makes it shelf-friendly, and the red star branding does a lot of visual heavy lifting.