WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian Institutions have long been referred to as “the Nation’s Attic” and, like an attic, these warehouses of wisdom contain more than a few surprising, if not best forgotten, relics of the past.
One such item recently garnered some attention following its discovery by archivist Jodie Kelp, who described it as, “actually terrifying.”
The object in question is a jack-in-the-box which is estimated to date from the Victorian Era, a time known for its ornate architecture and oddly creepy children’s toys.
“I didn’t even want to tell anyone we had it at first,” Kelp reported. “It was just such an upsetting thing to even contemplate. A sad little man.”
Despite some early reservations, Kelp ultimately decided to bring this interesting and slightly morbid artifact to the attention of the other archivists who, after many days of phone calls, managed to convince an expert appraiser to come in and have a look at it.
“This isn’t your average jack-in-the-box,” said antique toy expert Joseph Kellingley. “What you’ll normally find is, like, a little clown or something, but in this one there’s a haggard old gnome with a jaundiced face and a weird little hat or something.”
Kellingley’s assessment is strikingly accurate; the old painted face has a distinct, sickly hue and a tired thousand-yard stare. Indeed, one has to wonder what would possess a parent to present a young child with such an item.
This question has led some experts to believe that what they are now referring to as the gnome-in-a-box may not have been a children’s toy at all, but rather a kind of adult curiosity or even a physician’s model of a patient suffering from hemolytic anemia.
John Gray, director of Smithsonian Museum of American History, announced Monday that an exhibit is to be assembled featuring the gnome-in-the-box and any of the many other old toys which the curatorial staff deems to be, “creepy A.F.”
It has been reported that the gnome-in-the-box is to remain under a sheet in a back room of the Smithsonian until such time that the museum is ready to display it as has been foretold.
