From the Government Printing Office to America's Custom Houses
From the second half of the 19th century to the late decades of the 20th, every Custom House in the nation received an annual compilation of regulations and other official acts related to their work. At that time Customs operations were under the purview of the U.S. Treasury, and the volumes were labeled "Treasury Decisions."
Some of the early leatherbound volumes of New London's set had fallen into disrepair - not from use but from the chemical reaction of the bindings to a century or more of exposure to New England's climate. Rebinding would have been too expensive, so to preserve the volumes with broken bindings Gene made folded "phase boxes" for them, as seen in this photograph. We provided him with the heavy-gauge acid-free stock required, and he took it from there. Two volumes were still intact, as seen here.
These compilations have little value today because, like so many government publications, they are available in digital format via the Internet. But for our Museum, with its intact 1960s-era Customs office, the volumes provide a tangible record of the myriad regulations, exemptions, amendments, rescindings, changing rates, and the like which the New London officers could consult when necessary.
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Two other examples of phase boxes are shown here. When closed, the flaps are secured by velcro tabs. While the bindings are intact, unlike those described above, these books deserved special protection due to their particular characteristics. For the book at top left, Gene speculated that this 19th century edition of Bowditch's American Navigator was crudely but effectively rebound by a sailor using nautical rope.
While much more utilitarian than clamshell boxes, inexpensive folded phase boxes serve the same purpose: protecting and preserving their contents.