Original Item: Only One Available. This is a stunning example of an early American- made Militia leather belly box, dating to the Revolutionary War period. The front leather flap of the belly box has remnants of the small leather strap that would attach to the flathead screw at the bottom of the box.

The box is of nailed construction with stitching along the edges. The top flap of the belly box is in worn condition but is well-preserved considering the period it’s from. The flap is still in good condition overall without any tearing, with much of its finish still retained on the front. The front flap is still stitched into the leather on the back, but the leather on the back is now tearing heavily away from the wood as shown. There is similar tearing at the front of the box under the flap, with heavy wear across. 

Both original belt loops are retained on the reverse, a rare find! The wooden insert has 24 slots to hold musket paper cartridges, three rows of 8, though there is some damage in the wood between some of the slots. The back of the cartridge box retains both belt loops, though one is broken off at the top, and a large fragment of the original belt that this box was attached to! This provides outstanding context to how this would have been worn, and would make for an outstanding display! When unfolded, there is roughly 18” of belt retained, with a small leather loop stitched at the top on one side that could have had many different uses. 

Please advise the condition of the box, and understand that it is very fragile and will need to be displayed with this in mind.

Overall this is still a very nice historical piece of equipment from the infancy years of the United States and it will display very nicely in your early Militia collections! This will only appreciate in value over the years, as leather from this period almost never survives.