Other Good Stuff in Book Houses

Q: What secret could be in this lovely oak box?

A:  There's boxwood sawdust is in the bottom compartment. 

    The top compartment has a jewelry cleaning brush and a bar of jewelry cleaning soap.

    You suds up the jewelry, give a brisk brushing, then lay it in the boxwood sawdust until it's dry.

     This box came out of a house with good books.  I like to imagine that a woman with beautiful jewelry sat in a window seat in her library and read to her heart's content.