Beautiful Santa Claus Christmas Box, 1940's?

Measuring about 10" x 10", and 1" deep, this box used to contain Christmas gift wrapping paper, and now you can choose whether to put something else in it or just use it as a decorative piece. It has a classic picture of Santa Claus on the lid, and it's graced our mantelpiece for several recent winters and now we have more Christmas stuff than we need, so here's your chance to take it away from us.

The wrapping paper manufacturer is not stated, but the box bears the Good Housekeeping seal and the original contents are described as "De Luxe Christmas Gift Wrapping Ensemble - 20 Large Sheets with Matching Tags."

The box has some pressure damage in the form of bowed surfaces and two of the corners are collapsed and split. There is also some surface scraping - those grey spots in front of Santa's mouth and in his beard, for instance, are superficial paper scrapes. And the dark spot on his glove looks like it might be glue residue from an old price sticker.

If any of our pictures fail to show up, first try a right-click on the cross or fractured picture image, then a left-click on "Show Picture" (you may have to try more than once). If that fails, please contact us and we can send pictures to you by e-mail or direct you to their websites.

See our seller list for other interesting and unusual items, in fact bid on several and you might save on shipping and handling. If you buy multiple items, and if it's feasible and cost-effective for us to ship the items together, we will gladly consider requests to combine shipping at a reduced cost. Just e-mail us at Redhouse31@aol.com, and we can provide combined shipping cost estimates on a case-by-case basis. Depending on weight and other considerations, we typically offer full shipping rate for the first item, then 50 cents or $1.00 per item. If you are paying for multiple purchases through Paypal, you are responsible for your own re-calculation of any shipping discount we have offered you. Oh, and this may sound obvious, but we can't reduce the shipping charges for items on which we offer free shipping.

EBAY MAIL SYSTEM: If you have any questions, comments or information, please contact us directly at Redhouse31@aol.com, and not through the eBay e-mail system. We prefer e-mail communications that come directly from your e-mail address to ours, with a simple subject line that states the item number and a brief description. If you don't e-mail us directly, please don't blame us if you don't get a response from us. The clever one-click eBay contact systems (like "Ask Seller a Question") frequently end up in our spam filter, or we delete them because (surprise, surprise) they look exactly like spoofs. Use of the eBay click-and-send features also increases the likelihood that our replies to you will end up in your spam filter -- if you avoid direct contact with us, we won't be in your address book. And, if you need more reasons for not using the eBay buttons, the messages that do reach us lack clear and concise headers indicating who the e-mail is from or what it's about. It's tough to sort our mail when everything is from eBay. In fact it's akin to sorting M&M's alphabetically. We also request that you send all e-mails (including Paypal payments if applicable) from the same e-mail address as you use for bidding. Use of multiple e-mail addresses just makes it more difficult for us to track our correspondence with you if we ever need to go back and review it at a later date.

PAYPAL: Let us preface this by saying that Paypal has never been our preferred method of payment, but we realize it is now basically the only form of payment that eBay allows. For both US and international orders, therefore, we now accept payment only by Paypal, and we can no longer take checks or monkey orders. Please note also that, due to Paypal's ridiculously over-protective "Confirmed Address" policy, we are not always able to honor requests for shipment to third party addresses or to unconfirmed addresses, especially overseas. If you have any questions about this, please contact us prior to bidding so we can review your options. If you are paying for multiple purchases through Paypal, please make the payment as a single lump sum payment, rather than trying to pay for each item separately.

INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS: Non-US residents, please contact us prior to bidding to determine your shipping options and costs. Repeat, prior to bidding, please. Because of Paypal's proof of delivery requirements, we are not always able to offer the cheapest forms of international shipping. And, unless you choose Express Mail International (which is both insured and tracked), you agree that you have no recourse to file claims against either us or Paypal in the event of loss or damage in transit.

SALES TAX: Maine residents, please also include sales tax in the amount of 5 percent of the winning bid amount. The only way to avoid this is to send us a copy of a current Maine Resale Certificate, either by fax to 207-625-8322, or by mail to Red House Antiques, 53 High Road, Cornish, ME 04020.

Good luck, bidders!

Oh, and two more things. First, a reminder that, because we sometimes lose track of who's paid for what, you must agree that we may self-insure if we require insurance and omit to purchase it at the Post Office. Second, because of abuses we have experienced, we have given up on the eBay feedback system, so we neither give nor expect feedback. Third, our terms and shipping methods, etc., may be negotiable on a case-by-case basis, so please contact us prior to bidding if you have any questions or requests. And finally, click here to check out our other items!