Historic Toothbrush Case

This ceramic toothbrush case was discovered during the 2005 CAP excavations of Saints' Rest, the first dormitory on MSU's campus that burned down in the winter of 1876. A maker's mark is present on the underside showing a coat of arms with a lion and a unicorn. Beneath this are the words "IRONSTONE CHINA" and "T. GOODFELLOW". Pieces using this Goodfellow maker's mark were made in Tunstall, Stafordshire in England and were in production from 1828 until 1858 or 1859. Toothbrushes were commonly made of wood in the 19th century and layed horizontally in ceramic cases such as these. The raised portions in the base of the case have two peaks each which would have allowed three toothbrushes to be placed in it. No case was recovered or identified, but were normally part of the set. Modern toothbrush holders place the them vertically and allow them to airdry. This photogrammetric model was create by Jack A. Biggs using Agisoft Metashape.