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Neat & Tidy: Boxes and Their Contents Used in Early American Households Nina Fletcher Little Distributed by University Press of New England, published by Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. 240 pages, 214 illustrations. $19.95 (pa). Reviewed by Scott H. Suter Originally published in 1980, Nina Fletcher Little's popular book has been reprinted and will quickly become a "new" standard for collectors and students of material culture. Ostensibly a book about boxes throughout early America, the study goes well beyond that topic. Certainly there are numerous descriptions of specific boxes, but another great value of the study lies in the description of the uses of the variety of boxes that Little describes. Boxes for spectacles, tobacco and snuff, hats, bonnets, salt and many more uses are described in terms of their contents more than their specific appearance. Little does illuminate the decorative techniques found on the numerous examples in the book; however, beyond these specific remarks the generalized social contexts in which she places each type of box successfully broadens the scope of the work. Divided into chapters based on general convenience, personal use, domestic purposes, and special needs, the book is logically arranged, making it useful as a reference tool. Moreover, a bibliography, although now somewhat dated, adds to the useful quality of the book. Somewhat perplexing, however, is the addition of a foreword by Wendell Garrett to this new printing. Garrett's contribution is a rambling nationalistic essay that bears little relevance to the topic of the book. Given the in-depth descriptions of Little's study, this generalized overview at the beginning leads the first-time reader of the book to wonder just what lies within. The foreword does, however, serve to make the study itself shine more brightly. This reprint edition makes Little's fine book available to a new group of readersalong with providing a usable text book for courses in early American material culture. The book does tend to focus on New English examples, but given the lack of comparable studies for other regions this book has much to offer. Certainly much of the information carries over to the mid-Atlantic and the South, and any student of material culture will find the book enjoyable and informative.