Name/Title
Product box for Crystalex glasswareEntry/Object ID
2025.1.188Description
Square set-up/folding box. The lid is covered in printed paper with a deep cobalt-blue ground and an allover pattern of silver/metallic concentric-circle ("target") motifs in a loose grid — a 1970s–80s op-art-style design. The base is unprinted kraft corrugated cardboard. A printed manufacturer's label is affixed to the underside. The box appears empty in the images; no glass object is visible. Remnants of clear tape/cellophane survive at the lid corners.Use
Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezCollection
The Cabrera Arús family collectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
CrystalexPlace
City
Nový BorState/Province
BohemiaCountry
CzechoslovakiaRegion
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
Maker: Crystalex, oborový podnik (branch/sector enterprise), Nový Bor, Czechoslovakia — the state glassmaking combine headquartered at Nový Bor. The label also carries the circular "Borocrystal" trademark logo, the combine's earlier name retained as a brand mark.
Date: Circa 1974–1989 (inferred, tentative). Not printed on the object; bracketed below from the enterprise name and form (see Research Notes).Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Lid: no lettering; silver concentric-circle pattern on blue.
Underside label (paraphrased/transcribed): field marker "P"; product/article number "5125/40158/250"; price line "MC 87,— Kčs" (MC = maloobchodní cena, retail price, in Czechoslovak korunas); blank QC/packing column headers "Kontr." (kontrola, inspection) and "Bal." (balil/baleno, packed); maker line "CRYSTALEX – obor. podnik – Nový Bor"; circular logo reading "BOROCRYSTAL / ČESKOSLOVENSKO."
Faint ink stamp near the lower edge of the base appearing to repeat the article number ("…40158 / 250"), partly legible.Materials
Material
Cardboard, PaperMaterial Notes
Materials: Paperboard and corrugated kraft cardboard; lithographed/offset-printed paper lid covering; printed paper label; clear adhesive-tape residue.
Technique: Machine-made set-up box; offset/lithographic printing on the lid paper; printed paper label.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
usePlace
City
Nový BorState/Province
BohemiaCountry
CzechoslovakiaRegion
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
productionResearch Notes
Notes
The name "Crystalex" was adopted in 1974, when the Nový Bor combine (previously Borské sklo / Borocrystal) was renamed; the "oborový podnik" designation and the Kčs retail-price line place the box in the socialist-era state-enterprise period, which ended when the firm was transformed into a joint-stock company after 1989. This brackets manufacture to roughly 1974–1989. The bracket is an inference from the label, not a printed date; recommend treating it as tentative.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
May 3, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 8, 2026
