The lining shown here is a three-by-five inch white index card with a thin strip removed from the long and short edges, so that the card can be placed into the bottom of the box without distortion.
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"One of the purposes of a box is indeed storage," replied the Collector. "Another purpose, equal in importance to storage, is display."
"Are not the contents of a box always removed before they are displayed?" asked the Photographer.
"Not always," replied the Collector. "In the case of an item in a collection, such as a toy, a suitable box must be considered to be inseparable from the appearance of the item itself."
The Collector continued: "When a person acquires a coveted new item, such as a toy, or an expensive article of jewelry, the person is enthralled not merely by the item itself, but by the combination (known more accurately as the ensemble) of the item along with the box."
"I believe your are entirely correct in this opinion," mused the Photographer. "Come to think of it, when an ardent suitor thrusts a newly-purchased diamond ring at his truelove, he always makes certain that the ring is displayed in a suitable box. I suppose the engagement would be off to a bad start if the suitor merely gripped an unboxed ring between his thumb and index finger while offering it to his beloved. Suppose, for example, that his fingernails were unkempt. This would certainly attenuate the desired effect of the most expensively-set diamond."
Silence ensued as the two gentlemen each pondered the mysteriously alluring properties of suitable boxes.
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