Parplus Box

[Shelbylex]

I found this box today while on a walk.
A small stamp on the handle says PARPLUS. Top of the rhombus: metal products Co. Inc. Bottom: West Haven, Connecticut
Size: 9.5x4.25x3.0(height)
It appears to be well built

Does anybody know how old is this box and what was it used for?

I could not find anything useful on the net. The company used to make woodworking tools...

 

[DadsTools]

Looks very much like a personal cash/document box.

According to a couple of forum threads, Peck, Stow and Wilcox made the planes for MPC. There is also a reference online to a fruit baller with the same markings. The 1926 Patent Office list of trademark registrants lists MPC as a supplier of "trowels, garden forks, weeders, etc." It seems then that MPC was a retailer or reseller having its products made by other companies and using its ParPlus brand name on them.

My vote is for a personal cash/document box, made by some unknown company for MPC and sold under its ParPlus brand.