While ladies have compacts to help them look their best on the go, golf balls have The National Sponge Box. Opening the brass lid on this 3" circular brass box reveals the the original sponge for portable ball washing is still inside!

The engraved slogan on the lid reads, "Keep your eye on the ball...which must be kept clean." There are also two clubs and two balls on sand tees decorating the lid as well.   The bottom is engraved "Made by Rea & Neale, Birmingham."

Compact portable ball washers were popular in the late 1890s and early 1900s. 

The golf ball shown in the images is not part of the lot, but is shown to provide scale.