Origin of 'chatterbox'?

 

The parents, instead of applauding her, called her a noisy chatterbox and told her sharply that small girls should be seen and not heard.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Chatterbox noun [ C ]   informal  British English

Definition: Someone who never stops talking

Etymology - disputed but 'chatter' agreed to be onomatopoeic - imitating rapid speech. 'Box' conveys the sense of a contained single unit. 

When used: Chatterbox is most often used to describe a child (see Matilda above). References are often playful and affectionate but may also indicate frustration: He's the class chatterbox and stops others working.

First Usage: OED cites 1735, in the  Daily Gazetteer.