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Antique  Brass Bound  Solid Mahogany triple Opening Writing Box With Side Drawer and secret drawers  Circa 1840

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Description:
Ref: 868WB      http://hygra.com/box/868WB 

Brass bound solid mahogany triple opening writing box of dovetail construction in the military style with countersunk carrying handles. The lid has a blind and gold embossed Morocco leather document wallet. There is a large side drawer secured by a brass pin through the facing.  There are two period inkwells with a special design to avoid leaks. Beneath the pen tray and inkwells there are three secret drawers with turned and carved mother of pearl pulls concealed behind a sprung panel which is released by pressing the side of the box. 

Origin: UK;  Circa: 1840 ; Materials: Mahogany, Brass leather.

Size: 50.5 cm wide by 26 cm by 18.6 cm:  19.9 inches wide by  10.2 inches by  7.3  inches.

Condition: good overall; working lock and key; see images

Keywords: Hygra.com, Antique box, traveling desk,  writing box, secret drawers, brass inlay, lap desk,  Military style, Campaign box,  embossed leather, 

Request current  list of available sewing boxes with prices.
Request current  list of available writing boxes with prices.

Request current  list of available jewelry boxes with prices.

Request current  list of available tea caddies with prices.

boxes@hygra.com

 

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The edges have been rounded.

The brass corners are unusual. The shape is  particularly pleasing. 

The brass is not just decorative and protective but is in-fact part of the structure. It holds the box together,

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The lid  which opens up has a document wallet and ten small pockets for notes.

The leatherwork which is all original is exceptional. It is decorated with both gilt and blind tooled embossing.

 

The lock escutcheon is inlaid. 
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The lid is in three main sections.

The central section is a document wallet. 

The small pockets are presumably for aid memoir. 

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The document wallet is made with leather.

 

There are compartments for inkwells and wax wafers.

 

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The inkwells employ special screw lids to avoid leaks.

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The leather writing surface is original
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There are compartments for papers beneath the writing surfaces.

There are secret drawers hidden beneath the writing accessories.

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The sprung panel is  released by pressing the side of the box just in front of the panel.
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There are three drawers with mother of pearl pulls.

 

Detail of the inside of the panel showing the steel spring.

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The mother of pearl pulls on the secret drawers are both turned and carved.

 

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Corner detail. The full blind dovetail is as tight as when first glued.

A rounded bead has been run along the edges.

 

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There are compartments for papers beneath the writing surfaces.

 

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The side drawer provides more space for papers.

It is retained by a brass pin through the facing.

The countersunk brass carrying handles are of a full form than that of earlier in the century. 

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The drawer is constructed with  half blind dovetails to the front.

 

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The perfect corner join circa 1840

the box is made from solid mahogany. The miter to the facing and then a line parallel with the front  indicate that inside there is a  full blind dovetail joint .

The dovetail joint is one of the wonders of woodwork. In the full blind none of the careful work is visible. If the joint is simply mitered it will not survive atmospheric change. A mitered joint is end grain to end grain. The glue soaks in, becomes dry and brittle and falls apart. 

The dovetail joint enables side grain to be glued to side grain. These joints would hold together without glue!

It is the true proof of these dovetail joints made by craftsmen 200 years ago that their joints are as they made them.

 

 

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Click to send email request for current list with prices The Eliza writing slope: an unique satinwood writing slope with both fine marquetry and inlay depicting  trailing convolvulus. ( wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulus  ) This is an artwork of love. The top is solid satinwood and inlaid. the sides have a saw-cut veneer of about 1mm. The accuracy of the marquetry is truly skillful.  On the front there is a depiction of oak branches laden with acorns crossed.  The slope opens down to a velvet (replacement) writing surface and the usual compartments for inkwells and pens. Under the writing surface there is the usual place for paper storage and a nest of  three drawers  of part dovetail construction. This is not a manufactured piece, but rather a work of love by a now anonymous craftsman for his beloved Eliza who was clearly interested in flora.  Circa  1830 A restrained figured rosewood writing box with inlaid accents and lines in brass. The design of the inlay is of highly stylised flora, suggesting neoclassical designs hinting at palmette and (on the top) anthemion motifs. The juxtaposition of dark wood with bold brass inlay was popular in the early part of the 19th century. The wood and the bright brass were mutually enhancing. The Prince Regent (later George IV) commissioned such work for his Royal palaces:. more details Rare polychrome penwork writing slope the center of the top depicting a  trading caravan on the Silk Road. A central trader is aloft an elephant with outriders on horseback. This is one of the "classic" penwork compositions  There is another version of this image on http://www.hygra.com/penwork/pen2tc.htm The surround and the sides are painted in a more formal manner albeit with flowers and leaves. The blooms are are stylized and the arrangement is symmetrical and orderly in the neoclassical manner of the late 18th Century. The box dates from the short pivotal period between neoclassism and naturalism

 

All text and images and linked images are © 1999-2015 Antigone Clarke and Joseph O'Kelly. If you require any further information on permitted use, or a licence to republish any material, email us at copyright@hygra.com

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