Writing Box, Late 19th Century

Luxurious box and its mail kit: well before electronic mail! Made of cedar wood and covered with brown leather, its lid is decorated with a very beautiful, slightly vermeil plate. This plate made of a single piece of cut silver has 4 spandrels with the main motif of a scallop shell surrounded by a laurel wreath as well as a frieze around the edges of ribboned and laureate bundles. On one of the corners is affixed the 1st French title hallmark "à la Minerve" and a diamond-shaped hallmark of the master goldsmith that I have not been able to decipher. A very worn fabric under the box clearly indicates in gold letters: Orfèvres-Joaillers 8 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré PARIS. This is a famous Parisian district still home to renowned goldsmiths today. The brown leather is decorated on the lid with a gilded cartouche marked with two fleurs-de-lis, the four sides are also decorated with two gilded friezes, one of which takes up the theme of the scallop shell. The interior is composed of 6 rectangular compartments, three of which have a concave bottom in burgundy leather, as well as a match scraper and a small folding brass candle holder with its original removable bobèche (an extraordinary detail that makes all the difference...). The inside of the lid is dressed in a red damask fabric in good condition similar to the very worn one on the outside under the box. It also includes: 2 candles (1 red, 1 white), 1 silver mechanical pencil with an engraved perpetual calendar, 1 stick of black wax, a superb small agate seal with fine white threads, its stamp in the shape of a palmette capital is in silver (hallmark "with a boar's head"). I added a gold metal pen holder and black handle with its 18 KT nib. Delivery: €15 for mainland France.