19th Century Tantalus, or Drink Holder, With Hand-Painted Glasses and Bottles, as would have been used in the homes of Jane Austen and the Bridgertons. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
Tantalus: A small wooden cabinet containing drink decanters. The box has a lock and key to keep unauthorised people from drinking the contents e.g. servants and younger sons, yet still allowing the decanters of drinks to be on show. The word, Tantalus, is a reference to the unsatisfied temptations of the Greek mythological character Tantalus. Patented in the UK in 1881 by George Betjemann, a cabinet maker from the Netherlands, whose workshop was on Pentonville Road, London from the 1830s.This type of small drinks cabinet would have been used in most households during the Bridgerton family’s and Jane Austen’s times, unless the householders were teetotalers. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
19th Century Snuff Boxes. Not only were boxes made to serve a purpose, but decorative boxes of all types were prized, especially in the 18th-19th Centuries when everything decorative and extravagant was in vogue and taking a pinch of snuff was fashionable. Snuff is made from ground or pulverized tobacco leaves and is sniffed from a pinch of snuff placed on the back of the hand.Flavorings were added to the tobacco to give a fast hit of nicotine and a lasting scent. Snuff began in the Americas and was used in Europe by the 17th Century.
Snuff became popular from the mid 1600s to the mid 1800s and was more popular than smoking. Inhaling snuff, or snuffing, was first seen by a European missionary in 1493 in Christopher Columbus’s new world within Haiti’s indigenous Taino. Until then, tobacco had been unknown to Europeans, but its use spread quickly throughout Europe during the 1500s. By the second half of the 17th century, ornate boxes started being produced to keep the precious powder dry and an entire industry making accessories blossomed around the fashion of taking snuff. Noblemen, and some women, carried extravagantly decorated snuff boxes with them at all times and would offer a pinch of their own particular blend to friends and family. Therefore, these boxes were always on display and so it became a competition to see who could have the most bejeweled or expensive box possible. By the mid 1800s, snuff taking was no longer popular so these exquisite and expensive snuff boxes became decorative, rather than functional.
19th Century Shoe Snuffbox. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com19th Century Engraved Horn Snuffbox. Heart surrounded by flowers and leaves, sides with dove, symbol of purity and peace, brass hinge and setting. via 1st Dibs Auctions19th Century Carved Boxwood Snuffbox. Horse with saddle for a lid. via 1st Dibs Auctions
1804-1809 ca. Snuffbox in the Shape of A Lion, Moulinie, Bautte and Cie, Geneva, Switzerland.via Victoria and Albert Museum.1820 Snuffbox with scene of harvesting fruit. By Johann Wilhelm Keibel (master 1812; died 1862). via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org1810 ca. Jeweled Gold Snuff Box, Switzerland. Maker’s Mark Geneva. via Christie’s Auction Rooms. christies.com 19th Century Taking Snuff and Pretty Snuff Boxes In Bridgerton and Jane Austen Years. #bridgerton #RegencyEra #JaneAusten #Antiques https://www.books2read.com/suziloveBoxesCases Share on X
19th Century Late Mechanical Tantalus, French. Ormolu, Bronze, Crystal, and Gilt with a lock and key to open. Earlier versions of this type of small drinks cabinet would have been used in most households during Jane Austen’s times, unless the householders were teetotalers. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
Tantalus: A small wooden cabinet containing drink decanters. The box has a lock and key to keep unauthorised people from drinking the contents e.g. servants and younger sons, yet still allowing the decanters of drinks to be on show. The word, Tantalus, is a reference to the unsatisfied temptations of the Greek mythological character Tantalus. Patented in the UK in 1881 by George Betjemann, a cabinet maker from the Netherlands, whose workshop was on Pentonville Road, London from the 1830s.
19th Century Late. Quill Box and Writing Slope, India. Scalloped base and drawer. Desk opens up to a writing slope and opens again to hidden drawers. Complete with candle holders and ink pots. The type of inkstand that households woulds have in Jane Austen’s times for writing letters and keeping track of estate matters. Many of these exotic and decorative items were brought to England by gentlemen doing their Grand Tour through Europe and Asia. via 1st Dibs Auctions ~ 1stdibs.com
1855 ca. Napoleon III Grand Tour Influenced Travel Writer’s Box, Or Ecritoire, French. Double inkwell with rear stationery box, Gothic style brass accents and Grand Tour souvenir hand painted eglomise scene, the Palais de l’ Industrie from the 1855 Paris World Exposition! Figured veneers, ebonized edging, feet and pen tray and brass or bronze accents. via 1st Dibs 1stdibs.com
1800s French Palais Royal Sewing Box and Twelve Mother of Pearl Enamel Tools. This is the style of sewing box Jane Austen and her family would have used in the early 1800s, or Regency years. via via suzilove.com and 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
Definition: Palais Royal: Name of an area around the Royal Palace in Paris, France, that specialized in making small and exquisite works of art during the 18th and 19th centuries. Palais Royal sewing tools were elaborate and usually feature mother-of-pearl, often intricately carved or engraved. During the 19th century, workboxes were often works of art with engravings, carvings, mother-of-pearl, and elaborate gilt metal mounts. Most popular were scissors with steel blades and gilt mounts, thimbles and needle cases which were often shaped like animals or other natural forms. Workmanship was exceptional and the tools almost too fragile to use.
19th Century Inkstand, English. Ormolu and tortoiseshell. The type of inkstand that households would have in Bridgerton’s and Jane Austen’s times for writing letters and keeping track of estate matters. Curved, recessed top, two square inkwells of faceted cut glass with round necks and ormolu lids. via 1st Dibs Auctions ~ 1stdibs.com
19th Century Inkwell and Tomb of the Scipios Grand Tour Souvenir, Italian. The type of Grand Tour souvenir collected by travelers in Jane Austen and Bridgerton Times.
Siena marble with ink wells and pen holder. Lid removes to reveal pair of ink wells and pen holder. Scipios were a family of Roman war heroes and generals. Tomb of Scipios erected around 150 B.C.E and copied many times. 18th-19th Centuries, tomb models were favorites of Grand Tour souvenir hunters. The sort of exotic item a gentleman in Jane Austen’s times might send back to England during his Grand Tour of Europe and Asia. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
