1750 ca. Spanish colonial ‘escritorio’, or writing desk, Columbia. Bone and mother of pearl inlay, hand etched sgraffito and original hand forged iron hinges. Interior has checkerboard drop front and ten compartments, each with original 18th century drawer pulls. Facade over-layed in mother of pearl with hand etched city-scapes, cathedrals, geometric patterns and foliate motifs. Interior has hand carved and gilt wood columns. Via Live Auctions ~ liveauctioneers.com
18th Century Mid. Nécessaire, London, England. Wood, shagreen, silk, tortoiseshell with gold mounts, steel. Includes: pen knife, beard trimmer, scissors, bottles, paper cutter, 6 razors, hone, strop. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Shagreen: A type of rawhide, or rough untanned skin, originally made from the back of a horse or a wild donkey. In the 18th century, the skin of a shark or stingray also began to be called shagreen.
18th Century Mid. Gentleman's Toiletry Nécessaire Of Shagreen and Tortoiseshell, England. #GeorgianEra #Travel #Antiques books2read.com/SuziLoveTravel 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.
1820-1830 ca. Mother Of Pearl sewing casket with a painted view of Weilburg near Baden in Austria. Painting by Balthasar Wigand.
From The Curator: The mother-of-pearl industry in Vienna reached its apogee during the 1820s and 1830s, when numerous luxury items such as candle screens and desk sets were embellished with the iridescent material. Balthasar Wigand, responsible for the miniature on the lid of this box, specialized in views of the city and its surroundings, painted especially for use on small pieces of furniture and caskets. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1830 ca. Rosewood and Inlaid Brass Inkstand, England. Each side has cut-glass inkwells with brass inlaid tops and pen trays, so ideal for a partners desk. via 1st Dibs Auctions 1stdibs.com
1800s Late. Doctor’s Traveling Apothecary Cabinet. 29 Single bottle compartments and instrument tray. Original bottles with labels: Hamamelis, or Witch Hazel.
19th Century Mid Dance Card or Aide de Memoire. Jeweled and enameled gold dance card with concealed timepiece. Lid with a blue enamel with rose-cut diamonds floral wreath, opening to compartment with watch dial, pencil, and notebook. via Sotheby’s Auctions. sothebys.com
In Jane Austen’s times craftsmen created boxes and containers of precious metals, leather, silks, and decorated them with jewels. Boxes, Cases, Etui, Necessaire and everything else that was used to carry essential items for travel, sewing, medicine, writing, and toiletries. Containers were engraved to make exquisite and expensive items as well as practical carrying cases. books2read.com/suziloveBoxesCases
18th Century Snuff Boxes. Not only were boxes made to serve a purpose, but decorative boxes of all types were prized, especially in the 18th Century 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. books2read.com/suziloveFashMen1700
Travel and Luggage By Suzi Love History Notes Book 10. How did people travel in Jane Austen’s times. In past centuries? What did they take with them to make their long journeys easier? Travel by road, ship, canal, or railway all took a long time and had dangers so people learned to prepare. And then, in the nineteenth century, road improvements, inventions, and scientific developments made travel more pleasurable. books2read.com/SuziLoveTravel
