Vanity Case, London Maker, Early 19th Century

Antique mid-19th Century very rare Victorian solid silver vesta case and lighter, in a shape of a horseshoe, opening on both sides, with a compartment for matches and a striker, with wheel to wind the lighter wick, one side is applied with initials "E.H". Hallmarked English Silver (925 standard), London, year 1853 (S), Maker's mark H.W.D (Henry William Dee...

Small decorative jar, box or trinket for vanity smalls. Its executed in faceted crystal and has a silver hand-engraved lid. London Hallmarks for Thomas Wallis, Lion for solid silver ...

This is a stunning antique Victorian Coromandel gentleman's travelling vanity case with fitted interior, circa 1865 in date. This rectagular shaped traveling case is made of rare coromandel wood and features a blank brass plaque. The interior is well fitted with Sheffield silver plate mounted jars, bottles and shaving tools, displayed on fitted blue velvet. The secret button at the front of the case opens a sprung secret drawer below, for your jewellery. The underside of the lid has a velvet backed mirror and a compartment for hiding your letters. Complete with working Bramah lock and original key. It is a beautiful piece which will look stunning on your dressing table. Condition: In really excellent condition. Please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 9 x Width 26 x Depth 19 Dimensions in inches: Height 3 inches x Width 10 inches x Depth 7 inches Calamander wood or Coromandel wood is a valuable wood from India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It is of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes (or the other way about), very heavy and hard. It is also known as Macassar Ebony or variegated ebony and is closely related to genuine ebony, but is obtained from different species in the same genus; one of these is Diospyros quaesita Thwaites, from Sri Lanka. The name Calamander comes from the local sinhalese name, 'kalu-medhiriya', which means dark chamber; referring to the characteristic ebony black wood. Coromandel wood has been logged to extinction over the last 2 to 3 hundred years and is no longer available for new work in any quantity. Furniture in coromandel is so expensive and so well looked after that even recycling it is an unlikely source. A substitute, Macassar Ebony, has similar characteristics and to the untrained eye is nearly the same but it lacks the depth of colour seen in genuine Coromandel. Travelling cases became very popular towards the end of the 18th century. They were manufactured specifically to accompany upper class gentleman during travel. Dressing cases were originally rather utilitarian but they spoke volumes about their owners’s wealth and place in society, as at that time, traveling was only done by the elite. Gentleman’s dressing cases would contain bottles and jars for colognes, aftershaves and creams as well as essential shaving and manicure tools. As these boxes became more popular, many further traveling item options were offered for inclusion. By the early Victorian era, ladies also began to travel and suddenly their requirements were anything but utilitarian! Ladies dressing cases could feature a wide range of decorative bottles and jars as well as a vast array of beautifcation tools, all designed with pure luxury in mind. The exterior of the box became almost as important as the interior and these boxes started being veneered with beautiful exotic woods from all over the world. As demand for gentleman’s boxes lessened, the dressing case started to also become known by the more feminine term ‘vanity box’. These boxes, with their excessive price tags, were now considered as true works of art and beauty in themselves, and were often bought as status symbols rather than actual traveling companions. Some of the finest examples of travelling cases made from exotic wood with gold and silver fittings come from: Walter Thornhill, Betjamann & Sons and Jenner...

A mid-19th century lady’s travelling dressing case. The case is constructed in a finely marked coromandel, with inset brass handles and brass guard bands to the angles. The hinged lid rises to reveal in the upper section, a drop down document holder, with a mirror to the back, the parcel gilt pieces are engraved with a Viscountess’s coronet, probably Charles, 2nd Viscount Hardinge Cornwallis (1822-1894) and inset with turquoises and comprise a suite of four cut-glass jars, a liqueur flask with a fitted cup, the pull-out rear shelf houses seven jars for ink, potions and unguents. The lift out platform has sectional jewellery compartments, over, a pair of hexagonal based silver hall marked candlesticks, a thermometer, button hook, folding ruler...

Rectangular case with hinged lid made decorated with fine inlays of floral and floral elements on its faces, containing a set of toiletry set composed of various elements of grooming...

This beautiful, antique jewelry box set was crafted in France, circa 1870. The box has a mother of pearl crest on the top and front, and reveals several dividers inside while the com...