Antique Lady's Vanity Case Howell James & Co 1878

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Antique Lady's Vanity Case Howell James & Co 1878

About the Item

This is a stunning antique Victorian lady's traveling case, the sterling silver topped jars and bottles have hallmarks for London 1878 and the makers mark of the renowned silversmith and box maker George Betjemann & Sons. The case has the mark of the eminent retailers Howall James & Co, Regent Street, London. This traveling case is made of coromandel wood, which was and still is extremely rare and expensive and would only have been used on very high quality items. This spectacular coromandel case is bordered with brass. The interior is well fitted with ten sterling silver topped jars and bottles, and the complete set of five mother of pearl mounted manicure tools all displayed on purple velvet. There is a sprung concealed drawer on one side and another one in the bottom, they spring open when the brass buttons are pressed. The bottom one is lined with velvet and provides storage for jewellery. The case also has a se cret compartment concealed inside the lid, which can be removed to reveal a secret tooled leather hiding place for letters and documents as well as a useful mirror. The case can be safely locked with the original key. It is a beautiful piece which would look stunning on your dressing table. Condition: In excellent condition, the silver with clear hallmarks and no dings, dents or signs of repair. Please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 18 x Width 31 x Depth 22 Dimensions in inches: Height 7 inches x Width 1 foot, 0 inches x Depth 9 inches George Betjenmann & Sons The firm was founded in 1851 by George Betjenmann and became George Betjenmann & Sons in 1858 (the sons were George William and John). The firm was converted into a Ltd in 1909 and in 1939 was purchased by Puddefoot, Bowers & Simonett Ltd. London 1909 hallmark (entered 1900). G B over & over SONS into an oval. From 1859, based at 36-40 Pentonville Road, London, George Betjemann amd his two sons took the art of cabinet, box and book slide making to new heights. They specialised in designs for operating the way that different compartments in vanity boxes opened and also the sprung system for book slides. Howell James & Company were a firm of jewellers and silversmiths, based in Regent Street in London, which operated between 1819 and 1911. The firm Howell and James was founded in 1819 by James Howell and Isaac James who were originally silk mercers and retail jewellers. The company had premises at 5, 7 and 9 Regent Street and was noted for the variety and quality of its stock. In 1838 James left the business and the partnership then became known as Howell James & Co. By 1865 the firm employed over 140 women, most of whom lived above the shop. The firm exhibited in London, at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and at the 1862 International Exhibition, and in Paris and the International Exposition of 1867. It sold items by students and designers of the South Kensington School.[2] At the London exhibitions of 1871 and 1872 the company exhibited jewellery by C.L. Eastlake, M. D. Wyatt, F. Leighton and L. F. Day. The company's 1878 Paris Exhibition stand was designed by Day. In 1889, company employee J. Llewellyn moved to Liberty & Co taking with him exclusive selling rights. In 1881 the premises were reconstructed and these incorporated art pottery galleries. An exhibition was staged, of architectural faience, produced to the designs of M. B. Adams by of Burmantofts. In 1884 the company became a limited company and their name changed to Howell & James Ltd. 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 & Knewstub. 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.

Dimensions:
Height: 7.09 in (18 cm)Width: 12.21 in (31 cm)Depth: 8.67 in (22 cm)
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Late 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1878
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 064781stDibs: LU95062217772

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