Dimensions (cm): 14 x 26.5 x 20

Year: 1900

An early 20th century tortoiseshell and silver piqué work Letter Box, the sloping front inset with delicately engraved decoration comprising flowerheads and scrolling foliage, the lock within a floral and foliage swag, with silver rims and silver bracket feet, the compartmentalised interior lined in red watered silk, the lockplate inscribed H & C over L and 'secure lever', the original key in an envelope with printed label for Elkington & Co Ltd, Goldsmiths, Silversmiths, Jewellers, Medallists, Bronzists, Watch & Clock Makers, 42 Buchanan Street, Glasgow.
Piqué work was a type of decorative work made by inlaying tiny sections of gold or silver into tortoiseshell. In 1770 the entrepreneur and maker Matthew Boulton developed a method of producing piqué work panels in factories, and the present letter box looks back stylistically to that period, with its neo-classically inspired floral swag, its bracket feet emulating the feet on English late 18th century furniture, and its use for storing letters harking back to the days when letter-writing was an essential everyday activity for the cultured individual.

Bar Code: 10216