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Description:
Ref: 666WB
Exquisite figured coromandel writing box,  profusely inlaid with  engraved brass, mother of pearl, and abalone depicting trailing flowers. It is by   S. Woolfield, 28 Bucanan St., Glasgow.   Inside the embossed blue velvet writing surface is framed with gold embossed leather and facings of rosewood. Beneath the upper flap there is a compartmentalized liftout tray still covered in its original paper. The lock is Bramah type and stamped "Bramah Patent and a crown. The escutcheon is flush with the surface and has been incorporated in the inlay design. circa 1860.

Origin: UK,  Scotland ;  Circa: 1860; Materials:  mahogany structure veneered in thick (about1mm)  figured coromandel with brass mop and abalone.

Size:  40.6 cm wide by 25.9 cm by 13.6 cm:  16  inches wide by 9.8  inches by  5.35. inches.

Condition: good overall; working lock and key; see images

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boxes@hygra.com

Central Motif in the top

It is in the attention to detail that this inlay is exceptional. How the coromandel a very hard brittle wood  inclined to  splinter was fretted routed  out to accommodate the elements of inlay is a mystery. The brass is still bright making me wonder if it is gilded. 

The minute differences between the leaves are naturalistic.

Both the mother  of pearl and the brass have been chassed with incised detail.

The detailing is impeccable. The coromandel is inlaid with brass, abalone and mother of pearl depicting natural flower forms. The whole box is edged with a solid rounded ebony filet.

 

 

 The curved pen tray is veneered in the same highly figured cormandel.

There are brass lines and accents inlaid in the facings.

http://www.archive.org/stream/postofficeannual185354gla/postofficeannual185354gla_djvu.txt: 

has the following entry (1853):

"THE LARGEST STOCK IN SCOTLAND OF LEATHER TRAVELLING DESKS, DESPATCH BOXES, DRESSING CASES, AND POCKET BOOKS, ALL MANUFACTURED IN GLASGOW AT S. WOOLFIELD'S OWN WORKSHOPS. GREAT attention is paid to the Substantial Quality of the Workmanship and Materials used, especially to those all important requisites the Locks, which are from the most Celebrated Patentees, HOBBS, CHUBB, BRAMAH, &c. Those who prefer having a Desk made to contain any particular Book, &c, or of a different size or shape to those generally made, can be accom- modated, S. "Woolfield having recently enlarged his Manufacturing capabilities, and is now enabled to produce these Goods much lower than formerly. TO SHIPPERS. S. W. would impress upon Shippers the great advantage of seeing this class of Goods before ordering. S. W. is certain he can offer, from a thirty years' experience, greater advantages to Wholesale Houses than is generally to be met with. His make of Goods is well known in all our Colonies, and, with his name upon them, always command the best prices and a ready sale. His famed Bagatelle Boards with Adjusting Stands, have repeatedly been Shipped to America, the West Indies, Calcutta, Australia, &c, and have always given unqualified satisfaction, besides yielding a remunerative profit. They are all made of good, sound, well-seasoned materials, and can be war- ranted to stand any Climate."

The box is stamped:

"Made by
 S. Woolfield 
28 Bucanan St., 
Glasgow."

A google search gave me the folowing:

http://boards.ancestry.co.uk/localities.
britisles.scotland.lks.general/15151.1/mb.ashx

"Samuel Woolfield was born in the Birminghamm area in 1803, the 5th son of Benjamin Woolfield.
He moved from Birmingham to Glasgow between 1835 and 1838
He may have had some type of financial problems in 1855
He moved to New Zealand in Feb 1861
He is a brother of Thomas Robinson Woolfield (Cannes) and related to the architect Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort."

and: Samuel Woolfield emigrated to NZ in 1861 on the African with his family
I can send you what I have if it is of any interest
His sister, Susanna, is my ggg g-mother, and married into the Mountfort family. Her 3 children emigrated to Christchurch, NZ, in 1850:

There is an advertisement (1847) given in Graces Guide:

 http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/S._Woolfield

 

 Even the inkwell is special.. The lead crystal has been deeply cut in hobnail pattern, the shoulders are faceted. The leather lining of the screw  cap looks original and shows no ink staining. It is as if it had just been sent back from being silver plated using the Elkington process which was perfected 20 years earlier. 

 The top of the inkwell has been chased with a flowing floral pattern. 

 The lock is Bramah type and stamped with Bramahs and patent and two crowns.

See:

http://www.hygra.com/locks/Bramah/index.htm

Opening Antique Bramah Box Locks

 

 

A

 The main structure of the flaps is in three pieces of mahogany.  they are joined with a tong and groove. The grain of the central piece goes from side to side. the sides have the grain  at right angles. the wood is cut close to the quarter for stability. The facing is about 1mm of coromandel.

There is a picture showing the catch above.

 Some of  mother of pearl flowers are inlaid with abalone.

The escutcheon of the Bramahs Patent lock is flush with the surface and has been incorporated into the inlay. 

There is some veneer cracking to the side. This is common in coromandel and will not effect the structural integrity of the box.

A

 The underside of the box has its original fine leather covering.

"THE LARGEST STOCK IN SCOTLAND OF LEATHER TRAVELLING DESKS, DESPATCH BOXES, DRESSING CASES, AND POCKET BOOKS, ALL MANUFACTURED IN GLASGOW AT S. WOOLFIELD'S OWN WORKSHOPS. GREAT attention is paid to the Substantial Quality of the Workmanship and Materials used, especially to those all important requisites the Locks, which are from the most Celebrated Patentees, HOBBS, CHUBB, BRAMAH, &c. Those who prefer having a Desk made to contain any particular Book, &c, or of a different size or shape to those generally made, can be accommodated, S. "Woolfield having recently enlarged his Manufacturing capabilities, and is now enabled to produce these Goods much lower than formerly. TO SHIPPERS. S. W. would impress upon Shippers the great advantage of seeing this class of Goods before ordering. S. W. is certain he can offer, from a thirty years' experience, greater advantages to Wholesale Houses than is generally to be met with. His make of Goods is well known in all our Colonies, and, with his name upon them, always command the best prices and a ready sale. His famed Bagatelle Boards with Adjusting Stands, have repeatedly been Shipped to America, the West Indies, Calcutta, Australia, &c, and have always given unqualified satisfaction, besides yielding a remunerative profit. They are all made of good, sound, well-seasoned materials, and can be warranted to stand any Climate."

There is an advertisement (1847) given in Graces Guide:

 http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/S._Woolfield