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Description:
Ref: 866WB      http://hygra.com/box/866WB 

Brass bound solid mahogany writing box of dovetail construction in the military style with countersunk carrying handles. The lock is stamped Lambley & Co Patent.  The box opens to a sloping  writing surface and compartments for pens and inkwells. There are further places for storing papers under the writing surface. Beneath the pentray there is a nest of three secret drawers with turned bone pulls. The drawers are concealed behind a sprung panel which is released when a rod is inserted through the lock. This can only be done when although open the lock is locked. There is another lock on the writing flap giving some security when the box was left open on a desk.  But when the flap is opened there is another box with lock beneath. This slips out of the box. 

Origin: UK;  Circa: 1810; Materials: Mahogany, Brass.

Size: 50.5 cm wide by 24.6 cm by 14.5 cm:  20 inches wide by 9.7  inches by 5.7  inches.

Condition: good overall; working locks and keys; see images.

Keywords: Hygra.com, Antique box, traveling desk, writing box, rosewood, writing box, secret drawers, brass inlay, lap desk, Lambley & Co, Tompson lock, Patent, Military style, Campaign box 

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The brass edging is held in place by small brass pins driven in at an angle

The box opens to a sloping  writing surface and compartments for pens and inkwells. 

The embossed leather writing surface is a later replacement.

 

The firm of  LAMBLEY A & CO PORTABLE WRITING DESK MFR LADIES' WORK CASE MFR  Birmingham  was active from 1800. -

An advert of 1800 has James, 33 Deritend St. Birmingham, "manufacturer of all forms of small cabinet articles for traveling &c".

Lambley, Abraham Birmingham, cabinet travelling and dressing case maker (1800 -18). At Mosley St, Deritend 1800-05, Bordesly and Deritend Birmingham in 1809 and Birchole St, 1816-18. Recorded as Abraham Lambley & Co 1816-18.

See: Dictionary of English Furniture Makers, 1660-1840

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/16328/page/2067/data.pdf 

The Gazette, www.thegazette.co.uk.

It is interesting that only Lambley's name is on the lock. It would seem from an announcement in the London Gazette that following the dissolution of the Tompson Lambley partnership that Lambley could continue to use the Tompson/Lambley  lock on his own boxes.  Tompson went on to make boxes on his own account:

See:  Exceptional Regency Rosewood Triple Opening Writing Box  with Tompson lock  Circa 1825  http://www.hygra.com/uk/n11/WB604 

The lock on An Early 19th Century Captains Box with elaborate secret drawers and compartments Fitted with dressing accessories By  George Palmer London. http://hygra.com/uk/wb/wb101/index.htm  is stamped "Tompson and Lambley --GR Patent."

The lock is made from milled cast brass. 

The hole at the bottom is to allow the rod to trigger the mechanism of the secret drawer panel. 

For more images of the Lambley  lock and how it works: 

 

Hygra: Antique Lambly & Co. Writing box Lock

I have previously documented the Tompson Lambley lock at:

The Tompson patent box lock 

When the lock is in the open position the bolt has retracted into the lock.

The writing flap has its own lock.

The embossed leather writing surface is a replacement.

The catches which hold the flap in place are unusual.

Under the locked flap there is a lift out box. This too has a lock. The box has to be removed to have access to the secret drawer panel. 

 

The inner box is constructed from solid mahogany with dovetail joins. The marking lines are still there.

The inner box is constructed from solid mahogany with dovetail joins. The marking lines are still there. The joinery is impeccable.

The way it slides into the box expelling air is evocative.

 

Detail: the back of the secret-drawer panel showing the catch and spring.

Behind the sprung panel there are three secret drawers with turned bone pulls.

The drawers are bigger than those in later boxes. These were drawers for purpose.

The history of the leaking inkwell is well recorded:

I can understand why the other inkwell is later than the box. The staining on the bottom shows that the ink flowed down through the secret drawer and onto a sheaf of paper 

The secret drawers are dovetail construction. They are impeccably made. The accuracy of cutting, the tightness of joints amazes me. I can see no fillers. I love that the marking lines are still visible.

The wood has been selected for beauty and purpose. 

 The ink flowed far. Inkwell leaking was not pleasant.

The secret drawer panel fits at one end into mortised slots.

All of these pieces of wood are made before being glued.

The box will have been assembled, tested, disassembled, and adjusted.

   I like the attention to detail: the bead run into the piece of wood in the corner tells the story of construction.

The box has two associated inkwells. This one is period. The bottle has been hand blown and then cut. 

The other inkwell is late 19th C. and French. It was one of the many designs to try and avoid the problem of inkwells leaking. 

The cut glass inkwell has a brass top with cork. 

 

This is perfect. The join was  assembled two hundred years ago is still as  tight.

A little scraped bead run into edges.

In the sides of the box, the carpentry is clear. This is a double blind sometimes called a "full blind" dovetail joint.

The joint is visually very different to a simple miter. A miter joint which glues end grain wood to end grain wood is much weaker and would not have survived the rigors of travel or 200 years.

Dovetail joints:

The dovetail joint is one of the wonders of woodwork. In the full blind none of the careful work is visible. If the joint is simply mitered it will not survive atmospheric change. A mitered joint is end grain to end grain. The glue soaks in, becomes dry and brittle and falls apart. 

The dovetail joint enables side grain to be glued to side grain. These joints would hold together without glue!

It is the true proof of these dovetail joints made by craftsmen 200 years ago that their joints are as they made them.

This image is courtesy of 

This image is courtesy of  Fine Woodworking Techniques 1978 Taunton Press inc. ISBN: 0918804027

You can order the  Fine Woodworking Techniques from Amazon  by clicking one of the links below:

Amazon.com USA

Amazon.uk  UK

Amazon.can Canada

Amazon.fr  France

Amazon.de  Germany

Amazon.jp  Japan

The top is dramatic.

The box has side  countersunk carrying handles. When not in use they fold flush with the surface of the box.

A

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