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ANTIQUE BOXES
at the Sign of the Hygra
2 Middleton Road
London E8 4BL
Tel: 00 44 (0)20 7254 7074
email: boxes@hygra.com |
Antique Boxes in English Society
1760 -1900
by ANTIGONE
Writing Boxes |
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| A Campaign Box with elaborate secret drawers and
compartments Circa 1800 |
Exceptionally Robust Brass bound mahogany
Campaign writing box with secret
compartments and drawers
The box has an adjustable mechanism to enable it to be used
as a reading stand, as here.
Military style. good quality brass bindings, facings, countersunk
handles.
Here the box is in the reading stand position: a sort of lectern.
Dimensions: 21" wide 11.5 deep
8"high (closed).
53 cm wide 29cm deep 20.5cm
high.
The pictures can be supersized by clicking on them.
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The brass is structural and fastened to the box with iron screws.
The handles are strong enough to lift the box.
The lock works and has
its key.
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Close up showing the brass bindings. The brass is secured with
steel/iron screws. These were clearly flattened when first put
in. As with most handmade screws the slots are seldom central.
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The surface has been refinished at
some stage in its life with a shellac finish (french polish) There are
some scratches and marks which are what would be expected in a box
with real history.
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The writing tablet is covered with
replacement green baize.
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There are compartments for pens
and ink. The facings are inlaid with brass which gives a strength to
the box.
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Laired Secret Drawers.
Beneath the pen and compartments
are four secret drawers.
Under the flap the box is divided
into three compartments. The dividing pieces of wood are removable,
and must be be to enable the revelation.
There are another two drawers under the
false bottom. and yet more secret compartments in the upper part hidden behind
another panel. This is released by pressing a hidden release button.
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The dividing piece of wood swings
to the side pushing the sprung side of the box.
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It reveals the join when pushed
back.
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The panel concealing the secret
drawers is released by pulling up the division next to the inkwell.
The divisions have to be taken out
first. There are not many boxes with two lairs of trick to their secrecy.
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The red-taped papers
are dated to 1866 and appear to record several payments of money!
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One of these drawers is designed to hold
coins: sovereigns. Unfortunately these are now gone!
A secret hoard!
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The box is constructed with
full-blind dovetail joints. The brass is fixed with iron screws
which have their heads ground down level with the brass. The result
is a strong and stable box which has survived well the harsh
environments it has had to encounter,
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The box has more secret
compartments hidden behind a panel in the upper part of the box.
The long piece of wood is the reading stand.
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The sprung panel is released by
pressing a hidden button
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There are three boxes with sliding
lids hidden behind the panel.
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The box also has a side drawer
which is of dovetail construction. There are half blind dovetails to
the front and through dovetails on the inside/back of the drawer. I
have put further details of dovetail construction below.
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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 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:
And
from Barnes and Noble with the link below:
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Extract: Choosing and Making the right
joints by Tage Frid.
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Detail: back of drawer. The
marking out score lines are still visible.
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The pounce pot is contemporary
with the box but the inkwell is a modern replacement.
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Side view: there is a bead run
into the edges of the drawer. The handle is countersunk in the
military style of the period.
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The lock works and has
its key. Here the lock is seen without the coverplate. It has
one leaver, but mainly relies on wards for individuality of key. Skeleton
keys ignore the wards and concentrate on the
levers.
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