Made to last.

[frank rabbets]

I bought this box at a local auction. Made by Dreyfous, Mayfair in 1875. It's solid mahogany with silk lining and leather covered. Gold plated fittings. Described as a document box/jewelry box. Just larger than A4. The handles are fixed on the box and control the combination lock. There are 20 clicks to each handle so 8000 combos available. The lid was open but the lock closed with unknown combo. I took the front lining out, removed the lock and revealed the combo. Then recnditioned everything and put it all back together. Combo was 1,2,3. What amazed me after some study was if the lock is open you can alter the combination by pressing in the little brass skewer stored in the side rhs frame. This resets the lock and you can turn the handles to the desired number of clicks. Removing the skewer resets the lock to the new combo. Then you can close the lid and turn the handles to lock. Best to double count first to make sure you remember correctly and the lock opens as when locked the box must be destroyed to get in without the combo.

Handles turn indefinitely clockwise but come up against a stop anti clockwise to give you a known place to count the clicks from.

I expect a lot of boxes must have been scrapped due to combos being lost over 150 years

 

[Chas]

I love things of quality like that Frank, especially ingenious items like that. I have a Japanese box that requires 22 different sections to be slid apart to gain access. I keep a copy of the moves inside so I can always open it.

 

[uHu]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever, as Mary Poppins said.
Really a wonderous piece of art you got there. I guess it was more than 10 £. Made at an age when they could afford to spend some time on quality.

 

[StarCruiser]

Interesting, and truly a work of locksmiths art.
My first thought was of a dispatch box. Seems a bit well cared for to be one of those though.

 

[clivehorridge]

That's a really nice piece Frank.

I have a soft spot for old "genuine" articles, and especially wooden boxes. I don't have many now, there was a time I had quite a few.

Used to tour the antiques fairs at one time and always had a problem passing wooden boxes and pocket watches by.

I never had a box with anything more than a key lock though, yours is fascinating, especially that it was designed and hand-crafted in 1875.

Strange, it's almost a shame that the beautiful mahogany was covered in leather.

In our apartment, we have a number of ebony pieces brought back from central French Africa about 40 years ago. They are mostly carved heads, some elephants and tribal ceremonial masks. Sadly, we also have some ivory pieces that came with them.

Both materials are forbidden these days for obvious reasons, and I don't know how we stand with the current laws on prohibited items.

 

[frank rabbets]

You can clearly see the Mahogany when you take the lock out. Perhaps for its strength and lack of warping.

Lots of boxes were in the auction and most looked brand new. Said to be from the same house. I bought it about 3 weeks ago. Another sold yesterday at another auction. It had knobs instead of handles which I don't think were as attractive. The interior was torn and stained. One of the knobs was bent and the lock did not work. A piece of leather was stuck on top where there was a gold crown with initials underneath. The initials had been glued over. It would have been interesting to see what was underneath but they could have been scratched out.