~Oreillers~

Presenting a stunning French circa 1840’s tortoiseshell sewing box with a
sterling silver name plaque on top with the name of “Mary L. Howland”,
escutcheon with key and sits upon four bun feet. Tortoiseshell was primarily
made from the shell of the Hawksbill turtle and is getting quite rare today since
the sea turtle went on the critically endangered list. The fitted interior is further
enhanced with ivory around the edges. The entire interior is covered in a light
blue satin while the lid has a padded and ruffled edge. Some of the original tools
are:

2 mother-of-pearl and ivory spools, gold thimble, mother-of-pearl knife with
two blades, one small hairline crack on one side, gold handled scissors with steel
blades, mother-of-pearl bodkin with a very rare gold embossed sheath, a scent
bottle with a beautiful embossed gold top and cut rock crystal

Items added over time are:

Ivory tape measure, the tape is gone, Mother-of-pearl thread wax, Mother-of-
pearl needle cleaner, 2 mother-of-pearl silk thread winders, mother-of-pearl
needle book with a floral incised picture

The three center tools lift out to reveal a compartment for storage of small items.
A beautiful box that the owner must have treasured and been proud to use in a
sewing group.

Condition: As mentioned above there is a crack on the knife, the front right
corner has a chip of tortoiseshell missing seen in the first picture. There are
very faint hairline cracks, you can feel them rather than see them, on the top that
were more than likely caused by heat and dryness over the years, typical of
tortoiseshell, otherwise in amazing clean condition.