Writing slope with a twist

[MY63]

I wanted to share with you my latest purchase which I bought it from ebay
When advertised I could see the lower drawer had its own lock and the upper slope had an unusual little mechanism to hold it closed.


IMG_4779_1 by my0771, on Flickr


IMG_4781_1 by my0771, on Flickr

Ok I will get on to the exciting bit when the box arrived I took these pictures the panel for the secret compartment was jammed, there was a small piece of wood covering the release mechanism. I removed the wood and freed the mechanism pushed a piece of wood into the hole (bottom left of the picture below)


IMG_4784 by my0771, on Flickr

The flap sprung open


IMG_4785 by my0771, on Flickr

I don't anyone had been in here for some time


IMG_4786 by my0771, on Flickr

One of the secret drawers had a broken handle it took a little while to get it open but I did.


IMG_4787 by my0771, on Flickr


IMG_4788 by my0771, on Flickr

Marias bequest list


scan0001 by my0771, on Flickr

I have done some research on http://www.hygra.com/writing.html it would appear to have been made between 1780 and 1800.

Now all I have to do is restore it

Thanks

Michael

[Feardorcha]

This is an exquisite find. I look forward to seeing it fully restored.

[AndyT]

That's a wonderful find Michael, and the handwriting is exquisite.

[MY63]

Thanks to you both
Andy any thoughts on the best way to stick the lid back together I am pretty sure it is mahogany there is not a lot of movement and the edge pieces are screwed in place with very old handmade screws. (don't fancy removing them).
It will be a very light restoration I am intending to make it solid remove the unnecessary bits and fit the correct hinges.
This one is not for sale I will be keeping this for myself.

Michael

[earthdawn]

WOW ... That is AWESOME !!!

To find something like that and then dig into it and find an even greater treasure is spectacular.

Congrats

[AndyT]

Andy any thoughts on the best way to stick the lid back together I am pretty sure it is mahogany there is not a lot of movement and the edge pieces are screwed in place with very old handmade screws. (don't fancy removing them).

I expect a museum conservator would advise that you leave it as is! The problem is that the mahogany is very likely to be Cuban (Swietenia mahagoni) - I was pretty sure that it's under embargo here due to its extreme rarity, but as it happens there does seem to be salvaged timber on the market. Expect to pay through the nose if you want to match the species.

The repair itself shouldn't be too bad though, just a matter of preparing some thin tapered fillets and gluing them into the cracks. I'm quite sure you'd make a better job of staining them to match than I could. The lid looks to be quarter sawn so between that and the age of the piece there really oughtn't to be much movement to worry about - all the same it would be as well to leave the box to settle down for a while before going to work.

Given the dates on the bequest sheet it was almost certainly written with a quill - I love the delicacy of the hairlines and the modest shades.

[MY63]

Thanks for that Andy.
I am thinking of cleaning the box and repairing the lid not much more than that.
The original finish would have been wax and that is what I will be doing.
I am not sure whether or not to polish the brass.
Thanks
Michael

[OakIris]

Another great find! I bet it will be a really fun box to work on, Michael.

Have you had a chance to look up any information about Maria Hatherell? I don't see any dates on the pages you shared with us, but there is a Maria Hatherell listed in the 1861 census for Berkshire, England....

As always, I look forward to seeing the results of your restoration work.

Holly

[ac12]

I was watching that item, and was wondering who got it.
Nice.

It is too big to get past my wife, so I could not bid on it.

[MY63]

Ac12 the seller said in the ad it was advertised elsewhere so I asked him where and he replied asking if I wanted to make an offer, I have a limit for writing slopes so I offered him a total price including shipping and he accepted it. It was cheap!

I have had this box for a few days now and it is really odd knowing the name of the Lady who owned it when it was new.
I don't want to spoil it, The boxes I have restored in the past were always scrap boxes with no history this one is different.
I think it will be staying as it is for now although I would like to see it as Maria Hatherell saw it 200 years ago, I think if I am being honest I am a little scared of destroying it.

Thanks
Michael
ps I am off to play with my embossing.

[I like mango pudding]

Wow!

Did the seller know of this secret compartment and the contents inside of it?

[Tracy Lee]

There are really not sufficient words to describe the coolness of this find.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 4

[MY63]

Wow!

Did the seller know of this secret compartment and the contents inside of it?

No the seller did not know however after finding the documents I contacted the seller to ask if it was a family piece,
If it had been a family piece I would have sent it back to him, When I asked he told me it was something his father picked up years ago.
I did not tell him about the documents and to be honest he did not appear bothered by my questions after the sale.

The cover for the secret compartment was jammed and clearly had not been opened for some time especially as the release catch had been covered by a piece of wood which would have held the pen tray up.
Once I had pushed the cover back into place and uncovered the catch it worked it worked as it would have done when it was new the spring is so strong when opened it pushes the cover across the box.

Thanks
Michael

[MY63]

I thought I would share the tale of another writing slope with you.
I have always wanted a writing slope with brass edging however they have always been out of my price range.
While scouring a local market for pens I came across this writing slope,

IMG_6202 by my0771, on Flickr

All of the brass had been removed and replaced with green and gold paint.
When I first got this box I was not in a position to do anything to it so I put it to one side and yesterday I decided to make a start so I spent a few happy hours removing the paint with out damaging the finish of the rest of the box.

IMG_7546 by my0771, on Flickr

When I first got the box home I checked the inside and found most of the brass but no secret compartments which was unusual as I thought this box was early there was an empty space under the pen and inkwell storage compartments this space was often used for secret compartments.

IMG_7551 by my0771, on Flickr

It was only when I looked a little closer I noticed there was a difference in the amount of wood showing on the inside between the two sides
left side

IMG_7553 by my0771, on Flickr

Right side

IMG_7552 by my0771, on Flickr

When I started to touch this panel it moved slightly I had found the door all I needed to find was the key

IMG_7556 by my0771, on Flickr

This divider between the ink well and stamp tray was the key as I lifted it up the door sprung open to reveal the three secret drawers

IMG_7559 by my0771, on Flickr

No contents this time though.

Thanks

Michael

[Jon Szanto]

I like secret places.

[Lady Onogaro]

That is so cool, Michael! You have a good eye for this sort of thing.

[Polyhistor]

Serious case of paraphernalia envy! Great scores. I wish these had been more common in continental Europe.

[MY63]

Here is the picture I should have taken yesterday with the drawers open

IMG_7572 by my0771, on Flickr

Thanks

Michael

[Tracy Lee]

Here is the picture I should have taken yesterday with the drawers open

IMG_7572 by my0771, on Flickr

Thanks

Michael

That is just so neat!!

[Holsworth]

These photos and stories of finding secret compartments are lovely!
They remind me of looking at writing slopes when I was younger, there was an antique shop next door to my parents shop and he always had a few writing slopes in. I used to go in and look through them hunting for the hidden drawers. Never found anything like your first set of photos though!