Lot Details
Lot 1042
Five Silver Vesta/ Matchsafes
Various makers, late 19th/early 20th century
Comprising one acid etched with portrait of a fisherman, height 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm); one with a griffin in relief, height 2 1/4 inches (6 cm); a Norwegian example with blacksmith and knights, height 2 1/8 inches (5.5 cm); another with a bird marked Mappin & Webb, Birmingham, 1922, height 2 1/8 inches (5.5 cm); the last with a horse and rider, height 2 1/2 inches (6.5 cm) total approximately 90.2 dwt, weighable; Together with a Silver Plated Matchsafe and a Silver Plated Matchbox Cover.
Provenance:
Fisherman example, Richard H. Jenkins, Canton, CT, December 1989
Griffin example, Richard H. Jenkins, Canton, CT, October 1988
The Mappin & Webb example dated 1922 marks the very last years of the vesta case craze. Books of matches had been invented in the late 1890s as match formulas made them safer to carry and not as prone to self combustion in the pocket. The invention of the pocket lighter after the First World War also spelled the end of the vesta case which had reigned for over seventy-five years.
The Joseph and Miriam Poser Collection
C Estate of Miriam S. Poser
Additional Notes & Condition Report
Griffin - marked only sterling; good condition overall; good detail; hinge good and tight; reverse engraved script monogram "WK"; small bruises to body
Blacksmith and knights - Norwegian - good condition overall; good detail to decoration; hinge good and tight;
Bird - Mappin & Webb, Birmingham, 1922 - good condition overall; good detail to bird; hinge good and tight
Horse and rider - marked only sterling; good condition overall; good detail to decoration; hinge good and tight; corners with bruises
Lion - Bristol Silver - silver plated and not included in weight - 2 1/2 in. ht.; good condition overall; hinge good and tight; slight bruising
Matchbox cover with sailing ship - apparenly unmarked and possibly silver plated, and not included in weight - 2 1/4 in. long; good condition overall
Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
No condition report? Click here to request one.