I love a book shaped box, or book shaped anything, really, and love the very folky relief carving--as well as the hidden box deceptiveness!--about this one. Terrific faces and hands and hair and surface on the mother and daughter in chair carved on the face of it, with ALBUM arching overhead making it all feel very cozy, and a wonderfully carved latch/lock, too, spanning the gold painted recessed "pages" on the side. On the reverse, unusual in my experience as far as book shaped boxes go, is a slide opening, revealing the interior compartment, which one imagines was used to hide things secret or precious, perhaps to give lie to the sweetness of the box's face! (Whether or not truly made for such purpose I don't know; it very well might have been a token of love for either mother or child.) C. 1870s-80s or so I would guess, and in very good shape, very charming, with a terrific mellow gold sort of surface to the relief carving.
8" x 5 1/4" x 1 11/16" and in very good condition with just a minor bit of paint loss at the base of the "spine."
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