A sweet little curiosity from my own antique collections, this box is less than 2" in diameter, and contains all of an alphabet of letters, each perfectly carved and preserved. The entire alphabet is there, but enough to teach a child. Likely part of a teaching aid, toy, or game in first half of 1800s. There are 26 in all, and the box is in fine condition for age, too. I've never seen another in all these decades.
Very good to excellent condition, not any of the tiny alphabet bits are broken, and all 26 remain. The box has a tiniest fine tight hairline at side of the box's lid, shown in our images. Lathe-made, such precision.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
