The card case you see here is large enough to hold today's business cards, so it's function as well as form. A splendidly preserved one from c.1850-70, the Napoleon III or mid-Victorian era, when Grand Tour travelers acquired souvenirs of their travels, thinks like this old parquet beauty. It is 4 1/8" x 3" x 3/8" and will hold a credit card, a few business cards, and start a lot of conversations if you ever again need to attend business meetings in person. I used to use these as evening 'purse' slash/conversation starters when I worked for Paramount, Inc. and hated to go to those kind of essential meet the clients events. That said, it's time to let go of my collections, and this is a gorgeous old one, very well preserved.
Very good to excellent condition, no missing parquet tiles at all (often misses parts, so this is a huge plus). There is one tiny nip near the hinge, more a flash or bug-bite on mother of pearl, and we've marked it with an 'x' so you can review it. The clasp needs a slight adjustment in order to close tightly, though all parts are there. It just isn't latching properly. Such a beautiful old treasure!
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.
