Through the decades of buying trips, primarily France and England, I've run across 2 of these interesting cases, and of course I bought them both. Each one empty, though one has an early green papered silk interior. I had one other, similarly made but smaller, also oval, and it had an opaline perfume flask inside. I disclose that because, in fact, I've long wondered if they were originally sold with a flask inside, or perhaps as a cigar case, which seems the perfect likelihood. The size is perfectly suited to hold 4 of the smaller cigars like Davidoff (pictured) or Churchill, up to 4.5" in length. Seems a perfect gift for someone who just loves those, or who might, instead, love using it for reading glasses, spectacles, which also fit inside. This is 1 of the remaining 2 I've collected decades ago. Selling as singles, you'll see the other in the final photo, a gold cartouche mounted on top of lid. Full measurements are noted on the photos.
Very good to excellent, from silver fittings to the perfectly elegant oval form, this one is undamaged. I see not even a bug bite to disclose, and the coloration of the cognac to chocolate tortoise shell is opulent against the silver. Hinge and clasp working perfectly. This one has no interior liner at all, so you can see the workings of the old shell. Cigars are not included, shown only for size, suggestion, ambiance.
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.
