We've amassed a wonderful supply/collection of exquisite 19th century carnet du bal (Dance card); necessaire; calling card cases; notepads or aide d'memoire in fine old tortoise shell. Here's just one from my 'favorites'. Hard to pick the right one, so why not buy several and start your own beautiful tabletop or vitrine collection? We're your best place to shop for these stunning old pieces of French vanity items and articles, and looking through, you'll see why we love them, too. Antique French tortoise shell card case or aide d'memoire, in superbly chocolate colored and lightly mottled cognac shell, with a thrill of inlaid nature scene, flowers in ivory, sterling silver, 18k gold, and that little bug of silver and abalone - just so pretty.
Very good condition for age and type. I find no chips, no hairlines, no cracks and no bug bites at all on this one. The single flaw isn't noticeable, really, but there is a 1/4" or so length of stem missing at the bottom right corner/base of the floral pique/inlay work. Hardly any appearance of having been used - likely a treasured gift. The superb hinged writing wafer inside is ivory. it's intact and perfect to hold your own business cards in each side, and a note or two on either side the ivory notepad. Wonderful, isn't it! Most of these need the addition of a thin pencil or stylus, but this one has it's old original in sterling silver. Great gift ideas, all - and wonderful 'something old' for brides or bridesmaids' gift ideas. Lovely!
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. We do hold a valid USFWS license, as well, for import/export, but additional time is required for export, and we are not exporting at this time.
