Bay Colony Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this wonderful 19th century antique document box. The box retains its original painted surface meant to imitate tortoise shell which was a very expensive material in the 18th & 19th century. Tortoise shell has been coveted since antiquity and was mainly used for jewelry, furniture inlays, small boxes like tea caddies, hairpins, glasses, & other luxury goods in the 18th century. The box is constructed with hand cut dovetails and the painted surface is accented with a gold border with cut out corners. The box has a brass handle on the top and the original iron lock plate is still present. The paint is in very good condition with our only notes being minor surface wear & some light fading. There were originally two leather straps to keep the lid from falling when open. The left strap has been lost but the right one alone is sufficient in keeping the lid from falling. The interior of the box measures 17” wide x 8 1/2” deep x 6 1/2” tall. The overall dimensions of the box are 18” wide x 9 7/8” deep x 8 1/8” tall. When the lid is fully open the height is 16 3/4” tall.
