Comments on: Antique snuff boxes, collection not to be sniffed at

By: Mrs R. Hoffenberg

Mrs R. Hoffenberg — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:08:24 +0000

I need a Restorer for a collection of antique snuff boxes — Please can you advise??

Rae Hoffenberg

By: margaret

margaret — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:01:05 +0000

have a copper and brass box, loose lid shaped as a reclining china man with rats. approx 4 inches across, one and a half inches deep, lined with removable copper lining around sides. Hole near china mans hand which may have held a handle of some kind. Have had for over 40 years. Any ideas what it may have been used for ?

By: Richard Broad

Richard Broad — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:58:45 +0000

I hav a shell snuff box with silver mounts. It is 60mm long x 45mm wide. It has a stamp inside the lid “EO” or “EC”
The inscription on the lid reads
Mary Symons
Ex Dono John Ware
Taken at the Havannah
August 13
1762
I am totaly puzzled by this, any ideas?
I do have some photos of the item
Regards
RB

By: Diana Kenchington

Diana Kenchington — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:24:40 +0000

I have a Chinese mother of pearl snuff box dating back to around 1800. The lid has come off and I would like it repaired. Do you know where I could get it this done professionally and reliably?

By: Kevin Kerrigan

Kevin Kerrigan — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:13:04 +0000

I recently came into possession of a small rectangular treen (I think) snuff box. It has a hinged lid and a goldy brown /tan picture of a reclining dog outside his kennel on the lid. The base is black. Any thoughts on age or valuation?

By: Lord Denovan

Lord Denovan — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:46:01 +0000

I enjoy collecting snuff boxes but I am somewhat surprised that there is not a Snuff Box Collectors Society, although in a related way The Chinese Snuff Bottle Collectors Society seems to be the only organisation running.

I know there are many collectors in UK, let alone the rest of the World, so perhaps it is time to start a Society/Group!

By: Christopher Proudlove

Christopher Proudlove — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:36:17 +0000

Jeff, I have responded in a personal email to you. For others interested, the first-rate ship HMS Royal George was laid down as the Royal Anne but renamed in honor of the reigning monarch George II before her launch in 1756. The first warship to exceed 2,000 tons burden, Royal George was commissioned at the start of the Seven Years’ War with France and joined the Western Squadron in blockading the port of Brest and Quiberon Bay. On 29 August 1782 whilst undergoing minor repair work at Spithead, the Royal George began to take on water. She capsized and sank very quickly with the loss of about 900 lives. The dead included Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt and as many as 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship at the time. The exact cause of the disaster is not known although it has been suggested that she was heeled too far and the water entered the lower tier of gun ports. However, a subsequent court martial acquitted the ship’s officers and crew (most of whom were dead) of any wrongdoing, and blamed the accident on the ‘general state of decay of her timbers’. In 1834, the pioneering diver Charles Deane recovered thirty guns before his work was interrupted. The remains of Royal George were eventually blown up by Royal Engineers in the early 1840s.

By: Jeff Wood

Jeff Wood — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:16:14 +0000

Hello,

I recently aquired a round, turned wood snuff box. There is a note attached to the lid dating 1840 and states the wood used to make this is part of the HMS Royal George wreckage. My limited online research has revealed almost identical boxes that have sold at a 2007 Bonham auction and another at a Cowan auction. I would like offer this at auction as well, but don’t quite know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

By: Christopher Proudlove

Christopher Proudlove — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:23:27 +0000

I spoke to Lionel Willis, maritime specialist at Bonhams in London.
He said: “It is known that the inhabitants of Pitcairn had a thriving ‘cottage industry’ of artefacts made from the remains of the wreck, which they sold to the rare passing ship, although as it burnt to the waterline before it sank any timber must to have been raised from the sea bed. We’ve not seen a snuff box, but it’s a likely enough item to be made as a potential souvenir.”

I hope this helps.

By: Christopher Proudlove

Christopher Proudlove — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:04:19 +0000

Thank you for contacting WriteAntiques. A great many objects are found purporting to be made from the timbers of some famous ship or other – indeed entire houses were built using wood from broken up vessels. There is rarely any supporting provenance or evidence, other than perhaps a plaque or inscription, but these could have been added later.
However, it is unlikely your grandfather would have made up the story, although valuing such a piece could only rely on “family repute”. I will do some further research.