19th Century Whitewood Cotton Reel Box A Tunbridge Wells Gift Early Tunbridge Ware C 1810

This little sliding lid box is a rare and sought after example of early Tunbridge ware produced from holly wood, sycamore or chestnut. This type of Tunbridge ware was made well before the darker mosaic wares that became popular from the 1830s.

This box comes with excellent provenance from the personal collection of one of the UK's experts and authors in Tunbridge Ware. If you love the Regency period, this little box will conjure ideas of genteel Regency ladies sat in the morning room sewing and exchanging memories of their exciting trip to the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Tunbridge Wells is around 30 miles southeast of the capital city of London, England. During the late 1600s, 1700s and early 1800s it became a fashionable tourist attraction. Charles 1 st visited the town and took some of its healing spring waters. The rich and famous continued to frequent the town and luxury goods were made and retailed there. Turning items from the local wood had been an industry since the late 1600s and the makers of small turned wooden articles soon realised that visitors wished to take home a small memento of their visit and their wooden Tunbridge Wares became exceedingly popular. In fact the 17th century travel writer Celia Fiennes had already written

"They have made the wells very commodious by the many good building all about it and two or three miles [three or five kilometres] around which are lodgings for the company that drink the waters. All the people buy their own provisions at the market, which is just by the wells and is furnished with great plenty of all sorts of fish and fowl. The walk which is between high trees on the market side which are shops full of all sorts of toys, silver, china, milliners and all sorts of curious wooden ware besides which there are two large coffee houses for tea, chocolate etc. and two rooms for the lottery and hazard board (i.e. for gambling)".

Our small whitewood box dates to the 1810 to 1820 period and features an original circular green printed label to the lid reading ‘A Tunbridge Wells Gift.’ The whitewood lid has been beautifully decorated to simulate rosewood with simulated marquetry panel. Interestingly these plain little labels were thought to copy the highly popular 18th century Bilston enamel boxes with lids decorated with 'A Trifle From...', or 'A Gift From....' which absolutely makes sense.

The box opens to reveal its inner storage compartment with original Georgian pink lining paper and compartment dividers for storing cotton reels, etc.

This is the perfect item for anyone with who loves early sewing boxes or early Tunbridge Ware, or anyone with a connection to Tunbridge Wells, England.

Measuring: Width 4 7/8 inch (12.5 cm) by height 1 ¾ inch (4.5 cm). Depth 1 ¾ inch (4.5 cm).

Condition: Two chipped sections to lid. Light surface wear. Some minor old ink stains to interior.

Item id: TA15433