Rare Snuff Box Papier Mache Double Sided Blon Cloth Factory Vaudry France C 1819

This is a very decorative, double sided Georgian period snuff box dating to the 1819 period. It is a rare example due to the two connected scenes front and reverse. The only example of this exact same scene that we could discover was a medal held at The Musee de vire Normandie in France

To one side it features a printed scene of the two owners namely Jean-Baptiste Moulin and J B Tirel of the Blon cloth factory in Vire, Calvados, France. Around their portraits we see with the various medals that the cloth factory won in the years 1806 and 1819. The reverse features a printed scene of the actual 'Blon Mill' factory at Vaudry, Vire, Calvados. The text on the box identifies it as the "Manufacture de Draps" (Cloth Factory) established by J.B. Tirel in 1812.

The image depicts the Blon estate, now a French heritage site. It is a vast, ancient building, including chapel, outbuildings, and park that date back to 1682. It was originally an Augustinian convent of the nuns of Vire in the 1700s. In the late 1700s it was confiscated and divided to be sold in parts. The main part was purchased and converted into a cloth factory by J B Moulin. Later in the early 1800s J B Tirel took over the factory. In the reverse scene we see J B Tirel's factory courtyard filled with workers and carts during the early Industrial Revolution era.

Size: Diameter 3 1/2 inch (9 cm) by Height 3/4 inch (1.8 cm)

Condition: Good and clean. It has a wonderful patina. It has very minor wear to the very edges.