Rare Antique Victorian 1882 Novelty Silver Tortoise Vesta Case by Thomas Johnson

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Rare Antique Victorian 1882 Novelty Silver Tortoise Vesta Case by Thomas Johnson:
$1875.78

Here for your consideration is an exquisite and extremely rare, antique Victorian, 1882, novelty silver vesta case of a tortoise, with gilt interior, front striker, hinged shell to side and made by Thomas Johnson II.

This is as good as it gets with regards to novelty vesta cases. There areplenty of vesta cases out there, but how manyof these have you seen. An extremely rare find indeed, I\'ve only got one, once it\'s gone .... it\'s gone. You\'ll probably never findanother one like this, and if there\'s one thing I\'ve learned about antiques, when items are of quality and extremelyrare he who hesitates usually loses out.

It features, delightful finely engraved silver and shell workmanship, bearing the TJ maker\'s mark in an oblong cartouche for Thomas Johnson II, lion passant, leopards head London assay mark, Queen Victoria duty mark, and date letter \'G\' in a shield cartouche for 1882.

A beautiful example of a novelty tortoise vesta case by one of the very best Victorian silversmiths. Considering this exquisite novelty silver and shell tortoise vesta case is 134 years old itsin very good condition. It does have some beautiful silver age related patination, commensurate with 134 years of age, nothing unusual.

Thomas Johnson II

First registered in January 1877 working from premises in Spencer Street,Clerkenwell. They specialised in boxes, table lighters, trays, walking canes and novelty vesta\'s.

Tortoises ...

The family Testudinidae, land-dwelling vertebrates in the order Testudines. Tortoises are shielded from predatorsby a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The carapace is fused to both the vertebrae and ribcage, and tortoises are unique among vertebratesin that the pectoraland pelvic girdlesare inside, rather than outside, the ribcage. Tortoises can vary in size from a few centimeters to two meters. They are usually diurnalanimals with tendencies to be crepusculardepending on the ambient temperatures. They are generally quite reclusiveanimals.

Dimensions as follows ...

Length: 3.1 inches or 7.8 cm

Width: 2.15 inches or 5.5 cm

Height: 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm

Weight: 2.5 oz or 73 grams

Thomas Johnson II noveltysilver vesta\'s,are highly collectable, and would add value to any silver collection. These delightful silver and shell novelty tortoise vesta cases have become so very collectable and are only going to appreciate in value, in years to come. A real must for any serious silver collector.

This stunning Victorian novelty tortoise vesta case would make an ideal gift.

The silver tortoise vesta case willbe sent out recorded, special delivery with insurance.

Please note, all my international postal charges are only estimates andwill be confirmed and altered upor down when I knowthe destination to where, items arebeing sent. Please also note I only charge actual costs of postage and packaging with insurance, no more.

Please feel free to look at my other items.