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Antique Campaign/Captain portable writing desk - help!
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<p>[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 1769353, member: 360"]I have seen writing cases and campaign desks which did come with square/rectangular-based stands, but that's not what I'm seeing here. A friend of mine had one for sale...for some obscene amount of money, once. I'd like to say I bought it off of him, but...oy, the price!! </p><p><br /></p><p>I'd say something like this is mid-Victorian. 1850s to 1870s. </p><p><br /></p><p>There's only two places named "VICTORIA" that I know of. Victoria, the state in Australia (where I live), and the city of Victoria, BC, in Canada. The STATE of Victoria did not exist until 1851, so if it's referring to the state, then you'll know that it's from at least 1852. If it's referencing the city, then I think 1862. </p><p><br /></p><p>Writing cases like this would've been common on merchant ships or navy ships back in the day, because there just wasn't the space to have a whole desk on board, and personal space was very limited, even for the officers. </p><p><br /></p><p>That said, this would've been very expensive, a fully-fitted box like this, with the inkwells, the striker, blotting-paper, and the accessories all set out in ivory (as they would've been back then). This is basically your Victorian-era laptop computer, so think of how much a good laptop costs these days, and you'll get an idea of what someone had to shell out, ca. 1860-odd, to buy one of these. </p><p><br /></p><p>The quill-box is most likely a matchbox. They were often sold as sets, with inkwells. You take out the matches and strike them against the abrasive paper to light them. This would've been to light your candle, your oil-lamp, or to melt your stick of sealing wax. </p><p><br /></p><p>Boxes like these had to be self-contained. Once you packed it up, you were off for weeks or months at a time, so they had to carry everything you might possibly need for correspondence or work. Where you're going, you may not be able to get - notepaper, blotting-paper, ink, spare pens or nibs, pencils, a pocketknife, matches, etc. So it all had to be brought with you. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have seen these flat "briefcase-style" writing cases before, but not many. In all my years of collecting them, I've come across...2 or 3? They're definitely out there, but they don't seem to have been very common.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 1769353, member: 360"]I have seen writing cases and campaign desks which did come with square/rectangular-based stands, but that's not what I'm seeing here. A friend of mine had one for sale...for some obscene amount of money, once. I'd like to say I bought it off of him, but...oy, the price!! I'd say something like this is mid-Victorian. 1850s to 1870s. There's only two places named "VICTORIA" that I know of. Victoria, the state in Australia (where I live), and the city of Victoria, BC, in Canada. The STATE of Victoria did not exist until 1851, so if it's referring to the state, then you'll know that it's from at least 1852. If it's referencing the city, then I think 1862. Writing cases like this would've been common on merchant ships or navy ships back in the day, because there just wasn't the space to have a whole desk on board, and personal space was very limited, even for the officers. That said, this would've been very expensive, a fully-fitted box like this, with the inkwells, the striker, blotting-paper, and the accessories all set out in ivory (as they would've been back then). This is basically your Victorian-era laptop computer, so think of how much a good laptop costs these days, and you'll get an idea of what someone had to shell out, ca. 1860-odd, to buy one of these. The quill-box is most likely a matchbox. They were often sold as sets, with inkwells. You take out the matches and strike them against the abrasive paper to light them. This would've been to light your candle, your oil-lamp, or to melt your stick of sealing wax. Boxes like these had to be self-contained. Once you packed it up, you were off for weeks or months at a time, so they had to carry everything you might possibly need for correspondence or work. Where you're going, you may not be able to get - notepaper, blotting-paper, ink, spare pens or nibs, pencils, a pocketknife, matches, etc. So it all had to be brought with you. I have seen these flat "briefcase-style" writing cases before, but not many. In all my years of collecting them, I've come across...2 or 3? They're definitely out there, but they don't seem to have been very common.[/QUOTE]
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Antique Campaign/Captain portable writing desk - help!
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