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Message:: [QUOTE="TWG, post: 11808174, member: 88674"]Well all, here's an update on the box: Finding only 3 contacts in the AIC database within a 200 mile radius of me, I tried contacting each; 1 did not respond, 1 couldn't help for medical reasons, the 3rd couldn't help but pointed me to another, who turned out to be one of the handful of master boulle workers in the US. Drove 3 hours up and back to meet with him for about 2 1/2 hours - 80 years old, an absolute fountain of knowledge and history, been in the conservation business 50 years, learned his craft at the famous Ecole Boulle in Paris and at the Smithsonian Institute, still does lots of contract work for museums around the country and has restored some writing slopes in the past. He stated this box is the finest he's seen, that the boulle work is exquisite, the boulle inlay could be ebony but could also be black tortoise shell, the box is rosewood over most likely Cuban mahogany, ... and many other things. Bottom line estimate (after a lot of discussion and consideration) for the brass restoration only, was $2500, using his own boulle chevalet that he built 20 years ago. That's clearly on the high end of what I was thinking - but we both understood that it would be an investment. Having this man's name associated with the restoration work I think could also increase its value - but we both came away to think things over more. Thoughts anyone?[/QUOTE]