Description

Georgian military campaign box in solid mahogany with screwed brass strapping and flush-fitting side-handles and side drawer. Solid & functional to the outside, the real interest in this box lies in its interior. It retains its original candle sconces, an always desirable feature; rarer still is the screw-down mechanism allowing the box to be fastened to the floor – when locked the box would then be totally secure – an extremely useful feature when travelling and one we believe was copied from the earlier coffres-forts (literally translated as strong box, or safe) which often have an identical mechanism.
Comes with interesting provenance. The box is engraved as follows: Assist’ Commissary Engelbach (Army Lieutenant). Believed to be a parting gift to this gentleman for his services to the Royal Army Service Corps in the mid to late 1800s.

The box comes with fully working locks and keys.

In the late 1700s, worldwide travel was not a simple affair. Travellers of all kinds, as well as Military staff needed compact & strong boxes, which could stand the test of long & arduous journeys. As a result, the Military, or Campaign box was created. The Captain’s, or Campaign Writing Box is much more mechanically complex and quite intriguing! These boxes are generally brass-bound, have secret drawers, candlesticks & a screw-down mechanism which comes out the bottom of the box and fixes it to a piece of furniture or ships deck, for security purposes but for particularly rough sea voyages. Boxes we come across of this style are rarely the same in terms of arrangement of secret compartments & drawers, adding to their character. Campaign & Military style Boxes were made and used well into the 19th century. Charles Dickens and Lord Byron were famous users of this type of Box.

In the early to mid 1800s letter writing became a hugely popular pass-time, especially amongst women – in particular, society ladies! This can be demonstrated by the smaller, lighter & more decorative styles made during this period. Features of these boxes include: the front cover of the box opens back to reveal a sloping surface for writing. This consists of a flap, under which paper can be stored. At the back is a section for inkwells and pens. Some of the most exquisite boxes date from this period.

The use of Lap Desks remained until late Victorian times when their popularity started to decrease, as they became more mass-produced & of lower quality.

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