Papers of State
A Victorian despatch box for an anniversary
The ask
Our third anniversary is in May, and the third is leather. My wife is a historian of nineteenth-century British government and drafts everything longhand. I'd like something old to keep her papers in, with a story she can look up. Around $4k.
The gift
A Victorian despatch box in black Morocco leather, made in London around 1850 to 1890 by a firm that supplied government offices, with its original lock and key. We choose one with its first owner's name tooled on the lid and trace who they were. A leather conservator cleans and feeds the hide. It arrives with the written history in the linen box with a wax-sealed card.
Why it's extraordinary
She spends her working life reading the papers of Victorian officials. This box was made to carry those papers, and its first owner is still named on the lid. Now it carries her drafts.
The moment
The drafts go into the box at night, and its key hangs on the ring with the house keys.
A curator replies within one business day.
