Tunbridgeware Writing Slope

A beautiful rosewood writing slope of delicate proportions, with a waisted shape to the side, and a working original lock and two keys. Inside. the lid is the original tooled felt, and on the other side is a stickware top to the inkpot and tesserae lift cover to the pen bits tray. Under the latter lid is a label: “W Childs, fancy depositor, 51 King’s Road, corner of Middle Street, Brighton”. The first layer lifts off (lacking two dividers) to reveal pen tray and letter compartment, all in original papers. A rare reproduction in tessellated mosaic of a boy (probably Edward, Prince of Wales) wearing a kilt and holding a parrot in one hand and a dog in the other. C1850. The outer banding has a geometrical leaf banding. The piece is after 1844 when the shop was renumbered, and before 1873 when it was sold. It is likely they never made the Tunbridgeware they sold. (See page 76 “Tunbrdgeware” B Austen), and the design itself was designed by James Burrows.