19th Century Gilt Tooled Leather Stationery Box by Dreyfous

This is a gilt tooled leather stationery box by the renown French maker Dreyfous. 

Dreyfous was a retailer of antique furniture and objets d'art in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Although French by birth, Dreyfous predominantly resided in London where he traded from various premises in the Mayfair area. Aside from his main shop in London, Dreyfous also owned establishments in both Paris and New York. Queen Alexandra of England and Queen Mary of England were both frequent customers of Dreyfous, purchasing a range of works. Aside from his main shop in London, Dreyfous also held premises in Paris and New York.

The craftsmanship on the box is lovely. The dark brown leather wraps around the stationery box with floral and organic designs around the edges in gilt. The locking mechanism works and requires no key. The interior is lined with an Italian paper, original to the box. There is some leather missing around the bottom as is expected with the age of this piece. The leather on the back of the box has been exposed to sun and has some cracking. The hinges on the lid are in good working order and the piece is in a good enough state to be able to continue to function as a stationery box.

This is a lovely piece for a study, office or library.

Size:
Width: 26 cm
Depth: 12 cm
Height: 22.5 cm