According to motto "Perseverantia et Amicis" (Perseverance and Friends) with Bird (dove) holding olive-branch, this amazing, luxurious "necessaire" comes from family ofacknowledged London's Book Publisher John Fowler Dove (1787-1866) of St John's Square in Clerkenwell.
Being of impressive size: 37 x 28,5 x 19 cm (roughly 14,56 x 11,2 x 7,5 in) this magnificent casket incorporatesall possible features of its time reaching "state of the art" level for its time fashion boutiques. In general good condition, needs re-upholstery of internal compartments. I am not familiar with ladies tricks so please study pictures of interior and side drawer to find out what was the purpose of eachcompartment. I can see it is missing some boxes or some accessories, but hope that new owner agrees to adore exterior of this beautiful box first of all. Please study good resolution images for overall cosmetic condition. In person actual item may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Weight of app. 6,4 kg it is going to measure 8 kg packed for shipment (for my record).
As for the initial owners: John Fowler Dove was born 20th October 1787 and baptized on the 18th November of that year at the localchurch of St. Gregory at Sudbury, in Suffolk the son of Humphry Dove and hiswife Ruth Yardley. He was apprenticedinto the Stationers Company in 1803 and was active as a printer in Clerkenwellin his own right from at least as early as 1813, probably earlier. There he remained for the next twenty years, although he briefly had additional premises on Piccadilly either side of 1830. He worked extensively for John Murray and other publishers and is known especially for the classicaltexts he printed for Richard Priestley. That he was in quite a large way ofbusiness is attested in the reports of trial in 1826 of one of his formeremployees for stealing 130 lbs of type from the Clerkenwell premises, probably with the help of accomplices. It saysmuch for his humanity that on hearing that the culprit's wife had no money for food he went around in person to give her financial assistance. In or about 1833, whilestill in his forties, he retired to Suffolk with his wife, Elizabeth Dove / Debenham (Born in Depden on 22 Nov 1787 to Robert Debenham and Elizabeth Bigsby. passedaway on 12 Jul 1876 in Horringer, Suffolk, England), whom he had married in 1812. Whether it was a matter of family money or that he had made a handsome fortune from the "English Classics", heplainly had no need to work again. Hisonly further appearance in public life appears to have been the occasion on which he held an oak sapling for Queen Victoria to plant at Burghley in 1844 (Prince Albert planted a lime). Dove wasapparently staying at Burghley at the time. The Queen was charmed and asked for his address so that she could write to him. For the remainder of his life, he lived at a house or cottage called Hopleys at Horningsheath, with his wife, a cook, and a house maid. On the1851 census return he was recorded as having "no profession, but occupier of apark of fifty acres". He died on the 17th October 1866 and there is a memorialto him in St. Leonard's churchyard at Horringer. After his retirement fromthe book trade, "Dove's English Classics" were taken over by his successors, "Scott & Webster" ("Scott, Webster & Geary" from 1836) and some further titles were added.
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