A large collection of thirty silver cigarette and card cases Russian and Continental, various makers, various dates ranging from the late 19th / early 20th century

All variously decorated, some bearing repoussé or applied details and some with gem-set clasps, and others with inscriptions; comprising eighteen Russian silver cigarette or card cases by various makers, with unattributed marks and other marks possibly attributed to the following: Alexey V. Stepanov, Assaymaster Ivan Efimovich Konstantinov, Moscow; Alexsandr Karpov, St. Petersburg, 1908; Fyodor Ivanov, Assaymaster possibly Ivan Sergeyevich Lebedkin, Moscow, 1898-1908; Ivan Petrovich Speshnev, Moscow, 1894; and Nichols & Plinke, St. Petersburg, circa 1890s; and twelve Continental silver cigarette or card cases by various makers including the following: two by Louis Kuppenheim, Pforzheim, Germany, early 20th century; two French silver examples, one with St. Petersburg import mark and assaymaster mark for Dmitry Ilyich Tverskoy; an Austrian engine-turned case hallmarked for Vienna, circa 1922, unidentified maker; and other German or Austrian examples bearing .800, .875, or .900 standard marks; sold together with a Russian silver pocket watch and a silver pill box, Austrian, maker, "JR," inscribed and dated, "Ostern 1933"; most items marked. (32 items total).

(4 7/8 in. x 3 1/8 in., Total weight: 131.28 oz. t. (weighable silver))

Provenance

Property of a Philadelphia collector.

generally with some occasional scratches, dings, minor dents, or persistent tarnish commensurate with age and use, with some pieces having more than others; the niello type pieces with some rubbing and occasional loss; the pocket watch with considerable rubbing and broken hinge, the lids and glass can come loose; the pill box with some denting