1914 Princess Mary's Gift Tin box with original poem about the Battle of the Falkland Islands.

The embossed metal box painted with a gold wash, 1.25"h x 5"w x 3.375"d.

The creation of Princess Mary's Gift Box was funded through a trust set up by Princess Mary to which the British populace also donated to send these tin boxes filled with cigarettes, chocolate, stationary and the like. It was Queen Mary's desire that "every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front" should receive one and special concessions were made to the contents to appease personal and regional tastes.

The box also includes a three-page hand-written poem written in commemoration of the Falkland War, titled, 'The Battle of the Falkland Islands. A Fragment' While it appears to be unpublished it opens relying heavily on words from Charles Kingsley's poem, "The Last Buccaneer".

In the words of Kingsley, "The winds were yelling, the waves were swelling, The sky was black and drear, When the crew with eyes of flame brought the ship without a name, Alongside the last Buccaneer.

In this example, "The wind was yelling, the seas were swelling, The sky was drear and grey, When the crew with eyes aflame brought the ship that held -illegible- from the fight for King and Country"

The poem goes on to mention in prose, the actions of the Cammaron, the Boswell and the battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible.

Signed possibly T. Munroe.

PROVENANCE:

Directly from a second generation collection and estate inventory of distinguished world-wide collectors, travelers and esteemed New England Antique Dealers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.