A Victorian coromandel and brass bound gentleman's dressing box by George Betjemann & Sons

Retailed by Howell James & Co of Regent St, London

The hinged rectangular lid enclosing a blue velvet lined fitted interior, with silver fittings comprising seven cut glass bottles, two rectangular cut glass pots and a long tray, all with silver lids and seven manicure tools with mother of pearl handles and a pair of scissors, above a side drawer and a frieze drawer with push button releases, the lock signed 'G.BETJEMANN & SONS', the frieze drawer with brass plaque 'HOWELL.JAMES & CO, REGENT STREET.LONDON', the silver marked for George Betjemann & Sons, London, 1871, 31cm wide, 23cm deep, 20cm high.



George Betjemann (1798-1886) was the great grandfather of the Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984). George Betjemann was apprenticed to the dressing case maker Gilbert Slater in 1810 and established himself as a dressing case manufacturer, initially in Clerkenwell and later in the Pentonville Road, where they eventually employed 119 people.