Snuff box with secret closure

October 2023

A hold-off lock on a snuffbox was more common in the nineteenth century. If you were careless and left the snuff box unattended, the illusion remained that no one knew how to open it. But this snuffbox is not as well secured as it seems, the secret lock being more of a curiosity than of any real effectiveness. Once you knew the system, opening the box was no longer a secret. Do not pull the lid, but turn it slightly sideways so that the second and real lid can be pushed back and the precious contents become available. A shoe as a snuff box was a popular theme in the nineteenth century. Countless shapes of shoes and also wooden shoes such as here we come across as a snuffbox. Whether there is a deeper meaning behind it, we do not know. Two things stand out about this snuffbox. The first is the special shape: the clog has been stylized to the utmost and has therefore acquired a very tough and cubic appearance with its large curl at the front. In addition, we see a beautiful mahogany that has been polished so perfectly that it still has its shine after a century and a half. A special element in this box is the way in which the pivot, which allows both lids to move freely, is camouflaged by a square insert in contrasting dark wood. That seems to be the personal addition of the maker of this snuffbox.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 24.685

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