Cigarette box

This cigarette box would have been an elegant container for quantities of loose cigarettes. It has a silver finial on the lid, silver mounts and a walnut core covered in shagreen (treated sharkskin). Shagreen was traditionally used to cover a vast variety of containers. These ranged from boxes to tea caddies, knife boxes, canteens, small pocket or presentation cases and spectacle cases. John Paul Cooper (1869-1933), who made this box, was largely responsible for reviving its use.

Cigarette box · London · 1928. Silver mounts, shagreen and walnut core, with silver finial. By Cooper, John Paul. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.