A rare Victorian oak letter post box, c.1871 -1880, with makers…
click the photo to enlarge
A rare Victorian oak letter post box, c.1871 -1880, with makers stamp by Halstaff & Hannaford 228 Regent St London. Domed crystal top with John Wilder (1801-1892), armorial coat of arms. The central box has a lockable letter chamber with lower stamp drawer with brass match striker. The front of the door retains the original postage, rates label which was introduced in 1871. Height 45 cm. Note: post boxes like these were manufactured for important private homes, private clubs and hotels, from the Victorian era dating around 1870

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Armorial / Armourial - Bearing a coat of arms. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in in the 12th century, and by the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the higher social classes of Europe. They were inherited from one generation to the next. When a family crest is used on individual items of silver or furniture it is an indicator of the aristocratic standing of the family represented.

    Armorials were also used to decorate mass produced ceramic souvenir ware by such companies as Goss, Carlton & Shelley, and in these cases the coats of arms displayed were of boroughs and cities.
  • Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.

    Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,

    Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.

    Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
  • Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.

    The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

Australian school, early 20th century. A blackwood pedestal, hexagonal, carved to the top and upper body with gum nut and leaf friezes, plinth base, 123.5 cm high

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A Georgian long case oak clock, late 18th century, with 30 hour movement, date dial and hourly bell striker. Dial signed 'Phillips Tenbury'. Height 211 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A substantial carved blackwood and walnut pedestal, 19th century, 123 cm high

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

An octagonal pedestal, Tasmanian blackwood, 19th century, 97 cm high, 50 cm across

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.