A very rare George III Dual Compartment Snuff Box made in London circa 1777 by William Lestourgeon.
A very rare George III Dual Compartment Snuff Box made in London circa 1777 by William Lestourgeon.
375412
This very unusual Snuff Box is plain in design and broad rectangular in form. The slightly domed hinged cover has a reeded border and serpentine shaped thumb piece. The cover is finely engraved with a shield shaped Armorial, with Crest above, and a drapery banner engraved with the Motto “Semper Vigilans”, also above in the Scottish manner. The Armorial displays a crossed branch and bluebell garland cartouche. The base is engraved with “Wilsone Glasgow” in Georgian script lettering. The crest is a Talbot's head beneath SEMPER VIGILANS which is for Wilsone. The arms were registered in 1777.
Wilsone of Glasgow. There was William Browne, a merchant, who married a Jane Wilsone who was the daughter of a Glasgow surgeon who had been Jacobites. The surgeon seems to have been Dr. Charles Wilsone (1747-1820) who married Jean Dickson (1762-1800) in 1788. He is listed at several addresses in Glasgow. Charles Wilsone was a founding board member of Glasgow Royal Infirmary and a leading light in the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons. His father had been a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh but was unemployable due to his Jacobitism and so became factor to his wife's cousin at Murrayshall. Charles was one of 13 children and, as the law and the military were banned for suspected Jacobites, chose medicine.
The box is most unusual, as it has an interior division and two hinged covers in sizes, for two different types of snuff. As you will appreciate, this is a most rare feature, very seldom seen. The box is in quite excellent condition and is marked in the base and on the underside of the cover with a crisp maker’s mark. William Lestougeon made very fine boxes, often of innovative design. He had a distinctive maker’s mark of WL with a fish (sturgeon) above. The box is of the finest quality in terms of design and production and is of a very good weight. It is in exceptional condition.
Length: 3 inches, 7.5 cm.
Width: 1.45 inches, 3.63 cm.
Height: 1.1 inches, 2.75 cm.
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 who married Jean Dickson (1762-1800) in 1788. He is listed at several addresses in Glasgow. Charles Wilsone was a founding board member of Glasgow Royal Infirmary and a leading light in the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons. His father had been a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh but was unemployable due to his Jacobitism and so became factor to his wife's cousin at Murrayshall. Charles was one of 13 children and, as the law and the military were banned for suspected Jacobites, chose medicine. The box is most unusual, as it has an interior division and two hinged covers in sizes, for two different types of snuff. As you will appreciate, this is a most rare feature, very seldom seen. The box is in quite excellent condition and is marked in the base and on the underside of the cover with a crisp maker’s mark. William Lestougeon made very fine boxes, often of innovative design. He had a distinctive maker’s mark of WL with a fish (sturgeon) above. The box is of the finest quality in terms of design and production and is of a very good weight. It is in exceptional condition.Length: 3 inches, 7.5 cm.Width: 1.45 inches, 3.63 cm.Height: 1.1 inches, 2.75 cm.){kind=link}