A PROBABLY UNIQUE WILLIAM IV OAK 'OLD LONDON BRIDGE' SNUFF BOX C.1836 the pull-off lid relief...

A PROBABLY UNIQUE WILLIAM IV OAK 'OLD LONDON BRIDGE' SNUFF BOX

C.1836

the pull-off lid relief carved with a portrait bust and inscribed 'John Hampden, Libertatis Vinder', within an oak leaf and acorn wreath, the interior with silver mounts, the main band inscribed 'This box formed from one of the Piles of Old London Bridge (founded in 1176) was Designed by & Carved for RD Hollier Greenwich by John Kelly 1836', with hallmarks for Edward Edwards, London 1836

10.6cm diameter

Provenance

'A Lifetime of Collecting' - The Property of a Gentleman.

Catalogue Note

Richard Hollier Esq. is known to have lived in Maize Place, Greenwich and he was a member of the Numismatic Society of London in 1840.

John Hampden (15951643) was an English parliamentary leader famous for his opposition to King Charles I over taxes which led to the English Civil War. He was a cousin to Oliver Cromwell and served as a colonel in the Battle of Edgehill. He was mortally wounded in a skirmish with Royalists at Chalgrove Field.