A Victorian silver presentation cheroot case

A Victorian silver presentation cheroot case,

by Cronin & Wheeler & Co, Birmingham 1850,

with a relief depiction of the Crystal Palace within a scrolling foliate border, the reverse with a central scroll cartouche with a presentation inscription: 'Presented to T C Mills Esq by the Gentlemen connected with the L & NW Railway, 1851', on a ground of scrolling foliage, in a fitted leather case, length 12cm, approx. weight 3.6oz.

Provenance: Fine Silver and Vertu, Bonhams, New Bond Street, 3 November 2010, lot 16.

Bonhams footnote: 'T C Mills was the London Freight Manager of the London & North West Railway Company and, as such, he was responsible for the logistics of moving the 1.5 million square feet of glass and many thousands of tons of ironwork for the construction of the Crystal Palace from the Midlands to the site in Hyde Park.

The Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton, formerly head gardener at Chatsworth House, where he had experimented with glass and iron in the creation of large greenhouses. The project was engineered by William Cubitt and the steel was supplied by Charles Fox. Due to its innovative modular design and construction techniques, the building was ready in nine months and all three were knighted for the success of the project.

Fox was an engineer who had been involved in innovative steel construction since 1837 when Robert Stephenson appointed him as one of the engineers on the London and Birmingham Railway, later part of the London and North West. During the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.'