By Bardies-Faure of Paris, is it a letter holder?

[Sebastian]

Does someone know what this is please? It consists of two identical pieces of card 13 x 9 cm, covered with silk on one side and mounted with silver on the other. There are remains of red ribbon stuck behind the card which probably first held the two halves together. There is no sign of a hinge having been fitted. The silver is marked French 0.800. The maker's mark is for Bardies Faure et Cie of Paris, first registered in 1918. On one of the halves there is an applied decoration, a monogram perhaps.

[zongo]

Only a guess here sorry.

I am thinking it is a flower press to give as a gift. Sorry I can't give a definate answer.
Dan

[MCB]

Hello Sebastian,

Could the same red silk have originally joined the two pieces to form the front and back of a small book where the spine has perished and been cut out along with the contents? In the past examples have turned up looking like this which were said to have been the covers of prayer books.

Mike

[dognose]

I wonder if this may be the remains of an up-market version of the tradesmans note case?





They were used as a popular way of holding larger quantities of banknotes.

Trev.

[Sebastian]

Thanks to everybody for your help with this one. I think I'll go for Trev's idea of a tradesman's notecase, as the pattern of the traces of the ribbon on the back of the two pieces of card are exactly what you'd expect from the picture he shows. Two slanting and two straight on each, as if on the front they were crossed on one side and parallel on the other. The ribbon must have have elasticated to hold the banknotes firmly.

[MCB]

Hello Sebastian & Trev,

Sorry to mention it chaps but modern UK £5 £10 and £20 notes (my funds don't stretch to a £50 note!) are longer than 13cm. Admittedly they are all less than 9cm wide but it doesn't seem right to put them in a cover just for the ends to stick out.

Although not knowing the size of notes when these silver covers were made nor indeed the size of old French papier monnaie my recollection is that old notes were even larger than the modern ones; for example the old white fiver was or so I'm told !

Regards,
Mike

[dognose]

Hi,

Yes, perhaps the silver cased ones were for calling cards etc.

A couple of images of an English example for comparison.





This one is 87 X 46mm assayed at London in 1916 (Cohen & Charles?)

Trev.

[dognose]

Lawrence & Jellicoe Ltd. - London - 1915

Trev.