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Hi,

Some seven years ago we thought this French snuff box to be made by Pierre Galli who was in operation between 1893 and 1909. His workshop was located 45 rue de Turbigo in Paris. Today I have a far better camera and some doubts about the maker’s mark. The box has the French Minerva head with a countermark on the opposite side to the hallmark (Bygones/Beak-irons) for Paris 800 fineness; indicating that the box had been assayed by cupellation. The maker’s mark PAG but is there a rooster in the lozenge?




I look forward to your comments.

Oel

Hello,
It is not a rooster but a hen (chicken).
The chicken mark was used before by Galli & Chambin (1887-1893).

Hello Zilver2

Thanks, perhaps not a chicken but a turkey. If I understand you PAG stands for; Galli & Chambin and this Galli has nothing to do with Pierre Galli?
Best,

Oel.

All I know is ``coq au vin`` But who knows; poule au vin, dinde au vin sounds good,too.

It’s not a fowl at all, but a bonnet: “un chapeau de femme”. The maker is Pierre-Adrien Guichard, a Parisian specialist snuffbox maker. He registered three marks at two addresses:

1) APG, with a bonnet; 27 rue aux Aurs; registered 9/10 May 1838; cancelled 2 Jul 1851
2) & 3) APG, with a bonnet; also, GUICHARD, with a bonnet; 12 rue Grenier St. Lazare; registered 4 Jul 1851; cancelled 24 Mar 1860 (out of business).

So it's somewhat older than you suppose: Louis-Philippe or Second Empire, made between 1838 and 1860.

Hope this helps!

Ref: Catherine Arminjon, James Beaupuis, Michèle Bilimof, Dictionnaire des poinçons de fabricants d'ouvrages d'or et d'argent, v. I: 1798 — 1838 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1991), p. 77, mark 384, & v. II: 1838 — 1875 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1994), p. 196, mark 2049. [NB: Yours is mark #384 from the first volume.]

Hello Blakstone,
Again my gratitude for the excellent information! And I do recognize;




Best,

Oel