Fabric-lined jewelry boxes hold rich history
Q. These appear to be old jewelry boxes. Both are lined with cloth that shows quite a bit of wear. The black one has "336" on the bottom. It is soft metal, probably pewter. The other piece is made of some kind of fine pottery. Printed on the bottom is "Have Crest." Any information on these items and their values would be appreciated.A. These two pieces are indeed jewelry boxes or jewelry containers. The "black one" is just that - a small decorative box intended to hold jewelry on top of milady's dresser. Objects similar to the second piece were used as pin trays, ashtrays or "jewel trays." But since this piece has a textile lining (probably satin), it was certainly not an ashtray or a pin tray (the pins would have snagged in the fabric and been difficult to retrieve). It is a small, open jewel tray.The two fancy handles suggest that it never had a lid and was designed to be a luxurious container in which the lady of the house placed her rings or other small jewelry items before going to bed. The idea: She would put on her baubles in the morning so there was no need to store them away in a box.While the jewel tray was simply a pretty receptacle for short-term usage, the 5-inch-wide metal box was typically used for more long-term storage, allowing the lady of the house to choose her adornment before she attended a special occasion.The metal box was probably once silver-plated, and it was likely made from Britannia metal, a type of pewter commonly used for silver-plating in the middle to late 19th century and beyond. Britannia consists of tin hardened with copper and antimony, and it differs from pewter only in the circumstance that Britannia has more tin in its composition than most pewter formulas.We are not surprised that this metal piece is not signed, and we will never know who actually manufactured it. But the style of the box is Art Nouveau, which probably means that it was made sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century - say, circa 1900.The jewel tray, on the other hand, is not made from fine pottery but crafted from glass with gilded brass or bronze mountings. The white glass is called opal glass, and it is signed "Wave Crest," not "Have Crest."This product came from the C.F. Monroe Company of Meriden, Conn., primarily a glass-decorating firm. It bought "blanks" (undecorated pieces of glass) from a number of companies in this country and abroad, including the Mount Washington Glass Company (Pairpoint Corp.) of New Bedford, Mass.C.F. Monroe started producing Wave Crest in 1892 and continued production until the company closed in 1916. Monroe made two similar lines signed Kelva and Nakara, which, like Wave Crest, are highly desired by collectors.The range of Wave Crest wares is enormous, everything from vases to whisk-broom holders, bill spindles and rocker blotters. Most pieces were hand-painted, but transfer-printed decorations were used as well. The decoration on this piece appears to be handcrafted, but it is floral, a fairly common design. Collectors tend to prefer more rare scenic designs or portraits.The insurance-replacement value of this Wave Crest jewel tray is between $100 and $125. The metal box is a bit less, at $75 to $95.bull;Contact Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927 or via e-mail them at treasures@knology.net.