High Victorian Collectibles and Curiosities

This is a wide antique taxidermy dome. An English, glass over ebonised mahogany specimen or ornament showcase, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1870. Usefully broad in dia...

Victorian Taxidermy Diorama of Five Weasels in Diorama Case, circa 1880 This is a Victorian-era natural history taxidermy display case, most likely dating from the late 19th century...

Henry Troemner Apothecary Cast Iron & Metal Balance Scale #1—Circa 1890s This Henry Troemner balance scale #1 is a remarkable antique cast iron scale, likely manufactured between th...

Set of Six Double-Sided Victorian Tole Cartouche Panels by Whitelegg & Sons for Thomas Wombwell’s Menagerie (12 Paintings) Menagerie Signs – for TW Monogram for the Whitelegg & Sons...

Pair of Rare Life-Sized Pilz Anatomical Flap Manikins, Germany, c. 1890 Imported by American Thermo-Ware Co., New York An extraordinary and exceedingly rare pair of life-sized anat...

This is a wide antique clock dome. An English, glass over ebonised pine display showcase, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1860. Superb size, ideal for a larger mantel clo...

Russian Silver and Enamel "Mizpah" Sentimental Brooch, Judaica Interest, Circa 1880, Unmarked. Museum Quality. 340 Grams of Silver A finely crafted Victorian-era silver brooch, deli...

Victorian Wax Flower Still Life Basket Under Round Glass Dome I USA, Circa 1880 A glimpse of the opulent world of the 19th century with this captivating...

Staffordshire portrait figure of standing Franklin, Circa 1850 Depicting Ben Franklin before a tree-stump, holding a tricorne hat against his left hip, a document in his right hand,...

American Civil War Era brass bodied bloodletting fleam, phlebetome or scarificator. The fleam, which has many other spellings such as phleam, flew or fleame, is a very distinct surgi...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning Victorian circa 1880 ladies Shargeen & Silver powder compact with lipstick...

PRESENTING an EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Hair Pin/Bobbin or Slide. This slide is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before, it is a VERY RARE survivor. From circa 1860 – 80 and made in Tunbridge Wells, England. Made of walnut with gorgeous marquetry inlay on the entirety of the front with classic Tunbridgeware micro-mosaic all over the front. The rear is walnut. The marquetry inlay appears to be various different woods, namely, maple, walnut and satinwood. Would have been worn in a Lady’s hair bun with the micro-mosaic facing forward. This would have belonged to a VERY ELEGANT LADY in the mid to late 19th Century. Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different coloured woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion. There is a collection of Tunbridge ware in the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery in Tunbridge Wells. The famous makers of Tunbridge ware were in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent; their most notable work was from circa 1830-1900. Early makers of Tunbridge ware, in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-18th century, were the Burrows family, and Fenner and Co. In the 19th century, around 1830, James Burrows invented a technique of creating mosaics from wooden tesserae. Henry Hollamby, apprenticed to the Burrows family, set up on his own in 1842 and became an important manufacturer of Tunbridge ware, employing about 40 people. Edmund Nye (1797–1863) and his father took over the Fenner company when William Fenner retired in 1840, after 30 years in partnership with him. Thomas Barton (1819–1903), previously apprenticed at the Wise factory, joined the Nyes in 1836, and worked as Nye’s designer; he took over the business in 1863 and continued there until his death. In Tonbridge (near to Tunbridge Wells), George Wise (1703–1779) is known to have had a business in 1746. It continued with his son Thomas, and Thomas’s nephew George (1779–1869), who took over in 1806. In its early years the company made articles such as workboxes and tea caddies with prints of popular views; later items had pictures created from mosaics. Their workshop in Tonbridge, Wise’s Tunbridge Ware Manufactory, was next to the Big Bridge over the Medway; the building was demolished in 1886 to widen the approach to the bridge. Tunbridge ware became popular with visitors to the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, who bought them as souvenirs and gifts. Articles included cribbage boards, paperweights, writing slopes, snuffboxes and glove boxes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Tunbridge ware by Edmund Nye, Robert Russell and Henry Hollamby was shown; Edmund Nye received a commendation from the judges for his work. He exhibited a table depicting a mosaic of a ship at sea; 110,800 tesserae were used in making the picture. The manufacturers of Tunbridge ware were cottage industries, and they were no more than nine in Tunbridge Wells and one in Tonbridge. The number declined in the 1880s; competent craftsmen were hard to find, and public tastes changed. After the death of Thomas Barton in 1903 the only surviving firm was Boyce, Brown and Kemp, which closed in 1927. Marquetry was an old technique which was continued by Nye and Barton to create images such as birds or butterflies. ‘Green Oak’ as caused by the fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. Stickware and half-square mosaic was invented by James Burrows in about 1830: a bunch of wooden sticks of different colours, each having triangular or diamond-shaped cross section, were tightly glued together; in the case of stickware, the resulting block was dried, then turned to form an article such as the base of a pincushion. For half-square mosaic, thin slices were taken from the composite block, and applied to a surface. Tesselated mosaic, was a development by James Burrows of half-square mosaic; it was adopted by George Wise and Edmund Nye. Minute tesserae were used to form a wide variety of geometric and pictorial designs. Many sorts of wood were used for the various colours; about 40 were in regular use. Only natural colors were used; green was provided by “green oak”, produced by the action of fungus on fallen oak. Designs for articles were often taken from designs of Berlin wool work.

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning, extra large weighted, Antique Victorian Staunton pattern chess set in the original...

Pair of 19th Century Scottish Monogrammed Hardwood Lawn Balls  A pair of 19th-century Scottish monogrammed hardwood lawn balls. Each ball, measuring 5 inches in diameter, is crafted...

French Bronze Billiard Ball Corner Pocket A delightful piece in naturally aged Bronze, the pocket is decorated with the hand of a baby or young child, the catching tray is weighted ...

This unique book is very rare and terrific edition which goes back to late 19th century, approximately 1870-1875. This is one of two volumes of Complete Works of W. Shakespeare. This...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning Victorian circa 1880 Shargeen & Silver Vesta case for matches A very good looking,...

Civil War portrait, union solider in landscape in 'Union' Gutta Percha case Rare and unusual, the Ambrotype of a Union solider, in full uniform, with sword, standing next to a cannon and house. Encased in ornate Gutta Percha Case with Union Flags...

Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments,  According to the Authorized Versions. With an Introduction: Marginal References and Readings;  Explanatory Notes and Reflections. By the Rev. John Brown, of Haddington. And Many Thousand Additional Notes by the Rev. Henry Cooke, D.D., LL.D., President, Assembly’s College, Belfast. Re-Edited, with Considerable Additions by the Rev. J. L. Porter, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Biblical Criticism, Assembly’s College, Belfast. Illustrated by Historical Designs and Scenes from Bible Lands. London: The Gresham Publishing Company, circa 1880s. Large quarto, with original full leather carved and gilt tooled boards, all edges gilt, and metal clasps. Presented with a custom-made archival clamshell box with gilt tooling. Presented is a beautifully restored and exquisitely bound Brown’s Self-Interpreting Family Bible. Brown’s Self-Interpreting Family Bible was first published in 1778 in two volumes in Edinburgh. The Self-Interpreting Bible was Reverend Brown's most significant work and it remained in print well into the twentieth century. Although undated, this family bible was published by The Gresham Publishing Company, in London, circa 1880. Reverend John Brown (1722-1787) was a Scottish Minister of the Gospel at Haddington. He wrote numerous works on the bible, including The Dictionary of the Bible, A General History of the Christian Church, and Brown’s Self-Interpreting Family Bible, as seen here. The design of the Self-Interpreting Bible, Brown explained in the original preface, was “to present the labours of the best commentators in a manner that might best comport with the ability and leisure of the poorer and labouring part of mankind, and especially to render the oracles of God their own interpreter.” Thus, the work contains a thorough history, chronology, geography, and summary, as well as explanatory notes and reflections, on the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. As this was printed as a “self-interpreting” bible, many of these notes occur in the margins, next to the pertaining scripture. This bible is further elucidated by upwards of eight thousand explanatory and critical notes by the Reverend Henry Cooke, D.D., LL.D., a minister of the Presbyterian Church and President of Assembly’s College in Belfast. It was further edited and notated by Reverend J. L. Porter, D.D., LL.D., a Professor of Biblical Criticism at Assembly’s College in Belfast. A publisher’s advertisement for Brown’s Self-Interpreting Family Bible was printed in the January-July 1880 issue of The American Bookseller journal. The advertisement claims, “Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible is widely and most favorably known on both sides of the Atlantic. It is pre-eminently A Family Bible, suitable alike for all the members of the household and particularly Helpful in explaining difficult passages, and admirably adapted to promote a Devotional spirit. Also, its unusually Clear Type makes it an excellent Book for Pulpit use...

Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi. With over 300 illustrations. London: Chatto & Windus, 1883. First UK Edition. 8vo. Original red pictorial cloth boards, embossed in black and le...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely Antique Victorian Circa 1880 Mahogany Revolving Snooker cue stand with 18 cues some stamped Sir ...

This antique mechanical toy is unsigned, but presumed to have been made in Europe, possibly England or Austria in approximately 1880 and done in...

No chips or cracks to the Stoneware tray. Heavy item about 60 lbs. Seems to be working, but you will need counterweights to use it, that will go on the metal tray. Ironstone stone...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this lovely vintage Burr Walnut Chessboard with velvet lined drawers and vintage large sized Staunton Chess ...

Dating to the Victorian Era, a pair of dark brown leather woman’s tall lace up boots, attributed to Utz & Dunn, boot makers based in Rochester, New York, circa 1890-1900. Utz and D...

We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning original Victorian Antique Jaques of London faux leather folding book chessboard with the original Staunton Chess set dating to circa 1880, a travel chess set in the form of checkers pieces and lastly a Jacques of London Rosewood Chess clock...

We are delighted to offer for sale this original Victorian games compendium with a complete suite of games. This is a very well made and ...

Victorian Wax Flower Basket Still Life Under Oval Glass Dome II USA, Circa 1880 An exquisite testament to Victorian artistry: a stunning wax flower ...

Hallmarked Silver 1886 From our Boxes collection, we are pleased to offer this Coromandel Silver Mounted Cigar Box. The Cigar Box of rectangular shape beautifully veneered in exotic...

A large and impressive Jesus College, Cambridge University Rowing Presentation salt glazed pottery tyg by Brampton dated 1869. The large stoneware tyg is of cylindrical shape standin...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this super rare and highly collectable, totally original John Roby LTD Rainhill stamped ships porthole windo...

This antique mechanical toy is unsigned, but presumed to have been made in Europe, possibly England or Austria in approximately 1880 and done in...

This antique mechanical toy is unsigned, but presumed to have been made in Europe, possibly England or Austria in approximately 1880 and done in...

Guido Cacciapuoti bronze horses couples 1940 Italy.

A Victorian 1800's cut glass white metal mounted hunting flask, of faceted cylindrical form with screw lid, together with a matching cup, 7cm high, con...

We are delighted to offer for sale this very nice suite of antique military officer Royal Horse Artillery (1 Cannon - 1873-1901) 18mm ball button with Queen Victoria's Crown brass Mi...