Featured little French (?) sewing box...

yes haha! I later realized the handle is actually carved wood, not metal. So a replacement, very likely

 

Very pretty box. It looks 19th century French to me too.

I cropped and tweaked it, but can't make out if it is French. It could be German. Maybe the maker came from Alsace?

 

Maybe it was written after the lining was removed? So probably the owner

 

We'll never know.

 

Agreed. Very useful picture that.

 

or before


What is a Palais Royal lining ? I keep seeing Palais Royal on american sites ....?????

 

It is a term associated with needlework boxes. Nothing to do with American sites specifically, more with needlework and beautiful boxes sites.

In the early 19th century there used to be high end shops around the courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris. These shops were famous for selling beautiful needlework boxes with gold and MOP sewing utensils. I guess the members of parliament and their spouses were the right market.
While these boxes weren't made at the palace, they were associated with the palace and the name stuck.

 

A bit late to the party but better late than never. Ok the link to the fitted sewing box and yours are bed fellows but the date of 1830 isn't right (I could be wrong), French is right (BTW lock well spotted) I would say 50 years newer than that, 1880s. The problem with fitted boxes is that unless they have their interior and tools it makes the box incomplete, collectors will steer clear of fitted boxes unless it's near complete, trying to find a few tools is hard enough but to find them all and do a new fitted tray is a tall order indeed. A Vanity set box, apothecary box, antique surgeons traveling box ect all have the same problem, the odd bottle missing or tool and it reduces the value by a huge amount. £30 for the box wasn't bad but it will always be half of a sewing box, I would remove the tray rests and line it with marbled paper then you just have a nice box. Boxes are one of those antiques that survive far longer than other antiques because they are useful and sturdy, this makes them so numerous you really need to find ones that are very rare and super well made for them to be worth collecting, I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made when I started. I have a whole cabinet of little (inexpensive) items that I wish I'd never bought. My view is if it can be made today then I don't want it, most of the boxes I own can't be reproduced because the skill needed doesn't exist anymore, once apron a time age was enough but even those are dropping in value because there is so much choice, on any week ebay alone has 1000's, its finding the one sleeper in the 10,000s.