Featured Hi all! I have this Ivory OR whalebone, whatever one wants to call it....

Needle case.....never were any needles in it when Mom acquired it, probably because the cover that screws on the bottom end was not there! HOWEVER, what IS most cool about it, is that on the top end, and I've seen such before, is a tiny viewing hole with a magnifying glass in it.....on one side is somehow pasted on.... an even tinier side by side image of "Mr. President Cleveland and Mrs. President Cleveland".....(that's what it says) how they manage to do this, I have no idea.....but my MAIN QUESTION is, HOW do I preserve it.....I had a different one and one day the 'picture' had just plain disappeared....maybe gotten wet or something, but I don't want to lose this one even though the case is incomplete.....I've been keeping it wrapped in acid-free tissue paper.....is there anything else I can do, or is it just going to be "lost to the ages", as well someday, through no-one's fault???? Thanks for any suggestions or help!! (you can just see the little dot of the image on the glass! Approximate height of the needle case is 4")

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you're doing the best u can.....

a sealed glass or acrylic case....if u wanted to display it out of the sunlight...

 

Love it!
https://www.google.com/search?q=ivo...j0i22i30l2.29891j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

I was going to say 'stanhope', but see Roaring got there with the link.

Definitely looks like elephant ivory.

As for preservation of the picture inside, suspect that depends on how the picture was made & how well it is sealed in, and on the temperature & humidity of its surroundings. Short of a climate controlled environment, not sure there is much you can do.

 

Oh, & another word, known to crossword puzzlers, is 'etui'.

 

I think, rather than an etui, you have the back end of a Stanhope dip pen. I have one almost the same (picture missing) and a similar letter opener (pic is of the “Mid-Winter’s Fair: Manufacturer’s Buildings”. It looks like the main building from the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894 (demolished same year), so we have a start date. The image itself is marked Made in France. I am trying to get pics to upload but they are too big and it is 3am so will try again tomorrow . This pen is close to mine... https://www.stanhopemicroworks.com/antest23011-carved-bone-niagara-falls-stanhope-dip-pen

 

@Owliza, that really is close to mine, but for the section I have and that mine has a 'twist' to it!!! Have never seen what you have, being a 'pen'!!! VERY neat!! But also in looking over that site, they do appraisals and buy some.....maybe I'll let them check mine out!! Not a clue if it's worth anything since it's not all there..............! And thank you for that link too, @Roaring20s !!!

 

some twisty , some not twisty

 

And THANK YOU, Komo!!!

 

now I know what these are called ( apart from bijou optique )

a link in Roarings post
https://www.stanhopemicroworks.com/...-view-12-palace-versailles-landmarks-stanhope may help with your conservation probs

and the how it works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanhope_(optical_bijou)

 

Glad to give up on getting the pics up. Mine is of the twisty variety. @Aquitaine you have the fun part anyway!