Featured My Latest Project.

Hi all,
I bought this Georgian box (c.1820) recently, as you will see it was a mess and initially I thought it would be good for salvage, but then I started to love it.
The leather was missing everywhere except for the fluted part of the lid, no feet, the velvet was dirty, the top of the lid had come adrift and was damaged, the back sides of the box needed glueing back together, one lid was missing, the list just went on.

So ........
The biggest problem was covering the outside, there's no way of finding Georgian leather and modern leather looked wrong, so, I experimented with lining paper which I dyed brown and the waxed, that worked, next I salvaged all the velvet, I washed it but it did nothing so I left it soaking in soapy water and risked a little bleach, that got it clean but stripped the colour out, I found a fabric dye that brought back the colour beautifully.
The inside lid was warped so another was made for that, the rest is obvious.
A lot of the metal trim is missing and it's impossible to find so nothing I can do about that, I had the Georgian brass ball feet and the paint I had matched and it's almost 100%, the best match I've ever got.
One of the things I love is I've never seen one with the tray in the drawer and a big space at the top, I suspect it was commissioned that way and I think the lady of the house would have kept her embroidery in the top space.
So .......
There it is, I hope you all enjoy looking at it.

Edit .....
Not all the photos fit so they're in the next thread.

 

So much work... But, a labor of love!
The leather covering is unusual, no? Good idea to replace it with waxed paper!

 

You're giving Kyra a run for her money....

 

Yes, the leather is irreplaceable, once it's gone there's no way to find more.

 

Another Master at work!