A Tunbridge Ware Postage Stamp Box George V Downey Head Halfpenny Issue- c1911

Description

Heading : Tunbridge Ware – A Postage Stamp Box George V ‘Downey Head’ Halfpenny Issue
Date : c1911
Period : Edwardian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells; England; attributed to Boyce. Brown & Kemp
Decoration : A two-part separate lid and base box; the top features a green George V half-penny stamp placed within geometric marquetry borders; similar borders run along all four edges of both the lid and base. 
Size : 3.6 x 3.9 x 1.9 cm
Condition : Good no missing tiles; the lacquer is a little patchy and the stamp has a stain
Restoration : None
Weight :  10 grams

Note : this box features what is known as the ‘Downey Head’ George V stamp – as it was published by W & D Downey Ltd. it was in circulation for less than two years (1911-12) for the most part because the king himself did not like the image; it shows him in a curious three-quarter profile. with his head turned slightly towards the viewer. instead of the more usual ‘proper’ side view. Of course. it is less than ideal to date something on the basis of a stamp which has been stuck on to it. but the style of box (notably the bands to the side of both lid and base) are very much a BB&K signature. and a date of this nature would sit nicely within their productive period. and outside that of all the other stamp-box producers on record.