A Delightful Victorian Gilt Brass Letter Clip in the Form of a Ladies' Hand & Cuff
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Victorian
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1890-1900
Length: 5.25 inches
Width (at maximum): 2.5 inches
Height: 1.25 inches
Created in the classic Victorian style forming a ladies hand with appliquéd cuff in gilt brass resting on an ebonised plate, this is an attractive example, the mechanism still in sound operation. The gilt is worn in places, though entirely consummate with age.
Letter, or paper clips have been around England since around 1820 on the cusp of the Regency period. As clips got more popular in the Victorian 1860s they were fashioned mostly in the forms of wheatsheafs, hands (as we see here), shield & flags and scrolls. They were marketed much more widely after c.1870 and the last advertisement for letter clips in London was at around 1920.
A superbly decorative yet functional piece of Victorian desk furniture, making paper and letter storage that much more of an attractive proposition.