SALE Astoundingly gorgeous tortoise shell fused onto horn antique cigarette case FREE U.S. SHIPPING!

Antiques : Accessories : Cigarette Case : Tortoise Shell : Fused : Bone : Hinged : Plunger Clasp

 

Antique cigarette case is so fantastic, with a thin veneer of tortoise shell fused onto horn, two elastic straps inside to hold the cigarettes in place, a plunger type clasp...totally cool! I did a fair amount of research on this case, and found it wasn't so uncommon to fuse very thin layers of tortoise shell onto other materials, most notably horn. This was accomplished by wetting and heating the shell to make it pliable enough to shape into whatever form was desired (which is why you can see rounded corners, for instance, since turtle shells certainly don't grow that way!)

Case measures 2-7/8" from front to back (not including plunger clasp--add 1/8" for that) x 3-1/4" side to side x 5/8" thick.

Condition overall is excellent--a couple of cracks that appear to have occurred during placement of the hinge mechanism, some tarnishing to the hinge's metal, and a few tiny dings on one corner that you can see, barely, on the gallery pic, upper left corner. The cracks don't affect the functionality of the case at all, but might explain the gaps you see at each side. The plunger doesn't appear to move and I'm not sure it ever did or was meant to--when you push it, it gives just a little, then you use your fingernail to open the other side. It closes with a resounding ~SNAP!~, exactly what you want to hear. The elastic doesn't have much stretch left to it but accomplishes its purpose of keeping things in place, and the tarnish on the hinge could very well come out with some effort. I haven't tried, will leave that up to you, the lucky purchaser of this FABULOUS case! (Packaged weight is 5 ozs. from zip code 55409) FREE U.S. SHIPPING! REDUCED INTERNATIONALLY!

Item ID: kTSCC

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