This is a fabulous piece of 1930s design. It is a lovely early plastic Elo Ware cigarette or cigar box - which would have been placed on a gentleman's desk and offered around to guests.
It is certainly a beautiful box and in excellent damage-free condition. It is made on an early plastic, similar to Bakelite, but it is actually urea formaldehyde. ELO was a trademark of Birkbys, a plastics manufacturer, founded at Liversedge, West Yorkshire in 1867.
In the early years of the 20th century, the Birkby brothers were much interested in the newly invented Bakelite - and they were inspired by the new material and set about developing their own processes for moulding under the trade name ELO, (dev ELO ped).
This box has a moulded urea formaldehyde hinged lid (Plaskon) which shows a very detailed image of an Assyrian soldier on horseback - he carries a long lance and fights with a lion. In the background are palm trees and flying birds above.
The lid of the box is hinged - with a fine and shiny chrome hinge along the top. This box was never designed to have any insert tray inside - and the interior of the box is perfectly smooth as designed.
The base is made of shiny black hard plastic - with the maker's mark on the base: ELO WARE / Made in England.
This box is an all-over dark black tone - to resemble very dark green / black marble or ebony.
The box is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or damage. It remains in fantastic condition, exhibiting only the slightest amount of wear on the base where it has been picked up and put down over the last 100 years. Elo Ware pieces are incredibly collectible in addition to being an exemplary representation of the Art Deco aesthetic.
Dimensions: Height: 2 ¼ inches. The length is: 6 5/8 inches and the width is just under 3 1/4 inches. Unpacked the box weighs 425 grams.
Very fair price for this iconic design - and given that these are now so hard to find in an undamaged condition with hinges completely intact. No chips or cracks in the body. Basically - a nice Deco Box.
UK Postage will be charged at £4.95 and applied to your order at the checkout. I can post this to the States etc - this will cost about £20. Any surplus international postage that you might be charged at checkout would be refunded to you.