Essex Crystal Style White Cat Stick Pin old silhouette Plenty of use left in

Plenty of use left in this sweet old travel paint box

1908 in Salem

and to my sensibilities quite a satisfying one to have and to hold

I'd love to know the backstory

Essex Crystal Style White Cat Stick Pin old silhouette Plenty of use left inI didn't know these were a thing, but have learned that they very much are, some quite finely done, this one more humble but I think pretty charming still. Essex crystals are also known as 'reverse intaglios, ' made of a cabochon of colourless rock quartz that has been carved on the flat side after which the details of the design are painted, creating a three dimensional 'trompe l'oeil effect'. I believe that is the case here, or at least it was made,