Antique Napoleon III Burl Wood Playing Card Box

Card boxes like this sat out on the table during play, holding the deck upright and ready to hand. This one is worked in thuya burl, a wood French cabinetmakers favored for its dense speckled figure, with pale fruitwood set into it in scrolling foliage and two small birds facing a diamond cartouche. It comes apart into two sliding halves.

[d]Dimensions | 3.5 in. W x 4.75 in. H x 2 in. D

[d]Surface | Original finish, finely crazed throughout, not stripped or refinished

[d]Primary Material | Thuya burl

[d]Period | Antique

[d]Date | Circa 1880

[d]Origin | France

[d]Style | Napoleon III

[d]Also Known As | playing card case

[d]Motif | Scrolling foliage with paired birds flanking a diamond cartouche

[d]Maker | None identified

[d]Marks | None found

[d]Construction | Two sliding halves, the cards standing upright inside

[d]Secondary Material | Fruitwood marquetry with line stringing

[d]Interior | Plain unlined wood, no fittings

[condition]

The case is in good antique condition with honest wear consistent with age and use. The marquetry on both faces is intact, with no missing inlay, and the line stringing is complete around the panels.

The wood is noticeably dry in the hand, and the old finish has crazed finely across the whole body. There is a stable split running along one top edge, with minor lifting beside it and a small loss at the corner, visible in the detail photographs. Taken together, the dryness, the crazing, and the split read as a piece that sat somewhere damp at some point in its life and then dried out. That movement appears to have settled. The split is stable, it does not run through to the interior, and it does not affect how the two halves slide or sit together.

Because the wood is dry, it will respond to a large swing in humidity. Keep it out of direct sun, away from a heat vent or radiator, and out of a very dry room with no moisture in the air. An occasional light wax will help.

The burl surface also shows light scuffing and edge wear from handling. The two sliding halves separate and rejoin smoothly. The interior is plain unlined wood with no fittings or marks.

Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.