Getting There....

~Happy Travels~

  I hope you and yours have a Safe & Happy Holiday this season~ 

I have finished Precious's carriage to allow her safe passage on her own travels...well, as far as it will get until I get my current work finished. 

 I would be lying if I said I enjoyed making this case~ I didnt. It was a total pain, but, finished it is. Hand made from solid hard maple....drove 4 hours one way to pick just the perfect even grain wood so as not to distract from the decoration I had planned for it.  I have studied the period 17th c cases up close and personal, and they are quite thin and flimsy...not made for much actual  'travels' at all. I am always quite amazed they have lasted so long....the ones that have, have done so because they were forgotten in an attic I'm sure. Mine is more robust, made with 1/2" thick sides. I am quite proud at the mechanics of it, it works like the typical flop front 17th cases~ when the front lock is engaged, the lid is lifted up, and at the same time, the front flops forward.

 I had period reproduction hardware made in England and am loving how it looks~ the lifting handles will go on as I finish the paint on the sides. I have all the pen work finished, which, as you can see is my exact casket designs, just a bit larger....and finished the paint on the front so I could attach those huge gorgeous hinges!

  Starting at the top and reading round and round to the bottom, I have included fun facts about Precious and myself...exactly how many hours of work...how many beads....fun things to looks for~ that sort of thing. If she ever gets seperated from her case, it wont take a rocket scientist to know they indeed go together.

  Here you can see how it opens~ I used a favorite German made hand marbled paper for the inside in typical 17th c Dutch pattern. I slapped my label in off center as an ode to the 17th c makers~ (who didnt really put much care into the case~ they just wanted something to get the casket back to the owner and none much else)

 Here is the case next to Precious~ it looks much larger, but really isnt~ there is less than 1/4" room between the embroidery and the case on all sides and top, so a nice snug fit.