Antique c.1750s French Vernis Martin and 18k Billet Doux, Sweet Notes, Love Letter Etui, Painting
I just love these old things. The history is as fun as the object. These are rare! What some think might be a cigar case is, instead, a 1700s "billet doux", or directly translated, "sweet note". The case is that into which love notes, invitations to clandestine trysts and such words of love would be sent by courier to one's beloved. Marriage being what it was among elites and titled persons in Marie-Antoinette's era and earlier, one did not always consort with only one's spouse. A love note would be written, rolled and slid into the tube, closed and perhaps even sealed with a small sealing wax/cachet to avoid prying eyes of even one's trusted courier. These survive today mostly in museum collections. We've had and sold some splendid ones over time. The most wonderful are these hand painted ones, and the most rare of those might be a hunting scene like this one. Hound and game hens, it might have belonged to a gentleman. The layered varnish and oil paint manner in which it is worked is