Antique Napoleonic French Empire Military Vanity Trousse, Fitted Wood Box, Razors, Etc.
That odd looking piece? It's a boot pull. The small tin box? For tooth powders. The old toothbrush is missing, as is the round tin for tobacco. Scissors, ear wax spoon and tooth cleaning tool - only the open spaces carved into the lift-out wooden tray remain. Some 200-220 years ago, the kit would have been pristine, likely purchased from one of the fitters/makers of the Palais Royal, as by Napoleon's time that old Richelieu Palace and its shop-lined promenade were frequented by Napoleon's officers and their ladies. Long a center of Paris society, it remains today a fine theater/dining and shopping venue just a stone's throw from the Louvre, Paris. More grand trousse du voyage would have had engraved lock plates and sterling silver - Biennais, others of Napoleon's most lauded craftsmen. I've had some which had historically traceable names, crowns, etc., but this one has a simple and elegant monogram cartouche as you see. Difficult to know who he was, or what fate he met, but this bit o