Henry Irving Silver Presentation Box to Edwin Booth

German 800 Silver Box, presented from the eminent English Victorian actor Henry Irving (1838 - 1905) to prominent American actor Edwin Booth (1833 - 1893), the gift presented in London while the two actors alternated playing the roles of Hamlet and Iago, among others. The box top is decorated in the German style of cut out silhouettes, called Scherenschnitte. First popular in the mid 1500s, this style of silhouette enjoyed great popularity at the English court, during the reign of the House of Hanover. This box is decorated with a stylish scene in black, on the cream ground, and perhaps depicts Rapunzel, or The Taming of the Shrew, within a cast frame.The interior of the box is vermeil (gilt over the silver). The back is inscribed, “To my friend/Edwin Booth/ from Henry Irving/London 1882.’ The side flange is marked 800 crescent, crown, and the Rostock city mark, for Mecklenburg - Verpommern. Total weight: 113 grams, box measures 3/4” H. x 3 1/8” W. x 2 1/4” D. 800 silver is the most co