Victorian Silver Vesta Case Merton College, Oxford University

Victorian Silver Vesta Case: Merton College, Oxford University.

A good Victorian silver and enamel Vesta Case. Of rounded rectangular form with sprung hinged lid and attached suspension ring. The face enameled with the Coat of Arms of Merton College, Oxford University.

By Saunders and Shepherd, Birmingham, 1898.

Vesta cases, which also go by the name of vesta boxes, matchsafes and pocket matchsafes, were used to stores vestas (short matches) and to keep them dry so that they were able to light when struck.

They were first made in the 1830s, with their heyday being between 1890 and 1920, when everyone kept a vesta box to hand. While the poor had boxes made from tin, the vesta boxes of the wealthy were made from gold and silver.

Most vesta boxes had a ribbed surface on the bottom which the owner could use to strike the matches kept inside. In addition, some examples include cigar cutters and small knife blades.

Steppes Hill Farm Antiques stocks a variety of antique silver vesta cases from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We specialise in rare and unusual examples focussing on enamel, novelty and engraved designs.

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This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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