Miniature book keepsafe or antique book box. [London?]. 1820.

Beautiful antique book box. No publisher. [London ?]. Circa 1820. Marbled front pastedown endpaper. Red morocco scrolling gilt decorated interior. 78 x 112 mm. Original red and green straight-grained morocco box in the form of a book, concealing a secret compartment. Pointille engraved brass clasps, green straight morocco, red onlay borders with hand-tooled gilt decoration and floral gilt corner-pieces. Spine with three red onlay bands (one onlay lacking), with gilt floral tooling, cornerpieces and double fillet horizontal gilt ruling. This would be a fitting case as a keepsafe for a prized miniature book. See the article https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/library-blooks-watson for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and their collection of antiquarian book-shaped objects, or 'blooks', such as this special example.