Newstead & Abbotsford Silver Card Case, 1836

This is a superb William IV period silver card with the bonus of two literary "castle top" scenes - the front featuring Abbotsford House (Sir Walter Scott) and Newstead Abbey (Lord Byron) to the obverse.

The scenes are beautifully detailed  - note the swans and rowing boat on the lake in front of Newstead and the wind-bent tree to the left of Abbotsford. The scenes are enveloped within swirling foliage and remain extremely crisp throughout. The case has squared profile sides as typical with the earliest examples and a strong hinge for the flip-up top. The box was made by Taylor & Perry of Birmingham and is in excellent condition.

Newstead Abbey is in Nottinghamshire and was originally an Augustinian Priory before becoming the ancestral home of the Byron family. The most famous family member was the early 19th Century Romantic poet Lord Byron. Byron died in 1824, whilst acting as a mercenary during the Greek War of Independence, and Newstead Abbey became a site of pilgrimage for his followers.

Abbotsford is the house built and lived in by Sir Walter Scott, probably the most well known Scottish author, penning such timeless works as Ivanhoe, Lady of the Lake, Kenilworth, Rob Roy, Waverley and The Heart of Midlothian. He was one of the most popular novelists and poets of the 19^th Century. In 1811, Sir Walter bought the property which was to become Abbotsford, set in the heart of the Scottish Borders, on the banks of the River Tweed. The building of Abbotsford took six years, and was completed in 1824. The house was opened to the public in 1833, five months after Sir Walter's death, and has been enjoyed by visitors ever since.