Snuff Box, Scottish Turnpike interest
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Snuff Box - Turnpike Trust interest - Birmingham 1856 by Frederick Marston - 95mm x 67mm x 25mm; 181g weight - Ref. No.: GZ/9002
A superb mid-Victorian snuff box with a good hefty weight. The scrolling foliate engraved decoration to the exterior is in excellent crisp condition and the gilding to the interior gives the box a feeling of great exuberance. The box is engraved with an interesting presentation inscription:-
"Presented to Mr James Ferguson by a few friends as an acknowledgment of his services in abolishing the old assessment of road money in the parish of Carluke 1869".
Carluke is a town in the Clyde Valley of Central Scotland. "Road money" refers to the old system of charging tolls along highways. These tolls were administered by Turnpike Trusts who were supposed to use the money to maintain the upkeep of the roads. Many of these tolls were considered unfair by locals and the Turnpike Trusts were often ineffective or corrupt. The coming of the railways and the opposition throughout the 1850 & 60's meant that Turnpike Trusts were disbanded from the 1870's.
