Charlotte Shaw's Dressing Case
Category
Toiletry
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, mother-of-pearl, glass, leather, silk, velvet and silver.
Measurements
196 x 325 x 250 mm
Order this imageCollection
Shaw's Corner, Hertfordshire
NT 1274780.1
Summary
Dressing case with gilded edges (worn) with mirrored lid and drawer in base. Five interior compartments. Top tray lifts up to reveal gold tooled blue leather tray above a space. Charlotte’s dressing case was given to the Conservative MP Nancy Astor (1879-1964) by Bernard Shaw in 1944. Nancy returned the case to Shaw’s Corner shortly before Shaw died in 1950. See Thomas Jones’s diary entry (Thomas Jones: A Diary with Letters 1931-1950, 15 June 1944, p.519): ‘[Shaw] sold Charlotte’s personal jewelry in a heap for six pounds! Nancy was furious at this, and on the afternoon we were there G.B.S. gave her Charlotte’s box with bottles, scissors etc., a case of Irish origin, which Nancy took away with her, but will return later. It appears that Shaw intends to leave his country house and contents, as Tolstoy did, as a place of pilgrimage, and Nancy will see that there is a Charlotte room in it and put the box there.’
Full description
An exotic wood dressing case with gilded edges (worn) and brass inserts at corners of opening faces. Lined with deep blue velvet. A drawer in base is lined with blue moiré silk beneath leather cover and opens by means of a secret knob in rim of case. Drawer has ring holder and spaceto hold necklaces. There is evidence of objects being pinned in. A mirror inside lid. Five compartments for bottles at rear of base. Removable tray (also lined with blue velvet) with six compartments and removable tray for manicure set. Underneath top tray is tooled and gilded papier-mache tray with blue ribbon handles (L disintegrated). Compartment underneath.
Provenance
Charlotte’s dressing case was given to the Conservative MP Nancy Astor (1879-1964) by Bernard Shaw in 1944. Nancy returned the case to Shaw’s Corner shortly before Shaw died in 1950. The Shaw Collection. The house and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust by George Bernard Shaw in 1950, together with Shaw's photographic archive.