Unidentified wooden box, possibly for 1800's pistol.

I recently found a small wooden box that was literally falling apart, but interesting enough to keep. The wood was old and dry, the joints were out of alignment, the lid had split in multiple places, and it was missing a brass keyhole cover & key.

After a little steam, hide glue, brass work, and tung oil, I was surprised to be holding a truly gorgeous piece of craftsmanship... gorgeous enough that I wish to identify it.

I have performed every possible keyword search that I can think of, and the only similar boxes that I can find are pistol presentation boxes from the 1800's, which have almost identical construction and hardware. Unfortunately though, this box seems far too shallow to hold even pocket revolvers, and none of the boxes I have seen also have a brass eagle on the cover as this one does (granted, I am not sure if the eagle was original).

I will post dimensions and pictures directly below. Thanks for any help!

Interior Dimensions (without padding/velvet): 9-1/8" x 4-1/8" x 1" (1" total depth includes the lid).

whughett said:

Perhaps a wooden version of a modern brief case

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This was my first impression as well, possibly a secure place to store important documents and such.

Then, I stumbled onto pics like these:

This cased Moores Derringer (subsequently Colt #1 Derringer) looks too similar to ignore. I'm hoping that someone recognizes the eagle on the lid of mine so that I can definitively rule the possibility of a pistol case out (or in).

One tantalizing detail is that Moores produced a patriotic Derringer with an eagle engraved on the grip, and presented them to Union officers. I have yet to find a picture of a Patriotic Moore In a presentation case.... but I can dream that these cases had eagles on the lid as well.

troy fairweather said:

Don't think it's to old has Philips head screws.

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I should have noted that the original screws were all brass flatheads. Despite my best efforts, 50% stripped out during removal. I have kept them and am looking for good substitutes, but used what screws I had on-hand for temporary reassembly.

DT Guy said:

I have absolutely no expertise in this field, but my first reaction was a box for the presentation of military medals. The eagle would make sense, and the size/depth seems about right.

Larry

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I hadn't considered this and will definitely pursue this avenue. That eagle (if original) makes the box awkward for travel, packing, & stacking, so a ceremonial/display use makes sense.

BigBlue 94 said:

I have an almost exact duplicate, minus the eagle and plus some dividers. Inside are some sort of instruments. Long, thin stainless rods with a slider and on each end is a strawberry shaped nub. There are maybe 5 or 6 of these in it and they increase in size. I believe they were from my great Grandpa who was a veterinarian.

Edit, i think they are for measuring wounds but not sure

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This is great information. I had been focused on firearms because of the similar construction, and they were the only similar boxes that I could find.

Knowing that there are similar boxes used in different industries makes the identification harder, but prevents me from getting tunnel vision.

Moderators: Sorry if this thread ends up being in the wrong forum. I had previously convinced myself that this was a derringer box, but I obviously can't be sure.