Description
C1820 Draisine Early Bicycle Battersea Box from Eleanor Roosevelt Estate. 2.25"<br>x 2 1/8" x 1" with some damage to the enamel on the base as shown, the top is<br>perfect. This is an extremely rare box and a rare early portrayal of one of the<br>first bicycles.<br><br>Battersea boxes developed in the mid 18th century as tiny decorative containers<br>covered with enamel or porcelain and decorated with pleasing designs. Originally<br>the boxes were made of copper covered with white enamel, decorated with<br>classical or scenes or portraits. They evolved over time to become more<br>sentimental.<br>The Battersea box got its name from a firm under the tutelage of Sir Stephen<br>Theodore Janssen, Once Lord Mayor of London at York House in Battersea. The<br>boxes were decorated by transfer printing, which took an impression from an<br>engraved plate painted with enamel and printed on to the box which was then hand<br>painted and fired. The firm existed only from 1753 to 1756 however other firms<br>producing similar boxes, especially those in the village of Bilston, took up<br>this technique. Battersea became the collective name for all such boxes.<br>With advancements in the pottery industry due to the Industrial Revolution,<br>Battersea boxes gradually fell from favour. Allowing small boxes to be produced<br>at less cost than the enameled competitors made Battersea boxes decline<br>significantly by the mid 19th century. They became popular again in the second<br>half of the 20th century with the development of commemorative boxes produced<br>for such well known firms as Tiffany & Co.
