BOXES AND FRAMES FROM TIMBERTOWN 1914-1918 | friends-of-the-royal-naval-divisions-in-ww1.co.uk

AS THE HEADING STATES THIS PAGE DEALS WITH THE WOODEN BOXES AND OTHER ARTICLES MADE BY THE INTERNEES IN H.M.S TIMBERTOWN IN THE GREAT WAR

THESE WERE SOLD IN SUCH PRESTIGEOUS SHOPS THAT INCLUDED SELFRIDGES IN LONDON TO NAME BUT ONE OUTLET,

THE FOLLOWING IMAGES SHOW THE LADS AT WORK IN THE WORKSHOPS AND ALSO IMAGES OF THE ITEMS THEY MADE AND WHERE POSSIBLE PHOTOS OF THE MEN THAT MADE THEM.OVER THE LENGTH OF THE INTERNMENT THE ITEMS HAD HAND WRITTEN LABELS / PAPER LABELS/ RUBBER STAMPED LABELS,

THE 4 IMAGES BELOW ARE OF THE NEWEST BOX IVE ACQUIRED, IN EARLY NOVEMBER 2019, BUT IS POSSIBLY THE OLDEST ONE, SO FAR DUE, MOSTLY TO ITS MORE SIMPLISTIC CONSTRUCTION I.E EDGE JOINTING AS AGAINSTED DOVETAILS , ANOTHER CLUE IS THE REFFERENCE TO ANTWERP,

ON PART OF THE LID SURROUNDING THE FOULED ANCHOR MOTIF,

THIS IS ALSO AN INTERESTING PIECE AS IT MARKS THE END OF ONE PHASE,

THE BATTLES & SUBSEQUENT RETREAT FROM ANTWERP, AND THE NEXT,

PHASE , INTERNMENT IN GRONINGEN...............

BOXES CAME IN VARIOUS

DESIGNS ON THE LIDS THIS ONE ON THE LEFT SHOWS 2 SHIPS AND A CLOSE UP ON ONE OF THEM AS SEEN BELOW

THIS BOX SEEN BELOW IS UNUSUAL FOR 2 REASONS AS ITS SHOWS THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN 2 BENBOW RATINGS AND SHOWS ONE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAINTING IN THE LID AND THE OTHER FOR THE BODY OF THE BOX ?

ALSO IVE INCLUDED IMAGES OF THE LADS THEMSELVES

IVE INCLUDED A CLOSE UP IMAGE OF THE LID AS SEEN BELOW

FOR 2 GOOD REASONS

A )THE PAINTING IS STUNNING AND IS SIGNED IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER

AND B ) THIS IS THE FIRST 1 I HAVE EVER SEEN THAT HAS THE IMAGE

PROTECTED BY A SHEET OF GLASS LIKE A PHOTO FRAME THIS WAS DONE WHEN THE BOX WAS MADE NOT AS AN AFTER THOUGHT

THE IMAGE BELOW SHOWS THE LADS

MAKING THE BOXES ETC

THE 4 IMAGES BELOW SHOW EXAMPLES OF THE TYPE OF PHOTO FRAMES MADE IN THE CAMP THE LAST IMAGE SHOWS THE REAR OF A FRAME SHOWING HOW THE BACK WAS SECURED ETC

THE NEXT 2 IMAGES SHOW

A BOX WITH A MARQUETRY

DESIGN UNUSUALLY THIS ONE

SEE IMAGE BELOW

IS DATED 10.10.17 AND SIGNED J.N

THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT SHOWS HOW TATTY THE

BOXES CAN GET OVER TIME

BUT IT ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY SHOWS THEIR

CONSTRUCTION AND THE MATERIALS USED

THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT

LOOKS LIKE AN ORDINARY BOX

THE IMAGE BELOWSHOWS THAT AT SOME TIME IT WAS LINED AND WAS POSSIBLY A JEWELLERY BOX WITH A REMOVABLE DRAW

THE BOX ON THE LEFT HAS A MORE TRADITIONAL DESIGN OF 2 DUTCH PEOPLE

IN NATIONAL COSTUME WITH A TYPICAL FLAT DUTCH LANDSCAPE

IN THE BACKGROUND

THIS ONE IS DATED 1915

SOME BOXES WERE MADE WITH

A DEFINATE PURPOSE IN MIND

AS THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT AND

BELOW SHOWS WITH THE 4 PLAYING CARD SUITS CARVED INTO THE LIDS DESIGN THE IMAGE BELOW SHOWS THE INTERIOR WITH THE DIVISIONS FOR 2 PACKS OF CARDS

INTERESTINGLY THIS BOX IS DATED BETWEEN 1914 AND 1917 AS SHOWN IN THE IMAGE BELOW

SOMETIMES IT APPEARS COMMISSIONS FOR BOXES WERE TAKEN ON

THIS BOX APPEARS TO BE MADE FOR A CREW MEMBER ? FROM H.M.S THUNDERER AS THE SHIPS CREST ON THE LID DENOTES, VERY RARELY EXAMPLES CAN BE FOUND LIKE THIS ONE WHERE THE MAKER IS KNOWN THIS TIME BY THE PAPER LABEL AFFIXED TO THE BASE , THIS ONE IS ALSO DATED JULY 1917

ALSO IVE INCLUDED AN IMAGE OF THE LAD HIMSELF J.E KIDD

ITS VERY RARE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW AN IMAGE OF WHO MADE IT AND WHEN

I OWE A DEBT OF GRATTITUDE TO RICK LARNDER OF

BEXLEY MEDALS & MILITARIA WHO PUT MEMORYS BEFORE PROFIT

AND ALLOWED ME TO PURCHASE THE BOX IN THE 2 PHOTOS BELOW

AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE ,

THE BOX IS A SCARLET SILK LINED TRINKET BOX WITH A TYPICAL SCENE OF 2 DUTCH PEOPLE IN NATIOAL COSTUME WITH A TYPICAL BACKDROP

OF THE FLAT DUTCH LANDSCAPE

THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE BOX BASE ,AND I HAVE DARKENED THE PICTURE

TO TRY TO SHOW THE RUBBER STAMP WHICH SAYS

Made by British R.N.V.R

Interned at Groningen

During The Great EuropeanWar

the maker was one

TURNER HALE (s) a stoker

FROM BENBOW BATTALION

THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT

IS THE LAD HIMSELF

THIS PAGE ON TIMBERTOWN BOXES ETC

BEING AS THE CAMP WAS IN HOLLAND

WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT AN IMAGE OR 2 OF A SET OF CARVED DUTCH CLOGS

AS THE 2 IMAGES BELOW SHOW

THESE WERE FROM WILLIAM TO

ALICE

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAGE WAS TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE ITEMS MADE BY THE INTERNEES IN H.M.S TIMBERTOWN

SHOWING YOU LARGE CLEAR IMAGES

AND WHERE POSSIBLE WHO MADE THE ITEM AND WHERE POSSIBLE AN IMAGE OF THE LAD CONCERNED

ON OTHER PAGES IVE GONE INTO WHY THEY WERE MADE

AND WHAT OTHER ITEMS THEY MADE AND WHERE THEY WERE SOLD

THEY MADE A LOT FROM BOXES AND PHOTO FRAMES TO MODEL SHIPS

AS SEEN IN THE IMAGE BELOW

USING PRIMARILY HAND TOOLS

THERE IS EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THEY EVEN HAD A CATALOGUE TOWARDS THE END OF THE WAR ,

AND THEY WENT FROM HAND WRITTEN LABELS TO RUBBER STAMP AND PAPER LABLES .....................................

Iwould like to thank,

Bella from brook_antiques Who gave me a generous, Discount when i approached her about the box,

described in this part of the boxes and frames section,

of the RND/ H.M.S TIMBERTOWN website ,

Very much appreciated,

THANK YOU..............

Image 1 shows the closed box which is,

225mm x 120mm x 140mm

or roughly 8 7/8 " x 4 3/4" x 5.05" ish ,

this box is highly unusual in as much as ,

it has a secret lock , accessed by sliding the base to the rear which lets a piece on the front to slide out to reveal the lock, as in images 2/3,

also revealed in image 4 when you slide the base is a hand written inscription which reads MADE BY P.OW.S AT GRONINGEN 1914-1916 this is the first piece iv'e seen, that says that , normally its made by internees etc, especially on the later paper labels,

in image 5 there is a close up of the front of the box

showing the details on the front of the pseudo bookcase,

images 6-8 give a better idea of the construction which,

also is different to many others , as there are no dovetail joints to be seen, its glued and pinned , and each outer section of the box is made from a roughly uniform thickness sheet of wood the top for instance is made in 7 pieces,

the inside pale silk lining with padding behind shows it was pre-made , each section being made in 3 pieces i.e the silk the padding and a piece of thin card most likely from a cigarette packet , and glued on,image 8 shows a view of the inner construction, image 10 is a close up of image 9,

and last but not least image 10 shows a finely painted image of a lifebelt with a warship in the centre.,

its in very good condition considering it was made over 100 years ago👍

Below we have two examples of pictures that were done by a rating,

painted on wood and framed, one has glass covering the picture ,and both have been signed by the painter/maker,

namely one E.R Jones interned in Holland 1914-1917 ,

The reason for the 1914-1917 is he was interned after the rereat from antwerp , and is,

one of the original 1500 , the 1917 refers to the year the objects were made , as i mentioned earlier they did have a catalogue , and i think ,

the attached label refers to that,

also a big plus is as ive already said , they are signed , this is quite unusual , as most pieces ive seen aren't signed and you can't put a face to the maker but in this case

ive found a photo of the lad himself ...........................

First of all i would to extend a huge thank you too Serenity Kerr, who flew in the face of convention and the profit over memories,and let me have the box shown underneath at an eceptionaly ,good price "THANK YOU REN" .YOUR A DIAMOND !

the first set of images show the top of the box the centre has a fluted design,

the same design is on the 4 corners, i think it has had some form of stain applied to darken the carving,

image 4 shows the hand cut Dovetails , not machine done like the majority of todays,

mass produced items, the next shows the inside of th box and lid , and a hand painted,

bust ? of a sailor, then a close up of same, the printing style appears on a lot of their wares,

the next shows where the silk lining has frays with age, but in doing so it reveals how the ,

lining was put together , i.e the silk outer then the padding, and then the cardboard backing,

i assume the lining was made in sections and the placed inside the finished box,

upon closer inspection the card backing shows the letters/words Navy Cut,

which was a popular brand of ciggarettes of that period, i managed to find an image of a ciggarrette packet from that time which confirms my thoughts on where the backing came from, either way its another tangeable piece of their skills and i still marvel , at how they,

were made and how theyv'e survived the passage of time,

you did a great job lads well done .