Lovely 19th Century Handmade Book-Shaped Candy Box, Hand-painted Paper and Velvet Over Board mourning box bright blue eyed gaze down

bright blue eyed gaze down to those tiny black laced shoes

suggesting it would have been hung

and the man at right looks as though he might have been having an otherworldly vision at this very moment

with white satin ribbon sewn to the backside

Lovely 19th Century Handmade Book-Shaped Candy Box, Hand-painted Paper and Velvet Over Board mourning box bright blue eyed gaze downThis I believe was made as a bonbon box, with the padded interior compartment framed with paper lace. (Those doily lined Russell Stover Valentine's chocolate boxes didn't come out of nowhere!) Of course I love it for its book form, and especially that hand hand printed checkerboard patterned paper across the front (with the patterns on those tiny squares evincing pressed seamoss), perfectly bordered in embossed silver and green trim. More silver trim