Mineralogy Kit

Signed "Truro - Cornwall, Manufactured by J.T. Letcher", [1880-1890], walnut case.
A fine English case made by J.T. Letcher in Truro, Cornwall, probably in the 1880s. This scientific instrument maker was awarded a silver medal in 1878. This type of case was intended for both amateurs and professionals: geologists, explorers, mineralogists or prospectors. A large label pasted on the inside of the lid presents this "Best Blowpipe Set with Extra Apparatus and Minerals" material from the Society of Arts with a list of its contents. The case comprises a removable compartmentalized tray concealing another compartmentalized tray, in which are found various accessories including a small agate mortar and pestle, a small geologist's hammer, 3 tweezers, a file-chisel, various reagents kept in glass and wooden bottles, a Berzelius blowpipe in brass with fruitwood tip, a pair of scissors, thin plates of silver, magnesium, various papers, blue glass, etc. In the lower part of the box is hidden a drawer which can be opened by removing a stylus, this contains nearly forty test tubes, most of them filled with minerals, arranged and classified with a list.
Beautiful copy, almost complete. On the lid a plate indicates the name of its former owner a certain "J. VEALE".