Cased Double-sided Card Case, 1850

This is an exquisite, small-sized silver castle top card case with the bonus of two scenes for the price of one! This card case is in superb, crisp condition which can be accounted for by the presence of the original presentation box, which itself is in fine condition. The scenes depicted are St. Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle. Unusually, the case is stamped with a "Y&W" maker's mark only for the Birmingham firm of Yapp & Woodward. A simply stunning little card case.

Windsor Castle was the principal residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Today, it continues to be one of the official homes’ of Queen Elizabeth II and is the largest inhabited castle in the world. The majority of English monarchs have lived in the castle at some stage and dating back to William the Conqueror (King between 1066 and 1087), is the oldest castle in continuous occupation in the world. The scene shown is a rare view of the castle's private church (St. George's Chapel) with The Round Tower to the right of the picture.

St Paul's Cathedral sits on the highest point of the City of London and the present building is reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral. The fourth St. Paul’s was burned down during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present building is built of Portland Stone and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The first stone was laid in 1677 and the cathedral was completed in 1708. The St Paul's Cathedral is one of London's most visited sights and is home to the tombs of some of Britain’s most famous people: Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale and JMW Turner. It was also used for the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.