Book Shaped Brass Folk Art / Trench Art Snuff Box with Combination Lock Dials lettering set and a couple of old

and a couple of old fat nails holding it securely in place

darning methods

including the stuff of a patient's nightmares

As a child of the 70s I have a particular penchant for pieces like this

Paint loss to the black top as evident

Book Shaped Brass Folk Art / Trench Art Snuff Box with Combination Lock Dials lettering set and a couple of oldI love this thing. My theory is that it is a folk trench art creation modeled on Dutch and English combination lock dialed snuff boxes of the 18th and 19th century (one photo at the end as example.) Those were more refined and the dialing locking mechanisms concealed, while here it's all revealed on the interior of the lid. I love it precisely for this homespun ness, and of course for being shaped like a little book, and for the pleasure of turning