I am I freely admit that I’m a huge fan of the offerings put forward by the great James Newman of London and so I have collected a good number over the years. There are some very nice items by this business that I have decided to sell mainly because I am now 62 and feel it’s time to slim down the collection and also because of space. If you can imagine a good many boxes like this being stored correctly then you have an idea of how much actual space they take up!
I would never wish to seem boastful but nothing has ever entered my collection that wasn’t a very good example, nearly always rare and sometimes extremely rare. I have also never let anything rest in the collection that was about to fall apart etc. I have gone to considerable efforts to find what is really good and sometimes those things have come to me via clients who have employed me to work on perhaps a family heirloom. 
This is why I say in my listings with possibly a monotonous regularity that this or that is rare. 
I have been a museum’s conservator for over forty years and a collector of these things for as long so I have acquired over the years some degree of knowledge so if I say an object is a rare example it probably is. 
This box we have here is quite representative of the words above in that it is rare and it is beautiful. 
Before Mr Newman arrived at the boxes made in a grand style with a framed lid that encompasses a large ornate leather label he was making boxes in a style that were in harmony with the products of his many competitors though not all his competitors offerings were as nice or as well made as this one or any of the others I have listed. 
James Newman actually started his business about 1785 so it is a business that stretches back a long way. Obviously time is a medium and it seems this man didn’t waste much of it and was very attentive to his clients needs and requirements. This was I’m sure was partly driven by the nature of business in past times which was to put it bluntly if you’re business failed and you were left owing you went to prison. A powerful incentive to be successful for sure!
A good way to be successful it seems to me is to know your clients and give them as much as possible what they want and with as much quality built in as possible, and of course to do this in as many painting types as possible. Again it seems to me that this is what was done. It is also seen in the other very successful businesses of the day. 
So it stands to reason that there are many box types by this business but I feel that this is one of the early perhaps around the 1820s so very probably a Georgian one from a time when he had realised what needed to be done and was doing it in great style. The Regency period was after all a great time for style and quality. 
Although there is nothing stylistically revolutionary here it is all done with such confidence and style. If we were to look at a box of the period by another maker we would see that here the top is a sumptuous and a very individual piece of wood. Sometimes the grain pattern and richness is so individual again like this box one just knows that no one else has anything quite like it and of course this individuality reflects the individual that owns it. 
It is very subtle but quite real. 
The only flaw if it could be seen as such in the wood is that there is a very old expansion/ contraction I think shallow crack to one side. This is quite stable and as I say old as is evidenced by the patina built up on it over the years. I have never placed anything fragile in the collection and this box is not weak in any areas I’ve seen. It is a good strong perfectly usable box. 
Internally as we lift the lid we see the large paint tray the central palette and the water bowls one on each side of the palette. Once again the design is familiar but it has something else. The dark wood seems to ooze quality and of course it does. This is magnified today of course as it is also steeped in history. 
On removing a the brass pin that locks the lower drawer we can slide open this section. 
Here we find a large oval porcelain palette which is stamped by the makers. At one time this was broken but it was looked after and properly restored. It is so nice that it was not discarded as it is quite strong and perfectly useable, I know this because I’ve tried it!
There are a full set of paints included and some are by the makers the others have been used and their names worn away by use and time but all look to be old. I am sure these paints would work just fine as in my experience old paints are very good. 
Under the paint tray is a void as usual and there is found a spare small I think Victorian ceramic palette. I’m sure it is something that a previous owner used and placed there along with a few other bits scattered about. 
This paint box still has it’s original lock and works with the provided key. 
Overall this is a beautiful rare and perfectly useable Watercolour paint box made by a justly famous maker. 
Approximately,
26 cm
21 cm
9 cm