This excellent watercolour box was made in or near to 1885 which is when the very famous company took out a patent for there patent spring box. It was in the 1840s that the moist watercolour pan started to emerge into the world of the average painter. When I say average read affluent!
 
These pans sounded the death nell for the paint cake which was in fact a hard block of paint. These were not ever so easy to use and needed to be “rubbed out” which basically meant rubbing them into a small dish of water. They did work very well but we’re time consuming and frustrating to the painter with a vision!
These pans short circuited this being ready for immediate use but they were not cheap! With the pans something was now needed to contain or house them and so the metal box reached its heyday. 
 
There had been metal boxes before the pans that contained cakes and as painting is a very conservative passion boxes with cakes continued to be made for quite a while. However the detrimental thing both type of paint box had was that they rattled a lot and also in use the blocks or pans were not held properly and so there was a certain lack of precision in use. 
 
Enter Winsor and Newton and there new patent. The spring part of the patent is literally a spring clip that now holds the pan in place. Very simple and very effective. 
 
This particular box is a good example. It shows scratches and chips etc as you might expect in something so old. It is however a good working box and if looked after will last longer than any one person needs it to. 
 
Boxes of this vintage and by this maker are like tanks, heavier gauge metal and built well. This one has all of its clips and all work. They are designed to work just as efficiently with full or half pans. 
 
This box has a full set of ceramic half pans made my Winsor and Newton. Some still contain paint that will work well. However as you know the real benefit of ceramic pans is that you can use them more or less forever. As soon as they are empty they can be washed out and refilled with any colour of your choice. 
You could fill them with tube colours or why not make some paints of your own?If you use the ready made medium supplied by Sennelier paint making becomes easy and fun and gives a great sense of satisfaction. 
 
A painter in watercolour could in truth work all of their life with this single box it has with the exception of water a container and painting surface just about everything needed. But it is also just full of romance and that can’t be bought! A lovely sound and beautiful piece of history. 
 
Thank you very much for your interest.