A fine early green stained Ivory paper knife inlaid with a picque worked chinoiserie design of a bird in a branch
A fine early green stained Ivory paper knife inlaid with a picque worked chinoiserie design of a bird in a branch
Late 17th - 18th century
Size : 30.5 cm long x 4 cm wide
12 ins long x 1½ ins wide
Late 17th - 18th century
Size : 30.5 cm long x 4 cm wide
12 ins long x 1½ ins wide
Paper knives have been used for as long as books have been made, long before the Victorian invention of gummed envelopes in 1840. Paper knives were required as a prelinminary to reading a precious hand printed book in order to cut the pages, they were also used by the 'hand folders' of book leaves.
A fine early green stained Ivory paper knife inlaid with a picque worked chinoiserie design of a bird in a branch
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