Wonderful Arts & Crafts Brass Letter Rack embossed with a glorious fish swimming in a Riverbed

THE STORY - I adore beautiful items that help to keep your papers and correspondence in an ordered state, and this for me is certainly that. This small letter rack very much in the style of the Arts and Crafts Movement would date I believe to the end of the nineteenth century, circa 1890. Made from brass on its two arced sides is embossed a beautiful naturalistic riverbed scene with that glorious fish swimming amongst the weeds and that little crustacean at the bottom. At the centre of the Letter Rack raised higher than the side but mirroring the same pleasing arc is the handle. And this little letter rack has been both loved and used and has its scars to prove it. The brass has not been cleaned for a good little while allowing it to darken and almost give an impression that it is copper and with its age it has garnered for me a beautiful patina giving the item a beautiful softness. In the first photograph I have displayed the letter rack with some Cabinet Cards (height 6&1/2", width 4&1/4") which I am afraid do not come with this item.

AGE - Circa 1890

CONDITION - As I have already mentioned above this piece has the scars of a life of use and love. The brass as I have already mentioned has darkened with age, for me very much softening its aesthetic, there are some signs of some old polish left from long ago and there is in places a greenish hue to the brass, which I hope you can see from my photos. I have not tried to clean it in anyway. The central arm is fixed on the interior with two washers one of which has been replaced with what looks like a cork version and the other original one has a crack to it, this can best be seen in the eight and ninth photos. This central arm does have some movement to it, which I think it always did but is secure. The base of the letter rack is misshapen on one side as seen in the last photo. I did think there was a crack at the base of one of the corners of the sides as seen in the fourth photo, I am now unsure of this and think as the other corners too are shaped this is again an excess of old polish that has accumulated in the area.

DIMENSIONS (Approx) - Height 4&3/4" / 12cm, Width 5&3/4" / 14.5cm, Depth 3" / 7.5cm

I adore that beautiful fish swimming in the riverbed, blissfully unaware of the weight of the correspondence he helps to hold, indeed it would make me feel tranquil before I reached for that outstanding bill to be paid. I know this little item isn't perfect, it has its scars, but in a way for me that is how it should be, it has been used it has been loved and I really hope it continues to be used and continues to be loved.