Book Shaped Brass Folk Art / Trench Art Snuff Box with Combination Lock Dials 1930s zanesville Sliding off the lid on

Sliding off the lid on one side reveals one board

credited with inventing the chalkboard eraser

and the more I look at real Chinese Cinnabar carving

like turning it into a wall hook

Book Shaped Brass Folk Art / Trench Art Snuff Box with Combination Lock Dials 1930s zanesville Sliding off the lid onI 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