I'm not sure about these new e-fingerboxes. Sure, they're pretty, but a 250-year-old teak fingerbox made in England, Germany or Japan will do the job just as well, and has got tons of potential for upgrading. I've got a collection of all sorts, and I must say that one of my favorites is a 170-year-old scrimshandered palm fingerbox from Rehoku which feaures part of a dendroglyph and was crafted by British sailors stuck on the island from HMS Prophetess. It's a beautiful piece of work. The overall feel is very good inside too, as it was lined with lambskin and felt like it. The mechanism is in tip-top condition because even though it's a wooden Heidelburg design the actual wood used is, like the case, palm and thus can be kept beautifully clean and functional with palm oil, which also brings out a nice dark finish. It's locked with an ivory key (cut from whalebone) engraved with the intials A.E. and in a niche inside the lid is a Gold Sovreign, which I only found looking over the box when I bought it - I was looking at the hinge and I noticed a tiny button, and click! Out it came. It's a wonderful piece of work, I had it insured for $17,000 but I think it would make several times that at auction... implying that I'd ever sell such a wonderful object, of course.
Share your fingerboxes guys!
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