19th Century Louis Viarme Haberdashery Drawers (hw1285)

A rare and beautiful antique haberdashery or 'mercerie' item. This beautiful set of sewing thread drawers dates to the late 19th century and was made by Louis Viarme (1820 to 1895.) This is a six drawer box designed to hold fusettes, the small tubes of cotton thread. The box has a wooden body with board drawers and is covered with a textured/embossed woven paper/textile mix which resembles leather. It is decorated with various texts and logos including the LV for Louis Viarme, CB for Cartier Bresson (a textile manufacturer of the era) and the horse head logo, all printed in soft gold with the detail appearing on the top and back of the box and all six drawers. Each drawer has a tiny, bakelite-type or copper knob and metal label holder.

A rare and fine collector's piece for those with a passion for antique haberdashery. The drawers are approximately 24.5cm high, 25cm deep and 28.5cm wide. They are in very good condition for their age with age-related wear mainly to edges as seen. Some age-spotting to drawer interiors. The bottom drawer is missing its cardboard separators and has had a repair at the front sides in the past, to strengthen it. The underside of the box has a blue coloured paper covering which shows scuffing and wear.