A gilt lithographed tin box, shaped like a miniature book, originally containing fifty copper pins. Marked Trade Mark M&BZ with a stylized scale, and bearing the manufacturer's mark Carbone, Blechwarenfabrik Köln-Nippes (Germany). This model, typical of early 20th-century German industrial production, is distinguished by its printing quality and its hinged, box-like design with a flip-top lid.
✦ Origin: Germany (Cologne-Nippes) ✦ Estimated period: Circa 1900–1910 ✦ Dimensions: 5 × 3.5 × 1.5 cm ✦ Material: Gold-plated lithographed tinplate ✦ Condition: Good overall condition, patina from use, wear on the edges, functional hinge and clear inscriptions
A rare graphic and typographic piece, representing the industrial design of early office advertising, highly prized by collectors of antique stationery boxes and supplies.
