What hallmarks are these, please? I confess I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before. Thank you.
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What’s inside the box?
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This is a “flat fifty” table cigarette box made in the late 1920s and it might contain a partition and it is probably gilt inside.
But opening it isn’t going to help us any more than it did Pandora. (lovers of Greek myth may recall the god Zeus was ticked off with Titan Prometheus over giving humans fire and presented him with the first curious women and her with a box, actually a jar, never to be opened.
We all know how that worked out
There is, apropos nothing to do with either Pandora or Prometheus, a P in the shield. That and the .925 might indicate something American. But it’s too blatant for the US by the 20th century. And it’s not made in any country which valued its relationship with then still moderately powerful Britain. So something out of Shanghai with its love/hate of the Brits back then?
The annoying thing is I’ve see the marks before or think I have but …
CRWW
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I bought the box at an auction, but I don’t have it yet. I believe it will arrive this week, so I will look for more markings. Thank you.
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Question, does anyone know if a specific type of wood was used to line these boxes so as not to taint the cigarettes or contents in any way 
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I believe that cedar wood is the favoured type but I don’t know whether it is for protective measures or some other reason.
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I was informed many moons ago that the wood liners in some items was to deter the likes of weavels/insects !!!. How far that is true I don’t know !!!
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Word to the wise: don’t be dumb like me and be careful to just use the rub off paste if/when you’re cleaning it. I have an Aristocrat plated one that I cleaned with cleaner that you rinse off with water, and the water got inside the box and warped the cedar strips. Doh!
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