A bronze paper knife opener dipicting a drinking elephant head, Great Britain 1890.

United Kingdom 1890

The paper knife or letter opener was originally used for cutting open the pages of hand-produced books where the folding of the printed sheets creates some closed edges that require severing of the paper before reading. It’s use have been progressively focused on opening the letter’s enveloppe. This one is a single cast of bronze enriched by the patina, and depicts an exotic group of leaves followed by the handle, the detailled low-relief head of an elephant drinking by his proboscis. United Kingdom circa 1890.

10” – 26 CM H 1,75” – 4,5 CM L 1.75 “ – 4,5 CM D

REF: V11