A VICTORIAN BLACK LACQUERED AND GILT-HEIGHTENED PAPIER-MÂCHÉ 'CHATSWORTH' WRITING BOX BY JENNENS & BETTERIDGE, CIRCA 1840

The firm of Jennens & Bettridge, leading papier mâché manufacturers, took over the well-established Birmingham factory of Henry Clay in 1816. The firm traded from showrooms at 6 Hallam Street, London and remained active until 1864. In 1847 the firm patented a form of inlaid decoration using coloured glass, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory and gem stones. At the Great Exhibition of 1851 Jennens & Bettridge showed a diverse range of products from small boxes and trays to an elaborately modelled easy chair, a pianoforte and a child's cot.