R & M Pell's 1841 Wallpapered Draughts Box from the Duke of Grafton rustic utensils glossy surface that turns black

glossy surface that turns black on exposure to air

There is a figural medallion commemorating the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 held in the collection of the Smithsonian that is very similar in manner

stamped 1873

with the red cheeks

R & M Pell's 1841 Wallpapered Draughts Box from the Duke of Grafton rustic utensils glossy surface that turns blackYou know I love beautiful handwriting, and old wooden boxes, and antique draughts (checkers) too, so of course I fell for this one, which appears to have been a gift from the Duke of Grafton (in the southeast of Northhamptinshire, England) to an R & M Pell in 1841. There appears to be a hand written note to the Pells on the blue papered top, perhaps from the Duke himself, who one imagines sent these along as a gift, and in which the word "friend" is