Lovely 19th Century Handmade Book-Shaped Candy Box, Hand-painted Paper and Velvet Over Board antique property sign was raised as one of

was raised as one of 12 children to sharecropper parents near Montgomery

One certainly imagines these were modeled after specific houses--if only I had an entire town's worth

mounted as found to a gold flecked Japanese rice paper

but I at least can't find examples of others like these

Unsigned other than the two words "My Mel" on reverse

Lovely 19th Century Handmade Book-Shaped Candy Box, Hand-painted Paper and Velvet Over Board antique property sign was raised as one ofThis I believe was made as a bonbon box, with the padded interior compartment framed with paper lace. (Those doily lined Russell Stover Valentine's chocolate boxes didn't come out of nowhere!) Of course I love it for its book form, and especially that hand hand printed checkerboard patterned paper across the front (with the patterns on those tiny squares evincing pressed seamoss), perfectly bordered in embossed silver and green trim. More silver trim