Writing Slope Restoration Advice Needed

[MrMGWard]

Yesterday I picked up my first writing slope off Craigslist. Iv been wanting one for a long time, but have always found the ones I like out of my price range. This one came up on CL for $25 so I figured Id snatch it up and see what I can do with it.

 

Any advice on where to start would be very appreciated.

 

All around some definite wear and tear. I am replacing the leather top on my antique desk, so will no doubt replace the dried felt here with leather at the same time. The inkwell that came with it has a small chip (nothing major) on the top, and is filled with old dried up ink. I'm guessing I can remove the cork and clean it? Hah or is "proper" to keep old ink wells the way they are?

 

 

Here is a shot with the first leaf open, and the compartment below exposed. You can see a small crack in the bottom of the box that I would like to seal if possible? (better pic coming below)

 

 

All the "walls" and very loosely fit and can be removed very easily. Was it common for these boxes to house an extra piece of wood to be used as a ruler? there are three long pieces that span the width of the box. 2 of which fit into slots, and a 3rd that is a touch shorter and just rests between them.

 

 

Here is a shot of the second leaf open exposing the other compartment. All looks well and good here.

 

 

Top and Bottom of the box. The "key plate" is no longer glued on, but I have it and will be re attaching it to the front. The one thing I feel this box is missing is the key. I don't suppose there is some way to have a key made? or how likely it is to find a replacement? Here you can also see a better view of the crack in the bottom.

 

 

Here is a shot of the hinges from the inside. The screws are a little loose, and hinges a little bent I think. Is there a proper way to fix this? I was thinking of removing the screws, filling the holes with something so they don't strip the existing old wood, straightening the hinges, then reattaching everything. Also there is some damage to the finish beside the hinge, any way to remedy that?

 

 

This is a shot of I'm guessing what used to lock the second leaf in place. It is missing, thus I would need a replacement. Possible? Also a little damage to the felt, but I am not worried about it, as I plan to redo the writing surface anyways.

 

 

The lock as it sits currently.

 

 

The sliding lock that locks the first leaf in place. Seems to be miss aligned somehow.

 

 

And finally a shot of the key plate, and a piece of wood that matches the box, but I can't for the life of me figure out where it belongs. It is cut to wide to fit in the spaces where the inkwell is, and nowhere else seems to be missing anything. Any thoughts?

 

 

That is a ton of pictures... Sorry for the over load. I'd love to get this slope cleaned up and fully functional again. Like I said, any help would be very very appreciated.

 

Swavey

[dnayakan]

Nice find. I'd encourage you to restore it carefully. My own bias would be the minimum required to make it functional again - I'm not too fond of restoration efforts that tear into and alter the character of a piece.

 

1) The crack in the wood is not at all unusual. I recently made a couple of writing slopes as gifts for my parents and this cracked piece of wood is why I went with a frame and panel construction. It makes the veneering work much more fiddly and strictly speaking, almost impossible to replicate the identical effect of the veneering on these older boxes but I was willing to trade that for the proven reliability of a frame and panel. Fixing the crack will need to be done carefully. Examine the box carefully to see how those panels are fixed to the box. If it is nails, carefully and slowly remove the nails and lift off the cracked piece of wood. Save the nails - they might be cut nails and not the wire nails that are typically found now. You can then apply a thin bead of glue (I'd suggest hot hide glue since it would be what was likely used in that period and has the advantage of being reversible with heat and water - if you do not have facility for warming the glue, you can buy Old Brown Glue which lets you work at room temperature but some clamps and cauls might be needed then, or a lot of patience). Once the crack is repaired, you can nail the board back. Orient the cut nails properly - the wedge shape should go across the grain to prevent wedging and splitting the wood. The only way to ensure that the wood does not split or crack any more is to keep it is a reasonably stable environment (i.e., minimize the humidity changes in the room it is in).

 

2) I'm not sure what you mean by extra pieces of wood that span the width of the box? Are you referring to the supports - usually the leaves and the elements of the pen rest/inkwell box rest on these pieces of wood.

 

3) The escutcheon plate looks like it needs to be glued on - at any rate, I do not see holes to hammer escutcheon nails.

 

4) You could try to get a key made - I do not know how easy it is.

 

5) You are right that there is a missing piece - the small mortise with the missing piece houses a catch to keep the leaf closed. These can be sourced from Rod Naylor or www.brasscastings.co.uk - both are UK based - getting things measured will help you ensure you get the correct piece.

 

6) If the hinges are not badly deformed (i.e., you are able to close the box and it is functional), I would not mess with them - that is a rather unique hinge mechanism - not too common and it would be a shame to wreck it. Usually, the skiver itself acts as a hinge for the leaves but here, it looks as though the hinge can rely completely on the wood surfaces and you could make a very clean looking skiver in two or three separate pieces that will not get creased over time. It is a damned clever hinge.

 

7) I would apply some felt to the bottom. It will help to hold the wood together and reduce the chances of further splitting and it will prevent the wood from getting marred as the box is inevitably pulled/pushed/scraped across a desk surface.

 

It looks like a beautiful piece and I am sure it will give you years of writing pleasure.

 

Cheers, DJ

[Anne-Sophie]

This is indeed a beautiful and unique piece!

[futhark]

Re: the extra piece that seems to lack a place in the slope: are there "secret drawers" under the pen and ink tray? Could the piece be from that area? It is a beautiful box. Is the interior faux rosewood, or the real thing? Also, I have never seen a slope with a top decorated like this one. Is that all inlay work?

[Shangas]

Some old locks like that are very very very simple in construction. Take the box to the nearest flea-market, and seek out a chap or chapette who sells old keys.

 

Just keep searching until you find the key that fits the lock and turns it. It looks like a rather generic old-style "ward"-lock. And the keys for those types of locks are very simple and common. It's when you get to the super-complex locks like what I have on MY writing-box, that you really have to start panicking.

 

Just glue and screw everything back in place. Stick down the writing-leather, smooth everything off...I've seen boxes in MUCH worse condition than this, and for MUCH higher prices than $25 (try $500!!!).

 

Not all boxes came with secret compartments. Some did, some didn't. some are more secret than others. The spaces at the top of the box are for the inkwell, the pen-nibs, pen-shafts, sealing-wax, stamps, etc, etc, pounce-pot, etc, etc...

 

Oh, and I'd hazard a guess that the slip-catch on the top leaf of the slope is an after-production add-on.

 

The only catch you need on these slopes is for the BOTTOM leaf, because you always close the box from the bottom up, and the catch is to stop the leaf dropping open. There's no point in having a catch on the top leaf, because if you closed it the other way around...not only would the box be upside down, but the inkwell would leak EVERYWHERE.

 

Regardless of whatever, this box will need extensive restoration before it's a practical item again.

 

The good news is...

 

It's all there. There doesn't seem to be any major missing pieces.

 

A key (preferrably, TWO) for a lock that simple should be pretty easy to find, with diligence.

 

All you need is glue and some dowls and/or screws to put the thing back together. You can probably glue that brass key-plate onto the front of the box pretty easily.

 

It's fairly easy to find desk-leather for a box like that.

 

You can wash the inkwell really easily.

 

The bad news is...

 

That bottom catch for the lower leaf. You need one of those before you can use the box. You can't use it without it. Otherwise it's gonna drop open and scatter your papers everywhere.

 

--- --- --- ---

 

It IS possible to restore this box to something resembling a usable condition, but it would take several weekends.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Shangas

[melissa59]

Wow, I've never seen one of those before. What a great thing to have, especially for a writer who collects vintage pens. If I'd seen one, I would never have known what it was. Great find!