GEORG ADAM SCHEID 1905 Austria Mechanical Vesta Case In .900 Sterling Silver
A mechanical vesta case designed by Georg Adam Scheid.
This is a fabulous mechanical vesta case, created in Vienna Austria at the workshop of the silversmith Georg Adam Scheid, back in the 1905. The vesta box is made up of an unusual size in the Edwardian taste, with parts crafted in solid .900/.999 sterling silver and a steel rasp. Featuring a fusee with a wick and fitted with a concealed seven barrels hinged lid and push snap lock. The box has a discrete sliding door on top to roller up the wick for the flame. This is a gorgeous, unusual vesta box with a very compact and clean design.
Weight: 87.4 Grams, (56.03 Dwt).
Measurements: 70 mm by 45 mm by 16 mm (2.75 x 1.77 x 0.63 Inches).
Hallmarks: Stamped twice with Austrian control marks; the stamp for the city of Vienna, the maker's mark GAS associated to Georg Adam Scheid, the mark for the assay of the .900/.999 silver and the model letter Z.
Georg Adam Scheid
He was born in Schönau Baden, Württemberg on July 28, 1837. He started his apprenticeship in 1853 and operated afterwards in Pforzheim and Stuttgart. In 1858 he came to Vienna and entered the workshop of the gold, silver producer and jeweler Michael Markowitsch. He married one of Markowitsch daughters and in 1862 the company was renamed Markowitsch & Scheid and adopted the mark M & S. It was in Sandwirtgasse 8, and then in Gumpendorfer Straße 83. In 1882 they separated and Shied started his own flourishing operation, employing up to 300 workers. The silver decoration factory was named "G. A. Scheid" and used different marks. It was in Gumpendorfer Straße 85. Markowitsch & Scheid was then owned by Adolf Markowitsch alone, a son of Michael Markowitsch, and kept the same mark, the company shut down in 1898. Specialties of Sheid's factory were cigarette cases, powder boxes, write sets, toilet sets as well as jewelry boxes, which were also sold in large quantities in Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and Spain. To ensure the supply of raw materials in 1888 Scheid opened up his own refinery where, from precious metal wastes, raw material as well as semi-manufactured products, sheet metals and wires were produced. The operation grew rapidly and covered not only his own requirement, but goods were also exported abroad and with the establishment of sister operations in Budapest (1891), Prague (1920) and Bucharest (1923) Scheid took control of the market. In 1894 the sons Arthur (1870-1897) and Robert (1872-1950), as well as his nephew George (1850-1937), stepped in as partners. In 1911 George Adam Scheid withdrew from business life and Robert and Georg Scheid took over. Robert and his younger brother Ludwig (1886-1960) then assumed management. After the First World War, fall of the overseas market for the decoration sector and the bad economic situation led, consequently, to the liquidation of the decoration factory, while the "Affinerie" continued and in 1962 merged with the Ludwig Roessler GmbH to form the ÖGUSSA GmbH, which still exists today.
Vesta boxes
Vesta cases are small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry. They take their name from the Roman goddess of fire and the hearth, although in the United States they are more prosaically know as match safes. The first successful friction match appeared in 1826, and in 1832 William Newton patented the "wax vesta" in England. It consisted of a wax stem with embedded cotton threads and a tip of phosphorus. Antique Vesta Cases were made popular in Victorian times where they were worn on a chatelaine belt or men's fob to contain wax matches. They're usually solid sterling silver, and on the rare occasion, solid gold. Quite often engraved with the owner's initials.
Literature: Eric Schaling, George Adam Scheid, A Remarkable Viennese Silversmith, 2018. For similar objects illustrated.
Collateral: This vesta box is accompanied by a presentation jewelry pouch.
Condition: The overall condition of this George Adam Scheid vesta matches, and wick box is excellent. Besides the little normal wear, there is no damage to the silver. All parts are secured in the settings. This piece has been carefully inspected to guarantee the condition and authenticity.
INVENTORY REF: D111224AONH/2.521
