Old Maid Prize, Black Ink Drawing Signed F.A, 1892 vintage pewter mold I then opened the box

I then opened the box to discover the whetstone inside--making this quite the useful box

which is jet black and crisp

There is little chipping

and this one provides a better grip

9 1/2" long x 5 7/8" tall x 6 7/8" deep

Old Maid Prize, Black Ink Drawing Signed F.A, 1892 vintage pewter mold I then opened the boxAt first I thought this antique merit award type drawing was a snarky, or tongue in cheek portrait of an old spinster, which, as a happily unmarried woman in her late 40's, appealed to me personally, but then I realized it was surely a prize for the winner of what must have been a fierce Old Maid card game, or maybe long stretch of games. And indeed, Old Maid in its current incarnation dates to the early 1880s, popular in England as well as in the U.