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PLEASE READ FIRST. This one's for Charlie (M1958) in response to his accident box. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. I didn't make this but I got it as a trainwreck & renovated it. It is a family piece that came from an old maiden friend of my wifes Grandmother.(still with me?) This is known as a Campaign writing slope. The original laptop & popular with officers in the late 1800's & early 1900's away on capaign. Used to carry all correspondence materials pens ink paper etc.& letters from home. Miss Robson bought this box for her young man going off to fight in the trenches in WW1. Now for the sad part. Like so many other young men he never came home just this damaged box & a few belongings. Miss Robson as you may have guessed never married but she kept the box & on her death in the early 60's the broken down box was passed on to her lifelong friend my wifes grandmother. When Grandma died it came down to my mother-in-law & on her death 2 years ago on to my wife. So in memory of them all & to the young man who laid down his life I have put it back into working order, the brass name plate was missing so I made a new one & as it has always been known as "Miss Robsons' box" so I engraved it so & inlaid it into the lid. I have recovered the writing surface in red Velvet from Lucas' chair & lined the storage areas with green baise.These pieces though antique have no real monetary value but I felt very priveliged working on it knowing all that it had been through to arrive with us.
God bless all the brave men that fight & lay down their lives for freedom & right & bless those that love & mourn them.
Thanks for reading
Trevor

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Comments

· In Loving Memory
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Certainly nice to have a bit of history on the project… nice tale and nice work…
 

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Beautiful box! Thanks for sharing your story.
 

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That is a touching story. I am a better person, knowing that it was re-built with such dignity. Now it will remain for many more generations. I love posts like these. Thanks.
 

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Outstanding restoration Trevor. You took some pieces of wood with a story behind it and turned it "back into" something beautiful. A piece to treasure and hand down from generation to generation. Thanks for the story and the pics. Nice work.
 

· In Loving Memory
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NICE STORY, NICE BOX, VERY THOUGHTFUL GESTURE. SOMEONE OR A FEW SOULS IN HEAVEN I'M SURE ARE SMILING RIGHT NOW.
 

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878 Posts
Dude, you almost brought tears to my eyes.
Nice work, this piece would deserve to end up in a museum, with its story and that of its former owners. Thanks for sharing the good karma.
 

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Stuff like this is why I come to Lumber Jocks first thing in the morning. What an inspiring piece and story to match. Hats off to you Trevor for your skillful reincarnation of this "Priceless" piece and the heart it takes to truly understand what it really is.

Yup… Seeing this made my day. Thanks for sharing Trevor!
 

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What a wonderful story.
What a wonderful box.
You have caused me to ponder all that is around me.

Thanks,
Steve
 

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Lovely old piece. Nice restoration.
Roger
 

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wonderful story and restoration. Do you have a before picture?
 

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Trevor, great job on the restoration and a fantastic story to go along with it. This project truly exemplifies how a piece of woodworking can be an important history lesson, and how a woodworker can facilitate the honor and dignity of that piece living on for future generations to ponder.

Excellent work, my friend!

(And thanks for giving me the heads-up PM.)
 

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An excellent tribute to all that previously possessed the box. I'm sure they would all be proud.
 

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Beautiful work, Trevor, and an excellent restoration job. I think you did a fabulous job of honoring the memory of Miss Robson and her man who went marching off to war. It is wonderful when pieces like this are kept around for generations and the story stays with them. They may not be worth a fortune in money, but the worth that lives in the heart is far more valuable.

May I suggest that you write out the story as you have here and keep it permanently stored inside the box so the story is never lost. I say this because I have a couple of things that I know are family mementos, but I don't know their full stories.
 

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I second Mary Anne's suggestion!
 

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Thank you for your well executed effort on Miss Robson's box Trevor. I truly appreciate what you have done.

I disagree with you on the monetary value though. The history and your work have made it worth a fortune.

I personally believe this to be a piece deserving to be loaned from time to time to a museum, where I know your work and the history can touch an untold amount of people.
 

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Wow! This means a lot to me, while I was working on the box of bits, re-assembling, & making new parts, there were little signs of history, a couple of words in ink that had been transferred to the wood through the blotting paper & I was totally immersed in the known history of the box but also imagining someone writing letters home from France amid the horrors that were going on all around. It may sound a bit romantic but I felt the spirit of the people who had been custodians of this box, after all we are all only custodians & as woodworkers we create for & pass on our knowledge to the next generation, we will live on in that way. I did feel this job had been just for me but all of your responses tell me it's a shared thing. We've all known tragedy & joy & love & sharing this one with you has made me realise we are all family. Thankyou & bless you Lumberjocks. I will keep the transcript for my grandchildren.
Trevor
 

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Great story and work! Congrats.
 

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What a story.
Fine restore.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 
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