Pocketbook

Date1755

OriginAfrica, Morocco (probably); used in England

MediumLeather, Silver metallic embroidery

DimensionsOW (closed) 7 1/2"; OH (closed) 4 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1985-231

DescriptionRectangular folding pocketbook of red morocco leather, decorated with silver and silver gilt needlework. On the outside (when closed) the pocketbook has centralized scalloped oval with stylized fleur de lis inside, and scrolls forming diamonds at each corner. The inside is decorated with corner scrolls and inscriptions: "Godfrey Heathcote/ Chesterfield/ 1755". On the other flap is the word "Tetuan," for the location in northern Morocco. Pocketbook has four inner compartments lined with yellow-brown leather and serrated flaps for holding contents in position.
Label TextA relatively large number of similarly embroidered pocketbooks were inscribed with the city names "Constantinople" in Turkey and "Tetuan" in northern Morocco. The surviving examples date from the late seventeenth century to the third quarter of the eighteenth century. Perhaps the pocketbooks were souvenirs of travels, but were they actually embroidered in the locations written on them? The English diarist Samuel Pepys had a pocketbook embroidered in silver with his name, "Saml Pepys Esq" and "Constantinople Anno 1687." Pepys was not in Constantinople that year, and we assume the wallet may have been a gift. Another "Tetuan" pocketbook from 1727 (CWF 1936-587) is interlined with old English-language printed papers, suggesting that it was made in an English-speaking area or under the direction of a British merchant. Silver wire inlay is still an industry in Tetuan; the pocketbooks may relate to this industry.

Exhibition(s)