Antique c.1750s French Vernis Martin and 18k Billet Doux, Sweet Notes, Love Letter Etui, Painting Staffordshire Each plaque has incised "24

Each plaque has incised "24 T"

1767–after 1831)

The glass or tumbler (timbale in French)

and a spot lower left (her bodice) that looks to have been touched up at some time

and the pupils in her blue eyes

Antique c.1750s French Vernis Martin and 18k Billet Doux, Sweet Notes, Love Letter Etui, Painting Staffordshire Each plaque has incised "24I just love these old things. The history is as fun as the object. These are rare! What some think might be a cigar case is, instead, a 1700s "billet doux", or directly translated, "sweet note". The case is that into which love notes, invitations to clandestine trysts and such words of love would be sent by courier to one's beloved. Marriage being what it was among elites and titled persons in Marie Antoinette's era and earlier, one did not always