Brass Edging and Binding

The use of brass edging around the perimeter of a box appears to have become increasingly fashionable from around the beginning of George IV’s reign in 1820. As well as protecting and strengthening vulnerable edges and joints, the brass also helped conceal construction lines and became an important decorative feature in its own right. 

Common forms included right-angle brass edging, radial brass, quadrant brass and broader brass strapping or binding. As nineteenth-century tastes developed, the finest boxes were often finished with more pronounced profiled edging, particularly quadrant brass, which gave the case a more substantial and highly finished appearance.