Antique Silver & Cut Glass Desk Compendium by John Grinsell c.1908

A rare Edwardian cut glass inkwell with swivelling pocket watch and pocket barometer set in substantial silver mount hallmarked John Grinsell & Sons, Birmingham, 1908. Desk compendium in cut glass with silver mounted pocket watch and pocket barometer. The Swiss made watch with 1½" enamel dial, roman chapter ring, blued steel pear hands, inset subsidiary seconds, silver plated case retained in a mobile mounting swivelling on a yoke, doubling as ink cover in the horizontal, and as a viewable time piece in its raised position, crown wind and hand set. Captured in its silver mount by a silver bayonet retaining ring. Silver hallmarks struck to case and bayonet ring, further marked with "Regd Design No 476070." The pocket barometer with 1¾" silvered and die struck dial, calibrated in inches of mercury with a range from 26 - 31, divided to 1/10ths, blued steel pointer, rotating bezel with index, black triangular index to glass. Conventional movement driven from a 1" single capsule and tensioned on a C spring. Bright silver plated case with extension post and calibration port to verso. Matching hallmarked bayonet retainer. The cube form cut glass inkwell with plain sides and hob nail base complete with correct inset liner. Attached hallmarked silver mount. Comments: This desk compendium is very occasionally seen, most often with a pocket watch only - the combination of watch and barometer is certainly a rarity. This is a delightful piece with its many charming aesthetic qualities, from the almost ice like glass to the sophistication of a barometer and convenience of a timepiece. Very much a collector or connoisseur’s piece.