TRAVELLING WRITING CASE
1838The writing case has a brass strip around all external edges with a thinner brass strip one centremetre in. There is a brass handle at each end of the box and they lay flush with the sides.
A small circular raised escutcheon is at the centre front.
On the lid is a decorative brass name plate engraved with 'Mr C Harper'. Brass inlay strips are on the inside corners.
The top internal flap has a dark blue narrow ribbon in a diamond pattern held in place with brass pins. When this flap is laid back, it forms a writing top. This top is covered in olive green baize.
The bottom half lifts up to reveal a storage area and three (3) small drawers. There is also a long thin compartment on top of the drawers. The compartment is divided into three (3) smaller compartments.
The long middle area has a removable lid with a central knob handle. One divider is missing.
The box also contains one (1) unidentified piece.
Charles Harper was the Anglican Minister during the Toodyay Convict Depot era.
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Details
Rev. Charles Harper was born in 1799 and died in 1872.
He was Toodyay's first Anglican minister, and the first ordained from Western Australia. While being a minister of the church was probably far from his intentions when he set sail for the Swan River Colony in 1837, his family's clerical background and his own disposition suited him well for this vocation. Harper served the Toodyay district for over 30 years, first as registrar of births, deaths and marriages, then from 1849 as an ordained minister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Harper_(minister)
