Antique Brittan Animal Cards - Set of Four nativity inside walnut from the triangular orange topper

from the triangular orange topper on the lid

with a great silhouette and wonderful surface decoration rendered in a few shades of lighter brown plus a couple of spots of deep red at the center of what look little suns or flowers

Blue cloth lettered in gold

and each one is wonderfully unique

They were ultimately replaced by the (far less beautiful

Antique Brittan Animal Cards - Set of Four nativity inside walnut from the triangular orange topperThis is a wonderful set of 4 lithograph cards, each featuring one animal with information about it on back. I believe these were produced in the 1880s, and represent the work of a few different artists, including Charles Edward Brittan (1837 1888), an English painter and illustrator known for animals and landscapes, and William Dickes (1815 1892), an English illustrator, engraver, printmaker and lithographer. This set of four includes the Brown Bear,