A most attractive set of 19th century tortoiseshell bellows. The face side with beautifully engraved mother of pearl floral and foliage decoration.The reverse side plain tortoiseshell.
c. 1850
"Bellows" is only used in plural. A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists essentially of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtight cavity which can be expanded and contracted by operating the handles, and fitted with a valve allowing air to fill the cavity when expanded, and with a tube through which the air is forced out in a stream when the cavity is compressed. It has many applications, in particular blowing on a fire to supply it with air
Width14.00 inch(35.6 cm)
Ref No. 6009