Nailed Heart, Hand-tooled Details, c. Early 19th Century Leather and Wood Snuff Shoe pin cushion describing them as "Poster Crayons

describing them as "Poster Crayons for Free Expression" -- what could be better

but have it on fairly good authority that these likely date to the 1880s or so

but I think it may be my favorite--elegantly carved with eye-shaped openings on each side exposing a very round ball inside--and the very first grain-painted whimsy I have ever seen

was the teacher

with the glowing face of the young woman at left in sharpest focus but everything else pretty soft around the edges

Nailed Heart, Hand-tooled Details, c. Early 19th Century Leather and Wood Snuff Shoe pin cushion describing them as "Poster CrayonsI love a carved shoe, and especially a carved shoe shaped snuff box, but I look at a whole lot of them and mostly let them go. I purchased this and a second today on Ebay from a seller who seemed to have come into a very good small collection of them, all fine early examples I think this one c. late 1700s based on form and materials and compparison to related examples out there. A fairly unusual one, hand tooled leather rather than wood, every inch