1894 Sterling Sliver Vesta Case/Match Safe - For Andy Only

 Such a pretty antique! Stamps are: J.W, side facing anchor, 'u' in the old square shape, and the lion.

Here is a bit of information on vesta cases:

Vesta cases are small portable boxes made to contain matches and keep them dry. They take their name from the Roman goddess of fire and the hearth, although in the United States they are more prosaically know as match safes.

When they first came into use in the 1830s, friction matches were hazardous and could combust without warning, so vesta cases were something of a necessity.

But as their production became more sophisticated, they came to say much about the status, wealth and personality of their owner. Part of the essential 'dress code' of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, they were made in a range of materials and in a bewildering number of forms, from the purely functional to the deluxe and the novel.