Description:
This remarkable etui transforms itself into three instruments plus storage case. When closed, it appears to be a cylinder with disk at one end and a hexagonal ball at the other. The disk has an intaglio of a coat of arms carved into its surface and can be used as a wax seal. The ball end unscrews from the cylinder and turns out to be the ball hinge of brass dividers with steel points. The wax seal screws off the cylinder, revealing a holder for a crayon or graphite.
The coat of arms consists of a shield with a lion rampant crossed diagonally by three bends. The crest is a crown with 9 balls, indicating the rank of an earl, count, or baron, depending on the country of origin.