Antique Black Typewriter Porcelain Limoges Box

An old black typewriter, the kind that clacked away in newsrooms and home offices for most of a century, is captured here as a hand-painted porcelain Limoges box. It was made in Limoges, France, as a salute to everyone who ever pounded out a story one key at a time.

Click, Clack, Ding

Before laptops, the typewriter was how novels, love letters and term papers came to life. The black body and the rows of keys are painted by hand here, so the shine and the small details vary a little from one box to another.

For the Writers in Your Life

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Belongs in a writing, office or professional collection
• Pairs with stack of books, inkwell and globe boxes

Fresh Ribbon, New Chapter

This makes a thoughtful present for a newly published novelist, a retiring journalist or editor, or a longtime legal secretary. Students finishing a thesis and screenwriters who just sold a script will enjoy it too. Keep it on a writing desk, in a home office or on a library shelf.

Kaolin and Keys

Porcelain making took root in Limoges after a deposit of kaolin, a fine white clay, was located near Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche in 1768. Like the typewriter, it is a craft built on careful, patient handwork.