Blotter and Stamp Box Desk Set

We’ve all been in the situation before. You’re out hunting for buildings. You drove a long distance and spent many hours searching for a treasure. Time goes by and your frustration increases because you’re finding nada. I’ve been there many times. On one occasion, I had seen one building early in the day, but passed it up because it was yet another U.S. Capital building. When I completed my vast search and look at every table of the antique show, I was empty handed. Sigh. Not again. I strolled back to take a second look at the capital because it was a bit different than most I’d seen. It was a capital on an ink blotter. Now, I’d never used one myself, but I knew what a blotter was. They were used to soak up extra ink by rocking it back and forth over a newly-written fountain pen ink. Well, I thought, it was a least somewhat different. The price was ok, so I bought it. A year went by and I was in almost the same situation when I spied a small box with a very small Washington Monument on top. The lid opens on a hinge and the box inside is divided in half. When I got it home, I compared it to the blotter and realized the materials and finishes were the same. My guess now is that the box was for stamps and, together, they were part of an old desk set. Perhaps an inkwell, letter opener or letter rack might also have been included originally. It was a happy discovery and makes the two souvenir replicas more intriguing in my view. Do you have a piece which might go with this set? Have you purchased something out of sheer desperation and were later glad you did? Share your thoughts in the ‘comments’ link below this paragraph.