I have a love for all types of antique boxes, especially if they retain the majority of their original contents.

This certainly applies to antique artists paint boxes, although it is nearly impossible to find one with its original contents as they were either bought or given as gifts to artists, who of course used them.

What I am looking for is for it to retain all the paints and brushes as it would have been left by the artist at the end of its life and it is acceptable to find paint marks on the wood.

I always wonder who the artist was, what type of paintings did they do and have any survived, indeed, have any of those paintings passed through my hands.

Over the years I have had many antique paint boxes through my hands, including examples by Newmans, Windsor & Newton and Reeves & Sons and am always on the look out for exceptional examples.