Silver, lined with cedar, London hallmarks for 1936-37, mark of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, designed and made by Rudolf Tanner.

Silver, rectangular cigarette box with squared ends, lined with cedar, engraved along the front and on the lid. The engraving on the front panel consists of four, upright straps, equidistantly placed, of a lion rampant on a stepped plinth holding a representative flag of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom , the third from the right showing the Union Jack, the composite flag for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The lid, a flat panel, hinged along the back is engraved in the centre with a cypher for George VI, (a crown surmounted by a crowned lion) and the letter G., R., either side and the Roman numeral VI, beneath.

Given by John Tanner

Rudolf Tanner (1895-1978) was a silversmith who trained and later taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. It was there that he probably met H.G. Murphy RDI (1884-1939) who had been teaching on a part time basis at the Central since 1912, later becoming Head of the Silversmithing Department in 1932 and ultimately Principal of the School in 1936. Murphy was one of the most important and progressive silversmiths between the two world wars. He had worked briefly and unhappily for Emil Lettré, an established German silversmith and jeweller in Berlin in 1912. This experience and an enquiring mind made Murphy aware of emerging Modernism, particularly in respect to German modern design and it was he along with a few others, most notably Harold Stabler, who were responsible for introducing modernistic values into English contemporary silver and jewellery.

Murphy was a gifted and dedicated teacher and as well as running his own workshop, taught silversmithing and jewellery throughout his career, at first at the Royal College of Art and then at the Central School. Family history relates that Murphy did have a direct influence on the design and manufacture of Tanner's cigarette box and that it may have either been made in Murphy's Falcon Studio in Weymouth Street or in the workshop of the Central School, Silversmithing and Jewellery Department. Certainly its design is a competent essay in English Modernism and undoubtedly shows Murphy's influence. The engraving may have been assisted by Murphy or George T. Friend, the most accomplished engraver in London, who was a friend and associate of Murphy and who taught engraving, part time at the Central School.

This box was designed and made in 1936 in response to a Goldsmiths' Company competition for commemorative coronation items. Evidently intended for the forthcoming coronation of Edward VIII which ultimately did not happen, the engraved Royal Crown on the lid is that of George VI. This box was subsequently exhibited in Paris in 1937 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et des Techniques where it won a commendation.

Rudolf Tanner (1895-1978) was a silversmith who trained and later taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. This box was designed and made in 1936 in response to a Goldsmiths' Company competition for commemorative coronation items. Evidently intended for the forthcoming coronation of Edward VIII which ultimately did not happen, the engraved Royal Crown on the lid is that of George VI. This box was subsequently exhibited in Paris in 1937 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et des Techniques where it won a commendation.

M.51-2009