The mysterious journey of Lady Valerie Meux's Egyptian-style letterbox

Now this is a real treasure, an Egyptian-style letterbox that once belonged to Lady Valerie Meux and was kept in her museum at Theobald's Park, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. It is now in the possession of the Peggy Joy Egyptology in the United States.

Lady Meux amassed a huge collection of Ancient Egyptian artefacts which was displayed at Theobald's Park, with more than 1,700 items, including 800 scarabs, amulets and the famous 'cursed' mummy of Nesmin. A lot of this collection was put together by E. A. Wallis Budge of the British Museum.

In her will, Lady Meux tried to leave the collection to the British Museum, but the trustees declined. The collection was auctioned in 1911 and dispersed across the world. Nesmin now resides in Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Whether the letterbox was sold at this auction is uncertain but it eventually found its way to auction in England where it was spotted by Egyptologist Dr. Nicholas Reeves, author of many books including The Complete Valley of the Kings: Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs (Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2008) The Complete Tutankhamun (Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1990). He alerted William Joy, creator and curator of the Peggy Joy Egyptology Library, to the auction who made the winning bid.

The letterbox measures almost 11 inches in length, by 6.75 inches wide, and 6.125 inches in height.

Hieroglyphs are on the front and back of the box. Unfortunately, the key was lost, but the cover opens and closes easily, and snaps in place.

The name of the letterbox's maker is stamped on the back upper edge of the lower half of the box. It is Alex Jones & Co, 154, Regent Street, London. The company was a fairly well-known maker of items for desks, and are listed in this Antique Box Guide.

The English Egyptologist Chris Elliott, author of Egypt in England (Historic England, 2012) told William Joy that the hieroglyphs are not mere decoration, but they do have meaning. Chris Elliott said: "I can see phrases about the good or beautiful goddess, and born of his body, although whether this is meant to refer to Lady Meux I'm not sure."

Chris Elliott thought Wallis Budge may have provided the inscription, though again, this is pure speculation; there is no way to know now, unless some document appeared that mentioned the box.

William Joy says: "I thought the box would be empty, but was surprised to find, when it arrived, that it was filled with letters, cards, and photos of the widow of a horse trainer for Lady Meux ... Also, at the bottom of the letterbox of Lady Meux, were some English coins, going back to the time of Queen Victoria, including a silver crown and a half crown. Because these were pinned beneath all of the papers stuffed into the box, they were not rattling about down there, and the auctioneer was unaware of them."

Many thanks to William Joy, creator and curator of the Peggy Joy Egyptology Library, who supplied all the information and took the photographs.