Height: 9cm (3.5in) x 6.5cm (2.5in) x 2cm (0.75in)
Provenance: Sir Morton Smart, GCVO, DSO (1877-1956)
Silver, gold and enamels. Russian style combination vesta and cigarette case, with reeded surface decoration, the flush hinged lid to main compartment centrally applied with the crowned GvR cypher of King George V (reigned 1910-1936). Fitted with an integral steel match striker at the upper end, and tinder cord retainer chain and hook to the side; the cigarette and vesta compartments with gilt interior, the interior of the cigarette compartment inscribed 1933. Maker’s mark of Arthur William Hardiman. Contained in its original navy blue, gilt tooled morocco case bearing GVR cypher and interior the label silk of the Royal warrant holder Collingwood, 46 Conduit Street, London. Hallmarked London 1920.
Read more
Sir Morton Warrack Smart GCVO, DSO (1877–1956) was manipulative surgeon to George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of the painter John Smart, and attended George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh. He served in the South African War, before graduating from medical school in 1902. Settling in London, he established a large private practice. Prior to the First World War he was a keen member of the British Motor Boat Club and served on an Admiralty committee concerning the use of such vessels in the event of war. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill appointed a him Commander, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and Chief of Staff to the Admiral in command of gunboats in the Belgian canals. Service in a flotilla in the Dardanelles saw him awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1917. He subsequently served in the Aegean and in the West Indies before demobilisation in 1919. He became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1932. He also received decorations from Spain and Monaco. When Edward VIII succeeded to the throne in 1936, he appointed Smart to the new office of Manipulative Surgeon to the King, for which service he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1949. A distinguished motor boater, yachtsman and horticulturalist, his funeral address was given by Lord Louis Mountbatten.