Butterfly and Blooms, Sweet Antique Oil on Board Paint (Any End Up!) antique acrobat toy which includes a date of

which includes a date of 1868

this might once have held an interior tray or trays for those

I love it just as an object (with a handy hole at the top for hanging)

which shows very very subtly on the front cover

Plus a painted tray in glorious blue and red that sits at top and lifts out to reveal pure red below

Butterfly and Blooms, Sweet Antique Oil on Board Paint (Any End Up!) antique acrobat toy which includes a date ofJust a sweet and lovely little painting, purchased from a favorite rare book seller in Maine, from whom I've bought lots of old hand done things. Seems to me there is no set orientation it works from every direction, so perhaps a litmus test of sorts: a butterfly fluttering heavenward, or descending toward the earth? 8 3 8" x 6 1 2", oil on board, very good condition, perfect sky blue.