CARTIER SILVER LETTER OPENER / PAPER CUTTER / PAGE MARKER Cartier, Paris circa 1950

the silver blade topped by a silver 5 francs coin dated 1851 itself topped by the outline of a sailing ship in the shape of the symbol of the City of Paris signed ‘Cartier Paris’ Hallmark: French silver hallmark ‘boar’s head’; Cartier Paris maker's mark ‘SCA’, registered in October 1929 L. 17 cm gross weight: 48.32 gr. In its original case with the coat of arms of Paris, with the certificate of authenticity by Alain Cartier no. ALC-33 After the Second World War the Maison Cartier continued to create desk or smokers' accessories which had been so popular since 1900, albeit less expensive to concur with the economic situation of the immediate postwar era. Silver was a perfect material for this merchandise. Used as a page marker, the book hides the blade with the coin and City of Paris symbol sticking out nicely. The symbol of the City of Paris sitting atop the round coin, just like the image of a ship sailing on top of a globe, was symbolic of the resurgence of the city, especially after 1950 when economic conditions started to improve after four years of occupation and ten years of hardship. Stamped in gold on the caver of the original case are the arms of the City of Paris indicating that the item was a present from the mayor's office.