Every antique is a time traveler that comes with its story. This is the part of the story that I know. I purchased this artist case in 1983 at a sale in Cincinnati's gaslight district.  The seller told me Jacob Royer was a landscape artist who attended the Art Institute of Dayton. The seller's friend who was a bush pilot in Alaska a few years earlier landed near an abandoned cabin.The cabin was empty expect for this case which was sitting covered with dust on a shelf . When the friend returned to Ohio, he gave it to the seller.  Did Jacob Royer go to Alaska or did he give or sell the old artist's case to someone else who traveled there?

The case has his name on it in two places as well as "Dayton, O". There is a handwritten list of artist supplies still attached to the inside. His stylized initials J R are bracketed by the numbers 1 and 9 for the year 1919 and although his name was painted over, it still shows through the black paint. The case is dark wood with brass corners and latches and what seems to be a leather dog collar for a carrying handle.On the side there is an alcove with latches to store a small canvas.

The case measures 15-1/2 x 10-3/4 x 3-3/4 inches.

While you can purchase an artist's paintings and sketches, acquiring their plein air artist's case is a rarity indeed