EDIT: More photos! http://imgur.com/a/d8K92
The tin: http://i.imgur.com/pIzTwPG.jpg
Approx 3" wide, 1.5" high, 1.7" tall.
So last night my mind was blown. My grandparents were clearing out some of their stuff and, among others, they gave me this beautiful, haunting tin.
And for the first time, they mentioned that her father was the orphaned son of a prostitute who was a ward of the state and was palmed off on a regiment as a musician and boy soldier.
He gave it to her when she was eight years old and now she's passed it on to me. It's beautifully made but has absolutely no marks or lettering on it, so I have no idea what it is, where or when it was made or anything bar how it came into our family. She believes it may be a tack pin, but she also doesn't trust iron ships ability to float, so who knows!
Thanks!
(For bonus points, here's the Kodak Brownie 127 mk2 camera and WWII stopwatch they also gave me!: http://i.imgur.com/kCG0nPy.jpg )
It's hard to tell from just one photo/angle, but it looks like a snuff box - if you search ebay and antiques sites for "WWI snuffboxes" you'll find images of similarly sized/shaped boxes, although the design of this one looks a bit unusual. They were a very common item from WWI soldiers to have.
Edit: found one with a very similar design, but in a slightly different shape. Definitely a snuff box.
The stopwatch is made by Robert Pringle for the Air Ministry 1940, probably for use by an aircraft navigator.
Edit: http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/watch.htm 2/3rds down the page.
Are you sure that's brass? In the photos it looks like it could be tarnished silver.
Snuff box, and probably made of silver. It should have some "silver markings" on it. Those are images and letters stamped into either the lid or around the top (inside area that is hidden). These can give you clues as to the maker and year it was made.
