Puzzle Box

This little box has been in my family for as long as I can remember. As a small child I couldn’t work out how the drawer opened and was amazed when mum made it “magically” open.
Obviously, I soon learnt that a bit of trim on the side slid back to reveal a small catch which, when pressed, released the drawer, which had a spring behind it to propel it forwards. Despite the box now being at least 60 years old (could even be older, as I have a suspicion that it belonged to my dad’s mum before my mum inherited it) the mechanism still works, although the sliding bit of trim is no longer invisible when closed, thanks to years of use.
I found it at the back of a drawer after mum went into hospital recently, and it seems to have had a bit of a hard life in recent years, as it was quite dirty and the varnish on the top had totally disappeared. There were a couple of gaps in the marquetry scene as well. I couldn’t fix those, but I did give it a good clean and put a couple of coats of varnish on the top. For good measure, I then lightly sanded the whole box and applied a further coat of varnish all over.
Very pleased with the result. It’s not in perfect condition but it still works as it should and will hopefully last for many more years to come.