Restoration Project!

Sometimes a rainy afternoon can produce interesting outcomes. We had our neighbour in for a roast chicken lunch (her favourite), and after she had gone home my husband found this writing box in a cupboard.
We had almost forgotten about it, but he bought it several years ago, intending to restore it for me! We had even bought some velvet to replace the old one.
It is a fascinating box, made in walnut, with some little compartments for ink, pens etc.
If you pull up the pieces of wood under the velvet, there are secret compartments large enough to hold letters.
I wonder who owned it - and if letters from someone special were stored inside at some time?