Page turner

Varnished wooden page turner. The rounded blades are printed both sides with world maps indicating international telegraph lines and cables, the handle printed with a calendar for the year 1891. Such page turners were particularly used by banker's, clerk's, accountants and others who worked with large, heavy ledgers and account books. The page turner was produced by the Eastern Telegraph Company Limited and The Eastern Extension Telegraph Company Limited, 50 and 11 Old Broad Street, London, E.C. The blade is decorated with a varnished section of world map on each side, having red lines indicating international land and sea telegraph lines. On one side, the map extends as far north as Brussels and south to include Arabia, from the east coast of the United States to the east coast of China. The other side of the blade encompasses Australia from north to south, and extends from the west coast of South America to the east coast of Australia and New Zealand. The black lacquered rounded handle has a gilt decorated printed calendar for the year 1891 -- January through June on one side and July through December on the other. The firm produced similar page turners throughout the 1890s. They were probably produced as promotional material and may have been presented as Christmas gifts to clients.