Campaign Dressing Case, General Rowland Hill, 1808-1815 (c)

Wooden and black leather box, with silver plated contents, made by Williams and Company, 1808.

This is the dressing case used by General Rowland Hill while he was fighting in the Waterloo campaign. This ingenious leather case neatly stores over twenty different tools and glass boxes for medicine and lotions. The tools include tweezers, nail files, a tortoiseshell comb, razors, a fold-up corkscrew and scissors.

The many tools, instruments and toiletries show the high level of personal luxury that a high-ranking officer expected to maintain even while he was fighting battles.