This cigarette case is a unique piece.
The late 50s was a period of change for Benney who wanted "...to design silver which is immediately recognisable as English..", this was the time of the famous bark texture that would become his trademark published in House Beautiful in 1962. After the difficult 50s Britain entered a new phase of changes
Gerald Benney (1930-2008), one of the most successful and highly regarded silversmiths of the 1960s and 1970s. He spent his early years in Brighton studying at the Art College (1946-48) where his father, the painter E. A. Sallis Benney, was Principal. Gerald was taught silversmithing by Dunstan Pruden, who also had an independent workshop in Ditchling, where Benney also worked one day a week. Following military service Benney went on to the Royal College of Art. Influenced by Georg Jensen, he developed a modern Scandinavian style recognisable by his use of strong geometric forms and innovative texture. His signature textured tree-bark finish was developed by accident while using a defective hammer which allowed him to create a ripple surface that also proved to be hard-wearing and to tarnish less.