Manicure set

Object Type
This manicure set was among the contents of an embroidered casket used by a young girl, Martha Edlin (1660-1725), to store her small personal possessions. It is marked with her initials M E. Its four implements were used as part of her beauty and hygiene routine. It is unclear what each tool was used for, but they may include an earspoon for removing ear wax, a tongue scraper, a tool for cleaning dirt from under fingernails and a toothpick or cuticle pusher.

People
A group of Martha Edlin's possessions from her childhood, including this manicure set, were kept in the casket, cherished by her descendants and passed down through the female line in her family for over 300 years. We know little about her life, except that she married a man called Richard Richmond and appears to have been a prosperous widow with daughters and grandchildren, who was living in Pinner in Greater London at the time she drew up her will.