The Inherited Object
Starting at €2,800,00
An object arrives in your hands already full — of the hands that held it before yours, their grip, their intent, their silence. You may know some of the story. You certainly don't know all of it.
Every inherited object is dense with history: the decisions that kept it safe, those that nearly lost it, and those that eventually brought it to you. You may know fragments of its provenance — a date, a name, a country — but the deeper narrative is often obscured, passed down in half-sentences rather than a complete record.
We trace the object's journey through time, from one set of hands to the next, each transfer marking a small decision about what was worth preserving. We examine both the verified record and the gaps, treating each with the same integrity. The lives of its previous keepers could become visible around the object, revealing the weight of a history you are now entrusted to hold.
Choose Your Scope
Origin
For an inherited object whose origins and passage through the family are already well known. We gather family accounts, examine available documents and photographs, establish a clear chronology of ownership, and write the object's history in a coherent narrative.
Passage
For an object that has passed through several generations, moved between countries, or survived significant changes in a family's circumstances. We explore the people, places, periods, and events connected to it. The finished book explores how the object passed through generations, across different periods of family history, and why it continued to be preserved.
Tailored
Define your own pagination and interview parameters with your editor. Pricing is adjusted from our starting rates according to the scope agreed.
On Incomplete Provenance
Very few inherited objects arrive with a full paper trail. More often, the history exists only as fragments — a remembered date that may be a year or two off, a name half-recalled, a story told differently by two different relatives. This is the rule, not the exception, and it does not make an object's history any less worth documenting.
We verify them against independent historical sources, where records exist. Where they do not, we rely on careful, cross-referenced interviews across as many living memories as are available, and we are always explicit in the final narrative about what is documented fact and what is recollection — so the finished volume is honest about its own certainty, rather than presenting memory as settled record.
Created For
- Descendants who have inherited an object and recognize that it carries a history larger than they can name.
- Families who want to preserve the stories associated with an heirloom before those who remember them are no longer able to tell them.
- Owners of inherited jewellery, watches, furniture, artworks, documents, or other objects with significant personal or family histories.
- Families who want to accompany an heirloom with a written record that can be passed to the next generation.
What Is Delivered
- Private editorial interviews to gather family memories, personal accounts, and the object's known ownership history.
- Historical and archival research using available documents and relevant independent sources to establish dates, places, and important events where possible.
- Editorial review and refinement to ensure the narrative is accurate and clearly structured.
- An original written manuscript tracing the object's history and the lives of the people connected to it.
- Thoughtful visual design incorporating available photographs, documents, illustrations, and other relevant archival material.
- A masterfully bound, heirloom-grade printed volume, accompanied by a complete digital archive.
Commission Details
We begin with a private consultation to discuss your vision and confirm scope. Payment is split into three installments: an initial deposit to begin gathering your story, a mid-point payment before writing begins, and the final balance upon delivery.
As each volume is an entirely bespoke commission, all agreements are treated as final. Our collaborative process — including listening sessions and review cycles — ensures complete alignment before fine production begins. Any rare printing or logistical issue is resolved personally and promptly.
Your heirloom volume is packaged and dispatched via secure, fully insured transit. We serve an international clientele, and all shipping considerations are included in your initial project quotation.