Imagine the skill involved in carving an egg without piercing the shell, this was a mark of the precision of jet carvers.
During the peak period of jet popularity (late 19th century) it was tradition that hen’s eggs were hard-boiled and dyed with onion skins to turn them brown. One was then delicately carved with a scene of the East-side of Whitby and one of the West-side of Whitby, and given to the first grandchild. These examples, from the Roe family, were by William Harrison of Whitby.