The pounce pot or desk sander was the forerunner to blotting paper, it functions in a similar way to a salt shaker and would be filled with very fine pumice of ground cuttlefish bones. When one had finished your correspondence, they would shake a little of the powder over the writing, thus absorbing the ink, the powder would then be tipped back into the pounce pot.
 
This is a metal Pounce pot which unscrews to refill with fine sand.
 
Condition is good
 
Dimensions: 5cm x 3.5cm