Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Who, what. where, when?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

10 comments:

  1. (1) Superb piece of carving. Possibly lime wood. Not English. Somewhere between France and Poland. Not as early as it looks - possibly 19th/20th century. Makes me feel uncomfortable!

    (2) Box made out of a cocoa nut. Late 19th century. Eastern.

    (3) Chinese thingee - made out of a cocoa nut.

    (4) 18th century coffee grinder - French.

    (5) 18th/19th century coffee grinder - German.

    (6)Pair of 18th century tongs. Well made (note box joint). Eastern European - German?Poland.

    (7)Ahh! Do know what this is. It's a cork squisher for bottling wine. Rather offensive reptillian creature, brass, probably French, or German. Or elsewhere.

    (8) Prehistoric (well Victorian) tin opener.

    (9)Part of a cartridge reloading kit, circa 1870. European?early American.

    (10)Leather workers vice. European. 18th century.

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.s. The object in photo number 4, to the right of the coffee grinder appears to be a primitive mainspring cramp, probably from the same workshop.

    ReplyDelete
  3. re your PS, Mike, you may see that item 5 has a similar object attached and that Item 4 has a slot in the base. I don't think the fretted MB on the key of your 'Main-spring cramp' stands for Mr Baker of Baker rifle fame.

    I'll give you the clue 'Huguenot shipping magnate & Swedish Admiral' for no.1 and agree it is beautifully made but would be less creepy with painted eyes.
    2. yes
    3. yes if thingee is Cantonese for opium jar.
    4 & 5 Ok but what are the 'cramps' for, please?
    6. OK what about the handles?
    7. Squishalogically precise.
    8. No
    9. No but I can see what you mean.
    10. ditto

    ReplyDelete
  4. Number 1 is Abraham Duquesne, (marquis du Bouchet) who was a French naval officer but also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 8. Corn Husker

    9. Bottle Sealer

    10. Cooper's Clamp

    (or possibly snuff boxes)

    ReplyDelete
  6. P.s. The coffee grinders both have a device to clamp the grinders to a table top.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excellent work gents, of course they are all snuff-boxes Rog ~
    but also everything else you've both said. 8 is a husker for what we used to call maize or Indian Corn 9 is a triple purpose bottle sealer for both corks, crown-caps and keeping snuff in. The handles on item 6. are very like screwdrivers and with the squarish jaws I wondered if this might be a gun multi-tool for barrel and side-plate removal, Mike?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Possibly, I suppose. The jaw shape is one I've seen in blacksmith's shops, but on cruder tools than that . I've seen the blacksmith's ones in use in shaping red hot horseshoes. Once again - I don't know.

    But, in this case, probably not a snuff box; although a pinch of snuff could be taken with it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That would be a pinch to sneeze at!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I may be incommunicado for some time, Windows 10 has just installed on Pootatu and has screwed up all the saved passwords on my e-mails, but I still seem to be functioning on Larstpoota pro-tem.

    ReplyDelete