Tuesday 15 September 2015

Who, what. where, when?

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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.

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  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.

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  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

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  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.

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  5. 8. Corn Husker

    9. Bottle Sealer

    10. Cooper's Clamp

    (or possibly snuff boxes)

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

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  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?

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  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.

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  9. That would be a pinch to sneeze at!

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  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.

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