No 43. The Final Count Down!! and the last of the Pipe Tampers!!

21^st February 2023………… the final post on my Leg blog.   An appropriate date, because the first post was on 21^st February 2021, and THIS anniversary post, which will include the remaining legs in my collection, will be No 43.

In fact, a few more stats!!

Yes, 43 posts in 24 months covering every one of the 169 legs in my collection and as near as dammit, with an average of 4 legs per post. The legs fell into 39 categories, and readers will know that 49 (over 25%) are Pipe Tampers. 

Interestingly in 20 of the categories I only have one example, for example just 1 toothpick, 1 scribe, 1 Nail file etc.

Sadly my enthusiasm is not reflected in the number of hits on my blog.  15 posts have been read by no-one!!, and only Post No 1 got double figures…27. But I’ve enjoyed the writing and nothing has swayed me from my believe that I am the only Microtibialist in the world!!  And as a final statistic….I’ve written 32,000 words!!! And I estimate I have include over 150 photographs.

And so for the final curtain!! I’ve progressively eked out the Pipe Tampers over 2 years but I am left with six, and this is a photo of the group. None of them have any identification marks but there are some good carving in the legs.

Starting from the left with number 1, I bought this leg in 2009 at the NEC. It is stock number 2 and was bought at the same time as No 1. That is where it all started!!

The leg is made of Ivory and whilst not hallmarked I believe the unhatched top is silver. It was bought in the days when I did collect Ivory, but I don’t buy ivory any more.

 

Next (no 2) is a small neat brass Tamper bought in 2015 at a Stafford Fare. Not hatched but it is very tactile and described as a lady’s tamper, with “a long sock!!”

 

Then No 3, a very small 19^th century treen tamper, with a gold coloured fringed cap.

 Looking at the top, the engraving (not hatching) could include a cartouche but it is much too small to be used as such.  The only odd thing is that there are 2 adjacent holes just under the cap which may have been to run a thread so that tamper could be hung on something like a chatelaine. (No idea what the wood is!)

 An interesting comparison of the three brass Tampers.

 

Number 4 – again a simple Brass tamper, this time hatched to facilitate tobacco tamping. Bought in 2017 at the NEC.

Number 5  Brass and Bronze can be confused especially with age but this one is brass. The visible toes makes this a left leg, it is hatched, albeit very small and it has an attractive curled top. Another from the NEC and dated 1880/90.

Finally No 6 is another of my favourites, the wrinkled Hunters Boot. This one I feel sure is bronze and it is quite worn. Bought at a good price!!, at Newark in 2022.

 

So that is the final Post of my leg collection. I have enjoyed writing about all 169 legs in my collection and I am only sorry I did not have more followers – just 127 Hits!!!.  This blog will stay live, and I will check periodically to see if there is a resurgence!”!”!

Keep leg collecting…our time will come….. The hobby has been on the Antique Road Show so anything is possible!!

 

David.  

42. Antique pocket knives.. and something different!!!

 As my Blog heads towards it’s final post, this is the penultimate No 42 but it does have some variety!

 

But first let me tell you about an interesting TV item this week.   Birding friend Chris sent me an urgent text to tell me that a leg shaped corkscrew was going under the hammer on Flog it.   I dashed for the TV and found the programme in time to watch the final auction stage.

I had not seen the valuation, but I suspect it was around £30/£40, and I noticed a reserve of £20.     I recognised the type of bottle opener, and knew that the valuation was ridiculous, which as I said to Mary, should be nearer the £100 mark.

I have a number of corkscrews but not like the one in question which  is German, and depicts a decorative leg with a multi striped stocking. They are made of steel to a high standard, and available in a variety of colours and patterns.     Many years ago I saw a similar set of 3 on sale at the NEC for £750… that’s the sort of quality and rarity we are talking about.   Google comes up with a selection of similarly high priced stockings!! By the way the corkscrew went for £150, and included a bid of £100 from Australia.

So to what as I said may be my penultimate post. I have five penknives in my collection, and last year I covered two which were promotional pocket knives, knives which were given away to promote products, and in my case alcohol related!!   This left these 3 normal antique pocket knives.

 

                  

Starting on the left, this is a very small single blade penknife made of ivory with a very worn blade.  It is stamped with the name Thomas Turner and that is the only marking.  Said to date from 1850, I bought it in 2012 at my regular visited antique fair in the NEC.

Thomas Turner was a well known Sheffield maker of penknives, sometimes for customers to use  as promotional give-aways. And that is all I know.

The black knife on the right is identical, both shape and assembly and also with a worn blade.  It is unclear why it has some sort of black covering, nor what the coating is, but it is quite worn in places. Certainly it has to be c1850 again.

The middle knife is almost identical to the first two, the only differences is that it is about 20% larger than the first two and the carved shoe is more visible. Again a well worn blade. However, this one has the engraving “L.B Sheffield” Not really enough to id to give any more information.

 

When we stayed at Exmouth last November we visited one of our regular and favourite antique fairs at Exeter, and I bought this steel bottle opener

    

                  

             

This is another example of a promotional free-bee with good engraving of the shoe outline and flowers.  There is patent date, March 12th 1912 which confirms it is an antique.   This is a nice tool to use.

On the promotional side is the product “Frontenac Export Ale”. Searching the net I found a beer bottle cap with the same name, on e-bay for £21.79 !! It is from a Canadian Brewing Co.  Surprisingly E-Bay has also sold exactly the same bottle opener!!

Finally for this post, another antique bought at Exeter last November. Being long and thin it does not photograph very well.    It is a Brass shoe horn with a nice holding ring.  It could in fact be bronze as it lacks the gloss of brass.  I have a pair of brass shoe-horns that I bought a few years ago at Newark and were said to be “his” and “hers” but this one is much better and  nice and sturdy.

 

So that’s it for February 2023.  As I said there will be one more, probably the last of my Pipe Tamper collection, unless I can add any new legs to my collection before that time.

David

41. Boot hooks - now consigned to history

 

I find my self having to apologise for not providing a Leg Post for the month of December.  You may think that my leg enthusiasm has gone off the boil, but I promise you I am still actively checking antique fairs and shops to see what I can find.  IN FACT in this post I am actually covering a leg which is of a category/group I have never seen before.  So there is some reward for my persistence.   But I’ll come to that later.

This time, No 41, I am covering the remainder of my collection of Boot and Button Hooks. Of the 9 in my collection, I covered the first in June 2021 and I have the remaining 5 to talk about now.

Just to recap, and as you will know I had to learn, a boot hook operates by pulling a button through a button hole, and not the lace or ribbon. I imagine this practice is completely obsolete  with modern footware.   Boots are more likely to be laced.

This is a photograph of the five. These were all in the private collection that I bought in February 2017 following my using the Daily Telegraph to try and find a collective name for a leg collector, and getting an unexpected reply from a boot hook collector offering to sell me those in his collection which were leg shaped. Good deal I did there!!

 

The largest leg at the top is quite heavy, and not the sort of boot hook you would carry in your pocket.

The shaft and hook are made of steel, with a well shaped right leg being in a rich brass colour.  I’m not convinced it is actually brass.

Moving to the little one on the left, this is steel with the leg made of lead, the only example of lead that I have. No markings, it is very rudimentary but would fit in a waistcoat pocket.

The one along the bottom is the second largest one in my hook category and I think also of steel. But the absence of any flecks or flaws in the handle make me suspect that the handle  is in fact ivory.

This leaves the straightish one in the middle, with a well shaped right foot and toes. Again a steel handle, but I think the leg is bone.  It has a nicely carved garter round the top.

The last boot actually has “Steel” cut into the shaft and the top is brass. This one has a good leg shape, with a right foot and indents on the inside suggesting button holes.

My problem with all the boot hooks I have purchased is being sure what the actual materials are. Some are obvious but I do what I can to get experts to give me an opinion on doubtful items, even by taking antiques into fairs were you are no supposed to take antiques!!

I took one questionable hook that was suspect and asked an expert whether it was some sort of composite. The expert told me to find out by heating a needle and try to press it into the leg in an unobtrusive place. If it was composition, the needle would penetrate. If not it would be wood.   Yet to try!!!

 

As I mentioned above, I have a new genre to add to collection, a letter opener.

I bought this at a regularly visited antique fair at Exeter, quite cheaply, last November. It is a little distorted but is black plastic.

The Notts Hosiery company was a big business in Nottingham in the 30’s and employed over 1,000 employees. It no longer exists and I suspect Wood St would have been the London Office.

Not sure about the printing “Paper Knife and letter opener”… no knife that I can see.

On the reverse is a globe with “trade Mark”  and a banner across the top printed “Intense Black”. Underneath is stamped “Clean and Fast”.   At the bottom by the toe is engraved “Immovable”.  All inexplicable and mysterious!

I'm aiming for the next Post in February!!!!   E & O.E.

 

 

40. Pipes of Peace?.... No, Legs for Pipes!!

As someone who used to smoke, it is a bit nostalgic for this posting to cover a leg type with which I can empathise… yes there was a time when I used to (tried to -) smoke a pipe.

Since April 2009, I have collected 6 leg shaped pipes each of which includes a good replica of a leg. I have previously covered two of the pipes, the first one being an Opium pipe, and then a small ladies pipe made of Vulcanite.

                             

  

This first pipe functions perfectly. It does look a little unusual in that a rugged looking bowl has been added to the main stem, whereas the other pipes below are more faithful reproductions. Quite somethought has been given to the final result.

As you can see from the second picture, the base has 7 small nails spread out to look like football studs, and also conveniently enables the pipe to be stood up.  With every leg I try and decide whether the leg is modelled on a male or a female smoker and where the leg has toes this is usually straight forward. I also like to identify left or right foot if possible.

In this case, I am guided by 3 small circular engravings on one side which on a boot, I would take to be lace holes. Being on the outside in this case it would be a left foot. HOWEVER, my daughter felt the pattern of the studs suggested a right foot!! And Mary considered that zips and therefore also button holes would be fitted for pulling on the inside (as she does!!).

Until I can discuss the alternative opinions with an experienced antique dealer, the jury can stay out!!

I bought this pipe in 2010 at a Stafford antique fair, and is made of treen with a plastic shaft.

 

The next two pipes are very similar but closer inspection will show they are not a pair. The bowls are slightly different, but both the legs are identical and in my opinion, good representations of an elegant leg. They were bought in Stafford and the NEC in 2019 and 2010 respectively, and cost almost the same.

Both Pipes have Bakelite stems and wooden bowls. The first pipe, with the more bulbous bowl, has STRESH  engraved into the front but I have been unable to find any explanation or meaning for this engraving.   The other pipe has no marks and neither have button holes or similar.

Finally this is the second of my very small ladies pipe, only big enough to hold a cigarette – upright! Bought at Stafford it was dated 1880 and is again made of Vulcanite.

To remind you as I said in May, Vulcanite was first made in 1844, and patented by Charles Goodyear, which name you will recognise with the tyre connections and made of vulcanite.  It is produced from a mixture of different rubbers and gums, fused (or vulcanised) together under high pressure and with the addition of Sulphur in the process.

Same problem or debate on whether this is a left or right leg.!  Looking down the leg, 5 notches on the right suggests where the lace would be fixed, and I still argue that will make it a right leg!!

Nice little group, and they continue to be legs that have stories and backgrounds. 

No 39. At last, I've struck Gold!! ....plus 6 Tampers for good measure

Included in my collection so far, the most valuable leg has been made of Silver.   I admit I have a small amount of Ivory and a couple of Mother of Pearl, but in metal, there are just 10 items made of Silver or Silver plate.

Apart from the very nice glass boot with a silver collar and an imported silver boot for holding vestas, the others are so small, or old, that they do not have a silver hall mark.

It is with great pleasure that I can announce I now have my first leg made of…GOLD!!!!

As you can see from these photographs, the gold boot (bottom left hand corner) is about the same size as my other comparative silver boots, and like the others, it is in fact a charm.   I happened to see the boot on a tray of gold charms at a Derby pawnbrokers and it was only at a later date when I had thought about it that I went back to see if the leg was still unsold, which fortunately, it was. As I expected, when I asked the price the broker weighed the item, and I paid the price based on the current rate for gold.

It was no different from the time when I was working in the 70’s in Dubai when I bought Mary a filigree gold charm of an Arab Dhow, and the gold market stall trader gave me a price after weighing the item on his scales.  

Anyway, to the Golden leg. As you can see it is roughly the same size as other charms, with no space for any hallmark. The boot has a huntsman style wrinkled boot, together with what looks like a disproportionately large spur!   It is solid, and complete with a ring to attach to a charm bracelet.

 

As well as the gold addition, I am writing about a selection of another 6 of my Pipe Tampers and there will probably only be one more session in due course, to complete the 49 Tampers in my collection.

But first, I want to recap on the name – Pipe Tampers.  It also prompts me to sing my own praises about the times that I have corrected antique dealers for incorrectly describing an antique.

1.The first occasion was at an antique shop in Newark, where I saw several items in the basement made of stone and looking like a stand with a circular piece of stone on top. They had a label saying they were saddle stones, whereas the correct name was staddle stones. 

The name “Staddle” stones derives from the word Stathol, meaning a foundation. A staddle comprises a stone pillar with a stone overhanging the top and looking like a large mushroom. The staddle holds grain up high preventing it being attacked by rats or spoilt by water.

2.The second one was a brass item bought at a fair at Nottingham racecourse. The dealer said it was an old devise to grip and lever out stoppers from wine bottles and sold it described as a bottle opener. On subsequent examination, I found that the inside of the device had sharp notches and it was clear that it was in fact a nut cracker, the notches being to hold nuts firmly in place as they were squeezed.

3.The third case was more a miss-spoken description!! I heard antique fair dealers talking about pipe tamperers!! A tamper comes in many different forms, such as the devices that are used on the highway to tamp down tarmac. And the same principle applies to smoking pipe-tampers. The object of a pipe tamper is to push burning tobacco (on top) into contact with the tobacco below and thus maintain combustion with less re-lights and provide continuous enjoyment.

 

                                                                                                                       

These are two photographs of the 6 tampers, the two photos giving opposite sides of each leg. .Starting from the left………

1.This tamper was said to be French and is made of Ivory. The top looks like a skirt, and is a right leg, as evidenced by the buttons being on the outside and on the right.

2. Number two is a bone tamper, with a lot of intricate carving and hatching, and as can be seen from the second photograph the button holes on the outside makes it a left leg.

3. This one is made from bone and is probably the most unusual and hopefully valuable of all my Tampers. The key thing to notice is that it is double headed, with two faces facing in opposite directions.

The hat is the same as the State dress hat worn by Tower of London Yeoman Warders. It is open to conjecture whether this tamper has any link to Beefeaters.

It is hatched, and is a right leg. The shoes on 2 and 3 are actually very similar.

4. A nicely shaped piece of Treen, with the lovely colour of Oak. Wood is seldom hatched, and the toes indicate a left foot.

5. The heaviest of the group, this is a bronze leg and has the rough feeling of bronze. Not hatched and is the only one with nothing to indicate which leg it is, but it does have  all the signs of being old.

6. The final item is brass, a nice substantial leg to carry in a waistcoat pocket. Very little engraving and such as there is is very rudimentary and basic. Left leg and hatched.

An interesting aspect of all Tampers is how faithful many of the calf carvings are to the  Gastrocnemius muscle, the oak one being a particularly good example.

And so we head towards the final days of my leg blog, which I anticipate will be completed by Christmas!!

 

No 38 It's a cracker!!

Last September I wrote about a brass nut cracker that I purchased at an Antique Fair at Nottingham Racecourse.    The dealer sold it to me as being an old style bottle opener, suggesting that the hinged arms gripped the cork and then levered the cork out of the bottle. I believed it!!!! …until I started writing about it for my blog. Examining it more thoroughly, I realised with hind sight, that the sharp nicks and raised edges on the inside of the two brass arms, were actually to get a grip on something small like a filbert. I was quite pleased that I had negotiated a 33% reduction in the price for what turned out not to be what I had been sold.

 

Anyway today I have 4 more nutcrackers in fact they are discussed as two pairs. These two are brass.

It’s probably true to say that the most frequent legs that I see in my searching are brass nutcrackers.  There is very little difference in those I have seen, some are better made than others, and the only reason for my having two is that the one on the right is smaller than the norm, and certainly smaller than the other one on the left.

These two both have a leaf pattern on the shoulders, but they only open about 25 degrees, and the size/gap would be too small for Walnuts or Brazils. 

Style wise, the only variation is the degree of decoration that was used in the brass mould when they were made. Some effort has been made to create toes on the smaller cracker, and that cracker has the more attractive bottom!! (see photo)

 

My third and fourth cracker are both Mahogany and whilst bought at different locations they are virtually a pair. There is only a fraction in the difference in size, the left one being bigger.

 

 I bought the first cracker at an Exeter antique fair in February 2018. The experienced Treen dealer sold hard that it was a very rare nutcracker, it was new to him and he said that his Authoratitive nutcracker guide made no reference to a Mahogany version.  It IS very tactile and c1900.

The second one I found at a fair at Newark the following year, and against my normal habit of not having two legs the same, as the price was only about 20% of the earlier one it had to be a “buy”. It also brought the average price well down!!

When I look at them close together, bearing in mind that they are both hand carved, they are so identical that I must conclude they were made by the same artisan.

 

You will know that I always say that all the leg items in my collection are functional, and they can each be used for a purpose.  But I have to admit there are a few exceptions!!!!

I now have six items of jewellery, non-functional charms and very small but having the leg shape that still remains a prerequisite!

To recap I have written about some of these jewels before.    One was the brooch in the shape of a pair of legs underneath a yellow lamp shade; number two was a silver charm depicting the 3 legs of the Isle of Man logo, number three a silver charm with a hinged lid, lifted to reveal a cat **… Puss in Boots; and finally a nice piece of agate.

28^th August at the Stafford antique fair, I was drawn to a box of teeny charms, and after probing found these two silver charms. This is a photo of the new charms, with  ** as a comparison

                                                    

From the left… the cat in the boot….. £4!   Then the new additions… a solid silver replica of a Hunters boot, wrinkled     £2.50.   Then a simple open top boot, but with a spur     £2.50.

 There is always variety… and more to come!!

 

No 37. The Nipper Collection... with legs!

Out of my current total of 162 legs I have written 36 posts up to the end of last month covering 129 different legs. It may be perceived that I am now scraping the barrel and indeed,  I do not know what I will find to write about when my total  collection has been reviewed.

Meanwhile I continue towards the end of my collection with a selection of legs including a category that I have not covered before.

To start, this is a photograph of the remaining two walking canes from my collection of four, the other two covered some time ago.

The leg on the right is made of white metal, probably steel and is very well formed. In my Post in July 2021 I explained the difference between walking canes and walking sticks, and it is my conclusion that both of those that I cover today, are Walking Sticks. In other words they are for leisure as opposed to being canes that are used as walking aids for the infirm.

This one I bought in 2019 at my regular source for legs, the NEC antique Fair.  It has no markings or engravings but I know it is comfortable to walk with and it was said to be Late Victorian.

As I have said before, I am not an expert on timber/wood or treen, so I cannot identify the wood in this pair. But I do know that the most popular word for walking sticks is Beech which is both strong and flexible. Other popular wood used in walking sticks include Ash, Hazel and Chestnut.

Unfortunately, none of the leg components have any markings or stamps that could assist with identification so I have to go with the experts who are able to date such antiques by style and material etc.

 

The other stick, on the left, has a leg shaped moulded handle, and I suspect this is Bakelite. Because of the L shape it quite clearly had to be made from a mould. I don’t see the end result as a very good leg, but it is a leg!!  It has a small unmarked brass band and the shaft has some sort of material covering. The ferrule is very warn indicating it has been well used.

This was yet another purchase at the NEC, also in 2015. It could do with more explanations and information. 

 

My second category today is a category that I have not included before. It comprises the only 3 examples that I have of a pair of tweezers.  I have very little background information and the construction reminds me of the simplicity that we saw in the Scribe that I featured earlier this year.

These are they!!

The tiddler on the right, I bought at an Antique Fair at Kedleston hall, well to be more honest, I was given it at that venue. Mary bought it for me in 2010 and is one of the cheapest legs of my entire collection.

It is said to be Victorian, and made of steel. If you could unfold the hinge, you would see one piece of metal cut in a  symmetrical double leg pattern, and when it is folded over it becomes a pair of tweezers. It was folded sufficiently so that it made a good tight spring and really is a useful little item to carry in a bag.

The large leg on the left is created from two pieces of steel riveted and then welded together at one end. In was purchased at Stafford in 2011, and it is only the different sizes of these two legs that persuaded me to buy the larger version. There are no engraving or marks.   Neither can be said to be good reproductions  of leg shapes.

 

However, the steel tweezers in the middle has engravings which leaves no doubt as to what the shape is!! This one was bought at the NEC in 2017 and is quite sturdy. Clearly it is hand carved as the pattern the cuttings and the dot punches, are far from symmetrical on both sides. But it does work well.   I would assess this one as a good end product created from scratch,  by an amateur!!

Once August and summer holidays are over I'm hoping there will be some resumption in antique fairs, so that my chances to resume my leg collecting can continue!!