Having previously explained the recent changes to my blog,
and then how my leg collecting started here are the first four legs in my
collection that I wish to write about.
But first, I have just the one nail file leg, it’s origin having been explained in the last
posting. Let me give you a some
information about the leg itself.
The nail file is 4 ½ inches long, stainless steel with the
inscribed trade name ESDRA in an inscribed diamond shape. The other side has
the words “made in England” and “Stainless Steel”. ESDRA. There exists a beauty
company in the UK called ESDRA but as it
was founded in 2016 it has no connection with this nail file.
There is a website linking the name to the Ezra the prophet
and to Ezra, a book in the Old Testament. Also, in Hebrew it is a boy’s name
and means “Help” which I guess is a appropriate trade name for a nail file.
“Help” my nail is broken! Despite being nearly 60 years old the nail file still
functions as well as it did when it was bought.
In 25 years of collecting I have never seen another one for
sale anywhere, although I did meet a local lady (a newsagent) who possessed one
which she showed me. It was exactly the same size and shape, but there was a
difference in the engraved trade name.
The most frequent and popular “legs” in my collection are
pipe tampers. Let me from the start ensure that you know the correct name! I have met antique stall holders who call
them Tamperers, which means someone
who “interferes with in a harmful or
disruptive manner”. Hardly the right description for my hobby.
The word Tamper can be used in 2 other ways. “To tamper with
the evidence”, to interfere with to cause damage. Or a Tamper, which is also
the name for a hydraulic road working machine used for tamping down
(i.e.compacting) earth or ballast. The
latter gets close to Pipe Tampers as with my hobby, as the description of a
devise used to push tobacco down and firmly in the pipe, thereby getting a
better and longer smoke.
A large proportion of my collection comprises Pipe Tampers
and I will come back to them at a later date.
To-day I am going to show you my 3 examples of leg-shaped human hair combs for Tonsorial Experts (Hairdressers!!!!) Leg shaped combs are not seen very often and like having boxes to go with Dinky Toys, 2 of them have sheaths to protect them.
.None of these combs were expensive and they each have their distinctive aspects. From my research, the second and third combs are not Antiques, but the first one is more difficult to categorise.
The one on the right, was bought in 2012 and measures 5 ½
inches, with the teeth measuring 2 ½. As
a normal man’s comb has a row of teeth 5 inches wide, this is clearly not a
standard comb and would not be a practical comb even for men’s hair. It is in fact a moustache comb! The printing on the pouch reads.
With Compliments from “Notebook, Birmingham”
This printing would suggest that it was a promotional gift
from “Notebook of Birmingham”. A live website indicates that this is a
lifestyle agency founded in Birmingham in 2004 and involved in promoting the
city of Birmingham. The comb cannot therefore be older than 17 years and would
presumably have been given to customers as a memento to help them remember the
company, probably in a presentation pack as the comb pouch has no contact
numbers, or web address etc.
The comb on the left, bought in 2012 at an antique fair, is a very rudimentary handmade comb, made of horn – the only horn leg in my collection.. I know nothing more about this comb at this time. Quite clearly hand made, and old, but the end result is a simple comb that is perfectly usable.
The other pouched comb is the smallest at only 4 ins, with 2 ins of teeth, and even more clearly a moustache comb. It comes with a small close fitting but unmarked pouch. I purchased this one in Devon in 2018. I asked the stallholder if she had any legs, and she produced this one from under the counter saying it was “not on display in case it gets pinched”.
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