No 3. Micrographics in Microlegs

I have a couple of interesting legs to write about to-day, but first I want to say a bit more about legs and antiques.

All the legs that I own fall into one of two categories. Those that are Antiques and those that are not. The generally accepted rule is that antiques are items that are over 100 years old, which means that to-day antiques were made before 1921. In fact, before you and I were born. If it is not an antique then it is classified as a Collectable.

Quality antique fairs are invariably dateline, which means they vet items that are on sale before the fair opens to ensure that they are of the right age to make them Antiques. i.e., Over 100 years. Fairs that do not have this policy are usually publicised as Antique and Collectors Fairs, which then embraces anything regardless of age, and opens up stall holders to a much wider range of stock. So, if I have bought at the NEC date-lined fair, I am assured I have bought a genuine Antique.

Descriptions of items can be confusing. “Is it Victorian?” “19^th Century?”.  This is a simple list of which years fall into which category/categories.

             

From     1837      to           1899      Victorian or 19^th Century             Antique

              1900    to           1901        Victorian or 20^th Century             Antique

              1901     to           1910       Edwardian or 20^th Century          Antique

              1910      to           1921      Georgian or 20^th Century             Antique

              1921      to           1952      Georgian  or 20^th Century            Collectible

              1952      to           Date      Elizabethan (19^th or 20^thC)           Collectible

 

Leg Materials

There are many different materials that can be used for legs. Manufactured ones include Brass (the most common), Bronze, Steel, Iron, Silver, glass, plastic, porcelain and vulcanite. 

But those created by an artisan come in a range of materials.

Wood.  In the antique world, small items made of wood are known as Treen. This is a generic name for small objects made of wood. (not Wardrobes or chairs!) Treen is attractive because of the patina and the tactile feeling.  When you see more of my collection of Pipe Tampers you will see what a huge range there is of style and size. A skilled wood carver has a lot of opportunities in replicating a muscular leg.

Ivory.  The killing of animals to obtain Ivory etc is an abominable activity, and laws have been introduced to penalise abusers of the law.

Ivory comes from Walrus, hippopotamus, narwhal, mammoth, and most elephants and only pre 1947 Ivory may be owned.   The importance of conserving animals with ivory is so important, that, as part of my protest if I see Ivory legs, I will not buy them. The 4 or 5 that I bought in my early collecting days, are very small, below an exception weight, and will be sold when possible 

Other mediums include bone, mother of pearl, ebony with a considerable number created by French Prisoners of War. A dealer told me that from her research a Tamper I bought dated 1850, was created by a sailor, who, she said, were more skilled in Scrimshaws.

 

Now to this week’s Legs!!

I have two totally different legs to show you, yet in one respect they are identical.

                                                                              

The long one is an old-fashioned pen, and this takes you back to the era before fountain pens, when pens were invariably a nice shaped length of wood, with a metal nib somehow fixed into the end.  As you can see from the flecks in the body, this one is made of bone and with the nib, measures 9 ins. The end that will nestle in the palm of the hand, or between thumb and forefinger has what I thought looked like a long sock.

Now that I have compared the carving with the beautifully designed Tamper, it is clearly meant to be a boot. The 3 slight cuts, which are on the left side only are meant to replicate the lace, and the heel would also signify a boot.  So it is, like the Tamper, a left leg.  Notice the glass dot near the foot.

The second one is a small ebonite boot, with a small possibly ivory ring round the top. It would not appear to be big enough (1.5 ins) to hold anything, but it does have 2 holes in the ring, which I anticipate would be to attach it to a waistcoat chain. Notice a glass dot again near the ankle.

The glass dots signify they are both Stanhopes.  Stanhopes are small magnifying glasses that are set into bijoux items and enable the viewing of microphotographs. They were invented by a Frenchman, Rene Dagron in 1857 and were sold as holiday souvenirs – almost the precursor to postcards. They do appear at quality antique Fairs.

The Pen has 6 pictures of Southport, Lancs…”The Sands”;  “View from Pier;” ”Winter Gardens”; “The Pier”; “Chapel Street”; “Lord Street”. And the words “Souvenir of Southport Spa.”

The Boot has 6 pictures of Sandgate, Kent, but some sort of bubbling has made the titles hard to read. “Sandgate Road”; “Convalescent Home”; “The Beach”; “view from the…”; “High Street”; and  “The Esplanade”, are  just about legible.

They undoubtedly both qualify as Antiques.

I hope you will come across Stanhopes and I’ll now look for my next items of interest.

David