When perusing my leg records to find connected legs (??!!), I sometimes spot legs with a commonality which is not immediately obvious. Two weeks ago I started with an Iron Pipe Tamper, which prompted me to write about another Iron item, the Door Knocker.
This time the link for two physically distinctly different legs, is a
Fairy Tale. Fairy tales originated in Italy from a specific Italian
tale about an anthropomorphic cat who used trickery to gain power. Maybe you've
never heard about this Fairy Tale with those words, but the common denominator
is Puss in Boots!!
My first Puss in Boots leg is a Vesta, stock number 16
indicating that it was a very early addition to my collection. I
have four Vesta cases, and this is the first one that I bought and the oldest –
I was told it was dated 1911 which makes it 100 years old and thus an antique.
This Vesta Case, has a ruffled surface to make it look like a hunters boot. On the right side there is a carving meant to depict a window with a cat looking out. The carving is not that clear, and it is probably only because I say Puss in Boots, that you agree it looks like a cat!! (could be a skull!) So that’s it Puss-in-Boot(s).
When closed, the boot is about 2 inches tall, and has a hinged lid, with
an internal spring that ensures it clicks shut and holds vestas securely, and a
ring on the heel which would enable the vesta to be hung on an Albert chain.
The sole is ridged for striking a match although it is very worn. The material
looks like a mix of tin and copper, and it is very thin and pliable.
A bit more about vestas following my previous article on the
subject. It was 1826 when the first friction match was invented,
made of a thin stick of wax with cotton threads running through the middle. The
match holder name comes from the name of the Roman goddess of fire, Vesta.
These small containers were first made in the 1830’s. In America they were
initially called Match Safes.
And now for something completely different - the smallest leg in my collection.
This is a silver charm which I bought, by weight, at a Stafford antique fair, setting me back £4. This is one of the exceptional legs in my collection which does not have a function and is purely decorative. It has a very small loop which could connect it to a charm bracelet, and the cat’s head is revealed when the lid is sprung back, in much the same way as the above Vesta. The boot does have punched indentations on the sole to simulate boot studs.
The third item this week is another smoking device, this time it is a Pipe reamer. A pipe reamer is an essential pipe smokers tool used to scrape round/ream out the inside of the pipe bowl.
The reamer in my collection is an unusual item and like the steel calipers it will be the work of a smoker who has a creative flair for cutting and carving steel, thereby creating a useful tool for pipe smokers and his creative flair has produced a good detailed end result. The vertical straight edges would be the part to scrape inside a pipe bowl.
Look at the engraving details, the pattern of the garter, the frilly
bloomers, and the shoe. The engraving is on both sides of the steel, but slight
variations shows it is hand produced/engraved.
Checking the internet most of the pipe reamers for sale are glorified
multi-tooled pocket knives which a smoker can use to scour the bowl.
By way of variety the web site for the Black Swan Backy shoppe, has a
device called a hedgehog pipe reamer! This is what it looks like
Some variety this week!!
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