Despite our best efforts in identifying the 8 Antique centres in a brochure of and during a weekend at, Scarborough, 1 turned out to be an auctioneer; 2 were shut; 3 were specialist and the last 2 (merged) were naff with shop admissions limited to 2. Try elsewhere!!
For my second post in September, I have chosen 3
absolutely contrasting legs, but they illustrate the variety of legs that can
be found with a bit of searching.
In Post 15 I showed you my steel table lighter which is the
tallest leg in my collection (apart from walking canes!). This time I have
another table lighter, but this has a flint and wick, and petrol operation, as
opposed to the previous one which was
gas filled lighter; this one is smart,
and well made from leather. It is 7ins
tall, 6ins if you exclude the lighter mechanism. The detachable lighter element
is stamped Made in England and has TIKI on the mechanism. It has a flint
mechanism and a medium sized petrol container.
Despite some digging on the net, I can only find one similar
boot with a lighter this time a cowboy boot. It is not as well made as mine,
but it is the same height and made from rough leather. However, there are a number of different features making me suspect this
cowboy boot is made by a different maker – the net quotes “Cowboy Boot table
lighter by Evans”.
TIKI appears to be a brand name, and there are many and
smaller lighters that bear that name.
The price on the net was £41.74 so the amount I paid in 2018 at a
Uttoxeter antique fair, was in the right ballpark.
Going to the other extreme in size, a leg I could have
easily missed had I not been on the ball! This one I purchased at the NEC in
2016.
At less than 1 inch,
this is charm that a lady could wear on a bracelet or necklace and is
made of Agate. There are no markings, the agate just having a small loop.
Agate, comprising quartz and chalcedony and coming in
a range of colours is found in metamorphic
and volcanic rocks. Agate is recorded back to ancient Greece and even to the 3rd
millennium BC, when it was worn as a guard to protect from danger.
Agate stones are not expensive, but agates that have been
carved increase the price. My agate is nicely carved as a boot with a heel, and
also the banded concentric rings give the look of garters. The
internet suggests the charm is probably c1890.
The third leg was purchased in 2017 at a Nottingham
racecourse fair. When I explained my hobby to the stallholder, not only was he
very interested, but he reduced the price by a third!
Whilst quite clearly leg shaped its purpose is not readily obvious. The dealer sold it as an old-style bottle opener operated by gripping and turning a cork or stopper. Made of brass, it has no markings, but there are notches cut into the top gripping section. (See photo) It COULD be used as a nutcracker, for say filberts (same gripping principle!)
I think I have convinced myself that this IS in fact a
small nutcracker!! It is the notches
that leads me to think they would be made to hold a nut steady. Of all the
bottle opener examples on the internet there are none that look anything like this
style of bottle opener.
A nice variety, and an area of doubt!!
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