I know that my fetish about legs, and my blog on the same subject, is not shared by anyone else so I suppose my blog is better described as a diary!
An interesting experience following the last blog, was to
visit an antique fair at Uttoxeter racecourse, and see for sale a leg shaped
table lighter the same as the one in my previous post. (No 18). Whilst I did
not want two legs the same, and was not going to buy the leg, the stallholder
was still happy to show me and discuss the table lighter. Visually it was
identical but whereas mine was stamped TIKI and Made in England, hers was
stamped Ronson Lighters. I consider that
they were both made by that famous lighter company Ronson (they were so
identical they could not be made by different firms) but being a retailer that
sold fancy goods, TIKI had purchased a quantity printed with their name. (Think
- like Thornton made chocolates, sold with the Sainsbury name!)
There was no indication whether our boots were left or
right foot… if such a choice could have been seen, I may have been tempted to
buy if the end result was for me to have a pair!!
But what made the Uttoxeter lighter different, was that
on the sole had been scored “2010 to 2060” and then what looked like the
signatures/names of 3 people. For a
start this means the lighter was no older than 61 years, but it leaves
unresolved who could have been the previous owners. Likely at a smoking
establishment, a private club? Yet
another enigma!
Bamfords is an auction house in Derby, owned by James
Lewis a well-known and knowledgeable antique dealer often on TV antique
programmes. I get e-mailed catalogues for Bamfords local auctions, and in the
brochure for September 22, I spotted a leg that interested me. It was described
as Lot 170 “steel scribe with a lady’s leg and boot as the tang.” But more about that later on.
Covid restrictions have meant that the public cannot
attend auctions, the alternative being to place an absentee bid at the showroom,
or join in the auction online, and I decided to do the latter. This required me to register online and I
then received confirmation that I was a registered buyer and allocated paddle
No 6016 (the bidding tool).
When the auction started I watched James Lewis on my laptop
going through each lot until he reached 170 when I was planning to bid. The
screen was very comprehensive, showing a picture of each lot, an estimated
selling price, if known, and a screen displaying the continuously changing bid
for each lot. 170 started at £10, whereupon I tapped the “bid” box on the screen
and found that I had a rival! The bid went 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28.. at
which stage I was on my own and the highest bidder. As the bids oscillated to
and fro the screen had shown me when I was in front or behind in the bidding,
and at £28 after a pause, and when the hammer dropped, the screen read “You win”.
It was all very painless and efficient and in the
afternoon I received an e-mail with the invoice…the next day I collected my
lot.
HOWEVER, my lot included two corkscrews which I did not
want, so I put them back in for a future auction, adding my brass opium pipe to
make the lot more interesting, and when I know the date when they will be
auctioned, I will be able to watch my items going under the hammer.
Now to the leg.
“An
unusual 19th century steel scribe, the tang as a lady’s leg and
boot.” Estimate £30 > £40.
The £28 that I paid for the lot (excluding the 28%
commission) meant that I won the lot at a hammer price less than the estimated
figure. If I had placed an absentee bid, it would probably have been c£35 +1,
so zoom bidding achieved a cheaper result.
“+1”??? When you leave an absentee bid there is the
option on the form, not to just put the
maximum you wish to bid, but, just in case it is that one extra step would have
made the difference, you can add in your bid instructions “+1”. This tells the
auctioneer that you are prepared to go one step over your stated limit if this
could help your bidding.
Sorry, the leg! I
must admit to quite a bit of encyclopaedia and internet reading on this item.
A scribe (and not talking about a person) is a pointed
instrument used to mark lines on metal or wood. Think “inscribe”..to engrave.
You can see this in the photo, with the sharp point (and it IS sharp!)
protected by a piece of cork.
The Tang is the projecting strip as a means of attachment
or as a handle. This whole unit looks like the work of a smith shaping and
making a scribe from a rod of steel; then cutting a tang to weld to the scribe,
so that the tool can be clipped on a belt or pocket. The scribe does function,
and the tang being shaped like a leg has some simple engravings of a
garter/stocking, and 5 small bootlace holes.
In Post No 9, I wrote about a handmade pair of calipers;
this home-made tool has similar skilful attributes.
Needless to say, I will be reading auction catalogues
more carefully in future.
An interesting week.. at least for me.
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