No 37. The Nipper Collection... with legs!

Out of my current total of 162 legs I have written 36 posts up to the end of last month covering 129 different legs. It may be perceived that I am now scraping the barrel and indeed,  I do not know what I will find to write about when my total  collection has been reviewed.

Meanwhile I continue towards the end of my collection with a selection of legs including a category that I have not covered before.

To start, this is a photograph of the remaining two walking canes from my collection of four, the other two covered some time ago.

The leg on the right is made of white metal, probably steel and is very well formed. In my Post in July 2021 I explained the difference between walking canes and walking sticks, and it is my conclusion that both of those that I cover today, are Walking Sticks. In other words they are for leisure as opposed to being canes that are used as walking aids for the infirm.

This one I bought in 2019 at my regular source for legs, the NEC antique Fair.  It has no markings or engravings but I know it is comfortable to walk with and it was said to be Late Victorian.

As I have said before, I am not an expert on timber/wood or treen, so I cannot identify the wood in this pair. But I do know that the most popular word for walking sticks is Beech which is both strong and flexible. Other popular wood used in walking sticks include Ash, Hazel and Chestnut.

Unfortunately, none of the leg components have any markings or stamps that could assist with identification so I have to go with the experts who are able to date such antiques by style and material etc.

 

The other stick, on the left, has a leg shaped moulded handle, and I suspect this is Bakelite. Because of the L shape it quite clearly had to be made from a mould. I don’t see the end result as a very good leg, but it is a leg!!  It has a small unmarked brass band and the shaft has some sort of material covering. The ferrule is very warn indicating it has been well used.

This was yet another purchase at the NEC, also in 2015. It could do with more explanations and information. 

 

My second category today is a category that I have not included before. It comprises the only 3 examples that I have of a pair of tweezers.  I have very little background information and the construction reminds me of the simplicity that we saw in the Scribe that I featured earlier this year.

These are they!!

The tiddler on the right, I bought at an Antique Fair at Kedleston hall, well to be more honest, I was given it at that venue. Mary bought it for me in 2010 and is one of the cheapest legs of my entire collection.

It is said to be Victorian, and made of steel. If you could unfold the hinge, you would see one piece of metal cut in a  symmetrical double leg pattern, and when it is folded over it becomes a pair of tweezers. It was folded sufficiently so that it made a good tight spring and really is a useful little item to carry in a bag.

The large leg on the left is created from two pieces of steel riveted and then welded together at one end. In was purchased at Stafford in 2011, and it is only the different sizes of these two legs that persuaded me to buy the larger version. There are no engraving or marks.   Neither can be said to be good reproductions  of leg shapes.

 

However, the steel tweezers in the middle has engravings which leaves no doubt as to what the shape is!! This one was bought at the NEC in 2017 and is quite sturdy. Clearly it is hand carved as the pattern the cuttings and the dot punches, are far from symmetrical on both sides. But it does work well.   I would assess this one as a good end product created from scratch,  by an amateur!!

Once August and summer holidays are over I'm hoping there will be some resumption in antique fairs, so that my chances to resume my leg collecting can continue!!