It has been a while since I had a Mystery Item post, and the objects keep piling up. Here are five items for your consideration, with a sixth bonus item, that cover various aspects of common use. These are all Western items, many of them uniquely so, while others have their counterparts in different cultures.
As usual, write your guesses or identifications for any or all of the objects in the comments. Correct answers will not be visible until the reveal, but incorrect or somewhat-off answers will be posted, often with an additional clue.
#1
This object
is, for obvious reasons, dedicated to Debra She Who Seeks. This is about
an inch (2.5cm) wide, and made of thin metal, although other materials
were also common. I had to remove the writing on it, so as not to give
away the answer.
#2
In an attempt to add a little class to this
blog, I decided to introduce this object. The present example is made of
silver, although gold specimens are often encountered. It is about six
inches long (15cm) when open and ready for use, as shown in the photo.
#3
I had wanted one of these for a long time, and
this summer, at a flea market in Mesopotamia, I found this example. This
useful object is about three feet (one meter) long, and while they come
in several styles, none of them are tiny.
#4
Technology has made this object (about three
inches/eight cm long) somewhat obsolete, although it certainly can still
be used, and was quite convenient not all that long ago. This one is
even suspended on a neck chain to keep it handy.
#5
This is one of the most protean of daily
objects—there seemed to be a contest to see in how many different shapes
these could be made. This one is small, about three inches (8cm) long,
and made of metal, with of course its tiny wooden handle—although not
all of them have such handles.
#6 Bonus Mystery Object
This object is rather
large and heavy, about 10 inches (25cm) wide, and is the most
complicated of today’s items. Its many parts combine to have a definite
practical function, and the whole is still in working order.
I am looking forward to your identifications, guesses, and comments.
(All objects and photos of the same collection of the author.)
The first very fast and mostly accurate response came from Mariette, but I have a few comments:
ReplyDelete#1 is not the lid of a honey bottle.
#4 is not a pipe tamper, although this is a very good guess based on the shape. Since this one is metal I suppose it could be used for such a purpose, but not all of them are made of such heat-proof materials. Also, if you look closely, there is a clue to its real function.
#6 Please don't get too distracted by the labeling plate.
--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteWell, I'm at a loss for #1 and also #4. At first I thought it would be a chatelaine's needle case but don't think so.
Neither a wax seal...
#6 I'm at a loss.
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, More good guesses, but #4 is not a needle case--it is solid and does not open. Also it is not a seal--it is rather narrow for a seal, and while I suppose you could engrave or personalize the bottom, it would not improve its function. --JIm
DeleteDearest Jim,
DeleteMaybe #4 had something to do with child's food, for pounding on something?
Hugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, Sorry, #4 has nothing to do with food. --Jim
DeleteJim, that guess was because of the Dutch Gestampte Muisjes, a spread that is especially popular in the Netherlands , but is almost never found abroad. Gestampte Muisjes is made from aniseed and sugar and has a taste similar to aniseed sprinkles and aniseed cubes . It is made by grinding mice finely. The word mark "Muisjes" is a registered trademark of Koninklijke De Ruijter BV
DeleteHugs,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, How interesting about the Gestampte Muisjes. Each country has so many specialty foods that are interesting to explore. I am guessing that "mice" was a typo or auto-correct (perhaps for mace or anise), although I suppose that would be one way to deal with them. --Jim
DeleteJim, 'muisjes' is a diminutive of mice. In Dutch we use very often such diminutive and there is no English word for it!
DeleteHugs,
Mariette
I stand corrected! Every culture's language idioms and usage are as individual and interesting as its foodways, and I would not have it any other way! --Jim
DeleteJim, nobody can know all these cultural details...
DeleteDebra She Who Seeks wrote in some considered responses:
ReplyDelete#1 -- It is not a button
#2 -- You have to be more specific.
#3 -- It is not for cutting wheels of cheese.
#4 -- It is not a sewing needle case (see reply to Mariette above). "Or does it hold pins to stick in voodoo dolls?"
(I thought Canadians were supposed to be friendly. Why did you immediately think of Voodoo dolls? Or is that just that type of item you think I would acquire?)
#5 -- Not a pencil sharpener.
#6 -- Not an embossing stamp machine.
--Jim
Sheesh, these are tough! Is #2 specifically a whisk for men's shaving cream? And since you found #3 among the Amish, is it a flat iron that would be heating up and then used to iron sheets or quilts? Is #4 used by priests to sprinkle holy water? Man, I'm really reaching now.
DeleteCome, Debra, you are not trying hard enough! However, if a couple more of these are not guessed by tomorrow, I will give a few broader clues.
Delete#2 is not for shaving cream, or anything similar.
I mentioned that Mesopotamia is Amish mostly to give an impression of its visual charm, with buggies on the road, etc. But I did not necessarily obtain this from an Amish person. On the other hand, many Amish people might have one of these, as would people elsewhere. At any rate, you really, really, do not want to heat it up, and I would keep it away from sheets and quilts, at least if you value the sheets and quilts.
Finally, #4 is not for holy water. That would have been a more reasonable guess for #2, as there is a brush-like implement for sprinkling holy water, called an aspergillum, but I imagine it would have softer bristles rather than metal wires.
--Jim
Is #3 a scythe for harvesting some form of crop? And my last-ditch attempt at guessing #1 -- a little token you would get when buying a jar of honey, collect 10 tokens, get a free jar?
DeleteSorry, #3 is not a scythe of any type.
DeleteAnd #1 will not get you any free honey, although perhaps this guess, in a weird way, is not as wild as some of your others!
--Jim
Tundra Bunny weighed in with the following:
ReplyDelete#1 is not a pin-back button--in fact, the back is flat.
#3 is not an ice saw.
#4 is not a children's thermometer, "probably for use by a nanny." (Since I have no idea how this would work as a thermometer, and why specifically for children, I can see why you assigned this task to the nanny. 'Here Nanny, take this and see if the kid's all right.')
#6 is not a "hand-operated vise for making elbow joints and custom bends in small diameter copper pipe" or probably anything similar.
--Jim
Here are my comments on Pipistrello's guesses:
ReplyDelete1: Is not a brooch
3: Is not a gardening tool. "When you say Mesopotamia, you don’t mean ancient? :)"
--You know that I would do anything for my readers, including time travel, but that was not necessary in this case. Mesopotamia in an Amish village in eastern Ohio.
4: Is not a pencil (or a pen, either).
5: Is not a pepper grinder.
6: Is not a "temperature control for a radiator."
--Jim
Rosemary entered some good guesses, and here are my comments/additional clues:
ReplyDelete#1 - Is not "the lid of a jar of beeswax furniture polish."
#3 - Is not a hand plough. (Oddly, the word "plough" failed the spell check--that's what happens when semi-illiterate whippersnappers run the computer systems.)
#4 - "a racist object, but no idea what it is for" Well, the cupid, angel or putto (n.b., "putto" was not in the spell check either--what is the world coming to?) was certainly painted black, but I am not so sure that this was meant as racist, although "back then" there was certainly a lot of casual racism. The remaining eye is bright green, and I have a feeling that these originally came in a variety of colors. Perhaps the original purchaser felt that the item was garish enough without adding more bright color to it.
#5 Is not a coffee bean grinder--remember, it is only three inches long.
#6 Is not machine for making pipes, or manipulating them in any way.
--Jim