Unidentified Object
Can somebody tell me what this is? It was found near a turn of the 20th century mining community.
ok jajayo guess it was used for something else ?, the one i have sure works great for assisting me pulling my boots up, LOL guess we all have different ideas for uses of strange items , thanks for getting me streightend out ~
was used to assist pulling up your boots, it fits over your finger & in the upper boot hoops, most miner `s fingers was big using their hands all day , the hoops was about the same size as todays boots, & having oversize fingers was a problem getting big fingers in the loops, they was popular to the ones that wore the tall leather work boots & cowboy boots,
Thanks Radiobuff;
It was fun to research and it was fun to communicate with so many folks from all over about this item but I must say that the real treasure was in the searching and finding of the relic. Thanks again. jajayo.
So you found out what it is eh? Congratulations. I must admit, I never would have guessed that it is a picture rail holder....hmmmm. Very unusual and fortunate find.
I live in Tucson.
I do not get to C.V. much.
Dad and Billie would love to see it I bet. They may even have some memories of use of such an item, who knows?
:)
Hi Marie; A viewer from another treasure website identified it for me and then I went on google and searched the name and I found one almost identical. I would like to find the original patent and then frame the hook with the description and the printout of the graphics that were submitted with the patent application.
I'm so glad that it was identified because I was beginning to think that I found something that was never made.
Thanks for your interest and if I ever sell it you will be the first to know.
Say hello to Bill and Billie for me and when it gets a little cooler I will come over and try to remember to bring it so you can see it in person. Jack.
Awesome! I looked and I see the similarities, but the ones I saw were not pointed. I had to really search to find a pointed one! I had never heard of picture rails before, and I love victorian things. Wanna sell it? I think it is really pretty and a good conversation piece! No one on facebook could come close to figuring out what it was.
Did you find out what it was on your own or did someone else tell you?
Congrats on finding out what it was. :)
Marie
Mystery solved! It's a "Picture Rail Hook" Ck. it out on Bing or Google
Thank you for your input. I must admit that idea is valid, however, I'm still leaning in the direction of a tool used for tightening a corset or for pulling string or thread while performing a task of some kind.
The patent date is June 14th 188? as best as I can make out. I have searched the patent data base but for some reason I can't get any text or graphics to come up from the patent office.
I believe that it is too ornate for such a utilitarian purpose as corn shucking but could be used in a ladies boudoir.
Appreciate your thoughts.
posted twice,sorry.
hello, what it looks like to me is a corn shucker for pulling the husk off the corn. I hace several types and from what I could find out there was 100's patented. this may give you another avenue to look
I was thinking along very similar lines I must admit. A bit ornate to be a lantern holder I thought.
Good guess, but I see no way it could be?? If it was, why would it be so ornate? It is curved, and I am alomost sure that it is like that has to do wih a finger hold and I can't figure how it could clip anything. The pointed end does not look like it could "clip" much either, just pull or poke.
Just MY opinion. Maybe others do not agree. I think it is kewl that others are trying to help find out what this is also though. :)
it looks like a carbide lantern clip used in mines at that time. they had many clips,one for miners hat, one for wall,one for transport on belt. there is a good selection on ebay for comparison.
My guess would be a boot puller based on the shape and fact that it is decorated so nicely. It was meant to be purchased and kept, if not shown off, much like a belt buckle.
Someone on facebook said corset hook but I researched and none loked even close to this. I looked at boot pullers and of course got boot jacks but no pullers or pulls... Keep the ideas coming because no matter how off the wall it might be, it COULD BE correct! It is driving me batty to find out now, lol.
I think they use it to pull on their boots.The hook goes thru the loop on your boots.
hoping someone there would recognize it.
Yes, what a SMALL world, Bill is my dad!
:)
Thank you Marie, I keep hoping that somebody recognizes it as something they have used before, therefore, conclusively id'ing it. Speculation is great and I appreciate it much but conclusivity is better. I live in Camp Verde .This was found in the cherry mining district on mingus.Thanks again. Jack Young. jajayo
yahoo [dot] com.
ps; Are you any relation to bill?
Hi Jay,
This is an awesome find! Perhaps it is beer can opener? Probably not, because it looks to be copper, which is a softer metal, and there is not the wear you would expect to see in the area in which it would have been held so many times over, but it is a thought.
The wear is more in the "hook" area, and the upper, rounded area (Ornate side) is not worn much at all. The edges of the point are worn, but the rest of it is not so much, so it looks like it was used for something that would just affect the edges, like light scraping or parting of some sort maybe.
Also, being found in a mining area, it could also be a tool having to do with the mining, pack mules or horses, but it is ornate, so probably not that.
I am from the Verde Valley, maybe I can find something by looking up things about Jerome. If I find anything I will post it.
Take care,
Marie
Looks like a lantern hanger to me.
If you can figure out the year, you can do a patent search by month and year. You will have to peruse all of June patents for that particular year though to find the right one.
If there are two dates, the second will probably be an slight improvement to the original.
Be sure to post your final result.
That sounds reasonable. The object has a patent date on it and all I can make out is" Pat Jun 14 ". That mark is on the top edge. There is another patent mark on the inside of the large curve and it says " Pat Jun 8 " and I can't make out the number or numbers that come after it. It's possible that it was pat. June 14th of 1880's something.
it was used by hooking a finger through the right side and the left side with the pointer was used to pull something that would not pull too hard but may be painful to do directly with the finger.
All I can think of is to pull a cord tight.
The only cord I can think of would be to tighten lace up boots or ice skates.
If you don't agree but cannot think of anything better, post it on FindMall's Whatzit Forum. Some of those guys are pretty sharp.
looks like a copper ring that is bent
I thought it was very cool as well, however, it is still unidentified. Thanks for your comments. jajayo.
I don't know what it is, but it is a very cool find. I hope you ID it.
-Mike-
Thanks for the reply coinman. The site dated from about 1890 to 1920. The item is quite ornate which leads me to believe that it would be very visible when in use. Thanks again. All input is welcome.
Hi Digger, I'm sorry to inform you that the item has been identified and it is not a boot puller. It is called a " Picture rail hook " Ck it out on bing or google. Thanks for your input.