What is That?!

Wandering through the museum collection often has me exclaiming "What IS that?" Today's post is one of those items. When I first saw it I saw what is shown in the first photo. The second photo including the mallet started to answer the identity question, and a search in our database contributed a little more information. This is actually a church bell, mounted to a wooden base and rung with a wooden mallet. It came to us in 2004 from Gagetown, but unfortunately that is all the information recorded. Funny how the inclusion of one simple additional piece of information can make sense of a mystery.

Don't Gong Me Late for Dinner

Ahhh the dinner gong.  Used to notify the ladies and gentlemen of the house that dinner is ready.  The one in our collection is about 9" high, hung with two small chains on an oak stand.

The gong itself is metal with an Eastern Sunburst design covering the front.  There is a brass shield on the base, however, there is no inscription on it.

This one came from the home of William H. Venning Esq., the first Inspector of Fisheries for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  He was appointed around the time of Confederation and wrote his first report in 1868, so this dinner gong likely dates from the mid to late 19th century.  The mallet handle is also made of matching oak and the top is soft.  When you hit the gong, it makes a sound louder than you might expect from something this small.  The sound is different depending on where you hit the gong.



I wonder if they had different tones for different types of food?  Hmmmm....I know you wouldn't have to hit the gong twice to call me for dinner!

  

Found My Marbles

You know the old expression "lost my marbles"?  Well, I've often wondered what my marbles would look like if I ever did find them and I think that became a reality today!  There are about 104 marbles in this jar. They are all different colours, many of them multi-coloured and spotted.  They are made of a mixture of ceramic and clay, quite hard, and almost cold to touch.  

Most of them aren't quite round and have a few flaws, just as I thought my marbles would.  They range in size from about 1/2" to 1" across.  Marbles are mentioned as far back as Roman times, but these ones likely date from the late 19th century.  Clay marbles were made in Germany and the U.S. There have been some reports that clay marbles were used as ballast in ships sailing from Germany to America, then were sold.

Maybe that's why it's taken so long to find my marbles - they came from Europe!

Source:  http://www.marblecollecting.com/marble-reference/online-marble-id-guide/earthenware/

Ironing Sad or Sad Iron?

I'm always sad (or mad might be more accurate) when I iron which is why I avoid it as much as possible!  Ironing has always been a chore and historically, it fell to the women in the family.  It was a hot, difficult task as stoves in the home had to be going continuously, even in summer.  These irons had to be heated over a fire or stove but cooled very quickly when used, which meant ironing took even more time as the woman would have to wait until the iron reheated.

The iron in this picture if made of wood and metal and weighs about 5lbs.  Now it makes more sense to me why it is called a sad iron since "sad" is an old English word for "solid".

 "Taylor Forbes" is stamped into the top of the metal iron on one side and "Guelph Canada" is stamped on the other.  There is also a "C" stamped on a raised block close to the end of the handle.  The bottom of the iron is very smooth.


This design with two pointed ends was patented in 1870 by Mary Florence Potts from Iowa.  The design was a bit of a breakthrough in ironing technology because it allowed the ironer to iron both ways;  anything to make this chore easier was welcome!  In 1871 she introduced yet another evolution in irons:  ones with detachable handles which meant one iron could be on the stove heating up while the other was being used.  It may seem basic to us, but having a woman own the patent during this time period was huge.  Because it was so popular with housewives, it was widely marketed in magazines and local stores.

John and Adam Taylor and George Forbes created the Taylor Forbes company in Guelph, Ontario, in 1902.  They became one of Canada's biggest manufacturers of home hardware.  They sold the company in 1950 and within a few years it went bankrupt.

Ironing was such an important part of life that in the 19th century, They started disappearing in the 1920s as people began installing electricity in their homes, however, since many rural areas did not receive electricity until into the 1950s, many of these little sad irons were still widely in use.  Hmmmm...maybe I need to be more grateful for the easy electric iron I have to use from time to time.



Source:  museum information on the artifact and http://www.collectorsweekly.com/tools-and-hardware/sad-and-flat-irons.