North America Archives - Page 4 of 17

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An early 20th-century advertising paperweight for Mosler Vesuvious spark plugs, consisting of an actual Mosler Vesuvious mica spark plug mounted on a heavy steel plinth. Height 2″(5cm) ; diameter of base 2″ (5cm). Mosler, working in New York City, was a pioneer producer of spark plugs. The plug on the paperweight is working example Wrenchwiki notes: “A R Mosler was an early manufacturer of spark plugs. Arthur R Mosler built a two-cycle engine in 1900. The engine would run well for Read More...

10 Apr

Spicer’s Infant Urinal by Sharp & Smith, Chicago

By M and R Gordon

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A very rare example of Spicer’s Infant Urinal by Sharp & Smith, which was “…used to collect urine specimen from infants. It would have been sterilized between uses.” S&S moved into their 65 E. Lake St address in 1929, so i would date this as having been made in the 1930s. The box is soiled and the is a small patch of slight roughness around the opening of the urinal. The box is 2″ or 5cm cube. Read More...

09 Apr

Bucklin’s Tool for Pivoting Watch-Wheels, Patented 1875

By M and R Gordon

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Frank S. Bucklin, of East Tilton, New Hampshire, received a patent on May 8, 1875 ( number: 164,714) for his tool for pivoting watch-wheels. It appears to be incomplete–see patent drawing and description. Length: 5.35″. Read More...

09 Apr

A C1900 Unused Box of Court Plasters

By M and R Gordon

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A C1900 Unused Box of Court Plasters. Dimension of box. 5″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″. Dimensions of plasters: 3″ x 1.5″. A court plaster is:” an adhesive plaster especially of silk coated with isinglass and glycerin.” They were used in their day as band aids are used today. The box seems untouched. It contains 12 packets of about 20 plasters. The maker is Colin S. Few, working in Middletown, Pennsylvania Read More...

09 Apr

A Fleaglass for Fleaglass

By M and R Gordon

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A late 19th-century classic brass fleaglass. No maker’s mark. We’ve owned a couple of these previously, all found in the USA, as this one was. Length: 3″ or just under 8cm. Could be polished to a high shine but we normally leave instruments as found. No condition issues. Read More...

07 Apr

Early 20th -Century KNY-Scheerer Pocket Spittoon

By M and R Gordon

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Early 20th -century KNY-Scheerer nickel-plated pocket spittoon. Length: 4″, width: 2.5″ ; height: 1.5″. Early in the last century, when TB was rampant, the employment of such spittoons was encouraged as an alternative to public spitting. Read More...

07 Apr

Golden Gate Bridge Original Suspension Cables

By M and R Gordon

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Between 1972 and 1976, the cables were replaced on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which had been completed in 1936. Some of the the removed cables were preserved and sold in 4 inch, seven-cable sections resting on a plinth. The wooden plinth is 4.75 inches in length. The cable is quite heavy: with the plinth it weighs close to five pounds! No condition issues. Read More...

19 Mar

14K C1920 Gold IUD

By M and R Gordon

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The London Science Museum has a similar device on their site, which they date c1920, but theirs is gold-plated brass not solid 14ct gold. Gold was less problematic because it is inert. They describe it as”A type of early intrauterine device (IUD) also known as a cervicouterine device or pessary. Curved disk with long coil stem attached to plate of disk. Coil opens into a wishbone shape with two arms. Arms are held together during insertion ( https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/jq085k79n) Prior Read More...

18 Mar

Cohen’s Direct Venous Pressure Apparatus by B-D

By M and R Gordon

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As early as the 19th century, venous pressure was used in the diagnoses and assessment of congestive heart failure.Cohen’s apparatus was introduced between the wars, a time when the diagnostic importance of venous pressure was beginning to be more widely understood and measured clinically. Length of case: 13″ or 32.5cm. The maker of the instrument is the American firm, Becton-Dickinson. Read More...

06 Feb

1901 Patent Dental Forceps/Crown-Post Puller

By M and R Gordon

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PLEASE IGNORE COOKIES MESSAGE UNDER IMAGES. A scarce pair of Lancaster’s 1901 dental forceps/post puller that was patented on July 2, 1901: # 677,577 . Length: approximately 7.75″ or 19.25 cm. The primary purpose of the forceps was to pull crown posts–see patent description included among the images. It is a beautifully made and complex instrument that is marked with the patent date. The discrepancy between the patent drawing and the actual forceps is something often seen as a Read More...

29 Jan

Dr. Fisher’s schematic eye

By M and R Gordon

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Dr. Fisher’s schematic eye. Height: 3.25″. This is the “improved model” of the Fisher eye; the earlier cylindrical model is much more common. The frame is heavy cast iron. It comes with a box of 24 retinal images on 12 cardboard discs ( one on each side of the 12 discs) There is also a key to the discs included . When a disc is placed in the holder at the far end of the device, it can be Read More...

28 Jan

~MINT BAUSCH and LOMB CONTINENTAL MODEL CCDS c. 1900~

By Scientifica Opticae Inc.

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Standing 16 inches tall, this CCDS Continental Model, serial number 38542 sold for $200 in 1900 ($7500 USD today). Horseshoe base, elaborate polarising substage (patented Jan.3, 1899) perfect for photo-micrography and minerology with a machined Damask pattern, fully rotatable, 4 inch circular mechanical stage, engine divided internally and externally. A pleasing combination of bright brass and nickel steel, this instrument was B&L’s top of the line (only to be outdone by the DOUBLE pillar DDS model). Rack and pinion are Read More...