Posted 8 years ago
Irishcolle…
(137 items)
This item is 9.5 inches long. I found it in the bottom of a box of tools bought at a market. The bar is brass and has a hole in its end like a clock key. It is stamped with the letters GBN in a diamond with Bavaria underneath. A google search reveals that this is the mark of the German toy makers Gebruder Bing and that this mark was used between 1908 and 1925.
I presume that this gadget was attached to a toy and a string wound around the brass bar. Pulling the string caused the bar to spin which activated the toy in some way. If I am right does anyone know what kind of toy this originally came with.
For coring something like apples ?
No, I think it is an accessory for a toy but I do not know what the toy looked like.
http://www.spielzeugmuseum-freinsheim.de/english/index.html
Link to their museum's index, and preface to their index.
"First Toy and Tinplate Museum Bing Works Nuremberg
The heart of the Old Town of Freinsheim (near to Bad Durkheim - Rheinland-Pfalz) originates a lasting exhibition which devotes itself to the history of toys and metal goods.
The aim is to remind the toys and products of the company "Bing Works Nuremberg", once the biggest toy manufacturer of the world.
This museum is the first and only "Bing-Museum" in the world."
So many metal trains and other metal items, I think it might be difficult to find out what the part you found was for.
Also, a google image search on: Gebruder Bing has many examples of their work.
Just a thought - what you found could also be a tool used in the manufacture of some of these toys. I think that makes more sense - 'cos it looks too large to be part of a toy? Don't know unless the dimensions are provided.
Thanks Gillian, I had already tried the image search with no luck but I did not know about the museum. I suppose I could send them a picture.
For holding a spool of string to fly a kite maybe???
You could be right. The brass bar has a hole through one end with a piece of string still tied to it. The square hole in the other ends engages with something but I don't know what this might be.