Posted 7 years ago
tVikki
(6 items)
I have no idea what this is. I'm hoping someone can tell me something about it. It was my husband's. He'd had it for years and knew nothing about it. It is 2 & 3/4 inches long, about as big around as a coffee stirrer and seems to be carved with lines and circles. It's also magnetic.
![Thornton-Pickard Wood Shutters and Congo (x5) [2410-C5B]](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/w20AAOSwDg1nMW5k/s-l225.jpg)
I have to assume your husband was an older gentleman. I have several of these but haven't seen one in years. The name fails me. They are used for carbon tracing to transfer an image. I used mine for transfers to wood, soapstone and glass for carving and etching. The ball on the end you could use to rub and show where you needed highlights or a depression depending on the project. There may be other uses but I know how I used mine long, long ago.
My father was an eye doctor & he used a pointed instrument with a built in electromagnet to remove iron/steel that had gotten embedded in eyes. Before electromagnets, magnets like this may have been used. Trivia: Interesting, but probably useless information.
This is a stylus that came with certain old roll-film cameras such as the Kodak Autographic. There was a narrow slot in the back of the camera which gave access to the back of the paper roll which backed the special autographic film. The photographer could "write" a short line of identification on the paper with the stylus and the writing would show up at the bottom of the printed photograph.
https://petapixel.com/2013/08/27/blast-from-the-past-kodaks-autographic-cameras-let-you-sign-your-negatives/
UncleRon - stlyus was the word I couldn't think of. Very good information you posted. I am sure they would have more value for the intended use but they work great for carbon transfer.
brunswick - I learn more on this site than I am able to contribute, that is pretty much what keeps me here. Even at my age I enjoy learning.
Oops... when I stated it is magnetic, what I should have said is that it is a metal a magnet would stick to.
UncleRon, that is great information! My husband would have been 68 this year. He was very interested in his family's history. This stylus must have belonged either to his Great grandfather, James Boucher Shane, who had been a travelling photographer or his daughter, Juno Belle Shane Thompson who was also a photographer. At one time, their studio was a rail car. They eventually opened a studio in Lawrence, Kansas. One of the museum's has their collection of photographs. How cool is that?
my apologies to fhrjr2! You should have been thanked first. So, thank you for such a quick response and right on, too.