Posted 4 years ago
crewnail
(69 items)
Well obviously it's a bell, couldn't find anything else about it. Possibly a cow bell, would love to know more information. Like how old it is, where it was made or something about it. The font on the number 12 looks a lot like the way numbers were put on coins in the 1700's and 1800's. Couldn't find a good category to put it in , any suggestions.
Don't think it's a cow bell. Maybe a school bell?
It looks an awful lot like a tiny carillon bell but its clapper doesn't seem right for that, as it would have likely also had some means of attaching a pull rope or cable to it while the bell itself remained stationary...??
Old school bell would've had a wooden handle attached.
I agree with Thomas. Ship.
Yes yes yes, BUT (y'all knew there had to be one?) a ship's bell would have also had some kind of loop on its bottommost part to attach a rope to, (what are those sailor's knot ball things called?) which this one doesn't...??
Monkey's fist. You do have a point. It would ring when you ran aground or were torpedoed. LOL
Monkey's fist. YES that's it, thanks bb2! But back to the bell and on to its mounting. The slightly tapered profile and lack of any wear around the hole in its tang (lack of better word) make me think the bell was solidly mounted to something else. Again it brings me to a carillon as most of their bells are held stationary in a wooden/metal yoke and framework with only a few being "swinging" bells, even those mount firmly onto another mechanism to allow their swinging movement. BUT (oh crap, here we go again) it is just way too *tiny* for all that, and the pattern inside where the clapper hits it goes all the way around instead of just one or two spots...???
And now we're back to the thought that it had a handle attached to it like a school bell. Plus, that #12 on it. If it once had companions #1 - 11 scaled appropriately, it could be the top note of a full musical octave set of bells ('handbells', they call them now) for orchestral (etc) use? Maybe??
But let's think simpler for a moment instead. It would also be about the perfect size to be one of those old timey doorbells that mount to a big coily spring on the inside of the door, and the #12 is just a foundry mark or something boring...? Yup, I think I'm going with that one... <lol>
I think these were mounted on considibbles so that when you ran over an identifit, it would ring to attract the attention of the dibbler. It also looks like something may have been broken off the top, which could have been an arm for attaching a rope for the dibbler to pull. I'm beginning to sound like Jen Psaki, where lips move, words come out but nothing is said.
I'll have to circle back on that, thanks for all of the comments, one thing we can all agree on is that it is a bell.
I agree totally. It's a bell !
If it were something like a cow bell it would have been attached to a leather strap and possibly not show much wear, in person it definitely looks like it was used. Even has that small crack on the side, I thought it looked unique, too bad these old items can't talk and tell us their story. I paid something like $7 at an estate sale, was worth it to me just to have another thing to learn about.
Look at my items I found one that was fixed by putting a cut were crack was, I was told mine was used for a log flume it would ring when a log went past.
My late (actually she is dead not late) mother in law was a school teacher for over 30 years long ago. I still have her old bell that sat on her desk. I will see if I can find it and compare them.
"Oh My Goodness"bb2 is having a breakdown!!
Nah, Hotair. Had that years ago.