Posted 3 years ago
EricWood
(14 items)
Hi Guys!
Here is another great find in that small suitcase I mentioned in my last post. It seems to be a few of my late father's coveted woodworking tools that he did not want to sell.
This one pictured is a wood and brass bit brace as you can see. Interestingly, I see a name stamped into it a couple times that looks like the initials J G and then the last name Goodwin. This name looks a bit haphazardly stamped in both the metal and in one place in the wood itself.
Another name, also shown in the photo, looks like the name HEMSOLL. This one is more understated and is more likely to be the creator of the tool, but this is just my guess.
An internet search was not fruitful on either of these names, at least not that I could find.
I'm wondering if any of you tool wizards might happen to be able to shed some light on this one. It really is a beautiful piece and while I don't want to sell it, I am not a collector myself so I likely will.
I'm wondering if it has unusual value because it was one of just a few especially good looking pieces that he reserved in a small suitcase and did not send off to auction along with dozens of other very old woodworking tools that he had collected over the years.
Thanks for any help you can share. ????
Eric
Looks similar to an "Ultimatum brace" patented by John Cartwright in 1848. He sold the rights layer to Marples who coined the "Ultimatum" name. Yours is similar but not the same as the British tools.
Again..these pieces may have monetary and historical value. They are definitely worth getting checked out by an expert.
By the way..beautiful pieces, your dad had good taste. I have a small collection of braces, but nothing this old..
Not finding anything even close to Hemsoll. The location of where that is stamped would be a normal place for a makers mark.
Thanks for all of your comments so far. As usual, very helpful.
@Dav2no: are there any professional tool consultants that one can consult with, naturally for pay, if one wanted to get a true $ value of hard to find tools that you (or anyone else here) knows of?
I happen to have two of these braces, however only the one pictured has any name on it, but they both look very similar, in fact the other one without the name is in much better condition. The pieces are so beautiful I hate to sell them but just to hold on to them makes no sense either.
Thank you.
Eric
Eric You can get a free membership trial period on worthpoint.com get more pictures if you decide to try this. They will value about anything with their experts. I wouldn't use the appraisal service at the top of the page here as they are more into art, paintings and sculptures things like that. Another option might be antiques roadshow, they used to have a system where you could send them photos for appraisal. Not sure if they still do it but I think their site address is on the history channel website. Forget antique dealers they will give you a low ball price in hopes of buying it. Go to a professional but beware of the cost if any. Many times the cost of appraisal is more than the value of an item to begin with.
@fhrjr2: Thanks so much for the great recommendations. I will definitely follow those up! (HANDSHAKE) Eric