What Looms Up

Well, we sold our loom:




It is going to a good home, a lady who really knows her looms and already owns- and uses- several.

More on Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Harrod

Chris here.

Im my previous post I described piecing together the story behind an ambrotype image in Jen's collection. I have found a little bit more about the Mr. William A. Harrod and his wife Sarah M. "Sallie" Brown(e).

From this website I have learned that in April of 1863 Sallie gave birth to William L. Harrod. Considering that William A. Harrod and Sallie were wed in July of 1862 they wasted little time in starting a family.

After William A.'s death in 1863, Sallie and little William went to live with her grandparents (her parents evidently being deceased). Sallie remarried in 1871 to one George J. James with whom she had a daughter, Cora, the following year. Like many of the people in Sallie's life, George James appears to not have been exceptionally long-lived as on the 1880 census "Sarah M. James" is listed as the head of household and a widower. She last turns up on the 1900 census living with her daughter and son-in-law with the occupation of "lecturer."

Her son with with William A. Harrod, William L. Harrod, moved to California with his family and William L.'s son, William Newell Harrod, died in the Golden State 1950.

William N. married in 1924, but I have yet to find and record of children from that marriage... (why do I suspect there is yet another William Harrod?) of course, on-line geneaology searches are hampered as records of living people and census data after 1930 are not indexed in order to prevent identity theft.

It is amazing the stories one little image can unlock sometimes.

To be continued...

Putting a Name to a Face

Chris here.

Jen and I have been doing work with images again. Jen is working on an on-line archive of high-rez scans and digital photos of the images in our personal collection and past/present items in the store's inventory.

While sorting through the image files on the computer, I came across one of Jen's favorite images:



This dapper gentleman is a captured in a 1/9th plate ambrotype. His clothing & the fact that the image is an ambro place it squarely around 1860.

Where the story gets interesting is that about a month ago Jen and I were preparing for a lecture we were doing on studying 19th century photographs. Jen was admiring the image, in its gutta-percha case, and I asked if she had ever taken it out of the case (as every once in a great while the case holds a surprise).

Well, we took it out of the case and lo and behold a little piece of newsprint fell out of the back of the case. One one side of the newsprint was a mourning poem:

"Beloved One, I Would Not Wish.
---
"Beloved one, I would not wish
To woo thee back to earth,
For thorns unnumbered and untold,
Spring daily into birth;
And if I had the magic power
to till each frozen vein,
I would not, love, recall thee back
To this dark world again.
For well I know with angel hosts
Where pain and sorrow cease,
Thou art now reveling in the bliss
Of endless love and peace.

"I mourn thee, love, but yet I feel,
That thou art with me still;
Thy spirit, though to me unseen,
Is guarding me from ill;
And in my dreams I hear a voice
Strike on my listening ear,
And deem within my visions that
Thy angel form is near;
Then, oh, beloved one, I’ll strive
To meet thee on that shore
Where Sorrow’s footsteps are unknown,
And Death shall come no more"

On the other side of the paper was part of the text from a speech President Lincoln gave to Congress on March 6, 1862. (Click here for the full text of that speech)

On the inside of the case, behind the image, was penciled the following:

"Mr. & Mrs. W.A. Harrod
Austin, Ind.
Sallie Browne
My Darling Husband"

Jen and I were shocked by all this, which clearly showed that Mr. W.A. Harrod had died before his wife, during the Civil War period, and she obviously mourned his loss. But who were Mr. & Mrs. Harrod... and where did "Sallie Browne" fall into the mix? How did Harrod die?

I never thought I'd answer any of these questions, but today I finally got around to doing a little sleuthing, and it turns out that one William A. Harrod was born in Indiana on February 12, 1835, was a carpenter in 1860 per the census, married one Sarah M. "Sallie" Brown on July 6, 1862 in the same county in Indiana and died on September 12, 1863 at the age of 28.

What's wild is that his death is listed as occuring "South of Austin... Indiana" while:

"Returning home on top of a Box Car in a Soldier train, when he got up to look around and was knocked off by a low bridge"

So was Harrod a soldier? I have not found a military service record for him yet. There is no source for this reference to his death, but the information I have gleaned is from a geneaology site and there is a link to contact the family member who put the info together.

Sad story. "Sallie Brown(e)" was widowed just a year after their marriage. Who knows, my wife and I may have been the first people to lay eyes on the pencil inscription and the mourning poem since Mrs. Harrod placed it there almost 150 years ago.

Curiouser and curioser.

Oh, if you are curious, here is the video of the talk on images, including our discovery of Mr. Harrod's "secret:"

Another Reason Not to Take our Parking Spot

I have not posted one of these in awhile... this could be the note you find on your windshield if you leave your car in our designated parking spot:

Have pity on me, I still drive an AMC (NO its not a Pacer).

More on CW Swords

Well, the 1850-pattern Horstmann Staff & Field Officer's sword sold.

Now if we can just get that McElroy to move. Albaugh did not illustrate it in his 1960 "Confederate Edged Weapons," but he does describe a similar model:

"A particularly handsome cavalry sabre is in private collection. In appearance it is very much like those made by Thomas, Griswold & Co., with ornamented branches and guard. The blade is finely etched, its decorations include the firm’s name, address, floral designs and “C.S.” The scabbard is of brass, engraved with crossed Confederate flags, etc."

The only difference is the scabbard on Old Truck's McElroy is steel (albeit with a brass soldered lap seam). I wonder if the sword Albaugh saw actually had an all-brass scabbard or it was just brass soldered and Albaugh made a mistake when he wrote the book? Doesn't really matter either way- many Confederate manufacturers used whatever materials they had. If they had steel, they used steel. If steel was in short supply they used as much brass as they could get away with.

In Defense of Old Truck's McElroy

Chris here (again):

Earlier today I thought I'd make one simple post decrying the inability of the "expert" on Pawn Stars to authenticate the McElroy sword on that show and the similar difficulty Jen and I had when conferring with a authority on Confederate militaria regarding the McElroy we have in our shop.

Well, I am now on my third post wrestling with this thorny issue.

In my last post I set up a framework to type antique weapons against:

Good:
-Original weapon with all-original components
-Reproduction weapons clearly labelled as such

Bad:
-Original weapon altered with components it was never associated with to increase its value
-Reproduction altered and aged to resemble original antique with intent to deceive

Ugly (grey area):
-Original weapon with components either original or reproduction added to replace missing components that the piece initially had
-Reproduction with components added or removed for reenacting purposes ("de-farbed")

So how does Old Truck's McElroy weigh in?

On the "good" category: it has no repro marks so it can't be an honest repro. It could be all original, however.

On the "bad" category: it has no sign of alteration. Theoretically it could be a fake made from scratch, although there would have been a lot of effort involved.

On the "ugly" category: it has no sign that anything was replaced (other than perhaps the leather wrist-strap, more on that below). The sword is definitely not a run-of the mill repro either (more on that below).

So what are we left with?

Good:
-Original weapon with all-original components. Possible
-Reproduction weapons clearly labelled as such. NO

Bad:
-Original weapon altered with components it was never associated with to increase its value Very unlikely
-Reproduction altered and aged to resemble original antique with intent to deceive. Possible but not likely

Ugly (grey area):
-Original weapon with components either original or reproduction added to replace missing components that the piece initially had. Very unlikely
-Reproduction with components added or removed for reenacting purposes ("de-farbed"). Possible but not likely

OK so our sword is possibly an original and possibly, but not likely, a modified repro (either faked or de-farbed) or an out-and-out from-the-ground-up-fake.

The saying goes that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" and, apparently, authenticating a Confederate sword is an extraordinary claim.

So what extraordinary evidence can I bring to the table to show that the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is the real McCoy, er McElroy, that is, and that it is most unlikely that it is a fake?

Well, I suppose I can start by comparing the shop's McElroy to its evil twin- a direct copy of it that is being manufactured in India for Legendary Arms, Inc. Yours for only $199, on sale from $299! http://www.legendaryarms.com/noname1.html

Like I said, it is the evil twin of the McElroy we have at the shop. The natural impulse is to wonder if somebody got ahold of one of these Legendary Arms McElroys and faked it up and the result is what we have in the shop. Well, let's see about that-

Digging around on the 'net I found a few more images of the Legendary Arms McElroy. Take a look at the etching of the "CS" on the blade:

Now, Here's the CS on the McElroy @ Old Truck Antiques:

Notice how the style of the "S" is different, the Old Truck McElroy "S" has a much more pronounced split in it. Also notice how the etching on the Old Truck sword is more free-hand and less regular. Especially pay attention to how DEEP the etching is on the Old Truck McElroy- that is because it's blade has been deeply acid-etched whereas the mass-produced Legendary Arms sword has been photo-etched.

In William A. Albaugh III's "Confederate Edged Weapons" New York, 1960, Albaugh provides the following primary source account of the etching work at McElroy's factory:

"AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT of an operation always carries more weight than a secondhand observation. In my files is a letter from Bridges Smith, who, at the time of its writing in May, 1922, was the Judge of the Bibb County (Ga.) Juvenile Court, Macon, but who in the 1860s was an operative of the C.S. Macon Arsenal. Says Judge Smith:

"... W. J. McElroy & Co., tinsmiths turned over their large factory for the purpose of making canteens, and later by reason of having some skilled men in their employ, began to make swords. In the course of time, this shop was turning out some of the finest weapons of this class, beautifully ornamented by the then process of dipping the blade in melted wax and chasing the designs with a steel pointed instrument, and then pouring acid all over and letting it “eat” into the blade. This may have been very crude compared to modern methods, but we used to regard the product as almost perfection.

"At any rate, I am satisfied that these were the first swords made and worn by the officers of the Confederate Army. This factory continued until the war ended and the swords were made into plowshares, as the saying is. The government had no sword-making establishment of its own in Macon. "

Here is a comparison of the McElroy "signatures," one from Legendary Arms:

And the one on the Old Truck Antiques McElroy:

Again, notice the difference in the script & the depth of the etching.

In the discussion with the authority on Confederate militaria he was of the opinion that the etching did not look right. Compared to other Civil War swords that may be true, but in reading the letter from Judge Smith quoted above it can be seen that McElroy had a distinctive manner of etching.

So it is safe to conclude that the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is NOT a modified Legendary Arms McElroy. As far as this commentator knows, Legendary Arms is the only company having a reproduction McElroy saber made. Besides the physical differences, another reason to conclude that the Old Truck McElroy is not a modified Legendary Arms is that the consigner who has placed it with us has had it in his collection for over seven years. I have a 2003 catalog for Legendary Arms and at that time they did not offer the McElroy reproduction.

So, having ruled out the possibility that the McElroy in our shop is a modified reproduction, what are its chances of being a fake from the ground up?

Well, in addition to the Confederate miltiaria authority, Jen and I have also spoken to a gentleman who has done extensive weapons research and served as a film consultant on period arms. He was of the opinion that if it was a fake the workmanship was so demanding as to make it extremely unlikely that anyone would attempt it.

Let's look at what's involved- forging the blade, casting the highly-ornamented brass guard, turning a wooden grip, making a steel scabbard out of sheet-metal and soldering the lap seam with brass.

Oh, and acid etching the blade and scabbard. One delightful quirk about the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is that the brass solder actually fills some parts of the etched design. Either it is because the incomplete scabbard was etched before it was soldered or because the acid used for the etching could not eat through the brass.

Well, I think I have written myself out on this topic (for now). In the meantime, here are a few links with images of ID'd McElroy foot officer's swords. Note the variation in the engraving. There were obviously several folks doing the etching work at McElroy's during the war.

http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os943p3.htm

(A sword handed down in the McElroy family)

http://content.liveauctioneers.com/item/46144

(Same sword with different pics on an auction website)

http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os1378p1.htm

(Sword carried by two CS officers who died in battle)

http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/civilwarantiques/mcelroy.html

(Sword brought home by an Ohio soldier)

The Wonderful World of Fake and Reproduction Weapons

Chris here.

In my last post I whined impotently because in a recent episode of the history channel's Pawn Stars a "weapons expert" could not authenticate a McElroy sword brought on the show. This scenario mirrored an experience Jen and I recently had when a noted expert on Confederate militaria could not authenticate the McElroy we have on consignment at Old Truck Antiques.

In this post I shall attempt to set up a framework for authenticating weapons. Here goes.

Confederate weapons have been one of the hottest things going in military antiques for several decades. That said a thriving "industry" (if you will) of fake Confederate weapons has cropped up as the unscrupulous cash in on the prices people are willing to pay for Confederate guns, knives and swords.

Complicating the issue further is that during the past half-century Civil War reenacting has grown right alongside the collecting market and plenty of good, bad and indifferent reproductions have been made of clothing, equipment and weapons for the reenactor crowd.

There is nothing inherently wrong or unscrupulous about making reproductions of original pieces, assuming that the reproductions are labeled as such. It gets hinky when somebody takes a repro and removes or adds markings which would otherwise distinguish the repro from the original and then artificially ages the piece with the intent of deceiving collectors.

In short, here is the good, bad and ugly of historic weapons & reproductions:

Good:
-Original weapon with all-original components
-Reproduction weapons clearly labelled as such

Bad:
-Original weapon altered with components it was never associated with to increase its value
-Reproduction altered and aged to resemble original antique with intent to deceive

Ugly (grey area):
-Original weapon with components either original or reproduction added to replace missing components that the piece initially had
-Reproduction with components added or removed for reenacting purposes ("de-farbed")

The "good" category is pretty self-explanatory. For the "bad" group, examples of altered originals are things like "common" US swords from the Civil War era that fakers add Confederate manufacture marks to. This process takes a fairly common sword that is worth hundreds of dollars and changes it to something that could be worth tens of thousands. Because a real antique is modified, to a certain extent it makes detecting the faking very difficult as real signs of age and wear will be present. On the other hand, northern weapons are fairly well documented and their are distinctive factors that northern weapons often have that Confederate weapons GENERALLY do not, so one should be able to tell pretty quick if it is legitimately CSA or just dolled-up USA (of course I said GENERALLY, there are always exceptions that cause no end of confusion and wonderment). That Sean fellow really dropped the ball on Pawn Stars when he stated basically the same thing that I said above about modified original swords having scurrilous maker's marks and decoration added to them, but one look at the sword on Pawn Stars and you could tell it was Confederate to the core- the blade only had one fuller. Union swords GENERALLY (I hate saying that) have two fullers (fullers are the grooves in sword blades), a deeper secondary one inside the first toward the spine of the blade. There is no way to grind out or hide a second fuller... the fact that the Pawn Stars sword had only a single fuller meant it was almost certainly either a real CS sword or a total fake (not a modified antique). Sean did not say that it was a total fake. If it was a real Confederate sword, why would anyone add etching to it? Even plain Confederate swords are valued at $5,000-$10,000! Risking ruining an original by etching it would be just plain stupid and at best would only double the value (yeah, I know that people do stupider things, but figuring out how to etch a blade and then age it again would take some smarts... anybody smart enough to do that would probably be smart enough not to mess with an original CS sword.

The other "bad" category I had listed are reproductions which are made to deceive. There are two sub-sets of this category. The first sub-type are total fakes from the ground up that somebody has cobbled together in his/her garage or basement. Usually these are fairly easy to spot as the fake looks like it has been created on a workbench by somebody who is not a professional manufacturer- even the most crude of Confederate weapons tend to have more fit and finish than these home made impersonators. The authenticity of the homemade total fakes also tends to suffer because the faker, in addition to being an amature manufacturer, is normally also an amature historian and often does not have ready access to an original to copy from or the ability to research the fake well enough. The second sub-type of deceptive reproductions are mass-produced copies of weapons meant for the reenactor market that have had the distinctive features that separate them from originals added or removed and then been artificially aged. Most reproduction swords come from India and carry an "India" stamped on the blade. New they cost between one and several hundred dollars. Fakers frequently grind off the "India" stamp and then use a letter punch set to mark the blade with manufacturer and/or inspector marks. Then for good measure the blade is dipped in gasoline and left to dry, causing an instant patina. Using abrasives, wear may be given to part of the sword to make it "look old" and used. These fakes can normally be spotted by looking for tool marks where the "India" (or whatever) stamp was removed, looking to see if the letter punches used were in a modern font or one correct for the Civil War period, and looking closely at the patina on the blade and the wear on the sword as a whole. Also, there are hallmarks of some reproductions that are not found on originals. Bad repros stick out like a sore thumb. Anybody who tries to buy a $15 Chinese stainless steel wonder with an acorn nut securing the tang to the pommel and make that look like an original should have their head examined. Both the total fakes and the modified repros often boast excessive and frequently crude (both mechanically and linguistically) engraving of personal names, unit designations, and ludicrous mottoes (like "death to yankees" or something equally profound).

Then there is the "ugly" category. The first type, original weapons that have missing parts replaced, is a fact of life. Several years ago I decided to learn everything there was to know about the US 1855 pattern rifle musket. What I found is that very reputable antique dealers had no problem selling down the river muskets made up of every possible combination of parts from the 1850's to the 1870's. The problem here is that the Ordnance Dept.'s use of interchangeable parts meant that the locks, stocks, and barrels of the 1855-1864 rifle muskets and the early trapdoor rifles could often be interchanged along with other hardware such as ramrods, barrel bands and screws. When trying to research 1855 rifles on the internet storefronts of militaria dealers I found literally dozens of weird combinations of cast-off parts being sold as an "original" weapon. With swords it is a little more difficult to achieve this result. Most scabbards only fit the specific type of sword it was meant to fit for, so it is difficult (but not impossible) to join a mis-matched sword & scabbard. This may have been what happened with the Pawn Stars McElroy as its original scabbard had been replaced with one of varnished wood. Some CSA swords did in fact have wooden scabbards but not anything like the Pawn Stars one- I'd argue the legitimacy of the Pawn Stars sword on those grounds alone- nobody would fake something like that as it would not fool anyone! My guess would be that at some point the leather rotted out and either the veteran or one of his descendants crafted the wooden replacement. It is also technically possible to mix a sword's blade, guard and grip... but dismounting a Civil War Sword is not easy as it means grinding out the flattened end of the tang from the pommel and the soldering or welding it in place once the sword is reassembled. Normally tell-tale signs of this work can be detected.

The other "ugly" types of Civil War weapons are those that have been "de-farbed." "farb" is a Civil War reenactor term of unknown origin that means something or someone that is inauthentic. For many reenactors, looking at a "Made in India" stamp is understandably frustrating. Many reenactors, and/or the vendors who supply them, "de-farb" reproduction items to make them look more like the originals. This normally involves removing the marks of the reproduction's manufacturer and sometimes replacing them with the marks of original manufacturers. "De-farbing" can also involve replacing less authentic parts of the modern made reproduction with either original or reproduction components that more closely match the original. Nobody is intending to deceive, except to present a greater aura of authenticity on the battlefield. Most reputable vendors if they do really good reproductions or "de-farbing" of same will use manufacture marks that are not real- normally their own name or initials, which a little research would show to any interested party to not be a true manufacturer of the period. The other thing that most often separates "de-farbed" repros from fakes is that reenactors want their repros to look NEW as they are portraying the time-period when the weapons were recently issued or purchased. A de-farbed repro should not show any signs of extreme age- i.e. leather should still be pliable, rust to a minimum, no patina.

Everything I Needed to Know I Learned on TV

Chris here.

Jen and I were watching the history channel's Pawn Stars (episode title "Off The Wagon" which originally aired 2/15/10) the other night and were initially thrilled to see somebody bring in a W.J. McElroy Confederate sword in. Rick, the shop's co-owner, did the right thing and brought in an expert to do an appraisal. Our initial thrill wore off when his "weapons expert" Sean came in and basically admitted he could not authenticate it and said that there are so many fake swords running around that it was not even worth it for Rick to make an offer.

From an antiques research standpoint, the great thing about Pawn Stars is that unlike Antiques Roadshow it portrays a rubber-meets-the-road business with an eye solidly on the bottom line (as opposed to the pie-in-the-sky auction/insurance prices pulled from the ether on Antiques Roadshow)... the thing that stinks about Pawn Stars is that it portrays a rubber-meets-the-road business with an eye solidly on the bottom line! On the show the store's operators and consulting "experts" often shoot from the hip on whether it is worthwhile for the shop to buy something. The shop, like a Vegas casino "house," always wins. The shop operators usually play it safe and only make an offer on things they are reasonably sure they can make a profit on. Buying something that is potentially worthless (like a fake Confederate sword) would not add up for them.

What I am trying to say is that I don't blame the shop for not making an offer, even low, for the sword. Spending thousands on something that could turn out to be worthless is not good business sense. I don't even blame the "expert" Sean for the advice he gave Rick- again, it was good business sense.

What I DO blame that Sean guy for is not living up to his billing as an "expert." Confederate edged weapons constitute a very nuanced sub-group of the general weapons category. I'm sure when Rick from the shop called Sean he explained that he wanted Sean's opinion on a Confederate sword. If Sean didn't know enough about Confederate swords he should have just said so.

I guess I am just a little sensitive on this topic because it was a McElroy sword that was in question. We have a VERY NICE McElroy sword on consignment in the shop... we are asking $25,000 for it which is probably a steal given the condition it is in. Understandably I cringe when I hear "McElroy" and "fake" uttered in the same sentence.

What makes Jen and I even more sensitive on this point is that recently we had a chance to show the shop's swords to a very well-respected authority on Confederate militaria and he basically said the same thing that Sean did on Pawn Stars- that he had his doubts / didn't know.

That kind of thing kinda makes me quake in my boots. Has faking of Confederate swords become so epidemic that even the experts can't separate the wolves from the sheep anymore? Is that the advice being given to collectors- don't even bother trying to buy Confederate swords because so many are fake?

In my conversation with the authority I mentioned above, he brought up the fact that the only trusted guide to Confederate swords is Albaugh's "Confederate Edged Weapons" from 1960, and most everything else is speculation from, as the authority consulted put it, from "the gun show crowd," and who knows if any of that body of lore has any truth to it?

What all this is leading up to is a fevered defense of the McElroy sword we have in the shop.

Stay tuned...

Your Weekly Reason not to Park in Our Spot

If you continue to park here you may be placed on Super Secret Probation.

Lecture Next Week

Posting the world for our lecture next week- "The Material of Material Culture"- a lecture on what we can learn from antiques regarding the construction and use of objects from the past as well as what they can tell us about life in earlier times. This talk will be illustrated by pieces currently on sale in the store ranging from the magnificent to the mundane.

The lecture will be held this Tuesday (1/26) at 7:30 p.m. at our shoppe in Redwood City. The price is $10.00 per person, $5.00 for students with I.D. For more information and the rest of our schedule check out the special events page on our website.

Craving Craig

Rainy day. Getting back to posting stuff to Craigslist. Two great things about it. 1) its free and 2) Google indexes Craigslist postings immediately and gives them a high search ranking. Don't believe me? Just search "boxed demijohn" on google and see what turns up. Oh, and the other good thing about Craigslist is that people actually look at the stuff posted on there. If a miracle happens they might even buy. Who knows?

-Arts and Crafts bookcases

-Pacific Coast Glass Works Boxed Demijohn

-Eastlake highchair/stroller/walker

My favorite (if you haven't guessed) is the box demijohn. There is something really cool about the fact it is a relic of bygone days when there was all sorts of industry in San Francisco. Plus the fact I found an add from 1881 that shows the spitting image of the demijohn we have for sale.

Old Truck Supporting Winter Quarters

We are supporting the National War Association / Benicia Historical Museum's Winter Quarters Civil War conference to be held on Feb. 26-28 at the historic "camel barns" (actually the 1850's U.S. Army ordnance storehouses) at Benicia, California.

This is a phenomenal series of talks that the NCWA and BHM have been holding for the last few years. Presentors will include, but not limited to Mark Stevens, historian and professor: Juanita Leisch, author of many books, including "Who Wore What;" Les Jensen, historian, author and president and charter member of The Company of Military Historians; Nick Sekela, clothing designer/pattern maker and proprietor of Historic Clothiers; Scott Thomas, blacksmith at Ardenwood Farm; Gordon Frye, historical, military consultant and guest speaker; Greg Jennings historian and member of the Coast Defense Studies Group & Elizabeth Pigeon-Ontis, historical architect.

There will be several "tracks" and attendees are welcome to pick whatever talks and programs (including several walking/house tours) to suit their own areas of interest. We are hoping that the collection of Confederate swords currently available in the shop will be used by one of the distinguished speakers for a talk.

But wait - there is more! For only $15.00 a person there will be a dinner on the evening of Fri. 26 and a key note address by Mark Stevens on “When the World was Lit by Fire,” a lecture on life in the age before electric light.

Check out the Winter Quarters page for more information and the registration form:

http://oldtruckantiques.com/winterquarters/

Another Reason Not To Park in Our Spot

Ever seen an 1850’s sheer dress? Do you even know or care what an 1850’s sheer dress is? If the answer to any or all of these questions is “no” then you really should not park here.

W. G McElroy and the Nashville Plow Works Swords

Right now we have several Civil War swords in the shoppe. I thought you all might be interested, especially in the rare ones. I know there are museums that wish they had a collection like this. Enjoy.

This is an outstanding example of one of the best-made of Confederate swords in excellent condition. This is an excetionally rare specimen of a cavalry officer's saber made by W.J. McElroy of Macon, Georgia. This sword has a 33.5" long blade (39" long overall) with stopped fullers. Only a very few Confederate sword manufactures, (William J.) McElroy being one, could or would make a sword with stopped fullers. The blade is deeply engraved with a crossed stand of the first Confederate flag, crossed cannons, floral motifs and "C.S." in Old English script. Engraved in relief on the blade near the hilt is "W.J. McElroy Macon, GA." The brass three-bar guard has ornate cast floral decoration. The leather-covered grip is wrapped in simple copper wire. The steel scabbard is 35" long and one side of it is deeply engraved with crossed flags as well as stylized drapes. The scabbard has a brass drag, carrying rings/bands and throat. As is typical of Confederate swords the seam on the scabbard has been rather crudely soldered with brass.

The sword is in extremely fine condition with a high degree of luster on the blade and guard and only a few, small spots of rust on the blade and scabbard. The sword retains its leather wrist strap.

The second sword we have to share today is one produced by the Nashville Plow Works concern.

Here is a fantastic example of one of the rarest and most desireable of Civil War edged weapons: a Nashville Plow Works Confederate Officer's Cavalry saber. As its name suggests, the Nashville Plow Works produced agricultural equipment prior to the Civil War, but early in the conflict the concern's operators, Sharp and Hamilton, reveresed the Biblical addage to "beat your plowshares into swords" and began producing edged weapons. It is not known how many swords the Nashville Plow Works produced, but manufacturing was terminated when Union forces occupied Nashville on April 1st of 1862.
This is an exceptionally fine example of a Sharp and Hamilton/Nashville Plow Works sword and presents all the looked-for characteristics. It features a 36" long blade (sword is 41" overall) with its orignal scabbard measuring 36.5" in length. The crudely-forged blade features the unstopped fullers typical of Southern manufacture. The guard is of cast brass (appears to have a very high copper content) with a three-bar knuckle-bow and an acorn-shaped opening in the center. On the guard the name "Nashville Plow Works" and letters "CSA" are cast in relief against a stippled background. The underside of the guard is also stippled. The wooden grip is wrapped in leather with an iron band nearest the guard and brass wire wrapping and a brass backstrap leading to a bird's head pommel. There are very faint traces of an engraved name and/or unit designation on the backstrap. The iron scabbard is 36.5" long and has a brass drag and carrying rings/bands and a simple hammered throat. The scabbard's front seam is soldered with brass as is typical of Confederate manufacture.
The sword and scabbard a entirely intact. The blade exhibits a pleasant plum-colored patina over most of the blade with areas of luster remaining and minor to moderate pitting. The grip has wear consonant with age and use. The scabbard has moderate pitting but no dents or bends.

For more information of more pictures of thses wonderful items please visit http://www.oldtruckantiques.com/catalog/militaria_weapons.html

One Reason Not to Park in Our Spot

After two months of having our assigned parking spaces in our building's lot used by who-knows-who, it was time to create some notes we could put on cars. Here is a sample:


There is an estimated 1:100,000,000 chance of an asteroid hitting this spot. Do you really want to risk it?

The Jones Organ Co. and the begining of my Gothic phase

By far one of my personal favorite pieces in the shoppe right now is our 1877/1878 Jones Organ. Never heard of it, well neither had we until it followed us home from a garage sale a few months ago. This beautiful Gothic revival reed organ was produced in Oakland CA. It utilizes workings from the Tabor Organ Co. of Worcester Mass. which was started in 1876 by one A. C. Emmons. The workings were evidently purchased from the company by Jones shortly thereafter. The only two date markings on the Organ are for the Patent application date, June 23 1877 for the Organ - Stop Action by H. R. Moore. The patent wasn't awarded until January 8, 1878 and the patent for the tremolo which was patented by William D. Parker awarded June 22, 1875. The respective patents are as follows: Moore's application and subsequent patent, No. 199,090 and for Parker No. 164,871. Both patents and corresponding renderings are available online.

Beyond that little is know about this exact piece, we have yet to turn up even a reference to the Jones Organ Co. in Oakland in a city directory. Such a lack of information leads one to wonder as to the production numbers for the concern. I'm begining to think that Jones may have been something of a glorified cabinet maker, but since there's no definitive evidence either way, who's to say at this point. Research still awaits.

What I can tell you is that this piece has somehow survived, especially considering one near miss that we know about. This piece was slated for demolition right along with the house it sat in. The organ itself was refurbished in the 1940's as attested to a handwritten tag attached to the inner workings of the organ only accessible through the back panel. The organ is functional and designed perfectly in the Gothic revival style of the 1870's. The carving is consistent in all its features and accented by gilt work.

2010 Lectures are set

Hello all:

Please note that our 2010 lecture series has been finalized and looks like the following:

1-26-10 "Materials of Material Culture" Items of interest and intrigue from Rogers Smith and Co to the Nashville Plow Works

2-23-10 "Captured By The Lens -Images for study" The use of Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Ferrotypes, CDV's and Cabinet Photos in study

3-30-10 "As long as you have two inches of hair you can wear a comb"

4-20-10 "In The Time Before Television" Victorian parlor amusements

5-25-10 "A County Apart" The creation of San Mateo County and the 1856 Committee of Vigilance

6-22-10 "I Do" Victorian wedding customs

7-27-10 ""Mezesville and Beyond" A walking tour of Redwood City

8-24-10 "The World According to Charles Eastlake" Charles Lock Eastlake and the style that bears his name

9-28-10 "A Good Death" Victorian Mourning Customs

10-26-10 "San Mateo County Cemeteries" Funerary Art and Architecture

11-30-10 "What's In Your Pocket" Common Victorian accessories

All classes start at 7:30 on the Tuesday evenings listed above and are $10 per person $5 for students with proper ID. RSVP is requested but not required. All classes are held at or meet at Old Truck Antiques located at 2400 Broadway Ave. Redwood City, CA 94063. For further information check the events section on our website www.oldtruckantiques.com or call (650) 367-9625

A Freudian Slip from Manland

Chris here:

Just taking down the Christmas decorations on the ole' website (the little holly & ivy border I'd put around each page) & generally trying to tidy it up generally. One error that has caused me some embarrasement is the fact that I labelled a lorgnette (see Wikipedia) as a lunette (also see Wikipedia). It's all French to me. Can I help it that I find macho, military terms describing elements of fortification more retainable in my memory than eye wear especially popular with stylish ladies?