Artifacts

[bighomer]

What sarge said.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Actually, here it is now.....

Cool! I'll try to remember what it looks like. Edit, I'll Download the picture and if I ever find another one like it, I'll let you know.

Ok I have it & I'll keep my eyes open!

Thank you Tom.

Nice memorabilia from your family, Skip. The best kind. Good show.

Here are three Henckels Mellon Testors.....

Thank you Joe. Those are great looking knives. I'm going to get one of those for myself eventually.

[FRJ]

Thank you, Steve and Joe and Skip.
Thanks for looking.
I hope you score one, Skip.

[TPK]

Nice memorabilia from your family, Skip. The best kind. Good show.

Here are three Henckels Mellon Testors.
I purchased these knives from three different sellers.
Amazingly, each one was used quite similarly and look remarkably similar to each other.
Grand old artifacts.

Best Mellon Testers I have ever seen Joe! Very Nice!

[FRJ]

Thank you very much, Tom.

[doglegg]

Those are the most fantastic melon tester I have ever seen.

[New_Windsor_NY]

.

[FRJ]

Thank you, doglegg.

Skip, other than your photos of the letter opener, you obviously have strayed from the title of the thread.

[orvet]

Thank you, doglegg.

Skip, other than your photos of the letter opener, you obviously have strayed from the title of the thread.

I have been watching this thread and not posting because I was not sure what definition you're using for "artifacts."
I don't collect or have any old watches, the old knives that I have I suppose might be considered artifacts but I wouldn't consider unnecessarily off-topic they would do well in the knife forum.
I picked up a few old tools recently that I would consider to be an artifact, but thought I would get a consensus definition before posting here.

[WillyCamaro]

Those are simply,

The most lovely,

Melon testers,

I've ever seen.

You literally can't top them, that's for sure!

Well done on building the set Joe .

[New_Windsor_NY]

Thank you, doglegg.

Skip, other than your photos of the letter opener, you obviously have strayed from the title of the thread.

I have been watching this thread and not posting because I was not sure what definition you're using for "artifacts."
I don't collect or have any old watches, the old knives that I have I suppose might be considered artifacts but I wouldn't consider unnecessarily off-topic they would do well in the knife forum.
I picked up a few old tools recently that I would consider to be an artifact, but thought I would get a consensus definition before posting here.

I can only speak for myself, but I was using the generally accepted definition of artifact as a guide. The item I deleted, the letter opener, fit the definition perfectly. I added a couple of related pictures and a narrative that told a story about the person to whom the letter opener was given. I don't know what I did wrong, but rather than go back and forth about it, I got rid of it. But as it was FRJ (Joe) that started this topic, he's the referee. No big deal. Easily posted, easily deleted.

[Jtx]

An old chain that was clipped to the bail of a Camillus jack knife. Bought it at a knife show years ago. I traded the knife to a friend, but kept the chain.

[TPK]

Here are some Artifacts I found while working on my house many years ago.
Found around 2002 - 2003.

The ink well and bottles I found in the attic. One of them is still half full but I'm not trying it.

Then I found a lot of glass, pottery, ceramic, wood, metal & bones while digging a trench for a septic line through part of the basement. This house was originally built sometime before 1845. I know this because it is on a village map from 1845. I have no idea when all of these bits & pieces of stuff got into the ground. Or why. Anyways, I thought they were an interesting find so I held onto them. One metal object appears to have been a knife at some time. This is the only fixed blade I own and it needs some work done on it if any of you a looking for a real challege. LOL!

Thanks for looking!

[WillyCamaro]

Fun stuff Tom .

[Old Folder]

Here are some Artifacts I found while working on my house many years ago.
Found around 2002 - 2003.

The ink well and bottles I found in the attic. One of them is still half full but I'm not trying it.

Then I found a lot of glass, pottery, ceramic, wood, metal & bones while digging a trench for a septic line through part of the basement. This house was originally built sometime before 1845. I know this because it is on a village map from 1845. I have no idea when all of these bits & pieces of stuff got into the ground. Or why. Anyways, I thought they were an interesting find so I held onto them. One metal object appears to have been a knife at some time. This is the only fixed blade I own and it needs some work done on it if any of you a looking for a real challege. LOL!

Thanks for looking!

Nice find Tom
Many years ago when Anna and I were active on eBay, we sold a lot of glass for a nice profit.
You may consider cleaning up your bottles and listing them. Collectors love color variations. Some of your bottles appear as if they were hand blown.
If you discover "bubbles" within the layers of glass, it will bring more collectors interests.
Bubbles in glass are usually caused by trapped air between the glass and the kiln shelf or between layers of glass. ... Moisture in the shelf turns to steam at higher temperatures causing an air pocket between the shelf and the glass. As the glass softens, it collapses and forms air pockets between layers.
Crude glass almost always contains bubbles, which often adds to its appeal and value among collectors.
In early cut glass, you rarely find bubbles because it was considered a serious defect and the piece was thrown back into the kiln.
Also, many old "picture frame" glass have visible bubbles. Many can be found if one has original framed pictures of Grandparents, etc.

[TPK]

Here are some Artifacts I found while working on my house many years ago.
Found around 2002 - 2003.

The ink well and bottles I found in the attic. One of them is still half full but I'm not trying it.

Then I found a lot of glass, pottery, ceramic, wood, metal & bones while digging a trench for a septic line through part of the basement. This house was originally built sometime before 1845. I know this because it is on a village map from 1845. I have no idea when all of these bits & pieces of stuff got into the ground. Or why. Anyways, I thought they were an interesting find so I held onto them. One metal object appears to have been a knife at some time. This is the only fixed blade I own and it needs some work done on it if any of you a looking for a real challege. LOL!

Thanks for looking!

Nice find Tom
Many years ago when Anna and I were active on eBay, we sold a lot of glass for a nice profit.
You may consider cleaning up your bottles and listing them. Collectors love color variations. Some of your bottles appear as if they were hand blown.
If you discover "bubbles" within the layers of glass, it will bring more collectors interests.
Bubbles in glass are usually caused by trapped air between the glass and the kiln shelf or between layers of glass. ... Moisture in the shelf turns to steam at higher temperatures causing an air pocket between the shelf and the glass. As the glass softens, it collapses and forms air pockets between layers.
Crude glass almost always contains bubbles, which often adds to its appeal and value among collectors.
In early cut glass, you rarely find bubbles because it was considered a serious defect and the piece was thrown back into the kiln.
Also, many old "picture frame" glass have visible bubbles. Many can be found if one has original framed pictures of Grandparents, etc.

Very informative post! Thanks Dan!

[treefarmer]

Here is an interesting glass artifact that have been in my possession since the around 1970.
The round bottomed green bottle was found on the west shore of Lake Apopka, west of Orlando. I worked for the Orange County Water Pollution Control agency at that time. The biologists had been doing a detailed study on the restoration of that large lake. Part of the study included dropping the lake level 2 feet for a period of time to see if the exposed shore line would help regenerate the water quality by mimicking the natural occurring high and low water levels. The lake had been held at a certain elevation for many years by a lock and dam at the natural outflow of the lake. The exposed shore line revealed many treasures during the time of the draw down. This bottle was one of them:

Round bottomed aerated beverage bottle embossed with BOLEN & BYRNE NEW YORK AERATED BEVERAGES. The round bottom prevented bottle from being stored upright thus insuring the stopper would not dry out.

Treefarmer

[TPK]

Here is an interesting glass artifact that have been in my possession since the around 1970.
The round bottomed green bottle was found on the west shore of Lake Apopka, west of Orlando. I worked for the Orange County Water Pollution Control agency at that time. The biologists had been doing a detailed study on the restoration of that large lake. Part of the study included dropping the lake level 2 feet for a period of time to see if the exposed shore line would help regenerate the water quality by mimicking the natural occurring high and low water levels. The lake had been held at a certain elevation for many years by a lock and dam at the natural outflow of the lake. The exposed shore line revealed many treasures during the time of the draw down. This bottle was one of them:013.JPG
Treefarmer

Cool Philip! I have a bottle like that somewhere. I was told by someone that they were for transporting wine on ships.

[Old Folder]

Nice find Philip.
Looks as if your bottle originally had "Ginger Ale" ?
The initial proprietors of the business were John Bolen and John Byrne. The “History” section of corporate documents, prepared in 1929, stated that the original partnership of Bolen & Byrne was established in 1857 and that they were the first manufacturers of ginger ale in America.
Detailed history within the below website.

https://baybottles.com/2017/08/13/bolen-byrne-new-york/

[treefarmer]

Old Folder,
Thanks for posting this informative article! Old bottles are always interesting, I used to find a lot of them. There are several more that I will post as we go along.
Treefarmer

[Old Folder]

Your welcome sir.
It looks as if your bottle is in much better condition than the one posted above from the website, which appears to have a cracked tip.

[treefarmer]

Here are two neat little blue glass bottles that have been in our possession for 50 years or so. The triangular one, we found on a mud flat on the west side of Lake Harney, the Seminole County Florida side of the St. John's River. We were riding our horses and I spotted a bit of blue in the mud. I can't recall where we found the Bromoseltzer bottle:)

McCormick & Co July 8th, 1902 must have been mosquito dope

triangular shape is unique

"Skeeter dope" bottle back-lit

Bromoseltzer bottle back-lit

Treefarmer

[Colonel26]

TF those bottles are very cool.

[treefarmer]

Miss Joy returned with a real prize from her dad's 97th birthday. Her dad gave her a set of orange Carnival glass, a pitcher and 6 glasses. Her 97 year old dad remembers asking his grandmother if he could drink milk from one of the orange colored glasses. Joy's great grandmother was born in 1877 and died in 1957, her dad was born in 1923, this is some old glass that will fit in the Artifact category.

Old orange Carnival Glass (Windmill pattern) also one of my prizes in the Winchester meat grinder.

Treefarmer

[doglegg]

I bet Miss Joy is thrilled. Wonderful treasure and memory.