Monday mystery artifact
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
--William Butler Yeats
Everyone who guessed this week was in the correct room of the Museum, so to speak; the sewing room. a2dancelady said, "The top part looks like the embroidery hoop I used to use when I was little girl." Typha added, "It is an embroidery hoop, designed to clamp to a table or the arm of a chair. This allows you to work without having to hold up the hoop." You are both correct. This artifact is a table-clamping embroidery hoop. Here is a picture of another example.
The problematic bit came when Larissa guessed it was "some kind of quilting hoop." Though I've embroidered in the past, I've never quilted, so I'm unfamiliar with the equipment. Could this artifact be used as a quilting hoop?
Two factors persuaded me that it very well might have been. One is that it seems unlikely that an average household of years ago would have two different tools for what are very similar types of work. The other factor is that similar items are offered for sale today for quilters. Here are some examples. Aside from the regular quilting frame used at a quilting bee, it seems reasonable to conclude that this hoop may well have been used to make smaller quilt squares to be combined later.
Today we have a related item that my co-photographer called a "steampunk artifact." That is apropos in more ways than one! Many readers will be able to guess the basic function of this item--ah, but the devil is in the details! See if you can go beyond the basic function to pin down precisely what this item was, and why it has a mysterious globe. Good luck!
WINNER'S LIST: 8/3/09: erksnerks 8/10/09: Larissa 8/17/09: no winner 8/24/09: erksnerks, (2) 8/31/09: erksnerks, (3); Larissa, (2) 9/7/09: no winner; honorable mention to goblue18 9/14/09: erksnerks (4), Larissa (3), Janice A., Edward V. 9/21/09: a2dancelady, Mark Maynard, Creative Use of an Orangutan award to Lisa Bashert 9/28/09: erksnerks (5), Lisa Bashert (1.5), suem, Cindy Heflin, 10/5/09: Lisa Bashert (2.5), cmadler; Obscure Edible Plant Historical Factoid award to Ed Vielmetti 10/12/09: no winner 10/19/09: erksnerks (6) 10/26/09: a2dancelady (2), Typha, and, oh heck, Larissa (4) too.
Laura Bien is the author of "Stud Bunnies and the Underwear Club: Tales from the Ypsilanti Archives," to be published this winter. She also writes the historical blog "Dusty Diary" and may be contacted at ypsidixit@gmail.com.
"Monday mystery artifact" is published every Monday on AnnArbor.com.
Comments
erksnerks
Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 11:36 a.m.
okay fine then petrol, mentholated spirits, kerosene, acetylene and or for that matter natural gas... "Of the more popular in their time US Coleman fuel irons would reign supreme, then costing $5 - $10 and producing over a million irons before ceasing in 1980. Tilly Irons a world wide product, were also a popular brand, lit by preheating the fuel manifold with methylated spirits, pumping up the kerosene fuel tank and slowly opening the regulator valve." xo e
Laura Bien
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 7:46 a.m.
eanschuetz: A whale oil iron! Now, that's something I'd LOVE to see! Wow! What an interesting invention!
eanschuetz
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 7:18 a.m.
It is a liquid fuel iron. Irons of that type used various fuels including gasoline, kerosene, petroleum, alcohol, and whale oil. My guess is that this was a kerosene model.
Laura Bien
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 6:46 a.m.
a2dancelady: that is an excellent and very logical guess! I hate to be Ms. Parade-Rainer but I'm afraid you're, er, (trying to be nice!) not quite correct.
a2dancelady
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 11:05 p.m.
I think there's boiling water in the globe which is used by the heated iron to produce steam!
Laura Bien
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 7:42 p.m.
OK. It's time to be a hard-*BLEEP*! I'm pressin' you to the wall, here, erksnerks, no offense. What fuel could you possibly mean? Fuel? Huh? 'Splain yourself. (you're VERY close!) Any other guesses, before erksnerks walks away with the laurels?
erksnerks
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 5:58 p.m.
okay here we go. I am guessing it is a liquid fuel iron and the globe holds the fuel.....
Laura Bien
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 5:34 p.m.
erksnerks: Regarding your first question...you're getting warmer! :D
erksnerks
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 4:18 p.m.
okay okay Does the iron globe contain FUEL? and is it self heating? :) Awesome
Laura Bien
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:39 p.m.
Hmm, I hate to be the nay-sayer, but the reason for that globe is a bit different. But I know you can find it out! :)
erksnerks
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:38 p.m.
Looks like you pump it right on up.
erksnerks
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:37 p.m.
under pressure?
Laura Bien
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:14 p.m.
Hi erksnerks. Interesting guess. But as I mentioned, the devil is in the details on this one...how is this item powered? If it is, I mean. :)
erksnerks
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:09 p.m.
Hey, I am guessing a nice heavy steam iron. Looks rather steam oriented to me. Good week.!