Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Ken --

Do I note two separate belts in this photo? Any explanation for this?

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Paul --

Although I haven't been to the (former Nashville) Franklin show for the past two years due to scheduling conflicts, I can state that attending the show is well worth the time and effort! While much of the inventory is for sale - and you can find some neat stuff for reasonable prices, I once paid $40 for an original period wallet - the major items are pricey (weapons, uniforms, etc). But, the real advantage of going to the show is being able to see period arms, accouterments, uniforms and the daily equipment of the common soldier up close and personal (see the discussion of period spurs, above). Your first show will be an overwhelming experience, as there is soooo much to see. It actually takes a year or two, or advice from guys like Ken and Mark, as to what exhibitors have the stuff that you are interested in. Some exhibitors are there year after year, and each year there are some new ones with new things to see. It's like jumping into "Echoes of Glory" in reality. Run, don't walk, to the next one. It's always the first weekend of December.

[CompanyWag]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Mike,

Shucks, I was only being partly facetious. Of course I completely agree with you about the shows. I've collected for years and used to regularly attend the Chicago, Ohio and Gettysburg shows...until marriage, children's college tuition and other responsibilities put a damper on my collecting budget. Still, shows are great places to see artifacts and network with friends and dealers. Of course like stripper clubs, I have to keep my hands off the merchandise and be wary of fakes being offered.

[David Fox]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Charleston, S.C. CW show is at the Gilliard Centre first Saturday in January.

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Mike: In answer to your question....Actually the fella's table had "several" belts, pistols, cartridge boxes, etc. etc. from several I.d'd. groupings but it was kinda all bungled together when I took the photo. The photo I took was only of one corner of the table. In it I tried to isolate the items belonging to the Texas cavalryman. I would have asked permission to move the items around but the owner of the items could not be found.

As a side bar, I have had a chance to go through some of my "dug" relics to clean them up a bit. Here is a couple of interesting items....


Whatizit? Ok, I was stumped by this for awhile but then it dawned on me.....a boot pull? It measures 5 inches long and the interior width of the circle is 2 1/4 inches. What do you folks think?


Hoof Pic?? This came out of the Battle of Lovejoy Station area. I am not exactly sure what it is but it appears to be a hoof pic to me. It measures exactly six inches long to fit perfectly in one's hand. Anyone have any other ideas?


And last,. this is the 14th century horse shoe "after" I cleaned it up. Look what it reveals...is the symbol on the shoe the Christian emblem? Perhaps it is earlier than the 14th century? I dont know and have not had much time to devote to it. Kinda cool huh? Anyone?



Ken R KNopp

[Longrope]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

My first thought would be a hay hook, but in that case the hook ought to be bigger. The second looks like a gate latch, and the third, probably a makers mark.

[ButtermilkRanger]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Excellent artifacts! Keep them coming. I've got a couple of questions:

The kepi seems to be a jean cloth McDowell pattern forage cap pattern instead of a kepi in the classical sense of the term.

The plug on the end of the Texas holster lends me to believe that maybe this was a "modified" pommel holster from an earlier period reworked to fit a belt? Perhaps from a Mexican War era saddle pistol?

Casey, you'd know more about this than me... was hay baled in the early to mid 19th century? It looks like a hay hook to me as well, but the handle seems a little small and maybe impractical for what I think of as a hay hook. But it seems a little large for a hoof pick as well.

I agree with Casey that the second hook looks a lot like a door latch. Maybe even a latch for a box or crate with a hinged lid. The sideways twist of the loop on the end leans me in that direction.

One thing I notice about these ancient horseshoes is just how much iron they had, beyond the classical rim shoe we're used to from the last 3 centuries. I'd have to think that they offered more protection to the sensitive area of the bottom of the foot instead of just the hoof wall like modern shoes.

Regardless, excellent photographs. Thanks for sharing, Ken.

[Archie R. Lib]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Hey Larry. I can answer the question about the hook I think.

There were no hay balers as we know them in the 19th century, and hay "baling" was a much different process. A "Hay Press" was invented around 1850, and though what it produced were called "bales" they weren't the rectangular bales that we would recognize today or ones that that a hook could be used to pull or move. And even though it was invented a few years before the war, they were probably not in use much until many, many years later when demand and production could spool up. Plus they were plenty expensive I'm sure. Not something you would see at a "normal" farmstead.

The rectangular bale pressing machines were not invented until later in the century and really weren't in use much until the early 20th century. There were horse-drawn versions but none of it really caught on until the 1930's or so when tractors became readily available. During the mid nineteenth century the most common way of harvesting and storing hay was still the scythe or mower, cutting it into windrows, turning it over, and then moving it loose with pitchforks into wagons for storage in barns.

But I have seen the Amish in PA where I grew up using large hooks such as this as "sack hooks" to move grain or burlap sacks of material. They were also used dockside for the same purpose - hand-moving sacks of grain or other sacked material once it was offloaded from a ship on a pallet.

Hope that helps somewhat....

[CompanyWag]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Modern hay hooks have the handle turned perdendicular to the hook otherwise it would be very diificult to use on a heavy bale. The hook in the photograph is parallel to the handle and looks to be diminutive in size leading me to agree to the suggestion that it is a boot pull.

[Archie R. Lib]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

That could be, but I've never seen a boot pull with an end sharpened to a point. Maybe it was modified later on....The old boot pulls I've seen usually had dulled or flattened ends to prevent damage to the shoe leather, the loops and most importantly, the wearer.

R

[Paul L Muller]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

I also dought it's a bale hook. I have used my team on a mid 19th centruy bale press, and those bales were huge. I do not know about baled forage during the war, but the hook in question looks to small to be of any advantage. It could be one of those tools made for someone for some odd task, or a tool modified for who knows who, always to remain a mystery. plm

[CompanyWag]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

That could be, but I've never seen a boot pull with an end sharpened to a point. Maybe it was modified later on....The old boot pulls I've seen usually had dulled or flattened ends to prevent damage to the shoe leather, the loops and most importantly, the wearer.

R

Yup, I agree that most modern and antique pulls have flattened ends or button caps on the hook ends, but I just came across this folding model with pointed ends, though not sharply pointed.

Of course, this doesn't prove or debunk anything...Just makes for interesting speculation.

[ButtermilkRanger]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Rich, thanks for the useful information. My thoughts were that it probably wasn't a hay hook. Considering the amount of hay that I've hauled as a kid, I'm personally inclined to believe that the hook in question was yet another torture device designed by whatever saddomasochist that invented the square baler.

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Gents,

In all fairness, I have you at a distinct dis-advantage because I have the pieces "in hand". I am quite certain the one piece is NOT a hay hook. Why? well, for all of the above reasons you guys note and because it is TOO SMALL. Its only five inches long and 2 3/4 inches wide at widest point. If one looks close at the photo you will see it is made of soft, malleable iron and, very corroded from acidic soil action. Yes, it has a sharp pointed end and was likely made as such but this may have been accented due to the corrosion of laying in the ground for nearly 150 years. However, its curved hook end and at the other end, the small circular slot at the other end (just perfect for three fingers) still suggests boot pull to me or, as Paul Mueller says "or a tool modified for who knows who, always to remain a mystery."

As for the other item. I am convinced it is NOT a gate hook. Every gate hook I have ever seen has alot more length at the "hook end". This has barely a half inch so, not enough to secure a gate very well. Moreover, it is sharpened on its flatend "hook end" (again here is where I have you all at a disadvantage) which tells me it is a tool for scrapping something (perfect for cleaning horse hooves?) and then the hole at the other end for hanging on a nail or ?? for storage (stable wall?). Or perhaps, its for scrapping plates and pots! Or, maybe, I am missing some other idea (anyone?) or, ...I again refer you to Paul Mueller's quote above.


Ken R Knopp

https://www.confederatesaddles.com

[forrestcav]

Re: Gleanings from the Franklin CW show.....

Ken, can you PM me all the dimensions of the hook? including the approx diameter of the material. It sure looks like the hoof pick in your book. A good blacksmith apprentice item that allows the young smith to bend, twist, flatten and form an eye. I aggree on the boot hook.