July What Is It Winners We had two correct answers to our July’s What Is It contest. Dottie unruh of Lakewood, Colorado said, “It is an ice cream treat maker. I have one from the soda fountain in my dad’s old drug store in North Denver, it says, “Icy Pie” on it.”  She also added, “Thanks so much for your great paper; it’s always so informative and has been very helpful in identifying some of […]

 Our June’s What Is It is a water cooler wood grain paint over tin. Once humble general store items such as water coolers were often beautifully decorated. Water coolers were japanned in color and painted with floral motifs or even scenes. They were also stoneware, and decorated. They can be used for cool drinks at patio parties or without their […]

   We had several correct answers to our May’s What Is It. The device is 1/2 of a block and tackle which was used with a rope to lift heavy objects. This is a pulley-holding block from an early 20th Century Chesapeake Bay fishing boat. It was used for many jobs, from raising sail to hoisting cargo. The example is […]

   We had one correct answer for our April’s What Is It. Fred Clark of Colorado Springs, Colorado correctly identified the object as a fishing reel.    It is a 19th century fly reel, from an unknown English maker. It has a rare decoration of a fishing scene in bas-relief. It was purchased for $20 in 1975.    Fishing tackle and tools […]

 We had no correct answers for our March’s What Is It. We were hoping some musician out there might have recognized it.    The March’s What Is It is a 16” Hand Tuneable Bodhran. The Deep Pro Frame is in Mahogany. It is a handheld, shallow Irish drum with a single goatskin head, played with a stick. 1965-70 Irish Gaelic bodhran, […]