We had no correct guesses for our January What Is It. This is a handmade horse grooming tool from days of old. Modern day tools look a lot less severe. You can buy a whole tool bucket for the job. There are many manufacturers who would like to supply you.          

 We had four correct guesses for our December What Is It.  First, Terry Cook of Fort Morgan, Colorado, tells us that “…it is a tube of classic (Color 1941) Victory Red lipstick produced by Elizabeth Arden following the US entry into WWII. Elizabeth Arden was asked to create a makeup kit for the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. This was designed […]

 Thank you to everyone who ventured a guess for the November’s What Is It? We stumped you this time since no one was able to correctly identify the object.  The item pictured is a lock. Ancient Egyptian locks employed a prototype of the modern pin-tumbler mechanism; the example above is a 19th Century version. It is operated by a wooden […]

 No one correctly identified the October’s What Is It. It was provided by Sue Connelly of Longmont, Colorado. Sue is an avid collector. This item is called a cannonball sizer.  During the American Civil War, cannon balls were huge spheres of iron and steel ~ at least that is what seems apparent when we view the conical stack of eight […]

 William McLaren of Anchorage, Alaska has come to the rescue again. He tells us, “September’s What Is It is a wrought iron Courting Candle Holder.  These spiral shaped candle holders were popular in the 1600’s to 1800’s, and probably came to the States with German settlers.  The iron bowl attached to the bottom of the spiral holder was used to […]