Collective wisdom needed
The Legal Genealogist loves reader questions.
And when they focus on obscure and arcane elements of the law, I can usually manage to come up with an answer.
When they focus on obscure and arcane devices, well… I often don’t have a clue.
Janet from Virginia is stumped too. So we’re calling on the community’s collective wisdom: just what the heck is this, what was it used for and when might it have been used???
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “And this device is…?,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 25 Oct 2019).
I did a Google Image Search and it offered the clever but useless suggestion of “antique”.
Sigh… completely correct… and completely useless!
This is an ink well. It was used in many businesses that had customers that needed to sign documents etc. Often found in banks.
Interesting! Have you got a source for this?
You can’t believe everything you read on the internet, but a Google search for [antique snail ink well] seems to confirm the assertion.
I thought Breast Pump. Lol.
HaHaHaHaHa!!! Award for most creative solution!
Me too! First thing that came to mind.
Then I got serious and also did a google image search and came up with nothing. But figured that had already been done, as well, so didn’t post. And… ****I**** didn’t want to post my first thought. Thanks for being braver than me, Elizabeth. But wanted to let you know you weren’t the only one.
Janet, Can it be disassembled? If so, could you take some pictures of the pieces? Could you take some pictures from different angles?
My client is taking photos of the pieces now. I will post them shortly.
There are multiple pictures of this model posted on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cast-Iron-Clear-Glass-Rotating-Nautilus-Snail-Inkwell-Swivel-Victorian/254245604432
Robert’s got it. Weird item for sure… but totally cool to own!!
My first question would be does she have pictures of it from different angles? My second would if there are any marks on the glass or metal frame that may indicate the manufacturer? The glass looks like its pressed but its hard to distinguish from the angle if there is an opening in top section where it meets the metal frame.
If there is a mark on the metal or glass, that can be used to identify the manufacturer and time-frame the pieces would have been made.
Interesting piece.
It reminds me of a glass electrical conductor such as this one found on a google search
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ff3%2F65%2Ffd%2Ff365fd00e15c14376f3e392bf15a4916.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F149392912613850309%2F&docid=54RABYdjpdqEOM&tbnid=JMifMJyR7cnLoM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjtw66h3LflAhUOrlkKHV1KAJAQMwhUKBQwFA..i&w=535&h=530&bih=789&biw=1600&q=images%20electrical%20conductors&ved=0ahUKEwjtw66h3LflAhUOrlkKHV1KAJAQMwhUKBQwFA&iact=mrc&uact=8
If it is a glass insulator it would date after the telegraph was invented in the 1840’s by Samuel Morse. They were later used on telephone and electrical wires. http://WWW.antiques.lovetoknow.com.
Does the glass container rotate within the metal frame. It appears it may pivot. Does not resemble any inkwell I’ve seen.
I think William E, Christopher is right. A Google image search of “snail ink well” shows many very similar items.
Okay, I have photos, but it does look identical to the piece that is called a “Nautilus Snail Inkwell” on Ebay, link posted by Robert Raymond. It seems an odd design for an inkwell. The glass rotates so ink would be dumped onto the metal plate if you were to rotate it. My client sent me a video of the rotation, and maybe it would only be a drip of ink that would be deposited on the metal plate. I still don’t really understand the design, but I’m not an expert on inkwells!
What an interesting device. I’ve learned from experience that things can be identified as something they are not, just out of a need to put some kind of label on it. But in this case I can readily grasp how this thing works. I looked at some others to check if it rotates, and it does. the open top of the well is turned to rest on the flat iron plate to seal it from evaporation. When it is in that position, the top compartment drains into the bottom. When the well is turned so the opening is up and open, the ink can enter it through the same opening, allowing a user to dip the pen. I can see how useful this would be in a bank or other place where an inkwell is needed on an intermittent basis. There was also a photo of a double snail inkwell; each “snail” rotated independently and had its own seal plate. I think I recall seeing one of these in Jacksonville, Oregon, as part of a display of an 19th century office.
An ebay listing for a similar one includes patent information- the patent application should explain how it works in detail:
“BRASS AND GLASS “CLIPPER” ANTIQUE INKWELL… HALLMARKED ON BOTTOM ‘CLIPPER PAT’D OCTOBER 1, 1878 NO. 200’ … SOLID BRASS – CAST – LOW RELIEF. GLASS INKWELL SWIVELS. SCREWS ON SIDES OF PEN HOLDERS ADJUST TENSION. TOP APPEARS TO HOLD 3 PENS…”
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CLIPPER-VICTORIAN-BRASS-AND-GLASS-ANTIQUE-INKWELL-PATD-OCT-1-1878-EXCELLENT/123496310428?
Here is a link to one with a number of pics that show how it works. You can even see the stains from the blue ink where it drains through the aperture between the two chambers.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254176813248
My first guess was a pivoting inkwell. When I googled images for it, I think it is exactly what it is! https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNQkSFV6Du2mLr786L9ZF6ufEW2Vqg:1572026486838&q=pivoting+inkwell&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjm_MyC_7flAhWGoJ4KHWiDAUEQ7Al6BAgGECQ&biw=1920&bih=977
For hard-to-identify old objects, ask the staff at Kovels.com if they can help if a photo is submitted. The Kovels have published guides to antiques and collectibles for many years and have a sizable business both in hard-copy and online. If they can’t identify an object, they ask for reader help in their weekly newsletter, in the whatsitwednesday section (which also appears on the home page. The item is generally identified by somebody, but sometimes not.
https://www.kovels.com/latest-news/happy-whatsitwednesday-10-30-2019.html
Can always see if the folks at Past Perfect might post it to their group – archivist and museum curators. They do have a facebook page and they do have a “guess what it is” from time to time.