Wednesday, January 21, 2015

The mystery has finally been solved!


One of the first blogs that I did here; I posed a question about an item that I had found at a local antique mall.  I just didn’t know what it could have been.



Was it part of a lamp?  Could it have been a beverage dispenser or a paper clip holder?  I was just plain stumped.



I looked high and low to what this could have been.  I looked online, I looked at some reference books, and I even asked a few people around where I live.  Then it hit me like a ton of bricks—it’s a homemade Loving Cup trophy.

I’ve seen a loving cup used a couple of ways.  I’ve seen it used as a trophy that’s given to the winner of a competition or even used at weddings as a shared drinking container.

What time frame was this piece was made you say?  The piece has marks “FORBES SILVER CO / JOHN T McLELLAN / PATENT APPLIED FOR” on it which helps give me a time frame when the pieces were first made  (which date to about the 1880’s).






From the patina that’s on it, I’d say that everything was “upcycled” into this current form in the early 1900’s.

It’s always fun to me to try and find out what a piece was used for, even when it becomes something cool like this.

What kinds of fun items like this that you have come across that has stumped you?

3 comments:

  1. The lid says.Seattle Washington A.P.Y.E 1909 I have the same thing. Im confused on how this would be used as a drinking cup. Considering the hole in the middle.Was the hole from its construction.Was a cork used to plug the hole. My first thought is a oil lamp.Im stumped.Any idea of value?

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  2. Also seattle expo 1909 google it its very interesting.Im thinking thats where my family acquired it. This piece came from the Cruchfield estate in Mt.The family was very close to Marcus Daly.My relative was his attorney in the day. Attorneys back then where like family.

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  3. I have one just like the picture above. Found it at Goodwill. Is this worth anything? Someone was trying to buy it from me but not sure what it is much less how much it is worth. Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

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