"Britannica Society 1768" brass plate - ***SOLVED***

[ModernMiner]

I dug this round brass plate up at a 1905 house yesterday. It measures just over 3" round.
Any idea what it may of came off of or the age?
Thanks,
MM

[BuckleBoy]

It's something related to Encyclopedia Britannica--no joke! But I'm not sure what it is, exactly.

[ModernMiner]

It's something related to Encyclopedia Britannica--no joke! But I'm not sure what it is, exactly.

Ha, ha.
I wonder if it was a plate that came on a boxed set of encyclopedias?
The man that built this house was a professor at Wake Forest College in the early 1900's. He taught Greek and Latin I read.
-MM-

[BuckleBoy]

It's something related to Encyclopedia Britannica--no joke! But I'm not sure what it is, exactly.

Ha, ha.
I wonder if it was a plate that came on a boxed set of encyclopedias?
The man that built this house was a professor at Wake Forest College in the early 1900's. He taught Greek and Latin I read.
-MM-

Could be. I looked at covers for the books between the 1880s and the late teens and didn't see any that had such a plate on the cover of the issues. I was thinking it might have been a decoration on the individual books' leather covers... Maybe a later edition? Of course, the plate could've come on a shipping crate or something too perhaps. I'll keep looking.


Regards,


Buckles

[Bigcypresshunter]

It looks like the Irish thistle. The Encyclopaedia Britannica was founded in 1768 in Edinburgh.

Is the back completely blank? Is it thin? Even if it is blank, a pic of the back may help determine what the holes were used for.

[trikikiwi]

It looks like the Irish thistle. The Encyclopaedia Britannica was founded in 1768 in Edinburgh.

Is the back completely blank? Is it thin? Even if it is blank, a pic of the back may help determine what the holes were used for.

That's the Scottish thistle BigCy. The Society was founded by a group of Scotsmen

Mike

[Woodland Detectors]

eh, Scottish, Irish It's all the same Mike. lol j/k Wow Doug you must have thought you had a sweet buckle to dig up by the sound you detector made on that baby...Cool find

[creskol]

It's something related to Encyclopedia Britannica--no joke! But I'm not sure what it is, exactly.

I found this in a google search .. not a match, but in the right ballpark I think:

[Woodland Detectors]

It states being a "medal". Interesting. I've been searching and can't come up with an exact match. I'm thinking Doug, That it was adhered to a book face or some sort of commerative case set. The thickness, judging by your photo points me in that direction. You say that there is nothing on the back?

[creskol]

Come to think of it .... when I was a kid, back in the early 1950's, my parents bought a set of Encyclopedia Britannica's and they came complete with a wooden bookshelf .. kind of like a boxed set! The shelf had some sort of emblem or medallion nailed to the top center rail. I wonder if it was something like this? Wish I still had it to verify the info. Makes sense with yours having two nail holes for attachment.

[steif]

I think you got it right creskol, That is exactly what I was thinking. for a extra cost you could buy a bookshelf just for the encyclopedias with the set. I have seen several versions over the years, the earliest was glass door bookshelfs later they were plain wood. I THINK I remember several versions one with a single brass plate on the top rail and a version with one on each side.
but I can't find a picture right now.

[ModernMiner]

Come to think of it .... when I was a kid, back in the early 1950's, my parents bought a set of Encyclopedia Britannica's and they came complete with a wooden bookshelf .. kind of like a boxed set! The shelf had some sort of emblem or medallion nailed to the top center rail. I wonder if it was something like this? Wish I still had it to verify the info. Makes sense with yours having two nail holes for attachment.

I think you got it right creskol, That is exactly what I was thinking. for a extra cost you could buy a bookshelf just for the encyclopedias with the set. I have seen several versions over the years, the earliest was glass door bookshelfs later they were plain wood. I THINK I remember several versions one with a single brass plate on the top rail and a version with one on each side.
but I can't find a picture right now.

I think that's it too. I'm going to call this one solved.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE REPLIES. VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
-MM-

[Bigcypresshunter]

It looks like the Irish thistle. The Encyclopaedia Britannica was founded in 1768 in Edinburgh.

Is the back completely blank? Is it thin? Even if it is blank, a pic of the back may help determine what the holes were used for.

That's the Scottish thistle BigCy. The Society was founded by a group of Scotsmen

Mike

I stand corrected. It IS the Scottish Thistle.