A few more finds from the job site

[NOLA_Ken]

Well I think I've pretty much found everything worth finding in this building. Here's the latest.....

First up is a porcelain doll head, first one of these I've found under floorboards...


Next is a Davis's Vegetable Pain Killer bottle..


A really nice Lucky Strike tin (we found 2 of these)


And lastly a mystery (live) blank cartridge... Couldn't get a clear pic for some reason...



The blank measures : 2.1045 in length, .502 at the base, .6055 at the rim, .445 at the neck, and the shoulder is 1.8005 from the base. No headstamp, black powder load I'm guessing, since it's packed tight in the shell....and I'm not having much luck id'ing it.... any ideas?

Anyway thatnks for looking and I hope everyone else found some good stuff today!

 

[BigWaveDave]

cool finds!

 

[david680]

Love the bottle and the Lucky Strike tin!

 

[Argentium]

These are some wonderful finds ! The Doll head is the winner by far- in that condition - very collectible ! I'll leave it to Breezie and
others here who know more than I do about many collectibles to help you understand this find - the bottle and cigarette tin are
very nice finds as well .

 

[bdsawyer]

The doll looks to be a late 1800s early 1900s china doll made in Germany, possibly by Hertwig or a similar maker, but I am not an expert on china dolls Looks similar to this doll in the link below, but yours has much nicer detail and color. How big is the doll head? Any mold markings on the back? That may help narrow down the search.

Cowan's Auctions: The Midwest's Most Trusted Auction House / Antiques / Fine Art / Art Appraisals

 

[NOLA_Ken]

unfortunately there is a chunk out of the doll head on the back, (shoulder blade area) so if there was a mark, it's on the missing piece, I'll look more tomorrow and see if it turns up. It stands about 3 1/2 inches tall...

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The doll looks to be a late 1800s early 1900s china doll made in Germany, possibly by Hertwig or a similar maker, but I am not an expert on china dolls Looks similar to this doll in the link below, but yours has much nicer detail and color. How big is the doll head? Any mold markings on the back? That may help narrow down the search.

Cowan's Auctions: The Midwest's Most Trusted Auction House / Antiques / Fine Art / Art Appraisals

That looks like a pretty good match!

 

[MichiganMan]

Possibly a .30-06 Springfield... ? .45-70 Government....?

 

[vpnavy]

Great finds (and neat bottle)! Thanks for sharing...

 

[voodoo]

kudos on the Lucky Strike tin. love ot! thanks for sharing.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice finds! Congrats!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

NOLA_Ken asked me to ID his bullet-casing. Its length (2.1-inches) and neck-diameter (.445-inch) measurements would lead us to think it is a .45-70 rifle "blank" cartridge casing.. but .45-70 casings were not "necked." It MIGHT be either a .45 Gardner Machine Gun blank, or a .45 Martini Rifle blank. See photos of both of those types, here:
http://www.oldammo.com/september09.htm

Not having a headstamp (base-marking) is extremely unusual for that type of casing. Is there absolutely definitely no headstamp on it? You did not include a base-view photo... and, as you said, the photo is poor... so, I cannot tell whether your casing is externally or internally-primed. For example, the very-early (1873-1871) .45-70 casings had no headstamp, but they were internally-primed. Is yours that type? If it is externally-primed, it SHOULD have a headstamp.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Got some better photos... There is definitely no headstamp, I used some scotch brite to clean it to make sure, while there still is a bit of grunge on it, it's clean enough to see that there are no markings. Here are a couple better photos :

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you for the additional photos... and for cleaning at least part of your casing's flat base to check for markings. For complete certainty, I need you to clean the rest of it, because some casing have marking only at 12, 4, and 8-o'clock (consisting of a single letter, a single-digit number, and a double-digit number at those positions). Meanwhile, I think I've found your casing's ID. It seems to be a .45-70 Springfield Model-1873 "Government" Rifle "blank" casing. Your casing's dimensions match up with that ID:
.45-70 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and my additional research after your follow-up reply has turned up a "necked" .45-70 Blank cartridge. See a photo showing one, at far right in the photo, here:
Cartridge of the Week, the 45-70 Goverment

If your CENTERFIRE .45-70 casing is indeed completely unmarked, it was manufactured by Winchester, for "sporting" (not military) usage, sometime between a bit before 1880 and 1884, when Winchester began headstamping its casings. That info comes from:
THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Thank you CannonballGuy, with a bit more cleaning there is definitely no headstamp, and it is very similar to the one in the link you posted except it doesn't have the line partway up the case. Having a caliber to go on I turned up this info on the International Ammunition Association forum:

"The .45 blank is a commercial loading for the Gatling Model 1883 with Accles Patent drum feed. This unheadstamped case is attributed to E. Remington & Sons and would be pre-1896."

International Ammunition Association {iaaforum.org} - View topic - 45-70 blanks

I also found it attributed to Winchester.... Again with a possibility of having been intended for the Gatling...

Which, if accurate now has me wondering what a blank round for a Gatling gun was doing in the attic of an old bar... Of course I also found out that it could have been used in a line thrower, which given the maritime history of New Orleans would make much more sense.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Despite the lack of the line on the casing, I'm still leaning to your mystery casing being a .45-70 Blank, because ALL of its measurements match exactly with that ID... most particularly, the length (2.1-inches). In the photo at the IAA forum, the .45 Gatling's casing is shorter than the .45-70 casing.

According to the photos at the Cartridge Collector website, the .45-70 Line-Throwing cartridge did not have a "neck."
THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR

 

[MichiganMan]

A very interesting find and piece of detective work by you guys.