"Britannica Society 1768" brass plate - SOLVED

ModernMiner · Jul 11, 2009

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

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? :dontknow:

Thanks,
MM

BuckleBoy · Jul 11, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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

ModernMiner · Jul 11, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

BuckleBoy said:
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 · Jul 11, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

ModernMiner said:
BuckleBoy said:

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

Click to expand...

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 · Jul 11, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

bigcypresshunter said:
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 :wink:

Mike

Woodland Detectors · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

BuckleBoy said:
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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

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 · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

creskol said:
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 said:
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. :icon_thumleft:

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

Bigcypresshunter · Jul 12, 2009

Re: "Britannica Society 1768" brass plate

trikikiwi said:
bigcypresshunter said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

Mike