Advert for Joan the Wad courtesy of Brian Hunt of pelTorro.com – click to enlarge
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THE SMALL ADS[/h][h=4]I was reminded the other day of those small black and white panels that used to appear in newspapers of my childhood advertising the Cornish ‘piskie’ Joan the Wad. My parents swallowed the guff about it bringing them good fortune and wealth even though it meant depriving them of a shilling to do so. Were most people so gullible in forties and fifties?[/h][h=4]My mate Dave had come across a small metal object whilst detecting. He didn’t know what it was and I was able to tell him. Joan the Wad is a mythological creature in Cornish folklore and was Queen of the piskeys or pixies, a race of tiny creatures associated with that area. The word ‘wad’ is an archaic term for torch. The use of the term suggests that Joan is associated with the fairy light phenomenon, usually referred to as
will-o’-the-wisp.[/h]
© JW Click to enlarge
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MY LUCKY CHARM[/h][h=4]I saw the light on a local market stall recently and spied a couple of ‘Joans’ hanging from a ribbon. I couldn’t resist handing over a pound coin for them both. Here’s hoping[/h][h=4]they bring me good luck! The genes have been handed down … do you think that I am also gullible, naive, or just nostalgic for the good old days when life was just slower, a lot simpler and people were more naive![/h][h=4]Anyone like to borrow Joan and her sister when they next go detecting and see if they bring any luck?[/h]______________________________________________________________
© Rodger Shearer Click to enlarge
[h=4]Detectorist Rodger Shearer from up in Bonny Scotland has sent me a Joan that he found earlier. I guess it must be an earlier (or later) model. Unlike the one I show, Rodger’s gal is quite voluptuous with a kindlier face. I prefer his Joan to mine![/h][h=4]
The Polperro Piskey Shop[/h]
“The Piskey folk according to Couch’s History of Polperro are about a span long, clad in green and wearing straw hats or little green caps on their heads. Two only are known by name, JOAN THE WAD and JACK O LANTERN. The Piskie’s are the cheery wonder workers of Cornwall. their power is incalculable and wherever they abide good luck attends, Sir Arthur Quiller Couch in one of his books described how the maidens go to the well to intercede with the Pisky folk for the name of their true love. The charm is guaranteed dipped in water from the Saint’s well. Do not be misled by spurious imitations.”
I am unable to find the original comments left with this blog posts originally published in 2012
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The Searcher magazine has provided an identification service for readers for years. Because of the lack of suitable technology, anyone needing help twenty years ago had little choice but provide a sketch of the artefact they had found. Photographs were usually poor, black and white, rather dark and therefore unsuitable for publication.[/h][h=4]
In the September 1996 edition there was a crude sketch submitted by ‘Mr. Picton’ of an item he had found. The person doing the identification was rather circumspect and on the ball. ID’s must have been difficult in those days.[/h][h=4]What he said was, “(The item)
would need to be viewed before any useful opinion could be arrived at. An ancient date is possible, but then so is a modern charm.”[/h][h=4]
So, full marks to the (unknown) person who did the ID. Let’s hope that Mr. Picton carried the talisman whenever he went detecting and that his finds’ rate increased … even though he may not have been aware of the reason![/h]__________________________________________________
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© JW Click to enlarge
© Rodger Shearer Click to enlarge
In the September 1996 edition there was a crude sketch submitted by ‘Mr. Picton’ of an item he had found. The person doing the identification was rather circumspect and on the ball. ID’s must have been difficult in those days.[/h][h=4]What he said was, “(The item) would need to be viewed before any useful opinion could be arrived at. An ancient date is possible, but then so is a modern charm.”[/h][h=4]So, full marks to the (unknown) person who did the ID. Let’s hope that Mr. Picton carried the talisman whenever he went detecting and that his finds’ rate increased … even though he may not have been aware of the reason![/h]__________________________________________________
