✅ SOLVED Sash or Belt buckle i need help dating

[mical66]

This Buckle came from the 1820's house i recently searched and found the CW button. the only writing i see is the word Paris across the ballon and on the very top it like a circle with a I in the middle and 16 below it ?
any help would be great thanks.

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[kuger]

I beleive it may be a Sash type buckle,however I think that style may better date to the 1880's?

 

[taz42o]

I thought maybe a 1878 worlds fair item, but Paris has many connections to ballooning.

The History of Hot Air Balloons

 

[mical66]

i agree taz, i was thinking same thing about the fair and guessed late 1800's but i also know they mass produce and make reproductions of things all the time,,, i can not find any pictures of any thing like it yet. nothing is soldered so i believe it is pressed plate.

 

[kuger]

....likely stamped brass

 

[mical66]

anyone else think they can for sure nail down this buckle ?

 

[CC Hunter]

The buckle motif may possibly be a depiction of Henri Giffard's balloon and the Panorama de Paris in 1878.


CC HUnter

 

[HutSiteDigger]

It's def a interesting buckle... Balloons like mentioned in Taz42 link that was posted, dates back too the late 1700s and into the 19th C.. The Union and Confederates both used Balloons too spy on each other. One balloon was launched during the Civil War in Stafford,Virginia in what is now a subdivision called Clearview Heights too spy on the Confederates over in Fredericksburg... I think CCHunter and Kuger nailed this down.. It would def make sense for this dating too the Henri Giffard's balloon and the Panorama de Paris in 1878... Really neat piece!!

 

[mical66]

thanks guys, i feel the original guesses were pretty good , but was hoping to see some pictures or links of either a buckle like this one or some made the same way . but i understand there is not always concrete proof and you have to go by general knowledge .
thanks again guys for the info.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Mical - if you or someone can put in maybe 5-20+ hours on research for this buckle you might be able too come up with a match. It would be tough research!! you might even have to go back on micro-films for newspapers from Paris ( Henri Giffard) for the 1878s-1890s and look for advertisements,news related information on hot air balloons,etc and you may came across something. It could be one of these deals were there were only say 1,000-3,000 of these souvenirs were made and you and maybe 4 other people in the whole world have this buckle. Good luck with it!

 

[mical66]

Hutt,, i was hoping some one like Bug Cyprus who seems to have a data base of endless means would see it and have some info.. again i agree with all the ID's and think they are dead on , was just hoping for that wild chance someone had some pictures to post

 

[CC Hunter]

Hutt,, i was hoping some one like Bug Cyprus who seems to have a data base of endless means would see it and have some info.. again i agree with all the ID's and think they are dead on , was just hoping for that wild chance someone had some pictures to post

Bug Cyprus

Very doubtful that insects on an island in the Mediterranean have a database of even limited means, much less "endless"!

Just on a guess, may I possibly assume the one you have in mind is Bigcypresshunter?

The style of belt buckle at the beginning of this thread is consistent with similar Victorian era stamped brass buckles that were popular from about the mid 1800's on through the close of the 19th Century. Being that this particular buckle with a balloon motif and PARIS imprinted thereon, likely made for an event in Paris over a century ago, as well as distributed and sold in and around that location, will make for a challenging research project on this side of the world, even more so with a language difference. My own knowledge and area of expertise is in fact 19th Century belt buckles and plates, having personally researched these and contributed to reference books regarding these collectibles. If a matching photo of the exact type and design of belt buckle is what you seek, along with positive identification, then the best avenue will be researching directly in France.

In 1878 and part of 1879, the Panorama de Paris was a very notable event, where famed aerial innovator Henri Jacques Giffard, offered passengers the opportunity of an ascent into the sky above Paris, for a grand panoramic view of the city and surrounding area, during the World's Fair. This is a very valid clue, that should place one on the right track to positive identification.

Panorama de Paris. Vu de la nacelle du grand ballon captif à vapeur de la cour des Tuileries.

Henri Giffard's grand balloon before ascent, Tuileries, Paris, 1878 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

F.Y.I: HutSiteDigger, Henri Giffard committed suicide in 1882, so there will be no advertisements regarding his balloon rides in 1890's newspapers.

CC Hunter

 

[CC Hunter]

Here is a closeup of the gondola on Giffard's balloon in Paris, 1878. Note that large number of passengers that are able to embark on balloon flights during this event. This is clearly the most prominent extravaganza in Paris involving any balloons during the era, coinciding with the time frame of design style of these highly detailed thinly stamped brass belt buckles.

Gondola of Henri Giffard's balloon, Tuileries, Paris, 1878 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

CC Hunter

 

[mical66]

wow,, very good info there CC,
and yes i meant BigCypresshunter . but i i have a bad habit of shortning names , and my big fingers get ahead of my mind some times and hit the wrong keys ,,lol
again thank you every one for the info.