🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Unknown Indianola, Texas

[sonofmitch]

I have been trying to find out what this is for years. It was found at a ghost/port town of Indianola, Tx. (1840-1886ish Lots of ship and rail traffic. Also involved in Civil War. It's brass with 13 stars.
Mitch

 

[creskol]

I think that is part of a brace-style suspender apparatus that went on the wearer's back to balance the tug on the rear of their britches. The matching front suspender buckles would have looked like this..

 

[Blackfoot58]

It looked to have a small pulley on each end of the curve. I would guess it is some type of small trolley that would hang from a rail ( circle pointing down) then something would hang from that and could be moved back and forth by rolling down the rail. Like a drill or some other small tool.

 

[creskol]

Take a look at this previous thread, and while it is not the same as yours in design, its function is the same.

Unusual Suspender Clip thingy

This is how I found it in the attic . It has no makers marks . Any ideas what this could be ?

www.treasurenet.com

 

[ColtsPop]

Balance for a scale

 

[dozer dan]

Are the two halves mashed closed or was it made that way?
im thinking this may have been a cable trolly (with the two pulleys pointed up) to hang something from. It could’ve even been for a garden hose or clothes pins or possibly even for a dog to run the length of the yard.

 

[rebelminer]

Are the two halves mashed closed or was it made that way?
im thinking this may have been a cable trolly (with the two pulleys pointed up) to hang something from. It could’ve even been for a garden hose or clothes pins or possibly even for a dog to run the length of the yard.

I agree

 

[Mud Hut]

If a quarter measures .95 of an inch in diameter, this cool relic would be roughly 3.5 inches wide. The little rollers would only measure about .5 of an inch. I can't really see it being a trolly for anything. I can see that the pulleys would only be able to accommodate a small cord. With the stars matching pretty close to that suspender buckle that was posted, and seeing how that other suspender thing works, I agree that it is part of a suspender evener as suggested.

 

[sonofmitch]

I think that is part of a brace-style suspender apparatus that went on the wearer's back to balance the tug on the rear of their britches. The matching front suspender buckles would have looked like this..View attachment 2073885

I like your suspender clip but my piece is much too heavily made for suspenders. Does look similar though. Plus that doesn't explain pulleys on ends.

 

[sonofmitch]

It looked to have a small pulley on each end of the curve. I would guess it is some type of small trolley that would hang from a rail ( circle pointing down) then something would hang from that and could be moved back and forth by rolling down the rail. Like a drill or some other small tool.

I'm thinking a trolley on a line to send messages from ship to shore while in harbor. Just a guess.

 

[sonofmitch]

Are the two halves mashed closed or was it made that way?
im thinking this may have been a cable trolly (with the two pulleys pointed up) to hang something from. It could’ve even been for a garden hose or clothes pins or possibly even for a dog to run the length of the yard.

The two halves have been mashed together. Originally they had an even gap between them. It's too heavily made to be something worn on clothing.

 

[creskol]

I like your suspender clip but my piece is much too heavily made for suspenders. Does look similar though. Plus that doesn't explain pulleys on ends.

Did you happen to notice the "beef" of the matching clip I posted?

Although the pic below isn't to scale and is sort of crudely done, it shows what I think it may be.

 

[villagenut]

That would be the biggest suspender clip I have ever seen if that was the bottom half of it......just sayin

 

[dozer dan]

That would be the biggest suspender clip I have ever seen if that was the bottom half of it......just sayin

And as long as you didn’t have to sit down.

 

[creskol]

That would be the biggest suspender clip I have ever seen if that was the bottom half of it......just sayin

What do you mean by bottom half?

And as long as you didn’t have to sit down.

As I said, the picture I posted three posts above this one is not to scale. As somebody pointed out earlier, It is only "roughly 3.5 inches wide" and the rollers are tiny.

 

[BennyV]

Kind of looks like a clothes line end

 

[villagenut]

I misunderstood your post no.3, but I am on the fence as to what it actually is. It does look similar to a clothes line pulley as Benny suggested.

 

[Lenrac2]

I'm thinking some sort of tapestry hanger?

 

[DCMatt]

Possibly part of the hanging mechanism for a Victorian era hanging lamp. Sometimes called a "Dutch lamp".

 

[Bramblefind]

Here's another just like it that identifies it as part of a hanging light fixture - (shout out to DCMatt )

Antique Victorian era non-electric hanging lamp bronze pulley parts c1800s | #4636675128

Antique bronze Victorian era kerosene lamp pulley assembly stars design circa 1800s **********************************************************Please read the entire listing, view all pictures close up

www.worthpoint.com

edited to add image of the part within the complete light assembly.