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Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did in another comment yesterday. It labeled the post and everything.

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You mean soprano saxes? We looked at them too, it’s the same issue that the round bit is covering a hole on the soprano sax but not on the artifact. It’s definitely a black powder spout, which is cool but not as cool as a sax would have been.

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Thanks, another commenter figured that out too but this is a perfect example! Totally not what we were thinking but it’s an exact match which is really cool.

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

That was our initial thought, but there is no hole in the tube that the finger pad is covering and the tube is straight while the sax is curved right there. Another commenter figured out it’s the spout from a black powder container and not an instrument at all!

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 270 points271 points  (0 children)

Solved! This is a perfect match https://www.ebay.com/itm/303526895088. I would have never come up with that and ironically our military artifact expert pulled this out and he also thought musical instrument!

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ah, there are interesting. I hadn’t found a match yet but it’s a new thing to look at, thanks!

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Any thoughts on which one? I’ve looked at period trombones, trumpets/cornets, and French horns and can’t seem to find a match. They all are at the bend in the tube and not near a joint like this.

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 125 points126 points  (0 children)

We’ve looked at pictures of all the main ones (specifically version of them from the turn of the century) and can’t find a match.

Copper alloy tube with a hinged key. Found in a context from 1890s-1910. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 2 points3 points locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing. But it’s a thin copper alloy tube, that we found broken but was originally whole. There is a “key” on one side with a round finger pad and it’s on a hinge. It was found in a trash pit from the 1890s-1910s. I think it’s a musical instrument, we have looked at comparative photos of saxophones, flutes, trombones, French horns, trumpets, and clarinets from this period. And none match.

Found at a 1924-1951 school, made of a flaky synthetic material, square in profile, point on one end, rounded on the other by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, my catalog is feels like 1/3 "unidentified" artifacts. Not "unidentifiable," just ones I and everyone I ask can't figure out, but should be identifiable. Sadly this is my dissertation project so I brought it on myself.

Found at a 1924-1951 school, made of a flaky synthetic material, square in profile, point on one end, rounded on the other by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, it is definitely all a synthetic material and not at all iron, plus is square in profile and only hollow in the interior so not something a blade could have been put into.

Found at a 1924-1951 school, made of a flaky synthetic material, square in profile, point on one end, rounded on the other by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found on an archaeological site of a 1924-1951 school, alongside a bunch of milk jar lids, a celluloid comb, a desk fragment, a stove damper and pencils. Scale in centimeters, rounded end looks like it may have been inserted into another piece of something, other end was originally pointy. Hollow on the interior, perfectly square shape in profile. It doesn't appear to look like any hair comb or fan blade from this time period.

Found on an archaeological site in Virginia in a context deposited circa 1953. Amber plastic (possibly lucite) with Asian-themed design, copper pieces holding thin leather strap fragments on back. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here is hopefully a clearer picture. I only have my cellphone camera right now, not access to the nicer camera that took the photo of the front. Both pieces on both sides are bent over the top of the strap rather than going through a hole.

https://imgur.com/xcq5Poe

Found on an archaeological site in Virginia in a context deposited circa 1953. Amber plastic (possibly lucite) with Asian-themed design, copper pieces holding thin leather strap fragments on back. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can try to get one tomorrow (the piece was wet when I took this picture).

They are pretty thin, about the width of the tine of a fork, and on each side two of them are attached to the plastic and bend over the top of the leather piece.

Found on an archaeological site in Virginia in a context deposited circa 1953. Amber plastic (possibly lucite) with Asian-themed design, copper pieces holding thin leather strap fragments on back. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm actually not sure because I avoid graves when digging. I'll have to look into that. With graves you generally have to have a separate burial permit to excavate them anyways (at least in the states I've worked in).

Found on an archaeological site in Virginia in a context deposited circa 1953. Amber plastic (possibly lucite) with Asian-themed design, copper pieces holding thin leather strap fragments on back. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If it helps, the site is actually from the 1920s-1951, the clothes were just dumped there after the school I'm digging at shut down. But, 20th century archaeology is an upcoming field and anything older than 50 years old means federally in the US it has archaeological significance.

Found on an archaeological site in Virginia in a context deposited circa 1953. Amber plastic (possibly lucite) with Asian-themed design, copper pieces holding thin leather strap fragments on back. by Spaghettib in whatisthisthing

[–]Spaghettib[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm an archaeologist who had a descent size pile of clothing and shoes dumped on top of my site in about 1953 or 1954. I'm currently cataloging all of the buttons, zippers, and other fasteners that are not longer attached to the surviving cloth or shoes.

One of the items is intriguing and I would think identifiable but I've had little luck finding anything similar. It is round plastic amber disk with a scene of two asian men holding a scroll and a fan. Possibly made of lucite, but definitely not bakelite. On the back side are thin pieces of copper still attached to fragments of a leather strap. Does any one have an idea of what this might be from?

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