What is it? CCXXVI

[R.H.]

Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.

[Lee Michaels]

[Alexander Thesoso]

1264 This is a video tape cartridge. Transverse video tape. Used in a studio to play commercials. A whole bunch of cartridges, each with its own commercial were held in the cartridge jukebox machine. Back in the days when a commercial break only held 4 or 6 commercials, these machines were used to edit or compose the tape played during a commercial break, to bring us the benefits of new, improved products. Before the wonderful cartridge tape jukebox machine, some person had to mount tapes of each commercial on a machine by hand and edit them into the sequence. Nowadays, we are informed of the benefits of sponsor's products with fully digital commercial assembly systems.

[Barbara Bailey]

"Lee Michaels" wrote in news:koydnabdab1PAmnanZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

It's Ampex. That's magnetic sound recording tape or video tape rather than film.

[Northe]

1265: ice shaver

Northe

[Bruce L. Bergman]

Judging from the cart size and the "AMPEX" I'm making an educated guess - it's a short chunk of first-gen 2" helical scan video tape, three or four minutes max. Probably for commercials or news footage.

Note how they put the label on the spool instead of the cartridge - bet you they could put just the spool on the shelf for compact storage, and thread another into the cartridge.

-->--

[Barbara Bailey]

Bruce L. Bergman wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Indeed. Except for the width of the tape, it's pretty similar to the tape cartridges I used back when I worked at a radio station in the early

80's. I wasn't sure whether sound tape was ever that wide (for instance in a recording studio,) so I wasn't willing to categorically rule it out. However, in those, the tape reels weren't removable, but the carts themselves stored quite compactly on racks.

[Ed Huntress]

First, I don't know if 2" was ever available in helical scan. The 2" Ampex we used at the ETS station I worked at was quadruplex. But that was in the '60s.

I never saw a cartridge before. We used reel-to-reel for everything. Except for the film chain, that is.

-- Ed Huntress

[bob kater]

1264. film container of sorts 1266. Gra>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first

[DoN. Nichols]

1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to killing it.

A little more detail at the small end might help if you can still get it.

An alternative might be a sceptre for a ruler or a cleric, but that does not seem to make sense given the time and location.

1264) A tape cartridge. The Ampex name supports that part. However it seems to be an unusually wide tape. Not large enough spools to justify considering it to be a predecessor to the U-matic video cartridges (which were 3/4" tape IIRC), and this looks closer to 1-3/4" or perhaps even 2". And it would require spooling out from the cartridge to wrap around a drum for helical scan to get a sufficient data rate. I think that perhaps it is for some kind of multi-track data recorder. 1265) Perhaps for producing shaved ice for beverages? 1266) Perhaps part of an air-dropped minefield marker? The end cap threads would accept a rod with a flag to mark the minefield. It could be dropped folded at the chain, and on the way down the flag would cause the parts to align so when the point hit the ground it would dig in and the cap would snap into place. 1267) Perhaps the upper end of a sword scabbard? 1268) Interesting hammer. One end for chipping, one for driving and a flange on the top perhaps for prying a board loose from a crate?

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Andrew Erickson]

1263 - No really good ideas what you'd use a hook on a stick for. From the care in finishing it seems it was something that would be rather valued by the owner. My whimsical guess: a tool to lure a gator by having some bit of bait on the hook, whilst being ready (with the other hand) to slip a ring or noose around the jaws and capture it. 1264 - An AMPEX magnetic tape cartridge; I think this may be one of the types that was used by radio stations to hold ads or station identifications for odd moments, but am not certain of that. It's definitely more likely to be audio (or possibly video) than computer data, in my opinion, from the "time" label on the one hub. 1265 - Tool for harvesting some sort of berry or fruit? 1266 - Seems it should be familiar, but I cannot place from where or what. 1267 - Something to fit over the spine of a book? Not sure what that would accomplish, though. 1268 - Hammer for use when glazing or repairing windows. The square face for general work (like tightening rails and stiles), the pointy end for chipping out old putty, and the flat central ridge for setting points.

I'm not sure I've ever said it before, and certainly not enough, but many thanks to Rob for putting these puzzles together each week. I quite appreciate the challenge, and it seems a bunch of others do, too.

Now to see other people's guesses...

[Ed Huntress]

Just FYI, 2" Ampex tapes originally were quad, not helical. But Sony developed some helical 2" and Ampex, IIRC, used the Sony patents for color.

As I've thought about that cartridge I wonder if it's from the automatic cartridge loader that Ampex developed somewhat later.

-- Ed Huntress

[cavelamb himself]

Ampex video tape cartridge

50 mm wide sounds about right. These were not helical scanned! So this could be a very short segment - commercial or news feed?

[R.H.]

I've shown this to a number of artifact experts and they agree with you that it's probably a walking stick, except it appears to be missing the ferrule on the small end and the owner may have later added a hook for some unknown reason.

Here is a close-up of the small end:

Rob

[Patrick Hamlyn]

First one is the Forest Boot-Snag. Patented in 1870, it never really caught on because it takes over a hundred years on average to snag a boot.

[DoN. Nichols]

Looking at the hook shows that it is not suitable for snake capture as I had first thought (it would have to be rigid for that). It also appears to have had that hook in place for quite some time, based on the wear visible where the eye forks out. It might have been for hanging it on a wall or fence, or for pulling found objects on the path closer.

Are the insignia and the date on the head stamped into gold? Or is that brass which has been kept polished? I would expect more wear on that if the latter.

Thanks, DoN.

[DoN. Nichols]

I have at least one with a flat top. It is closer in shape to a mushroom than anything else, and it makes it easier to use palm pressure on the end to help raising from a lower position. This would be especially useful if the owner had to frequently squat down to examine something at ground level, and had knees which were somewhat aged as mine are. :-)

The head of mine started life as a whale tooth, and the shaft is made form whale jawbone, spiral carved to resemble a narwhal's tusk.

Agreed.

Perhaps -- or perhaps just for extra palm surface contact when rising from a squating position.

In that case a longer stick would probably be better -- it would allow two hands, widely separated, to offer greater stability.

That makes a certain amount of sense.

Enjoy, DoN.

[DanG]

1263. Ocala is very close to Silver Springs and the winter resting area for Ringling Brothers. I wonder if it can be an elephant tender's stick. Silver Springs was the scene where all the Tarzan movies were made.

1265. Must have something to do with chipping or flaking ice.

1267. Looks like an antique eye glass case to me for the old wire frames.

[R.H.]

According to the owner, the metal is lead.

Below are two more close-ups, the owner thinks that they show some type of crest carved into the wood:

didn't post them earlier because there isn't much detail and they're almost impossible to read.

Rob

[DoN. Nichols]

[ ... ]

Interesting. Problems in the white balance during the photography, then.

To me, they look more like natural structures in the wood grain, perhaps where a branch split off from the main trunk used for carving that.

Enjoy, DoN.