missed it !! Well actually passed on it. What you ask ?? Ok, well it was a dated 1916 whistle. Not your run of the mill Hudson or DeCourcy … kind of cheaply made too. The date was enscribed on the side.

Poorly kept with rust on it. Thin tube shaped and not much to look at.

Yet I did — why ( again ) ??

Well, looking closer at it one sees that the mouthpiece is curled at the end ( lips ? ) and that is unusual. The top cap extended down the body a little more than necessary. German WW1 ?? Maybe…

Curious…hmmmm….much like playing poker I would guess. Do I pay the extra to see his cards or pass….

Pass….

Recently we talked ( well I did anyway ) about tracking down an unknown whistle. In other words a whistle that does not shout who made it.

However what do you do with a whistle that DOES shout out who made it and it just can't be true, or you have 'doubts' ??

Take for example the button whistles that say AULD MAKER. Then there are exactly alike whistles ( clones ) that say BEECH MAKER ????

Can't BOTH be right —  right ??

Yah, I know !!! Frustrating. What is going on here ?? And to add to that there are other whistles that say MAKER and add a name that is now dubious !!!

In fact why would anyone even do that ??? Dunno, but I can tell you this, it can be almost as frustrating as the last blog subject ARGH !!!

Got a pewter whistle in today and it is a beauty !!! You don't hear that much do you ?? Why is that ?? I dunno, but for some reason pewter takes a back seat.

Should they ?? After all, Yates had a slew of them offered in 1870 !!! great shapes and collectable whistles. And then there are so many others, like Dixon for example, that made very high quality pewter whistles.

Of course along came brittannia and admittedly things went downhill from there. However, the age of pewter whistles ( from say 1870 to 1900 ?? ) saw some very rich looking pewter whistles.

They don't polish up well, true … BUT they do have a very deep rich patina that is unmatched. And they are heavy !! I know how much you like those heavy ones.

Interestingly, there are lots of animals and rounds, but others are on the scarce side. For example GSWs are like hens teeth aren;t they ?? We have a siren here of pewter and of course quite difficult to find and an escargot.

However, beauforts and combos exist done they ??

Perhaps PEWTER whistles should be given another chance now that they are over a hundred years old. They have earned it.

Check out this PEWTER siren !!!!

Last blog we considered why collect a whistle because of what someone else thought. How we should collect what WE like.

However let's contrast that with an educated eye. Sometimes it IS what another says that clues us into why a certain whistle is collectable.

The problem only arises when we buy a whistle when we don't like it or when we skip a whistle because it isn't 'approved' by the collecting world, in a book, identified, or ???

One wouldn't think it would be such a wrestling match huh ?? But ask yourself if you have gotten to the point that you want to get rid of a bunch of your whistles because they aren't up to your standards now ?? — might be someones elses standards though.

You might be surprised that in a few years there are whistles you kick yourself for letting go !!!!

just saying…

found a whistle the other day that took yeeeeears to find. Cheap little thing really. There was indeed some interesting design characteristics. Yet it lacked that overall, jumps off the canvass look to it. Yet it was important to me.

prehaps dating back to 1910 ?? Flat and with an uneventful top ring for the chain. Inside there is a different tongue than usually seen. ( that WAS quite interesting )

Whats the point ?? Why collect it ?? There's the question for us all. It's personal. Hopefully it can stay that way. Unfortunately when others get involved —— a whistle can become more desiterable.

It is pervasive among all collectors to compete AND to do so sometimes against ones will or even better judgement. Thimk about that…

Really ?? to want a whistle because someone else wants it and not because one wants it on its own merit ??

We hear occasionally that a whistle is important to 'fill out a collection' Or sometimes the thought that a collection NEEDS a certain whistle to be a credible collection.Maybe we would call it an 'important whistle'.

probably the least personal thing a collector could do is collect, because of what someone else is telling us….

Some say that LEAD took the Roman empire down. Dunno, wasn’t there ( well some say I could have been )

Ever notice how close lead, pewter, and brittania look in antique whistles ??

In the 1870s a lot of pewter was used. Then brittania followed. Better product as it plated well.

I love the look of the patina on pewter , but not too hooked on britt.

BUT I mainly wanted to warn the friends of LEAD. We see old ‘shorebird’ whistles cast in lead. We see German made municipal police tube shaped made circa 1920 that have lead tops and —MOUTHPIECES !!!

LEAD poisoning —

No safe threshold for lead exposure has been discovered….Children are particularly susceptible.

Conclusion ??? Don’t put a lead whistle in your mouth. Don’t even keep them if you have children. Wear gloves — seriously…. maybe best to just get rid of them….

Collectible whistles make sense, but collectible tags don’t.

Yet, there you are right ?? Gotta record what you find or in a couple years you will be crying over what you did ‘when’. Then you will be overlooking what you have and add what you don’t need or worse yet think you have one and then you don’t ACH !!! It all gets balled up unless you keep good records — TAGS ….

So what’s the problem ?? They peek at you ( well me )          I hate it…..

You see in my small world they ( my little soldiers ) hang on the wall staring at me and that’s OK because I stare back — scrutinizing them. It’s all about study you know. However right behind them are these round faced, totally blank stares. Ether each whistle looks like it has wings or they — I hate to even say it…..are…yes, LOPPED SIDED !!! There I said it ….

They are NEVER symmetrical. Some outrageously refuse the stay behind their prospective whistle. They stubbornly POP OUT…..grrrrrrrr…

Then there is the problem of where to attach those stupid rings that hold the tags. I can’t talk about it anymore….

Well, I give up !!! There  are just some whistles that defy displaying !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH !!!!!

First to conquer me were the combination GSW/ROUND whistles…

Then came the ROUND/BEAUFORT combination whistles…

Oh, sure they have rings, but have you tried to hang one ?? They tuuuuuurn siiiiiiiideways !!!!!!!!  🙁     YECH !!!

There is no balance. They look terrible. Can’t live with it anymore …. So what to do ?? I got a few of those single old oak file drawers and lined them. Side by side they look really antique-ish. Then I organized them ( my whistles ) into their own drawers ( I still hate doing this because they are out of sight and I can’t study them unless I pull them all out ) . More like soldiers laid to rest now.

THEN came the next traitors — The boatswain whistles…monsters to hang. At least the bowl always dropped. Just looked terrible. Guess I could really jump through hoops and mount them sideways. Guess I could do the same for ALL my little friends that don’t hang right…

But, what would I do with my nifty oak drawers now ??

sorry for the misleading title — I’m  still enamored with OLD steel split rings. Yeah I know, you are sick of hearing about them — but just one mooooore thiiiiiiing pleeeeeease and I will drop them. ( Yeah, maybe )

BRASS brushes — way cool !! Yup, they can be used pretty safely !! Who knew ?? – perhaps the brass brush sales teams, but I didn’t. Softer kinder to metals 🙂 — except rust !!!!

So it turns out after soaking in white vinegar the rust comes off ( there is pitting though if too deep ) Then the split rings can be brushed clean. The only thing really lacking is that you don’t get that polished charcoal sheen that only friction over years can bring.

Hmmmm… maybe a polisher ??

I know….more about split rings….

Many ask why we don’t collect or do more with silver whistles,

Simple answer, they coast too much !!!! AND it is so easy to steer away from whistle designs and uses that are far more interesting for us at TWG.

Not to take away from all those craftsman dating with their hallmarks back for hundreds of years. But many times the whistles are too delicate. They are more like art or jewelry or …

Are brass, nickel silver, steel, superior metals. Yes and no. They take a beating, they are certainly not as delicate. Perhaps there is more variability and that is where the key lies.

Just compare a very early large brass  round whistle. Ever wonder why you don’t see them in silver ?? or GOLD for that matter ?? The metal overshadows the item.

OR what about extractor whistles ?? RARE to see one made of silver huh ?? Why ?? The teeth would break off in use. Then there are scout whistle never made in silver–too costly and delicate.

Oh, no button whistles either ( or very rarely )

Need to go on ?? What’s the point ?? The most fun, down to earth whistles are in the lower end of valuable metals — due to tougher metals used and it’s more about the whistle use, history, design…

Think of all the whistles that would NOT have been made if silver was the preference or gold for that matter.

Then again, boson whistles are all silver the further you go back…..ratz….if only this blog was written in the 1600s, think of all the variety we would see !!!