when it comes to old, rare, antique whistles it is hard to define them don't you think ??

Lately we here have concentrated on whistles post 1900. Odd huh ?? It always seemed that they had to be ooooooolder….

However it is all subjective anyway.

What is more, you can have just as much fun studying more recent whistles.

Sure it isn't as cooooooool. Not as 'look at me-ish"

BUT it can be JUST AS FUN !!!

Let's illustrate it       🙂

Yes, you could buy a corvette stingray from the 60s and restore it. Waaaaaaay cool yes. No question there.

But why couldn't it be just as fun to get an MGB from the 60's, restore it and drive around with the top down with your hair in the wind ( both of my hairs left anyway ) ????

Same thing with whistles — there are a LOT of fun whistles that are simply not as high profile and the extra perk ?? CHEAP too 🙂

not much going on with eBay on antique whistles these days are there ??

Oh, sure lots of talk about how rare, or special, or vintage or whatever will sell their whistle. But really ??

So what to do when nothing is going ??

Surf for other auctions !!

But surf 🙂

The more you look at, the better to spot what many miss.

Am I shooting myself in the foot. Perhaps, but more activity is more activity and that means more will surface !!!

Can't imagine how many whistles are just sitting in some drawers all around the world and neglected.

However as the hobby grows we will surely see more–been happening already hasn't it ??

here is an example of caveat emptor…

A siren on auction on eBay right now says the following:

CONDITION: All original and generally very good. Slight signs of wear and faint denting/distortion to grille commensurate with age and use. Functions perfectly.

DEFECTS: None.

Then a picture is shown with a dent clearly visible. So I guess that 'commensurate with age' allows the seller to throw out everything to do with MINT condition verses damaged condition now ?? Sort of like buying an antique table with a fist size hole in the middle and the seller just ignores it and says 'commensurate with age' and lies to your face and says that there are NO DEFECTS  ??????????????????????? One wonders when the seller would say that they have a damaged item  for sale ?????????????????????????????

So who's to blame ?? — the seller for saying anything to sell, with no integrity what so ever ?? Or the buyer —-who falls for it ??

Really shows that if buying on line one needs to read everything and then examine the pictures closely and even ask for more pictures.

'Under the radar' is always fun on eBay.

Take for example a whistle that no doubt will get little attention – 271698769820

This Nick Harris whistle was probably made in the USA, It has the unusual feature of split level windows. ( see SPOTLIGHT )

For a certainty, Coney brought this design to almost perfection many years before. They used far superior metals and workmanship,

Only one other unknown manufacturer has been found to use this design other than Coney, ( followed by Hudson ) and then the maker of the Nick Harris. Altogether 4 manufactures. How many do you have ??

Two variations have been found so far with the Nick Harris whistle.

So this would make a great whistle to get for a bargain — with free shipping to boot. It would allow a closeup study  🙂

That's what is fun about on line auctions when looking for whistles. Sometimes they fly under the radar ( sometimes it is the opposite too !! )

check it out…

What is rare ?? A whistle may be for sale as RARE. It may look RARE even. But what makes a whistle RARE ??

YOU CAN’T HARDLY FIND IT !!!  Yup, there are few —  in existence !!!! So they are RARE       🙂

Interestingly, this word is comes up like word vomit     🙁

Constantly, due to the desire to sell a whistle, it is flippantly called RARE. Obviously cheap whistles are suspect, but what about expensive ones that go for top dollars ?? Are they RARE ??

Not always. A whistle may attract buyers though. Take for instance the Winchester escargots. They come up regularly. In fact just the other day ( I love that phrase ) another medium size Winchester 1805 popped up. Qualifications so many times are then:

1) called RARE
2) sold for big bucks

Another whistle is up for sale as RARE right now on eBay that will sell high, yet a dozen have been seen in the last 5 years. Reminds me of the kings clothes story….Everybody follows the crowd

Why not break away and search for the really rare ones and you might find that you are overlooking some really great whistles !!!

Saw a wonderful PHAROAH shaped 2 piece military whistle go by on eBay the other day. Kinda rare, but they do come up regularly. Seen ’em for yeeeeeears. In fact there has been one on eBay for half a year now for over a 1000 dollars USD !!! Of course way too high priced to sell, so there it sits. Seems the seller of this other one thought his would sell for that.

This one went for  under 200 dollars straight up on auction !!! Great price, wish we could have gotten to it !!! However we didn’t. Just tooooo busy. The good news ?? There will be another and another and another… it was made over and over.

So cheer up when you see whistles you want that are too high priced or you can’t get to one when you want.

Now if one comes along that is very unique or maybe totally unique that is a different story 🙂 Then you gotta decide what to do so you DON’T miss it right ?? However that is fairly rare huh ??

Coulda used that PHAROAH for an article, just gotta be patient. It would be nice to have perhaps 6 — 2 piece military whistles to present in an article and we only have 4 right now. They are usually overpriced.

Maybe 2 ‘others’ ( just slaves to PHAROAH ? ) will come along and won’t even need that PHAROAH  guy after all !!!!

If you are thinking that there are a few rare whistles these days, you may be right !!!

BUT why ?? —- Just the time of year is all. Be assured,  there is a plethora— abundance— scads— of antique, rare whistles out there !!!! Perhaps more than we would possibly imagine, even for the advanced collectors.

Yet there are lulls, like right before the highest spending holidays of the year ????

So what to do ??

Take a breather and reorganize !!!!!!!!!!!! Go through your collection better for labeling, displaying and maybe just —— stand back and see where you are ??

ASK YOUSELF —-

Am I toooo crowded in planning for the future ??? Your display and storage….

Have I dangerously committed too much to memory and losing track ????

Should I redefine where I am going with my collecting ???

Perhaps it is the time to cull out some of my whistles and upgrade the collection in the process ?? ( you will feel reinvigorated afterwards !! )

What kind of research can I do with this time off.

Could I put some effort into my records and computer instead of whistles ?? — It will pay off later !!!

————-take a breather………..

One of my favorite  whistles is made by Pringle out of the UK. They went out of business during the 60’s.

However they made a top notch escargot. And personal research places them much earlier than Gilchrist suggests. He dates them to the 50’s–I would date them back to the 20’s !!!

Hand made construction with very distinct design qualities. Take for example that simple wire top instead of a round knop. Never comes loose !!!

They can be found in plated brass, pure nickel silver or even silver plated.

They are light too, but very strong. The sides are hardly ever dented in.

So — check this one out on eBay >>>> 191353329074  GREAT  patina !!!!

Don’t say I never gave you anything !!! Yah, I could have bid on it and sold it off,  but nooooooooo !! I want everyone to have one — that is everyone who is serious about collecting whistles.

I usually carry one with me for safety. It’s my pick for traveling and makes me smile at it all the time as it truly is a great whistle 🙂

…Then there is that terrific logo of crossed axes — way cool and the name taken from the street where the warehouse was…

What is it you ask ??? Well, go look at it yourself, you have the eBay number now ….

It would have gone for pittance and may still– what a bargain !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TWG

When appropriate, it is fun to touch on low flying, under the radar whistles on eBay. Always fun to see one get through the mix. And rare ones at that.

However it also is interesting to watch a high profile whistle too. Why you ask ?? …. Good question 🙂
I dunno. Perhaps it is just to see how high a whistle will go. Or  it could be to watch all the 'cross' collectors come out of the woodwork and without any common sense ' throw their hat into the ring' and thereby drive the whistle into obscurity !!!! Yup, in effect push up the price. In most cases it would be an arms collector. But this one went to an eclectic whistle collector with a 'private' rating. He has had it for years now.—sorry gun guys !!! One for the whistle geeks 🙂

Take this one for example >>>>>> 331303886160 a really  great extractor whistyle – almost famous because of its bird killer blade ( must be a hummingbord, its such a small blade !! )

Gilchrist identifies it as Moffats patent on page 70 of More Whistles ( do you have this book ?? – you should ) and so it goes that it is quite rare – probably one of the best of the extractor designs I must say.
And watching it soar it probably could kill a bird on the fly — over 400UK pounds or close to 700 dollars US dollars. — OUCH !!! That leaves most of us out of the running. Do birds even fly that high ?? That's stratospheric !!!

Watching the bids though. Most bidders just took a stab at it. One did peck away at it driving it up several times fruitlessly I might add…. However the whistle was sold the whole time to one bidder who just waited till the end and then took it. No one really was in the running the whole time !!!! Yup, that's how it usually is with a very rare one.

So what do we learn other than torturing ourselves ?? If you are really interested in a rare one like this, then prepare to pay. No quibbling about it, no vascillating, just do it !!! Either that or put yourself out of your misery and erase it. OR track it for your records — you keep them right ??

Now let's try it and see how it works >>>> 291232918746

One wine guy keeps shoving the price up, bidding over and over — do you think he will win it ??

The price is 165gbp. Do you think that will be close ??

Ha !! and Ha !! again … ( twice )

What's so interesting about 6 piece escargot whistles ??? —- They are HEAVY !!!! So what, you say 🙂      Well beauty is in the eyes or should I say in the hands of the beHOLDER.

They just feeeeeeeel, well, for lack of a better word ……… MORE.

Add to this, the fact that they lasted only a couple years in manufacturing — 1890 to 1891 and then the market dropped off with Hudsons patented three peice, so that the design still exists today. WAY too much work and expense for the money even back then. Their demise was imminent.

Auld led the field with three sizes ( I found a fourth ), yet there are others like McDonald, Ward and some unnamed manufacturers.

So as it goes here is one that may well fly under the radar !! >>>>>> 301223859377. An AULD made from 6 pieces….

knop
2 sides
top of mouthpiece
2 piece barrel
total ?? 6 PIECES !!!!
 

You get to see all the angles, however take note that the seller has NO sales as yet  and is unproven.

Well best wishes on it !!!  ( The under rated escargot article is great reading on the website by the way…TWG