wanted to give some thought to catalogs, trade journals, etc today…. what’s the story on copyrights  ???? >>>> If you look at the web one finds the following…………….  If the work was published in the United States priorto 1923, it is in the public domain.

In the UK it appears to be a 50 to 70 year maximum from publishing. Conclusion ?? prior to 1940 it is in the public domain.

This is good to know !! Why you ask ?? Good question 🙂 It seems that one of the key ways to find old whistles by different makers is to know what was made even BEFORE you have seen it !!! So once you find something in writing or pictures that you can share, you don’t have to worry about infringements do ya ?? Yup, makes it easier to find whistles when many are looking for them rather than one person looking and perhaps never seeing them at all.

Now, that means that you are going to have to give up some of your whistle time to catalog time, but it pays off in dividends later. AND one catalog can be like finding several whistles if they are ones you haven’t seen before. Then you also have trading material and voila !! Brainpools are born 🙂

Do you think whistles should be graded ?? The thought with some is that they are somewhat like coins in a way. They can be found as NOS ( new old stock ) and be relatively uncirculated or anywhere from extra fine down to good to even poor condition. But can you really go this way ?? I mean can’t you restore a whistle ?? Sorta like furniture and other antiques ?? Yeah, take it apart, straighten it out like a body and fender man and then put it back together and what was once in poor condition is now refurbished, restored, refinished… you know.

Then there is the argument against destroying the patina that took decades to develop. So much so that some actually FAKE the patina with chemicals !! I can’t say I am very impressed with the dull patina to nickle silver , but on brass and copper one has to admit it can really deepen the tone and feel of an age old whistle. Also there is the old steel patina look that is charcoal looking and feels warm and smooth to the touch. Yet it CAN get rusty and need to be cleaned and started over again. Seem to you that the patina returns quicker ??

I am no metallurgist ( did I spell that right? ) but it seems to me that there are different qualities of brass and the patina is different on them. Copper seems generic in quality on whistles and besides that there aren’t that many whistles with copper are there??  Personally I LOVE the nickle silver that has a slightly yellow look to it. Some whistles are almost white looking nickle silver and then there are those sunny yellowish ones to die for  🙂 — Must be more copper in the mix I suppose. For me the bottom of the pile is chrome. Nothing more frustrating than to find an old whistle, say 1883 and then sombody went and had it chromed, even though it was already partially worn !!! Now it can spend the next hundred years flaking off, but never all flaked off like you would like.

Speaking of plating degrdation, where does that plating go to on nickle plated whistles anyway ?? Gotta look that one up somewhere. I have many whistles that the plating has faded away. Not really worn away, just kinda dissolved off ?? How does THAT happen ?? I mean that’s its JOB isn’t it ?? To plate and all. Yet there you have it, leaving the metal underneath exposed. Why plate it,  if you can’t rely on it ?? Nickle over brass. Why not just nickle ??   Dunno……yet

nice and rainy out today, gotta be glad about THAT !!! However it did spur me on to complete the SPOTLIGHT number  six on BGI bullet whistles. I think it really turned out well myself, but of course it isn’t posted yet and I can’t get any feedback can I ?? I DO get some comments in the emails and that is kind 🙂

I went back into the net and found a BGI 601 from 1881 sold this summer for 25 dollars, so it shows that rare whistles are available all the time for bargains and THIS makes it a tremendous hobby to get into !!! WHY you ask ?? Beeeeeeecause, the more that is known the more will surface. THAT’S what we want. These little guys lie around drawers forever and no one thinks about ’em.

Guess I will go and hang the whistles and micrometer and scale and… back where they all go. Another article done. Not too bad either on the scheduling as I originally planned just one a month to give myself some room to breathe. According to that I am about 4 months ahead  !!!

dug further into BGI today, actually a running study project. I didn’t have any idea of their history and kept at it a little. There are so few records to go on. For a fact, I am really researching the BGI model #601 bullet whistle and therefore I got enamored with the BGI company itself,  since they made sooooo many whistles back then. You know they only lasted about 30 years, but that is quite long when compared to say a raccoon,  huh ??

ANYWAY, back to my tangent. The company is built mainly on the start of Charles D. Leet, — that would be Charles S. Leet’s dad I would think ?? Have to verify that lineage later. Junior it seems is the one that patented the bullet whistle and kinda have to get my ducks in a row for the next SPOTLIGHT  concentrating on this whistle. Came in two sizes too — betcha didn’t know THAT did ya ?? Well, I will have to illuminate that when the article gets published. My computer guy stood me up last week, but PROMISED this week to be here. No good to publish if you can’t read the articles……

–cycling whistles are on the docket today. Why isn’t more written on them ?? Well,  probably because not much is written on whistles at all !!! Just watched an Overman Wheel Company dual chamber whistle sell on auction for about 175.00 dollars US. — Hmph !!! Wasn’t even that good a shape !!! Dented…did I mention I hate dents ??? Well then, I will just have to list a perfect extra one I have and see what happens 🙂

There was a rather small window for cycling whistles in the course of history and thereby that makes them rather rare. Couple that with the fact that they were made light weight and it is hard to find them not all dented into steampunk hardware and there you have it…scarce as hens teeth to find one intact. Besides that what IS a cycling whistle per se ??? Seems to start with it should have something to do with cycling !!! ( der !! ) — on a stamping or a model number in an ad or catalog somewhere right ?? I mean sorta like police whistles ?? Yeah, you know how it goes. First you hear about cousin Emerus who worked for the police in ‘podunk outastate’ and carried this generic thunderer ( the name used for almost a century by whatever country wanted to stamp it on a whistle ) for  DECADES — so of course it is a GENUINE police whistle now right ?? — especially if it is for sale !!! Never mind the fact that it NEVER says anything about the police force he worked for OR even says police on the plain ole whistle at all.

Same with cycling ya think ?? Can’t just stick any ole whistle in your mouth and say ‘now I have a cycling whistle’ !!! Could do that with chewing gum for that matter.

Who made ’em ?? Overman made them of course, but also Hudson, De Courcy, F.L.Johnson, G&J made them, and of course there are siiiiiiirrrrreeeeeeens to consider…well they ARE a catagory and should be recognized and beyond that, think of all those cycling whistles going to those tough competitors of the cycling world ??? Whistle geeks — stand up for yourselves and snatch them back to where they belong. On the whistle boards and cabinets with the police whistles ….

getting down to the end of the year. I watched a couple rare triple dog whistles go to a whistle conneseur back east. He always has impeccable taste. Sure would like to show part of his collection and how it is displayed on the web pag, but ya gotta respect privacy and until permission is given,  then we wait 🙂 Closing out the year seems to be altering the whistle scene. Some are spending more and some less ( me less !! ) Getting ready for taxes makes one stare in disbelief—where did it all go ??? Oh well, gotta keep reminding myself, they are just whistles……getting ready for the next SPOTLIGHT — haven’t even made THREE available yet !!! BUT I am getting some help tomorrow night to make that web site findable 🙂 Yippee skippee !!!!

Wow, tackled a rather large topic this time !!! I am going to open up things with Alfred and a couple whistles that surfaced of his. So I thought to do a SPOTLIGHT on him first. Well then,  it is taking two articles — and then some. Just can’t get together enough variety from the reference collection to do him justice. BUT I certainly don’t want to pirate other peoples pictures and have no idea about the actual whistle to talk about do I ?? What do you think ?? Is it too far a reach to refer to Martyn’s books,  as if everyone has or will get them ?? He DID set the bar for whistle literature though didn’t he ??

Oh well, the ball is rolling now. I have almost half of PART one done. Early De Courcy whistles scattered all over my computer desk right now and as OCD as I can get it is killing me !!!! ARGH !!!! Can’t wait to show you what popped up and from Pakistan !!! Who’da thunk ??? Not me ( but there is probably a logical reason … or not ) So back to ‘feelin my pain’ here. He was a real craftsman and I will venture to say one of the top manufacturers. Of course collectors can be sooooo arrogant now can’t we ?? Wait till China opens up with all that history and craftmanship, or Germany comes more to light. But I digress…. back to Alfred.  Check out the SPOTLIGHT and let me know if I missed anything, or stepped out of line ??