Had an aquatance send me an item, we'll call #@*. He started collecting them because of a contest between him and another friend.

The goal was simple. Each pick an item to collect ( ergo #@* on his part ) and then see who could reach 50 first. Harmless fun really. And cheap as no one else really was after those #@* anyway  🙂

Interesting what people collect isn't it. Now LOTS of #@* later, there is a what some would call a significant 'collection' However you and I might look at it and ask why collect those ????? Kinda weeeeird you think ???? The same could be said about whistles……

What makes a collection so important ?? Lots of things I would imagine like history, caftmanship, rarity and so on. However it is always good to pause and ask…is there something else going on here — behind the scenes?? As we look for more, is something else driving us ?? The desire to aquire that is relentless. A hunger, a need ?? What one could add up to >>> as a craving….

For example:

After looking long hours for a rarity, when one is finally found, how long does that victory last ?? Do we go back and get the same pleasure we had when we first found it ?? In other words how lasting is each find ?? Or is it fleeting and the move is on for another 'fix' ?? Good questions to ponder !!! Does it not seem over the top to get emotionally worked up over objects ???

A collector once showed me a whistle and said that if 'so and so' saw it he would go GA GA over it !!!! Do we go GA GA ??

Try this on, compare whistles to bird calls. Similar right ?? But do we turn up our noses at a bird call and then salivate over a whistle ?? It would seem that whether we collect MAPS, CORKSCREWS, POKEMAN CARDS, BARBED WIRE SECTIONS ( and the list goes on forever !!! ) our individual passion is rooted way down below >>>>>>  where no one likes to go.

Well, at least not today…..

the lowly escargot…who will speak up for it ( them )

I WILL !!!

So many trip over them getting to the OTHER whistles and miss sooooo much !!! There are many nuances to find . And NOOOOOO they don't all look alike, there ARE differences.  Like what you say ?? Good question, let's look at just one thing ( well think about it anyway ) >>>>>>>>> The toothgrip.

Not much to look at, but looking closely one sees an important amount of variation and isn't that a big deal when differentiating them ?? You betcha !!!! Some are WIDE, while others are SHORT !!!  Then there are those that are only on the top and vice versa — well haven't seen it on just the bottom yet, but am looking and expectant   🙂

I have even seen some that are applied after the whistle is done !!! Little flat curved pieces attached. All of it helps tell the makers apart. The curvatures vary too,  some really curved and some less.

Now add to that height and we have even more clues !!! Granted this is a little stretched….

The "piece de resistance" though has to be those escargots from India made during the 1940s. Wow, what work they took. Exmaining them closely shows that although it was common before this time to have the toothgrips pressed out by a machine, these industrious makers ( and there were plenty of them ) actually filed them into place !!! How ?? The metal was thicker on the top of the mouthpiece and someone had to sit there and file down the metal until only a rough toothgrip was left !!! Same on the bottom many times. How many hours did THAT take ?? Dunno, but a LOT of labor.

Doesn't take much to make me pant over whistles, but boy that's a sprint to get there !!!!!. Won't ever look at escargots the same again will ya ?? ….. Unless of course you are tripping over them.

wish I knew more about metals. I surfed the net today to find out where nickle plated brass goes to ??  Well, the nickle I mean. You've seen them right ?? A hundred year old whistle and all the brass showing through ?? It can't be all rubbed off, as extensive as I see it — and barely any left at the joints….

Many times one sees the whole whistle of brass and at the extreme edges some nickle plating remaining. Search as I might, not much written about oxidation and deteriorating of nickel. However 100 year old whistles nonetheless show quite a bit of it  !!!

Don't take me wrong, I love it myself. I much prefer the richer patina of old brass rather than the pristine look of nickle. In fact let's rank my most favorites from the tops to the least … I'm sure that's what you want to hear right now… yeah right….well anyway….

Tops for me issssss yep, you guessed it — nickle silver !!! The yellowish kind is the best, but ANY is great. 🙂 I even prefer it polished. Hmmm kind of makes me an oximoron ( boy, there's puns in there front and back ) since I don't really like nickle plating that much. Some prefer that very powdery yellowish patina, gotta give it to them,  it can look nice too I guess.

 2nd place goes to brass that has a very dark patina. Very rich looking. Can't touch it to repair it without ruining the patina though !!

Thirdly ( is that even a word? ) comes old steel that has that rich almost blackened look to it. Wow, even the chains look terrific that way. I'm salivating thinking about it !!!

( I'm inserting bronze in here, cause I missed it and so as not offend all the Romans of old )

Fourth(ly) would be copper – if I saw it much. Does show up on Horstman escargots and GSWs. Sometimes elsewhere. Really turns brown doesn't it ??

Slipping in here is pewter. That was a close battle and I am not so sure that pewter doesn't actually edge out copper, but whatever….It can really look rich and dark — are we sensing a theme here at all ?? >>>>> and adds to the feel for some reason.

Not last at all, is of course our friend tonight–nickle plated brass. If it is a good plating job it really does look quite impressive. Real quality to the feel, but this look is more like chrome, just not as silvery.

Running closer to the bottom is of course chrome, yech. I even had a few whistles stripped to get it off. Looks more like a bumper finish than a whistle. And to think some had theirs plated years ago on purpose !!!

At the lower level is brittania which accepts plating, so can look even worse believe it or not !!! The whistles always look cheap made of brittania don't you think ?? Well I do and can cite many examples if you get your dander up at all. Even with all the plating worn off they don't ever measure up to Pewter whistles.

Whats at the bottom ?? I would have to say pot metal sort of like SPAM of the whistle world — what's in that stuff anyway ?? One wonders if other stuff than metal is actually used in there. Sure feels like wood products or something Or even spam or something….anyway…. I dunno….CHEAP that's for sure

Noticed I left out silver and gold completely ??? Yeah, another day……Of course we have restricted our 'discussion" to metal only , no tin ( for obvious reasons )

What say you ?? Did I miss anything ??? Hello ???

what makes a Porteous ??

Well, it IS a name now isn't it ?? ( Whistles are named AFTER that name doncha know?? ) But why ?? The inference would be that he ( she ) did some design work —–  that applied to those whistles !!

The earliest seen is 1845 on the 4 chambered whistles manufactured by Stevens. Did the three chambered have a different design date ?? — Anyone know ?? Did this person work there ?? Did that person design the whistles that were registered designs ?? ( not patents by the way ) Did Stevens make the whistles or did Porteous ?? All good questions that need answering.

Next came those police and GSWs with the round tops that apparently were also attributed to Porteous because they first show up on labels that Stevens manufactured too >>>> on the over labels that weren't OVER labeling anything. They were just attached to the sides if the whistles. Both tube shaped and also round whistles.

Quite a conundrum really……. WHO WAS THIS GUY ???????

Makes you wonder if he had anything to do with all those fantastic BELL whistles that Stevens manufactured….

And what about when the name changed to Stevens and Sons ….. was he still around ?? Why wasn't it Stevens and Porteous for crying out loud ???????????? Makes one wonder now doesn't it ???

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juat goes to show you that we all need to dig for these answers — most now have been answered in the May SPOTLIGHT 2013 of the Whistle Gallery !!!!