following yesterdays thought could it be that there are whistles worth looking into that aren't police whistles at all ??????????????

Scary but true…

Hospital

Fire brigade

GPO ( postal )

School Board ( truancy )

Asylum

all shaped the same       🙂     That should at least give you confidence to stick your toe into the pool……

aaaaaaand then there are all those distributers names…………………………………..aaaaaaaaand then there are all those 'other whistles'

other whistles ???

It is so confusing…..I'm spinning out……

IF we looked outside the box is it possible to collect police whistles that are not tube shaped ??????

Well, get this…the big time collectors look for and take those really great ones ( albeit shaped funny 🙂 ) all the time and perhaps right under our noses  — and we aren't blowing them at the time either, well sorta

We blow them ( off ) when we skip them as paltry. Not for us. Different…..

It would seem there is so much excitement overshadowing these 'other gems' that the Metropolitan is stealing the show !!!

On the other hand the more that the stamp collectors go for them, the more OTHER police whistles are available to get ….

Hmmmmm….. maybe I should keep my mouth ( computer ) shut…..

Oh,the folly of thinking that police whistles are tube shaped and have two windows and look exactly like a Hudson Metropolitan whislte !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indeed, people ( unscrupulous of course ) list whistles on auction all the time as POLICE whistles merely because they are shaped like the iconic Metropolitan that started it all.

Even though it may be a generic — ( named 'general service whistle'  by Martyn Gilchrist ) — NON police whislte with Metropolitan stamped on it.

Is it possible that POLICE whisltes are overlooked because they are shaped differently ???

Look at the next whistle and you decide….

Uh Oh, what gives ?? OMG an escargot that specifically was issued for the police — what to do ?? Now the whole apple cart is upside down !!!!!

Not even CLOSE to tube shaped !!!!!! How will THAT fit into my nice rows of tube shapes …. Grrrrr…….

Is there more to police whistles than the Metropolitan ???? I jknow, it is scary ground to step away.

Hmmmm… let me think now ????

UK

Dowler made police whistles

Stevens made police whistles

Walton made police whistles

DeCourcy made police whistle

Ward, Yates, Auld, nd we venture on .

And yet Hudson gets all the credit……………time to share don't you think ?????

So there is also :

USA, Germany

B&R

Alpha New York

Municipal

Schwartz

Signal

France, Argentiana:

Rasettii

wow–so if we think POLICE, we usually go with Metropolitan Police. But if we peek just a little beyond it we notice Metropolitan constabularies of different forces. —- And then if we open our eyes completely we see around the world that there are police whistles from every country !!!!

Are there 'other' whistles beyond police. Now we ARE being intrepid 🙂

yesterday we chatted about Metropolitan Police whistles as one of the top asked about whistles on our site.

Makes sense since the only book written about police whistles started out by focusing on them alone.

However the book is entitled Collecting Police Whistles and Similar Types ( by Martyn Gilchrist )

So it goes that there are OTHER police whistles ( and even, hate to say it but NON police whistles )  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I've got to give it to you, that there are a whole slew of police whistles that have Metropolitan on them and then they are stamped for another police force other than the Metro ( i.e.London )

Gotta include all the burghs, counties, constabularies, cities, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. That are in no way related to the LONDON police force.

And of  of course there are different years for each of these to add to these too….whew !!! This could go on forever  — it would seem….

What;s the point so far ?? Possibly to expand our vies beyond the METROPOLITAN POLICE  whistle (I.E.LONDON ) and include others ???

interesting enquiry about a whistle that was sold on eBay with a firemans badge.

The badge was used by volunteer firemen for the French Opera in New Oleans ( ironically it burned down in 1919 )

The whistle is a BGI round made of pewter.

Came with the badge. So we could say that this is provenance.

Changes the whole scenery about collecting doesn't it ??

Sure, now it isn't the history of the manufacturer, but its actual history.

Not the use intended, but its actual use …. interesting….could you say it is a firemans whistle ?? An opera whistle ??

hmmmm….

Made by a company that made firearms….

While it may be that most whsitles go unnoticed, they never do to a student of whistles !! Why is that ?? Because to the trained whistle eye ( you heard it here first about whistle eyes ) There is nuance .

Now what does THAT mean ?? It means that there is subtlety that can only be seen and therefore appreciated —- by the trained eye.

Well, everyone knows that you say. BUT, what does one loooooook for in whistles ?? First it depends on the material. For wood it might be what kind, how old, how large, if there are metals mixed and on and on.

Perhaps it is all about silver or how about IVORY !! ( or bone 🙂

For me it is metal ( no tin ) No potmetal though… no cheap stuff ya know. 🙂

Heaviness plays a part of nuance. How the whistles are constructed may vary and reveal much about the maker, but also about the different models of each particular maker. EVEN different years of the same makers whistles. EVEN the different parts used the same year.

Wow I am spinning out !!!! Too much nuance …..