Spotlight > Specific Manufacturer > United Kingdom > Lilly > 095
Surfacing here is a remarkable model from the UK which appears to be monotypic. It is all brass and unusually large and heavy. Beyond this it has some very interesting and unique features. Let’s take a closer look….
First let’s consider the size. It is massive for sure !! Comparing it to a standard size Hudson GSW AND Beaufort, pre 1900 one sees right away its diameter and length (measuring out at 95mm ) exceed in every way the size of an average whistle.
Right away one wonders what it was designed to be used for ?? Perhaps railway ??
In fact this proves to be entirely handmade and thereby dating to circa 1880-90. Barrall, DeCourcy, Walton and Dowler for example, were still producing whistles at that time with cast mouthpieces.
Why refer to this ?? It just helps in dating because the rounded convex cast mouthpieces are a benchmark. Circa 1880 is a benchmark for the very round convex cast mouthpiece and circa 1885 is a benchmark for later smaller and thinner concave cast mouthpieces commonly in GSWs. Admittedly concave mouthpieces were made prior, but cast as machined ones followed later. Rarely did a manufacturer go back to cast, Hudson doing so with kings and ovals.
Apparently this would date at least circa 1885 ( likely earlier ) as the mouthpiece is thinner ( concave ) and most interestingly tooled with a lathe – including rings around the exterior. The mouthpiece is concave rather than convex. Clearly the rings around the mouthpiece and the top domed cap have been on a metal lathe.
The top is also quite massive drawing on some peers like DeCourcy, Dixon, Barrall and perhaps Auld, but even yet much more massive in girth.
The very wide neck just below the knop is unusual and sets it apart from the other known manufacturers.
The notched window is rare in a tube shaped whistle. Not many manufacturers utilized it on any whistle ( excluding silver smiths ), but a few did.
We can look to DeCourcy, Ward, Hudson, Dixon and ?? It is hand filed at the edges and into the notch, as is the opening to the mouthpiece.
Lastly we look closely at the body seam. Typically the seam would be down the center between the windows. —- This one is clearly seen to be at the edge of one window.
Little has been recorded about body seams. Gilchrist in Collecting Police Whistles ( 1998 page 95-96 ) gives a list of manufacturers from the UK that includes:
Barrall
Coney & Co.
Stevens and sons
Ward ? ( unconfirmed )
Yates
Hudson was trained at Bent and Parker and always used the center between the windows in his manufacturing.
Here we are now adding Lilly to the list. Pictured was the only known example of Lilly’s stamp on a tube shaped window ( unfortunately no mouthpiece ). Two more complete whistles have surfaced since.
We can see that the seam is exactly alike. The faintest protrusion can be seen in the disc of the largest whistle. It is much more apparent in the true Lilly.
What features can we summarize in examining this previously unknown whistle ??
1) Cast top, bottom, disc and partition dates it circa 1880-90
2) Windows have a top notch used, but few UK manufacturers used them.
3) Body seam down the side rather than between the windows used by few manufacturers.
4) Very large size atypical of most manufacturers pre 1900
It came out of the UK, however it could have traveled. The construction is entirely brass and appears to be totally hand crafted. No milling occurs yet there are several places where it has been lathed — including the top cap, mouthpiece and even the body at the windows.
Some characteristics remind us of John Barrall’s whistles, but too many factors are involved to limit it to being ( possibly ) by him. For now it will remain unidentified until further models surface that may reveal who made this remarkable whistle.
For these reasons and due to the overall craftsmanship of the windows, length of the body, brass used, and lathe comparisons; we are assigning this whistle as possibly Lilly.
Please compare to SPOTLIGHT 11 Long Mouth Lilly for further aspects.
If further information arises we will add to the end of the article.
TWG
Posted December 5, 2018
