Spotlight > Whistle Categories > Escargot > 127 Uruguay Large Escargot
Whistory
Occasionally an exceptional whistle surfaces and this one comes from Uruguay, hand made and larger than usual. This articles features the Uruguay Large Escargot with there is no maker’s mark, nor is there is a knop.
Would this Uruguay Large Escargot whistle be production made?
The craftmanship is exceptional and it makes one wonder what other whistles were made by this maker?
What direction would this Uruguay Large Escargot whistle be heading?
What prompted them to make such a whistle, or was it for a one – off? Do we know if it production, and who was to use it? Do we know if it used for Police, or hunting, or persons in general? Certainly we see it is a pocket whistle, without any means of hanging it around the neck, or suspending it by cord or chain. It appears to be a 4-piece whistle from mostly cast parts, but at the same time very light weight.
Whistle Classification
| Category | Escargot |
| Order | Unknown |
| Type | Unknown |
| Class | Brass |
| Sub class | Cast |
Whistle archeology
We do not know of any known advertisements, nor of any catalogs, or patent information.
Whistology
At 2 ¾ inches long, in comparison, this is an unusually long escargot. Although held for years here at TWG, the brass has shown no tarnishing.
We note overlapping of the side walls around the barrel, and at the same time there are slight extensions of the discs towards the mouthpiece, also unusual.
You will see in the following photo, no knop was installed.
We see evidence of what would be cast parts, yet it is also possible a wire was soldered on to the top plate and bottom plate. The top could be cast and ground down for the upper tooth grip like seen on Indian escargots, however, the bottom plate seems to be one pressed round barrel. This would have made casing troublesome, but nevertheless, the bottom tooth grip seems ground down.
Perhaps the extra solder below the barrel is to hide a joint, and that would mean we would have a five piece whistle from cast parts after all.
See the joint meeting of the barrels sides displayed in the following photo.
Evidence of possible wire soldering to create tooth grips top and bottom of the mouthpiece.
Conclusions:
Although very well constructed we have found no others, and this whistle remains an enigma for now as a one – off. It reveals a very long mouth and overlapping edges to the side walls and signs of cast parts.
TWG
Posted 1 5 2022
Bibliography:
The Whistle Gallery reference collection
The Whistle Gallery archives
