The Lugzsonian - A Virtual Tour

[Private Lugnutz]

The Curator spent the day with Mrs. Lugz and 2 of their 5 not so little Lugzers at the Grounds for Sculpture just outside of Trenton, NJ.

This isn't them.



This isn't them, either.



And even though he felt like this at times (it was 90*F in the shade!)...



...also not him.

But when he spotted this sculpture titled "The Juggler"...




...he thought, "What a waste of a good anvil!"

 

[four.cycle]

^ I hope that they welded it securely to that base so that it doesn't get stolen.
If you like that sort of outdoor art, be sure to take your wife down to South Bend, Washington next time you visit - world-class stuff.

see your p/m

 

[Shiftless]

Another great place for outdoor art is Storm King in New York. I visited there a few years ago.
The place is huge. Bring your bicycle (or rent one) if you want to cover all of it. Here is one of my favorite pieces. I took this picture when I was there.

Notice the little kid for scale. This thing is gigantic.

 

[gearhead1960]

Lugz...this one reminds me of the "Awakening" that used to be located at Haines Point in DC, most recently located at the National Harbour in PG Co., MD. Any reference to the original?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That is a nice big piece, @Shiftless.

Good eye, @gearhead1960. It is "The Awakening." Same artist. Seward Johnson. The grandson of one of the Johnson & Johnson Johnsons. He died a few years ago, but he was the founder of Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, just outside Trenton, on the former site of the NJ State Fairgrounds, which is also the Seward Johnson Center for the Arts. I believe they cast a second one in his honor. Most of it is outdoors, but there are some indoor galleries as well, including one currently featuring pottery by the ceramicist, Roberto Lugo (his style blends classic and urban, almost as if ancient Peruvians and railroad graffiti artists were alive at the same time). I don't want to get too far astray here - briefly wrapping my trip report around the anvil, and thereby keeping it relevant to GJ VB. Most of the exhibit is smaller pieces, but this giant walk-through jar, with a pair of colorful tattooed pit bulls, is representative.

 

[gearhead1960]

The "Awakening" was always such a cool piece to visit and always had a crowd around it at Haines Point. Don't know if it attracts the same crowd over in MD.....

 

[duddly]

The "Awakening" was always such a cool piece to visit and always had a crowd around it at Haines Point. Don't know if it attracts the same crowd over in MD.....

My daughter and I enjoyed it at National Harbor...

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz - if and when you come out here, go downtown and check out "Sun King" - executed by Thomas Morandi. I was reminded of Morandi's work by the "man coming out of the ground" piece above. ( a couple of his other works are evocative of the pieces above.)

Love the tying together the "ancient Peruvians and railroad graffiti artists" - quite the descriptor!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

We don't have a thread for adjustable bicycle or pocket wrenches, as a type, and this one is a stumper so far, so we'll just leave it here in an un-curated state for now.



It has a pressed steel frame, solid steel dynamic jaw, and a solid steel insert jaw, with a brass knurled nut.



I think I see a "JAN. 1. 1901." underneath the logo, and that was a Tuesday (patent day). Unfortunately, DATAMP is not helping. They have sixteen (16) patents in their database on that date, but none of them are any kind of wrench. They have ninety-six (96) bicycle or pocket wrenches, but none of them have a Jan. 1, 1901 patent date.

I haven't figured out the marking yet, but I have some ideas. It is tantalizingly reminiscent of the "A-1" in a diamond marking that Mossberg used for one of its early pocket adjustables. That's important, because I can see the last three letters in the marking above that, which was probably a manufacturer's name, and it ends in "....ATE," suggesting, perhaps, "STATE," which further suggests, perhaps, "BAY STATE." Mossberg made tools for Bay State (Tool Company, and Pump Company), including bicycle wrenches, and this one bears some resemblance (especially its construction) to the Mossberg Model D. Later (in 1922) they were acquired by Allen Mfg. But none of that is close to definitive.

 

[Shiftless]

I love a good mystery…

 

[duddly]

the only wrench patent I see on Jan 1, 1901 had a unique ratcheting mechanism. https://patents.google.com/patent/US665031
I browsed the gazette for 1/1/1901 but that was the only wrench I saw in skimming it... https://www.google.com/books/editio...901+patent+gazette&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
there were 5 tuesdays in jan 1901 - 1,8,15,22,29 - maybe I will search a bit more over the weekend.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

maybe I will search a bit more over the weekend.

I was going to go through all the Jan. 1 patents tomorrow. DATAMP is great, but not exhaustive.

 

[Outlawmws]

Maybe it is in another country's patents?

 

[RTM]

I was going to go through all the Jan. 1 patents tomorrow. DATAMP is great, but not exhaustive.

Here are a few that aren't in DATAMP, most likely first. guessing another country, or I am blind

Wrench, but not the right adjuster.

US665031A - Wrench. - Google Patents

Ok, ditching the excess.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I saw the Paulson patent. It's for a wrench locking mechanism that this doesn't exhibit.

I appreciate the assistance guys, but let's please not post every thing it's clearly not just because it was patented on Jan. 1, 1901. Especially because I'm not exactly sure of the date itself, which is hard to read.

Speaking of which, the "...ATE" marking above the diamond might be the remnants of the words "PATENT DATE" or perhaps, less liklier, "TRADE-MARK DATE." Not "BAY STATE."

 

[RTM]

I appreciate the assistance guys, but let's please not post every thing it's clearly not just because it was patented on Jan. 1, 1901.

Sorry about them, I was gonna copy them to another list for my Add to Datamp, but was too tired. Then I went back and fouled it up, so I lost them anyway.

But don't discount some patents. On another forum we went roundy round on something like a brace patent a few years back, turns out the patent was for a bearing, not a brace specific item.

And espace.... Turned up nothing except Paulson on wrench for 1/1/1901. So maybe it is a piece of a wrench.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Sorry about them, I was gonna copy them to another list for my Add to Datamp, but was too tired. Then I went back and fouled it up, so I lost them anyway.

No worries. Sorry for being grumpy about it.

But don't discount some patents. On another forum we went roundy round on something like a brace patent a few years back, turns out the patent was for a bearing, not a brace specific item.

Same thing has happened here, especially with mechanisms that lend themselves to several uses.

And espace.... Turned up nothing except Paulson on wrench for 1/1/1901. So maybe it is a piece of a wrench.

I was thinking the locking mechanism could be missing, but I'd have to study the patent and the wrench more, and it seems like overkill for a pocket wrench.

 

[Farmer J.]

Sometimes we just have to accept.. the story and history of that thing we would like to find out about... has faded.. in to the mists of time... and all that remains is the object and the mystery surrounding it.. !
Sometimes though, it suddenly and unexpectedly comes to light at some time whilst looking for something else..

 

[four.cycle]

BRASS knurled nut? ANY evidence of there ever having been a compression spring below the adjusting nut (to retain tension?) (It would develop a shiny wear pattern on one side of the nut.)
I did not realize from the photos yesterday that the outer sleeve was stamped steel and wrapped around like that - something more than one manufacturer did during that era (several of which were issued patents for same.)
Is the lower jaw welded to the stampe steel frame, or was it more just "mashed together"?
The brass nut and sheet metal sleeve cause me to wonder if it's possibly of British origin.
I spent a few hours digging on this one yesterday, but only came up with the stuff I posted in the garage sale thread.
This one's still on a front burner, though... I'm seriously intrigued by this one. BK

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Readers may recall the last time the Acquisitions Dept came home with an interesting kit in an OD green roll-up, it turned out to be a WWII era Navy Emergency Fishing Kit No. 10, made by the Ashaway Line & Twine Company, issued to Navy pilot survival kits, in case of running out of fuel or being shot down, linked here.

Well, he has done it again! This time it's a kit used to dust crime scenes for latent fingerprints.



MP's? Early Army form of Defense Investigative Service? The Curator does not yet know, but he is eager to do a little detective work on this one.

He can tell you that the "Stock #" marking (53-K-750) refers to a Federal Stock Number in a format that was used by the Dept of Treasury from 1934 through 1953. The number on the No. 376 rule (41-R-2990), supplied by General Hardware, is also an FSN from the same era. The magnifying glass was made by Swift & Anderson, Boston, Mass. (hard to read in the photo), which changed its name to Swift Optical in 1963. The scissors were supplied by Rex. There are no markings on the dusting brushes. The dusting powders came from Faurot, the name on the roll-up, and the Curator is assuming that's because it is the most essential component in the kit. They are the provider and probably acquired and integrated the other items. The earliest he can find a reference for Faurot is 1949, and the duck and straps on the roll-up look postwar, so probably a postwar kit. Still, pretty dang cool.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It's a compact little portable kit.

 

[Smokeshow69]

This kit is beyond cool! Super uncommon and I don’t think it can find a better home

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Even cooler and rarer than we expected!

The Faurot name is exalted in the history of forensics and criminology in the US. Joseph A. Faurot was just an ambitious detective on the force in NYC when, in 1906, he was sent to England to consult with experts at Scotland Yard who had just started using dusted fingerprints as scientific evidence. By 1926 he was a Deputy Commissioner. By 1949 he had become the leading expert and proponent of fingerprinting in the US, started his own company in 1949, and by 1961 it was the largest supplier of kits, cameras, and other equipment to law enforcement agencies across the country. Today that is apparently Sirchie (Philadelphia, est. 1927) and Lynn Peavey (KC, est. 1951). I have seen examples of later Faurot kits, with camera, online, none of them military. See Pics for historical references.



If you're wondering about the different color powders, I was. It's for contrast with the background surface. That Silver is ideal for hard rubber and other dark surfaces, for example. The French Gray is preferred for glass and metallic surfaces. Black on white and light surfaces. Not sure about the red (asphaltum). I'm wondering if it was an early crude form of trying to achieve the results that special illuminating dusts achieve today.

What I'm not so sure about are the rubbery patches. I think they're supposed to be for "lifting" the print. Black for Silver and French Gray, Yellow for Black and Red. But they're not very adhesive. I was thinking about conducting some experiments, but the early powders had some ingredients that are considered toxic now, and the camel hair brushes are on the verge of falling apart.

 

[four.cycle]

fascinating. really an interesting find there. even better that it appears to all be there and in near pristine condition.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Between work, some travel, and baseball, June has been a busy month.

I do have an update on the detective's dusting kit. These excerpts are from a 1947 Quartermaster Corps catalog.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

We kept our wartime(-ish) streak going this morning with this T-30-V throat mic (technically, laryngophone) find. These are not quite as rare as unicorn farts, or even as rare as that dusting kit, but they're not easy to find, either. The operation is fairly intuitive. You plug it in to a headset, clip that V shaped piece on your throat right over your voice box with the strap behind your neck. Those two black "pick-ups" (technically, transducers) absorb vibrations that get turned into scratchy speech inside earphones. Used by pilots and tankers, who otherwise would not be able to communicate with each other over all the loud background noise.

Ironically, they are kind of cultishly popular with rap beat boxers and a capella groups.

Made by the Shure Brothers, Chicago. The orange stamp in Pic 6 is a Signal Corps marking. That's who supplied them to Armored Divisions and Air Corps. It could've been provided under any of the yellow highlighted "T-30" microphone contracts shown in Pic 7. Shure Bros made $8M worth of these and headsets during WWII!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Since we don't have a 'Show your Triple Open End wrenches!' thread, we'll just leave this little forged-in raised-number (and when we say raised, we mean raised!) yet-to-be-identified tank wrench found at the flea market this morning right here where neither the Acquisitions Dept or the Curator are showing any signs of getting tired of admiring its geometric patterns in multiple lighting scenarios!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The Acquisitions Dept snagged this wooden jeep pull toy at the flea market today for peanuts...



...and the Curator just now emerged from the Holgate Toys history rabbit hole with the Curator's wife wondering who is going to enjoy it more - the Curator's Grandson or the Curator! (Neither, because this is going under glass and lock and key!)

They put the spare tire on the wrong side and the wrong quarter panel, but these are splendid, charming vintage toys.



There was a whole line of them, including touring sedans, activity trains, etc, and the military jeep (#664), all designed by Jarvis Rockwell (if that name sounds familiar, it should - Norman was his older brother), manufactured between 1939 and 1947, and were famous for being some of the earliest educational wooden toys commercially made. The Holgate Brothers Company was founded in 1789 by Cornelius Holgate in Roxborough, Pennsylvania which later become part of Philadelphia. The company made wooden handles for a large variety of tools, including paint brushes. It located to Kane, Pennsylvania in 1884. In 1929, manager William Davis's daughter was studying the relatively new field of early childhood education (motor skills, color and shape recognition). With her input, the company started making wooden toys for young children, popularly sold across the country through large retailers like Macy’s and F.A.O. Swartz. In 1958 Holgate merged with Playskool and moved to Statesville, North Carolina. More information here: https://www.oldwoodtoys.com/holgate.htm

Here's Bus #641 and Car and Trailer #634, just for context.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And here it is with a couple more from 'the motor pool'...

 

[Smokeshow69]

And here it is with a couple more from 'the motor pool'...

Glad to see your house has yet another G503( Or is it ? ) ! That's a pretty sweet find!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

yet another G503( Or is it ? )

It is. I think the spare (even though it's in the wrong place) implies they were inspired by a postwar G503, when the spare was moved to a mount on the passenger side right rear tire well. So, not the Willys MB, but the Willys MC (or M-38). Funny how that tends to go down. See the thing between the Holgate pull toy and the contraption I made out of my vintage Meccano set? That's a jeep-shaped bottle of Avon after shave cologne. Kinda sorta a collector's item. I've never opened mine. The cologne bottle is a postwar MC/M-38. But the image on the box is an MB. All in the G503 (4 x 4 reconnaissance vehicle) designation domain though.

 

[Smokeshow69]

It is. I think the spare (even though it's in the wrong place) implies they were inspired by a postwar G503, when the spare was moved to a mount on the passenger side right rear tire well. So, not the Willys MB, but the Willys MC (or M-38). Funny how that tends to go down. See the thing between the Holgate pull toy and the contraption I made out of my vintage Meccano set? That's a jeep-shaped bottle of Avon after shave cologne. Kinda sorta a collector's item. I've never opened mine. The cologne bottle is a postwar MC/M-38. But the image on the box is an MB. All in the G503 (4 x 4 reconnaissance vehicle) designation domain though.

I was wondering what middle toy was. You are right, it all falls into the 1/4 Ton category and most toy manufactures were not really too worried about period correctness since most kids wouldn't know the difference.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was wondering what middle toy was.

Most of the jeep is the glass cologne bottle, but the back is the "top", and it screws off. It's from the 70's. They have some (e.g., Model A) that are worth big bucks. I've always that instead of Wild Country, some slightly sweeter concoction of grease, oil, brake and transmission fluids, and gunpowder would've been more appropriate.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Most of the jeep is the glass cologne bottle, but the back is the "top", and it screws off. It's from the 70's. They have some (e.g., Model A) that are worth big bucks. I've always that instead of Wild Country, some slightly sweeter concoction of grease, oil, brake and transmission fluids, and gunpowder would've been more appropriate.

Absolutley agree! Too bad our better half's dont share the same sentiment. The automotive fluids usually serve to drive them away, not attract them.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is mine. My granddaughter wasn’t crazy about the smell of the contents.
-Don
She has always had some Jeep toys. This one came from Username.

It is still a favorite

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Your box is in great shape. Oh, and get that dog a saddle and she won't need a jeep!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Your box is in great shape. Oh, and get that dog a saddle and she won't need a jeep!

The box says it will go 60mph . Not so much

 

[Outlawmws]

On the CCF forum we joke about how bad that wild country stuff smaller - I thin it doesn't help it does not age well... All the Male oriented decanters from Avon seem to be Wild Country... the Colman lantern, if full, looks like it has an amber globe; when empty, clear...

One member, a 15 year old, actually tried it recently and went to high school . all his Friends hated it, Some of the teachers liked it One said it reminded her of her father. Oh her poor mother!

I have one of the Coleman lanterns, plus a baby 55 T-bird, I'm VERY careful not to let it spill or break..

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yup, all the collectibles were Wild Country. There's a Model A and a big blue trike out there, too.

 

[d42jeep]

The box says it will go 60mph . Not so much

Here is the configuration to easily reach 60 mph.
-Don