People Solved Mysteries About These Weird Objects From Over 100 Years Ago

Brokella:

Isn’t that a portable men’s urinal for bedbound patients?

What is this thing? My inner child needs to know.
Long story short, I found this in my Christmas stocking when I was 7-8 years old. No one knew where it came from. There would be periods of time throughout my childhood where it would disappear, then reappear months or even years later. It was always a fun childhood mystery to me. I have not seen it since 2013 until today. Part of me wants to keep the magic alive and believe it’s some magical stone with disappearing abilities, but I’ve wanted to know what this thing is for almost 20 years now. It looks like some kind of jewelry pendant, but I’m not sure how it would work. The hole in the third picture doesn’t go all the way through.

phord:

It's a jadeite pendant with a space to hold herbs or sandalwood. The word on the back is "fu", which means "luck". The dragon heads are just common Chinese symbolism, but sometimes there is a bat instead because the word for "bat" sounds like 'luck". If it has bamboo symbolism, it's supposed to be stronger. It's usually strung and attached to your belt and carried for luck.
My Chinese wife, who also claims this is not a well made piece, poor quality sculpting, common in antique markets.
She also warns that Chinese people do not carry old pieces with an unknown history, because they might have belonged to someone who died, and then it was stolen by grave robbers. And then the amulet could bring bad luck.
But if the piece is handed down from their family, someone they know and cared about, it becomes more special to them. They believe it carries a bit of the bearer in it, like part of their soul, from their having carried it for so long.
Wife says it comes back to you because it has become part of you. You should keep it, no matter how much you are offered. Also, you should touch it a lot so it accumulates oil from your skin (your soul). This will make it more beautiful.

Mudslingshot:

Nine dollars for a tongue drum the size of an end table?! I'm an instrument collector, and I've gotten some goooood deals... But wow. I've never gotten a deal that good.

My husband and I went thrift shopping and found this weird sterling silver spoon but we have no idea what it’s used for? Looked up the brand “reed and Barton” and found that it’s an old sterling silver company but couldn’t find a spoon like this anywhere. Anyone know what it is or what it’s used for?

TeeBeeDub:

That! Is a soup spoon for mustachioed gentlemen.

cynikalAhole99:

Precision vintage drafting tools.

Purrsy_Nappington

These are the work of Kawase Hasui.
The one on the left is titled, "Kasuga Shrine in Nara." 1933
The one on the right is, "Snow at Hie Shrine (New Years Day)." 1931.

nitro479:

It's for rolling newspapers into a "log" for the fireplace.

FreedomDragon01:

I would guess it’s a version of the Fiske coffin. These coffins were designed after the advent of major railway transportation and offered airtight coffins. This helped to naturally preserve the body. When people began traveling far from families and then subsequently dying, people needed a way to transport bodies long distances to get them back for the funeral and last goodbyes from living relatives.
The window was put in place for health reasons. Should a person have died while in quarantine or from a deadly disease, the window allowed relatives to see and confirm the body's identity before burial.

batbrat:

It's a Georgian/early Victorian mourning ring. The initials belong to the lost loved one.
They were typically made from gold (18k+) and enameled in black. Yours looks like it was made around the 1820s-40s.

Nanerpus_is_my_Homie:

It’s a powder puff wand for face powder. This is a very nice example! Also called a “patter wand”. The idea was popping/beating the powder on your face has a more finished look than using your hand.

-_-BaDgEr-_- :

Nice find! Magic Lantern glass slide.

It says it's from Germany. It belonged to an antique shop owner who didn't know what it was.

SilverScimitar13:

It's the top of an expandable purse, yours is just missing the actual fabric purse part.

DoctorOfMeat:

They're for crushing chestnuts.

AnnabananaIL:

Olive server, lettuce server, ice tongs. Having a talon on ice tongs is a novelty feature, but there are a lot of them out there!

My father sent a few samples to the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, as suggested by many, so thank you. Those of you who said they are Terracotta figures, you were correct. They are Portuguese Terracotta figures from the 3rd to 4th century. Though there haven’t been many accounts of such well-preserved Terracottas, they’re not uncommon for the area of Agra, as the Taj Mahal features many Terracotta designs and mouldings. I can’t believe I thought these figurines were nothing of value, and considered throwing them away. Thank you all again for urging me not to throw these away, notifying me about ASI, and warning me about scammers. For now, my family plans on keeping the figures in a safe place.

ImclearlyBatman:

Mortar and pestle. A very old one, too.

Real_Consequence1240:

It’s a bridal cup. Bridal cups are a Nuerenberg, Germany tradition that date back to the 1400's. It represents the start of a life long union between man and woman and is a symbol of faithfulness and good luck.
The small swiveling cup and inverted hollow dress were designed to allow both bride and groom to drink simultaneously to toast their wedding. The groom would drink from the larger cup (the inverted skirt), and bride would drink from the small swivel cup.

sonjaalb:

These are German emergency bills that were issued in times when there wasn't enough money available at the central bank. I believe the ones you have may be made of silk or linen.

SincerelySpicy:

They're called Hydrostatic Bubbles or Spirit Bubbles, among other things, and they're used as hydrometers for testing the alcohol content of liquors.

DaddioHeff:

It is for a large box of matches.

It has a hook on the top as well as the bottom, and a couple of long wooden angled platforms in the middle.

iwegian:

It's a valet stand. It holds a man's suit and other accessories.

Looks like a great big autoclave used to sterilize mattresses and bedding.

TheShyPig:

Solitaire Game. It's pretty expensive.

Phurba, a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement deeply rooted in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön traditions.

reflected_shadow:

Antique Soap Saver. Small scraps of soap were put in the cage, and when people did dishes by hand, the soap saver was swished though the dishwater to made suds.

Matsojr222:

Traveling ink well 100%.

We cannot figure this out. Lots of crazy ideas, but none of them actually make sense.

amnitol:

It’s a ceramic dresser valet from approximately the 1950s! The square side is to hold a wallet, and the round one to hold misc small items from your pocket.

Was sorting through a box of old photos from my dad's side of the family and came across this really ancient-looking folded up piece of paper or parchment with fancy inkwell script and a wax seal... At first, I thought the date read "1950", but then I realized the 9 is actually probably a 7, which would make this over 250 years old. The large letters appear to read This indenture so a friend suggested this was an indentured servitude contract.

What's weird is that it's in English, but to my knowledge my dad's family had no ties to any English-speaking countries until his parents immigrated to the United States in the 1920s (they were from the Metz area originally and, according to genealogical records, were still living in Germany in the 1700s) so I can't imagine it was from someone on my dad's side if it really does go back that far. What is this thing??

Linguist208:

It's actually a land sale contract. Indenture just meant contract.
Notice the bit in large bold letters, the third one from the bottom, in the center over the red wax seal, that says "To have and to hold," and three lines above that it says "was formerly the Estate and Inheritance of John Sparks and his wife Mary," and talks about the Parish of Sheffield.

dakta:

It is an antique Turkish brazier, used for heating. Also called a mangal.

eltonnovs:

It's a wild boar tooth.

jjdiablo:

This is an Engine Order Telegraph used in older marine vessels. Allowed the Captain remote communication with the ship's engine room.

msebeth:

Sorry for the letdown... This was part of a set of premiums for malted milk. Very cool, but not very exotic.

The front has a button that can be pressed in. It also come with a matching box. There doesn’t seem to be a clicking mechanism. 

Sparky81:

1930s Art Deco Marcel Franck Atomizer Perfume Bottle.

drowninginidiots:

Soldering iron. The end you are holding is the head, and is usually copper. The other end would normally have a wood handle.

Dances_for_Donairs:

Removed the top of soft-boiled eggs, I think.

StrugglesTheClown:

I think it's specific to the early 20th century. Moroccan Koummya dagger. They look very similar, look kind of the same materials and the shape, and the bevels on the blade look identical.

Pillowussey:

Knot gauge/ speed log. Basically, a boat speedometer. The propeller looking object is in the water, spinning as the boat moves, the rope spins and moves the dial, letting you know the speed as indicated on the dial.

thenewtestament:

It’s a Geiger counter.

Heavy, so probably solid. My best guess is it's a religious relic, since I don't see another use for it.

Reddit user:

It looks like it features images from the Nativity of Christ--the overall shape being the stable where he was born. Based on the artistic style, possibly Coptic (Ethiopian Christians)? Their iconography looks extremely similar.

nitro479:

Victorian fireplace screen like this.

BusterBloodvesselBR:

It looks like a dowry chest (massive antique Indian carved wood dowry chest).

Small flask-nickel photographed alongside for comparison. Smells like clove inside. My 90-year-old grandma thinks it may have belonged to her grandmother, or she may have found it at a thrift store.

notimefortalking:

It is for toothaches, not perfumes. The clove and design give it away. The perfume necklaces are usually very delicate; they are usually made of silver, and those are the ones that survived to be antiques today.

jackrats:

It' a travel triptych.

lordsteve1:

It is indeed a mechanical calculator, an Odhner 1950/60’s model.

jackrats:

It's an ice breaker.

JasnahKolin:

It looks something like an old "smokers table". The copper could be an ashtray and the curved area could be for bottles as well. Combined booze and tobacco table?

The shield with wheels on top of the cylinder will prevent a piece of paper from being displayed. Unless you are suggesting when you find your map, you reverse roll slightly in order to make the paper bow out giving you access to then pull on it by hand to then expose it entirely for display.

KryptosBC:

I believe it is a map roller for multiple maps. Each map would have been attached in one of the visible slots. The map would be selected by pulling down on the rope close to the wall, then reversed to display the chosen map. My memory of it is vague, but I once saw something like this in an old bank office that was being dismantled in about 1960. I do not recall seeing it operated. There is likely some sort of spring loaded ratchet mechanism involved, hence the noisy operation.

Treefrogprince:

Looks like a Hindu ritual box. It is missing the middle piece that would sit in that central hole.

dont_say_choozday:

Possibly it was a coin lighter, but now it's missing some parts.