1939. Approximately 4" long:
Larger image
Larger image
1940. This was sent in by a visitor who is looking to find its purpose, it was discovered on the beach on Inis Mór, Aran Islands, Galway Bay, Ireland, the longest piece is around 8" in length:
Larger image
1941. 32" tall:
1942. 1/2" diameter:
The rods are 6-1/2" and 8-5/8" long:
1943. About 30" long:
1944. 8" long, there are five lines of text on this item, the last one reads "Upon Penalty of Death", take a look at Neatorama for more guesses on this one and a chance to win a prize:
Larger image
Answers:
1939. A Bencher Iambic Paddle for transmitting Morse code:
Larger image
Larger image
1940. Haven't been able to verify any of these suggestions:
-Trivet
-Animal poke or collar
-Hay tool
-Part of a sailboat
-Holder for something
-Strainer frame
-Simple puzzle
-Noise maker
Larger image
1941. A Franklin chair stepladder:
1942. The stylus from an Etch A Sketch:
1943. These are called hames, they were used on work horses:
A horse collar is a part of a horse harness device used to distribute load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plow. The collar often supports a pair of curved metal or wood pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached. The collar allows a horse to use its full strength when pulling, essentially allowing the horse to push forward with its hindquarters into the collar rather than to pull with its shoulders as it would be required to do if wearing a yoke or a breastcollar.
1944. This is a message vial from the Civil War for carrying top secret plans, text on it reads:
43rd Virginia
Partisan Ranger Battalion
Not To Be Opened By Any Soldier With
Less Than Field or Staff Commission
Upon Penalty of Death
Larger image with text
To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile.
Last week's set is seen below, click here to view the entire post.
More discussion and comments on these photos can be found at the newsgroup rec.puzzles.
1939 - Morse code paddle - one side makes the dits, the other the dahs. Looks like a Bencher BY1 Iambic to be specific.
ReplyDelete1941 - library chair, unfolds into a ladder
1939 - Morse Code 2 Paddle Keyer
ReplyDelete1941 - Step Chair
1943 - Yoke for Oxen
1942. marker from an Etch a Sketch toy.
ReplyDelete1943 Hames. They go on a horse-collar to connect the harness tuggs onto the collar.
1940. I have a simular item made from steel that is a trivet for use while camping. It comes apart for stowing.
WB9ZHC and ab2rc is exactly right
ReplyDelete1939 - I was a radio telegraph operator in the Marine Corps. Everything that we had was 40 years old. We used the standard telegraph key. The one pictured is similar to the ones used by the Navy. It was refered to as a "Speed Key".
ReplyDeletei'll add to the fray and say that 1939 is in fact a speed key. bounces in one direction, continuous in the other. a true marvel to watch a master key one of those at high speed!
ReplyDelete1944 Some kind of spy's dead drop?
ReplyDelete1940--I wonder if this might be a yoke--the kind that goes around an animal's neck to prevent it from getting through fences. It would have to have been a fairly small animal in this case, but they are sometimes put on geese, for instance.
ReplyDelete