Anyone else collecting over 100 year objects that are not stamps, banknotes or coins?
I own 4 letters and this interesting book:
Cost 1mk 50P during those times. Two days of work (middle class) would have gotten you this book. And it has almost everything needed. (1909)
Pre-Columbian, Guatemala, Maya Late Classic Period (ca. 550-900 CE) Poison Jar
An example of a molded "poison jar" depicting a seated scribe on either side of its flattened body in an inset disc. Each decorated side is colored with red cinnabar pigment in the lower profile areas. The scribe has a speech sign emerging from his mouth, and wears a long headdress, necklace, and spooled earring. Shown in profile, the figure is expertly molded to fit within the disc border. The undecorated sides have raised ridges that lead upward to the flared spout. Scribes played a vital role in the Mayan world, and they were minor royalty, with the ability to read and write. They had the power to immortalize a king or queen through their writing, documenting battles, religious favor, and political skill.
Egyptian Bronze Inlays: Anonymous (3rd Intermediate - Late Period, ca. 1075-343 BCE)
The lids extending with cosmetic lines, the interiors inlaid with limestone sclerae, the irises in black glaze, together with conforming brows. Each 3 ¼ in in length
Really impressive artifacts Quant-geek.
These are really museum quality stuff. Did you buy them in auctions or other ?
Really really nice.
I'm not collecting antiques but i have some items : a French constitution from 1795 ( i like it because Belgium was french at that time), a roman nail and a bit of roman glass, some nice prehistorical silexs from belgium (Spiennes), some 18th-19th century books, some fossiles (like trilobite and ammonite but before i had dino teeth), and i think that's all.
Mostly auctions as it is typically the safest and most of them have good provenances. I have way too many things and need to start offloading stuff. Wife keeps complaining. You can see the gallery of some of the stuff here. That only includes the stuff that I have photos of
Quote: "Monninen1"Very impressive items! Those eyes look very interesting. I have not seen that kind of interesting objects even in the museums.
Thanks! Glad you like them. They bring a lot of joy every time I see them. Here are a few other things I have:
Apologies to our African-American colleagues who might be offended by the following historical document...
Confederate Army Letter - Office of Chief Inspector Field Transportation District No. 3, Alabama, Mississippi, West Tennessee and East La at Brandon, Miss. January 29, 1864
An interesting letter handwritten by Major and Inspector Field Transportation A.M. Paxton to Captain H.F. Cook AQM, who was stationed at Woodville, Mississippi. The details of the letter concerns hiring "negro men" ages 18 to 45 as blacksmiths, shoemakers, carpenters, and teamsters. The "Genl Polk" mentioned is Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk. General Polk would be killed by Union artillery on June 14, 1864 during the Atlanta campaign. Major Paxton would go on to be paroled on May 15, 1865 at Jackson, Mississippi.
Laos: ໗໐ ₭ / 70 ₭ International Book Year, issued January 30, 1972 (Scott-227)
Scribe writing on palm leaves, engraved by Roger Fenneteaux (1913-2000)
From context of other items in the collection, I think it dates in the range of 1910-1940. The Province of Rheinland ceased to exist at the end of WWII.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
Early German military medals plus badges from Milwaukee
Mr. Midnight
I found this lovely trinket today.
From context of other items in the collection, I think it dates in the range of 1910-1940. The Province of Rheinland ceased to exist at the end of WWII.
Lovely items there from both of you!
Mr Midnight - I do particularly like that little trinket, it is not something I have seen before. It is impressive you were able to narrow it down to the approximate date. Any idea behind the significance of the scorpion?
Although I have collected a somewhat extensive assortment of militaria over the years, the majority of which is from WW2 and thereby not over 100 years old, so I will not share any of that in this thread.
Victorian history (the Australian state, not monarch) is another area of interest to me, so I do have a couple of antiques from this period.
Here are my two Colony Of Victoria Miner’s Right - one issued in Bendigo, and the other unissued. These were introduced after the Eureka Stockade.
You are right, that does more closely resemble a crayfish or lobster or something. That is very interesting it is likely made from a coin! I wonder if it is possible to determine the likely host coin and metal content.
I do have a lot of cool military antiques, but the majority doesn‘t qualify for this thread as it is not over 100 years old, being from WW2. Perhaps I can show some in another thread one day.
Here is one of my bayonets that is over 100 years old. This one, a British Pattern 1907 SMLE ‘Sword Bayonet’.
This one is World War I made and issued by Sanderson, with the ‘teardrop’ style scabbard.
And here are the maker’s marks. I can explain these in more detail if anyone is interested.
I've got a few odds & ends that are over 100 years old.
I've got a book on the voyages of Captain Cook published in 1815; unusually it has an error in it. It has one section repeated & one missing. Think like having chapter 2 twice and no chapter 3.
Also got of Washington Irving's sketch book from the late 1800s. It doesn't have a specific date but I remember looking up the company which only traded under that name for like 10 years 1885-1895 ish. Something like that.
I did have a few older books, all religious texts, but I got rid of them. Think I had about 40 books ranging from the 1550s through to the late 1700s. Donated most of them all to a cathedral library. Figured they'd appreciate & care for them more than I ever would. Besides, I got them for nothing - rescued them from a house clearance when they were going to be burnt or thrown away.
A friend took a particular liking to a hymnal, think it was 1750s, so she has it now.
I've also got two hats; a Royal Navy bicorne, I think its inter-war period. About 1920. The other is from France's Ecole Militarie from ~1890. If I recall correctly anyway, not really my area but I loved how they look so they're on display. 😀
I do collect books but the series I especially look for started ~1940 so not quite a century yet!
I've also got two hats; a Royal Navy bicorne, I think its inter-war period. About 1920. The other is from France's Ecole Militarie from ~1890. If I recall correctly anyway, not really my area but I loved how they look so they're on display. 😀
let’s see photos!
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
A few books and some of my 78s records date to the 1908 - 1922 period. I know this as I am on several online record forums, so that my 78s are not the usual 1940s Andrews sisters and Bing Crosby stuff you see.
I don't collect them, but have an abiding interest in old buildings, particularly anything from the Renaissance through to Art Deco, but my main obsession is Victorian Gothic revival architecture.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I do have a lot of cool military antiques, but the majority doesn‘t qualify for this thread as it is not over 100 years old, being from WW2. Perhaps I can show some in another thread one day.
Here is one of my bayonets that is over 100 years old. This one, a British Pattern 1907 SMLE ‘Sword Bayonet’.
This one is World War I made and issued by Sanderson, with the ‘teardrop’ style scabbard.
And here are the maker’s marks. I can explain these in more detail if anyone is interested.
I have this one (haven't a clue what the marks mean) :
Pre-Columbian, Guatemala, Maya Late Classic Period (ca. 550-900 CE) Poison Jar
An example of a molded "poison jar" depicting a seated scribe on either side of its flattened body in an inset disc. Each decorated side is colored with red cinnabar pigment in the lower profile areas. The scribe has a speech sign emerging from his mouth, and wears a long headdress, necklace, and spooled earring. Shown in profile, the figure is expertly molded to fit within the disc border. The undecorated sides have raised ridges that lead upward to the flared spout. Scribes played a vital role in the Mayan world, and they were minor royalty, with the ability to read and write. They had the power to immortalize a king or queen through their writing, documenting battles, religious favor, and political skill.
Egyptian Bronze Inlays: Anonymous (3rd Intermediate - Late Period, ca. 1075-343 BCE)
The lids extending with cosmetic lines, the interiors inlaid with limestone sclerae, the irises in black glaze, together with conforming brows. Each 3 ¼ in in length
Hi colleague. I remembered your fondness for old artefacts - and our sales website will soon end the auction of artefacts that you might like - or not. i just remembered you our website is reliable and if the seller doesn't want to send it to the US, you can give him my address and I'll send it to you with coins, Ivan
I have put the seller in my watch list and I will try to auction off one of the figurines - to exchange for coins.
It's too rushed without preparation.
-1360 B.C Egypt
in twenty minutes
only in 9 days
Ivan
I'll add: I didn't manage to auction a single figurine today a) it was too hasty and without preparation b) I had no idea what the final price would be c) the computer was overloaded and slower (I have to download the daily website to the tablet) - it decides repeatedly up to 10 times in the last seconds) d) the price was between 1700 - 2800 CZK, that is $72.85 - $119
in 8 days and in 5 days this will be a fight in the last seconds (my problem is that I don't know and I don't even want to look for a ceiling that I must not cross, my illness depends a lot on rest and without stress.
I normally have the two books & the RN bicorne on display on my side table along with some modern statuettes I've been gifted.
There's Chronos, the God of time (and the origin of the word chronological), hiding on the left. Not to be confused with Cronus, the titan who ate the Greek gods as babies.
On the right is Hades, God of the underworld. Also God of riches (as valuable metals like silver & gold are found underground “his domain”), which is rather apt for a coin collector. 😛 Also his most famous pet, Cerberus. Hades is a dog lover, so he can't all bad right?
And central is Britannia in her typical seated pose. Again, appearing on coins in the UK since Roman times & appearing on circulating coins more or less continuously since 1672!
I have this one (haven't a clue what the marks mean) :
Lovely bayonet! I believe yours to be a United-States-made Pattern 1913 Remington Bayonet. Yours should have two horizontal lines through the handle. This was used to differentiate between the almost identical Pattern 1913 Remington and Pattern 1907 Bayonets. Pattern 1913 bayonets were to be used on the P13 Enfield rifle.
The ‘1913’ and ‘Remington’ on one side show the type of bayonet, whereas the ‘5’ and ’17’ show the month and year the bayonet was manufactured, (May 1917) which is around the time the US entered WW1.
The ‘X’ shows it passed the ‘bend test.’ All bayonets were put under a certain amount of pressure to make sure they wouldn’t break or snap. The broad arrow denotes military property. I am unsure what the other marking are off the top of my head.
Absolutely incredible piece you have there, you should be very proud!
You are right, that does more closely resemble a crayfish or lobster or something. That is very interesting it is likely made from a coin! I wonder if it is possible to determine the likely host coin and metal content.
I will have to retract the idea of it being made from a coin. On closer inspection it is cut from 1mm sheet, including all the way around the pendant.
There are some markings, have a look.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
You are right, that does more closely resemble a crayfish or lobster or something. That is very interesting it is likely made from a coin! I wonder if it is possible to determine the likely host coin and metal content.
I will have to retract the idea of it being made from a coin. On closer inspection it is cut from 1mm sheet, including all the way around the pendant.
No I'm not related to Austin Harris. His site is interesting, but only has the London to Edinburgh trial from the mid 20's. I'd like to find out who Albert Brown was.
It is hallmarked Birmingham (UK) 1905, and the handle is engraved M.C.A.T.C
The only reference to M.C.A.T.C, I can find is the Midland Counties Airedale Terrier Club https://www.mcatc.org.uk/ which was founded in 1907. So maybe it was a prize at a dog show.
Recently acquired these two almost antiques (both 99 years old). The magazine is particularly rare; it's the deluxe version.
The standard one is much more common, it was only a shilling. This beauty was 3 shillings & six pence!
The medal has Locomotion No. 1 on one side & City of York on the other being the “first & last” trains of the first century.
I live pretty close to where the first passenger railway (Stockton to Darlington line) is.
Sadly City of York doesn't exist any more, but Locomotion does. The bridge on the upper right is the Skerne bridge which still exists as a railway bridge, being in constant use since 1825 as part of the first line. It actually appeared on one of our old £5 notes too.
With two friends; Sans Pareil & Stephenson's Rocket.
All nicely in a row.
Three of the oldest extant locomotives in the world. 1825, 1829, 1829 respectively I think. And yes, they're the originals & not replicas. Well original as they come, I assume parts been replaced here & there over nearly two centuries.
Here are a few antiques from the Victorian Gold Rush.
40th (Second Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot Buttons
The 40th (Second Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was dispatched in the 1820s and 1830s in Australia where they participated in the ‘Frontier Wars’ between the European settlers and Aborigine natives in New South Wales & Van Diemen’s Land. (Known as New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania today). The 40th returned to Australia in the 1850s during the Gold Rush, providing armed escorts of gold between Victorian towns and cities such as Maldon and Bendigo to the capital - Melbourne. Additionally, the 40th Regiment was the main regiment involved in suppressing the ‘Eureka Stockade’ in Ballarat during 1854, before serving in New Zealand in the 1860s. These buttons date to the 1850s.
Hand-forged Iron Chain - ‘Prisoner Tree’
The provenance behind this piece—although purely anecdotal— is that this chain was attached to a larger chain wrapped around a ‘prisoner tree’. When prisons were full, it was common for those convicted of a crime (such as mining without possession of a gold license (a BIG nono!!)) to be handcuffed and then the handcuffs to be attached to a chain, attached to a larger chain around a tree where multiple prisoners would be. (You get the idea). The seller was quite unwilling to tell me which police camp this tree was from, although I think I may have narrowed it down based on his location and the various police camps in the area during the 1850s. The seller also had many other relics found metal detecting at this police camp, although this was the only one I purchased.
‘Police Camp, Graytown’ CDV Photo - 1860s
This is one of my favourite Gold Rush antiques I’ve got, and this is an example of what these police camps would have looked like where the ‘prisoner trees’ were found. This one was located in Graytown, which is located between Nagambie and Heathcote in Northern Victoria.
Hand-forged Cornish Miner’s Pick — 1850s, Victoria
This type of pick head was invented in Ballarat, Victoria during the gold rush by Cornish miners. The handle is a local hardwood, I think maybe a redgum or another type of Eucalyptus? It dates to around the 1850s.
Victorian Alluvial Gold
No gold rush collection would be complete without…well…gold! This is all stuff I have panned out of local creeks. This gold is all from the ‘Gold Triangle’ in Victoria, which is known for having some of - if not the purest - gold in the world, so this is all above 23k naturally. I don’t know anything about the glass vial the gold is in, but it is an old ‘Phospherine’ apothecary vial. I suspect it it much later than the 1850-1860s though. On saying this, it looks the part, so I’ve kept all of my pannings in it. There’s about 4.20 grammes total gold in the vial, but I hope to add a bit more soon seen as the creeks are running again from the recent rain!
I have some very old family photos that are over 100 years old.
This hangs in my hallway, its a photo of one of my great grandfathers and his parents and siblings. He is the taller boy, its 1901 and they are in kiddie army uniforms as it was the Boer War. The family has an interesting backstory (Thats another day - he went bankrupt and she left him and opened a brothel!) Interesting too, is the dog with very human like expression and face. Even a dog had to be stern and serious back then.
The upper photo were entirely English, these people were Irish and one of the older girls was the woman that my great grandad married. Yes he was Anglican, she Catholic and he converted to marry her. Notice bigger family and happier people. The woman in the middle is my 2 greats grandmother Catherine O'Grady daughter of Malachi, a gold miner who was at Otago in 1861 and Bridget Bedelia Hynes from County Antrim.
My Maori side were rich and also spent money on elaborate photos.
The old man in straw hat in middle is my 3 greats grandfather and Maori paramount chief - Utiku Potaka, he is with his wife who was half French and half Maori. The others are some of his 9 children and their grandchildren. Several are pale as they married White women and one married a Jewess (Far left holding a girl). The boy at far left is Louis Potaka, the first Maori and first Jew to go to Antarctica.
This is my same tupuna (Ancestor) and his 4th son, my 2 greats grandfather Paki Potaka, it was taken around 1910, despite the wealth, death was a real issue for Maori back then. Utiku died in 1922 aged around 90 (Some say he was over 100), but his son died at 32 in the Typhoid Epidemic of 1913.
The oldest family photo I have of a Christopher Harris (c.1800 - 1879). He was born to two notorious convcts in Port Jackson (Sydney) and came to NZ via stowing away in 1820 and lived with Maori, married twice to different women, he did well and was my 4 greats grandfather. This photo is a retouched daguerrotype dating to around 1855 - 1860 and probably taken in Sydney.
So my Aussie friends, I have Australian ancestry and its convicts, Christopher's mother was a First Fleeter.
Even older is this sketch from 1826, before photos we had drawings and paintings. The man holding a club inspiring Warriors is a Ngapuhi chief called Te Whareumu (c1770 - 1827/8) who dared to defy Hongi Hika and was killed at a skirmish at Waima, Northland. He is a 6 greats grandfather of mine, but my ancestry goes back 27 generations to Tamatea Pokai Whenua, a mythical ancestor and navigator, which tops the 17 generations back to 1551 for my European ancestors.
Not as exciting as locks, magazines and military buttons, but exciting to me.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I decided to delete this post, it was a bit gauche, and I know some of you are very religious.
It was basically my partners ashes for those curious of what it was.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
So cool to read about all of your family history! It is very impressive how well documented and complete it is. I thought that you having ancestry that could be traced back to the first fleet was amazing, but then I kept reading - 27 generations!!! Wow!
So my Aussie friends, I have Australian ancestry and its convicts, Christopher's mother was a First Fleeter.
I have got some modern scans of (sadly not originals as I’m not sure who has them, or even if they still exist) some birth certificates from the 19th century of some ancestors from the Southern Island, so I’ve got some Kiwi ancestry somewhere along the line.
It is difficult to determine the exact date of these as they were produced for a number of decades, but I would guess these would date from the 1860s up until the early 1890s. These are not too hard to come across as I am guessing there were an absolute crap-tonne produced, although they are still pretty desirable — especially when complete with the weights. This one is a complete set with all of the weights included, with grain, pennyweight, ounce, and sovereign measurements.
P.1876 Socket Bayonet w/ Scabbard
This bayonet was essentially the improved version of the P.1853 bayonet, which was considered to be ineffective due to being too short. The P.1876 bayonet was lengthened by 5 inches. These bayonets were common amongst the colonial military forces as well as the colonial police forces, and Her Majesty’s armies — including the 40th (Second Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot. The P.1876 bayonet was suited for use with the Martini-Henry rifle.
Bank of Victoria (Maldon Branch) Chequebook w/ Used Chequebutts — 1864-1865
I originally purchased an individual unused cheque from the Bank of Victoria (Maldon). When I asked the seller if he had anymore for sale or anything similar, he told me they had all been sold off over the years, but he did still have the chequebook he could sell me if I was interested in it. It is a bit of a shame that all of the unused cheques had been torn out for the sake of making a profit on something historical like this, but I guess that is what happens. There are over 100 cheque butts, all dating from early 1864 (2nd February) up until 1865. They are all pretty similar to the one first in the book that is shown in the photos, but they are all for different people and different amounts. The thing I find the most interesting is all of the handwritten calculations on the inner cover.
You are right, that does more closely resemble a crayfish or lobster or something. That is very interesting it is likely made from a coin! I wonder if it is possible to determine the likely host coin and metal content.
I will have to retract the idea of it being made from a coin. On closer inspection it is cut from 1mm sheet, including all the way around the pendant.
I feel like the Etsy and Ebay listing is technically incorrect at least as far as the identification of the animal depicted, that or the artist simply didn't know what a crab looks like and modeled it after a crawfish/lobster.
Crabs, with exception of the horseshoe crab, do not have tails.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
You are right, that does more closely resemble a crayfish or lobster or something. That is very interesting it is likely made from a coin! I wonder if it is possible to determine the likely host coin and metal content.
I will have to retract the idea of it being made from a coin. On closer inspection it is cut from 1mm sheet, including all the way around the pendant.
After a query in Kagi, I found this to be pretty interesting. It's both a lobster/crawfish, and Cancer. but not the Crab.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
From a different time with language, values and points of view that would be completely out of place in modern England. I wonder if the boy it was presented to managed to survive two world wars. I read it many years ago, but can't remember anything of what it's about.
Its funny how so many of us have and are showing things that range between 100 and 200 years old, but very few over 200 years old unless its like a fossil or a bone. Or unless your family was extremely rich, aristiocracy or noble.
This is because the Industrial Revolution which is what made knick knacks/tschotkes or whatever you call them available to the masses. Take books for instance, there was a revolution in printing after primary education was rolled out in many 1st world countries between the 1850s and 1890s. In 1825 less than half of adults could read, by 1925 in the west - it was nearly everyone over 12.
Most people lived in a stable home during the massive buildathons of homes during the 1800s. Many people who got their first workers cottage or British 2 up house in the 1800s, likely lived in a hut or a rural building of semi permanent construction before then.
Even coins became more common after the early 1800s, with the arrival of Western style commerce in places and mass produced steam machine production of coins (Early methods like hammering and even milling, could only produce so many coins at one time, with a steam engine propelled minting machine, millions could be made fast. Plus the wider usage of metals, plastics after 1930 and more durable, better made and cheaper products meant that such things survive than say a paper book of the 1600s or a rag doll from the same era - compared to a china bisque doll from 1899 or a tin plate boat from 1908.
Then there is population, as late as 1750 the world had just 600 million people or 7% of todays population, in 1800 it was 1 billion and then 1.6 billion in 1900, by 2,000 it had exploded to 6 billion people.
Hence why most of the stuff in this thread dates from like 1875 to 1925.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
That book sounds like an interesting read. It is definitely interesting how far we have come socially and how much has changed in our beliefs and values as a society from the time the book was published. I suppose it would definitely possible that the boy it was presented to served in the Second World War, as he would have been born probably circa 1900 or a bit before.
Here is something a little bit older than some of the other things shown in this thread.
Bricks and ceramics are one of the few things that are able to survive pretty easily past that 200-year mark as they do not corrode, fade, or tear in the same way that metal or paper objects would. In fact, bricks and pottery from ancient Rome or China that are being excavated and found today look practically identical to the day they were made.
c.1820-1830s Van Diemen’s Land Convict ‘Broad Arrow’ Sandstock Brick
These sandstock bricks were hand-made by convicts under government supervision at penal sites such as Port Arthur. These would be hand-moulded with timber frames and local clay — often with imperfections such as straw or grit. This was intended as a form of punishment, (the island of Tasmania (formerly, Van Diemen’s Land) was established as a penal colony)) but also as a means to construct infrastructure cheaply. This brick dates from the 1820s to the early 1830s — the same time period as the 1827 pennies I have recently shown in the ‘additions’ thread that also circulated in Van Diemen’s Land.
Bricks produced by convicts were impressed with this ‘broad arrow’ prior to being fired to denote Crown ownership, as well as to prevent theft.
There’s about 4.20 grammes total gold in the vial, but I hope to add a bit more soon seen as the creeks are running again from the recent rain!
I did also manage to do a bit of gold panning the other day. Depends how you want to classify ‘antiques’, but this is billions of years old!
I ended up spilling a bit of it when I attempted to weigh it. (As shown!). There were a few bits that were under the plate on the scales and I can still hear some rattling around when I shake the scales, so I haven’t got it all out! I didn’t end up re-weighing the gold after I recovered what I could, but it is probably closer to the 0.2g mark in total. The piece to the left of ‘PCS’ on the paper is of decent size.
It was definitely more observations than anything else. I am exploring a theory that physical memories are kept more in literate cultures (Western, China, Arabic etc), and groups, whereas mental memories are kept more in oral tradition only cultures (Aborigine, Maori, San etc).
But yes your bricks are definitely in that borderline between modern old (Post 1800) and truly old (Pre 1800 or even 1750 in the industrial UK).
Its the change of meaning. Many people around 1900, were ready to heirloom a nice vase, ornament or furniture item, yet say in 1300, 1600 or even 1750, unless you're royalty or ultra rich no one would say “Oh lets keep this 13th century vase, because its the 14th century now and its old fashioned and it will become a rare antique one day”, it was more like “Throw that useless old sh!t out and get a modern one”.
Even in noble England, many noble and aristocratic families would rebuild or renovate their home every century or so. The reason there are so many 18th and 19th century stately homes, is because either the money ran out like it did in the later 1800s, with higher taxes and the rise of the working class, or they wanted to preserve the past.
I remember watching Time Team episodes and they excavated abandoned Castles and great halls of Manors, that mostly burned down or were destroyed in the 1640s Civil War. They usually said the building was Saxon or early Medieval, yet what you see is mostly giant Elizabethan windows, Jacobean flourishes and a ornamental fireplace with a date like 1619 on it or something. Obviously in 1645 or when it burned down, most of it was a few decades old at most. Had the manor survived the war, it would have been Restorationised with sash windows, then Georgianised with Pediments, columns etc and in the 1850s given a gothic revival frontage, central heating and Victorian doo dads like bathrooms, ballrooms etc. Finally this century would see garages for motorcars, the modern bathroom, electricity and internet connections.
I mean many ancient homes were either abandoned and left to rot, or restored after 1800 - or they have so many modern add ons and extra bits like the Tower of London's 11th century white tower, what you see is mostly 11th century wall but 16th century towers, 18th century windows and 19th century crenellations and even when I was there in 2014, this 950 year old building was having “construction work”. Plus its been wired up to have fibre internet, central heating, electronics, modern plumbing and I can guarantee you if William the Conquerer, Edward I and Henry VIII, saw it, they would be like “What the heck is this”.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
-1360 B.C Egypt
in twenty minutes
only in 9 days
Ivan
