I have only small collections of brass and copper to exhibit, and my reasons for buying these you see were mainly that often I had been poking about for pewter, and finding none, rather than waste the shopkeeper’s time for nothing I would purchase a bit of old brass or copper, if I happened to notice any piece I judged worth having. It is often difficult to identify old brass, and the quantity of “antique” that was manufactured in Birmingham alone, some years before the war, must have been very extensive. I found it nearly everywhere I went, and still see much of it about.

To instance the worth of my statement I remember, when in Scotland, I mentioned to a collector friend that I should like to have a turling pin, which is a combined knocker and latch, for I had seen such a thing spoken of in a book I had just been reading. Not long afterwards I received a parcel containing a turling pin, which I found at once was new brass that had been in an acid bath for discoloration, and to give it the necessary old appearance. My friend wrote that he had been fortunate in getting this for 16s. and the antique dealer had assured him it had come out of an old house at, I think, Inverness. I returned the find, with thanks, and I do not know my Scotsman if he failed to get his money back. I am still without a turling pin, though I have one genuine old knocker from Ripon, which is on a door where it ought to be, so you will not find it on the photograph.

In the summer of 1911 I had a fine specimen of a corn which I carried in my boot, and while in an antique shop I knocked it against something black that had been put on the floor to keep a door open. I looked down to see what had caused the pain and my regrettable exclamation, and was informed, “it was a lead ink-stand, and did it hurt?” I knew it was decidedly hard metal from my experience, so I gave half-a-crown for it, with the idea of having my revenge by cleaning the clumsy brute, for he had no right to be carving a duck in the beastly black state he was in. This class of ink-stand was made in Birmingham about eighty years ago.

Brass and copper as antiques have much to recommend them, as no matter what state they may be in when found, they can very soon be made presentable by a good rubbing with metal polish. These metals preserve themselves remarkably well for centuries, hence it is that occasionally rare old specimens can be found by anyone with their eyes skinned. The fine 12 in. brass pot, with lion head ring handles and claw feet, I saw in a second-hand shop at Buxton, and bought for seven shillings, but I had to get a hamper to bring it home in. I have other large things, such as warming-pans, chestnut roaster, churchwarden pipe rack, gong, etc., but the inclusion of these would have spoiled the effect of the photograph, and the mortars get a “Course” on their own. You will notice some Scotch thistle-shaped measures; for these I am indebted to a young friend who travelled a good deal, and often came back from Scotland with pewter, brass, or copper. The measures are stamped “Four gills,” “Pint,” “Gill,” “Half-Gill.”

Among the brass I hope you will be able to distinguish two uncommon snuff-boxes. One is called “the Horn of Plenty,” and is very old, while the other is hexagonal in shape, is made of cherry wood and brass, and was originally owned and used by Sir Ernest Shackleton’s grandfather. The brass lamp with two snake handles must have special mention. Inside, fitted on a thin wooden circle, there are ten small metal cells, each fitted with a match-head, also a piece of wick and tallow; by pressing the handles together the disc makes a slight turn, striking the match against a jagged fitting, and stopping under the hole, through which the light would (I suppose) burn, until the cell was empty. This was patented about eighty years ago when matches were first invented, but I do not anticipate many were sold, as when all the lights had been burnt a fresh fitment would have to replace the one exhausted, a rather expensive affair.

Tacking brass and copper on to the many other specialities I have gone in for may cause the remark that had I confined myself to a more limited sphere I might have had a finer result in fewer classes, but that would have curtailed the pleasurable excitement of my rambles. Then again, when once you get the collecting fever you are not likely to get the better of it; it is far more likely to get the better of you, and I am of opinion it is better so, provided you do not let it obtain an undue hold on your pocket. It is undoubtedly hard at times to say “No,” but it is more difficult to get rid of a bad bargain. It is a singular trait of character, not altogether limited to collectors, which impels the individual to tell everyone when he secures anything cheap but constrains him to be as close as an oyster when he is done with a “dud,” yet the best tales usually most enjoyed by the hearers are those which tell against the teller.

As regards the copper I am rather afraid of giving a wrong designation to the lipped pan with wood handle. It may have been a posset pot, or a beer-warmer, possibly it was used for both purposes, though not at the same time. The conical shaped warmer would put the pot to bed, as it would heat the mulled ale much quicker by being pushed down to the bottom of the fire, and, what was of more consequence in those days, it held more. The straight measure with a slot cut out at the top bears the inscription “Standard I Pint of the Corporation of Wexford Anno 1810” and is twice stamped “G.R. III.” When I bought it I was assured by the broker that he could swear it was genuine as he knew the man who fetched it out of Wales. I bought this “eneuch measure,” as a French visitor once called it to me, on January 1, 1910, and I remember wondering if this find augured well for the New Year from the collecting point of view, and it turned out quite a prosperous one.

There is a peculiar pewter half-pint Glasgow measure with copper top fitted with an overflow pipe, so that not a drop of the precious liquor would be lost. The two-handled measure is stamped “One-Pint,” so also is the pedestal-shaped one next to it. I do not know the trade name for the four measures with bell mouthpieces or pouring spouts, but I found them and the fine jug at one shop Bolton way. The small funnel is provided with a strainer. There are two powder-flasks on the top and two snuff-boxes on the bottom shelf. What sort of spectacles ever fitted into that heavy spectacle case? But one may conjecture everlastingly with these queer old relics of bygone days and ways.