Glass Fire Extinguishers Fragile Remnants of Early Safety Measures

Before the more reliable designs of modern fire extinguishers were developed, the options for fighting fires were largely limited to liquid-filled glass bulbs.

These bulbs, filled with a variety of fire suppressants depending on the date of manufacture and brand, were unlikely to put out anything but the smallest fires, but in a desperate situation, the extinguishers could at least buy time whether for people to escape from the fire or for fire fighters to arrive.

There were two main methods to use the extinguishers. One might throw the bulb directly at the base of a fire, glass shattering on impact. The splash of salt water might manage to quench the flames, or chemical solutions such as carbon tetrachloride would vaporize and deprive the fire of oxygen, smothering it.

Alternatively, plastic or wire cones were sold that could be affixed to walls, in which the bulb would be placed to act as something of an early sprinkler system. If there was a fire, as people evacuated from the building, one could pull a pin while passing by.

Other fixtures were made so that plastic around a triggering mechanism would melt in the heat of a fire, working on its own.

Either way, triggering a mechanism in the cone would break the glass of the extinguisher’s bulb.

Old glass bulb fire extinguishers can be difficult to find and acquire for several reasons.

First, the bulbs are destroyed by a single use, meaning that once production of the design ceased, the number of bulbs in existence became limited. The nature of a glass bulb also means that the item must be handled very carefully to keep from breaking it.

Second, because the chemicals that are stored inside many of the bulbs means that they often cannot be bought through online methods such as eBay. The bulbs that are available through such mediums are usually filled with salt water.

Glass extinguishers were developed during the 1860s. This first generation of small pint or quart-sized bulbs were made until about 1895, when they were no long recommended for use. This iteration of the design was often sealed with cement, which was covered by foil caps or paper labels.

The design saw a revival, however, in the 1910s. These were sealed using hot glass, which was used to seal the bulb’s opening with a tip or smooth, conical shape.

Aside from salt water or carbon tetrachloride, some bulbs used bicarbonate of soda or muriate of ammonia as fire suppressants.

As for the value of these items, outside of the usual variables such as condition and rarity, glass fire extinguishers tend to vary in price based on color and contents.

Though keeping a glass bulb filled with chemicals like carbon tetrachloride is rather hazardous the chemical is dangerous to inhale and has even been banned from use in consumer products in the U.S. in 1970 often the only way to see if an extinguisher contains the chemical involves breaking the sealed item open for testing.

Tempting as it may be to simply drill a hole in the bulb and drain it of hazardous chemicals, this does significantly lower the value of the item.

There are a few brands the contents or which are clearly spelled out, but for the rest, it is best to handle and store the bulbs with care.

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The Collection of Sports Memories

A friend of mine once told me, The art of collecting old athletic goods or sport memorabilia takes us all back to a different time and different world, when life seemed so simple.

Chasing through antique shops and down expressways or dirt roads looking for old sports stuff, in its own way, is a game or competition. Our blood has a tendency to flow a little faster looking around for sports stuff just like it did back in the old days when we were shooting free-throws at the end of a basketball game or when we were getting ready for kick-off for a football game.

Collecting sporting goods and memorabilia can really touch the heart and soul of any person who has ever played, coached, or been a fan of a particular sport. We go back to that time or particular game in a flashback. It can actually be a dream-like form of time travel.

To begin, it is a wide field. There are hundreds, if not thousands of different sporting collectibles. Trying to collect everything is next to impossible, so let us suggest narrowing the field.

The neat thing about sports collecting is a person can do it on a fairly fixed budget or they can expand it to higher priced items and spend quite a bit of money.

Standing in an antique shop, I often pick up an old wooden bat or an old baseball glove, and quickly my mind flashes back to a day many years ago when I played or witnessed a game. Most wooden bats and baseball gloves can be found between $5 to $75. Occasionally, the old Hall of Fame store-bought item can inch up into the hundred’s of dollars. If the item to be purchased was actually used or worn by a famous player, the price rapidly multiplies.

Many kids and adults have spent their childhood collecting baseball cards. What was once a very expensive hobby saw some peak years during the 1980’s and 1990’s! Cards were selling anywhere between a penny and thousands of dollars.

The card business is not quite what it once was, but it still draws plenty of attention at shows and antique shops. Because of the large number of young collectors in the 80’s and 90’s, I expect the sports card industry to rebound when some of these youngsters become oldsters.

For those who are new to sports collecting, I would recommend looking for some of the following items at sales, auctions, and antique shops. These seem to keep their value and actually have shown a decently increased value over time. Keep in mind to always buy the things that you enjoy and like looking at, because we never know when trends can change and values decrease. Purchase something you would like even if it had no monetary worth. That way you will be always be happy with it.

Remember, more often than not, the older the piece is and better shape it is in, the more you might have to pay for it.

Old vintage football helmets range from inexpensive old children’s helmets from the 1950’s – 1960’s to vintage leather helmets pre-1960. Most good old leather helmets run in the $75 to $250 price range.

Footballs and basketballs can be found easily in the $10 to $100 range. Look for old basketballs that especially have strings to grip. Mostly these balls have shoestrings or leather to grip when shooting or passing and were in the pre-1950’s era. A basketball from this era can fetch $100 to $250 if it is in good condition. Signed or player endorsed basketballs can increase the price.

Many serious collectors enjoy looking for sports programs. There is a tremendous array of these programs on the market and a person might want to focus on one or two teams.

Individual game programs can bring between $5 and $50. Old world series baseball programs and scorecards often cost hundreds of dollars.

Autographed baseballs and memorabilia can be excellent investments. Baseballs with autographs can be purchased for a wide variety of prices. Most balls signed by a major league player can be found for $50, but Hall of Fame signed balls go for $50 to $150 and a Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig ball can expect to bring thousands of dollars on the open market.

Interestingly enough, old tickets and stubs are a great piece of sports history that don’t take up a lot of space and can bring back memories. You can start your collection with tickets from events and games that you have actually attended and then venture out to antique shops and buy tickets that others have used. Some old World Series tickets go for $650 to $800.

Sports nodders or bobble heads have been around for many years. They look great on a shelf or in a cabinet. Nodders pre-1965 can fetch $125 to $300 and nodders from the 1970’s to the present can bring $10 to $50.

Old Sports Illustrated and sport magazines are certainly worth collecting. Each issue usually has a famous player or team on the cover along with the date it was published. These magazines can be fun to flashback to and they also look great framed in any den or basement wall. Even though some collectors despair at the thought of cutting advertisements out of old magazines, these ads can also be framed and displayed. Many dealers will frame old advertisements and sell these in their shops.

Collecting old pennants, such as college, professional and high school team banners, is also interesting. These pennants can be displayed on a wall and can brighten any room. Vintage pennants can be found from $15 to $100, depending on the team, the age, and the condition of the pennant.

There are many post card collectors who look specifically for cards with sport teams and individual stars on the postcard. These usually run between $5 and $50 and can enhance any sports collector’s world.

Sports trophies and awards from the past can be fun to pursue. From the 1920’s to the present time, schools and colleges have awarded pins, medals, letters, and trophies to their athletes. These small tokens of achievement are fun to collect and they do not take up much space.

Old chenille varsity letters, sports jewelry, spirit pins and medals, old pencils and pens with sport advertising, wooden golf clubs, hockey sticks and equipment, and old vintage uniforms are just a few of the thousands of items a person can collect.

Truthfully, searching shops and sales and enjoying the chase itself is what sports collecting is all about. You will find yourself going down many roads and talking to many interesting people as you enjoy your chase of vintage sports collectables.

My advice is, Enjoy the journey. May it bring you extreme enjoyment.

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Tips on Spotting Genuine Antique Dining Chairs

Investing in antique dining chairs should be dealt with seriously because sometimes, differentiating a fake from an authentic piece is not as straightforward as one hopes it to be. Take for instance the antique dining chairs from the 18^th century. These pieces have been revived several times throughout the years, especially during the Victorian era, that these revivals are now considered as mere reproductions of the original.

But if you do happen to spot a real 18^th century antique dining chair, you will find that they can be extremely expensive. The real Victorian chair will also have been handmade with the carving more free flowing as compared to the Victorian revival, which you will discover to be more stylized because it was machine-carved instead of having been handmade. Most often than not, 18^th century dining chairs have the acanthus carvings on the knees of the cariole legs whereas those revived look a bit plainer.

The reason for this stark distinction is its 100 year difference. Although both chairs may appear to have the characteristic bow-shaped top rail, a trained eye will be able to spot the said peculiarity between the two.

It would also be good to note that neo classical chair designs were also revived during the Victorian and Edwardian eras up until the 20^th century. Two of the designs known at that time were Sheraton and Hepplewhite. They looked simpler than Chippendale’s, which was another design that proliferated during those eras.  The former’s designs were simpler than the latter’s while Hepplewhite’s designs were of oval and shield-like shapes when it came to the backs of the chairs. The legs were also tapered instead of being cabriole. As for Sheraton’s designs, they were rectilinear, the backs were square-shaped, style was plain and the legs were also tapered. This type of design is still popular until today.

Knowing these things, it would really be hard to spot a real, genuine, antique dining chair. Spotting one is not an exact science which is why you would need to go to a credible and reputable antique dealer before making your purchase and spending a huge amount of money. Look for the signs and do your research well. Looking for antique dining chairs is really a serious business.

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A Closer Look at Antique Dining Tables

The antique dining table is the primary feasting area of a family in a home. This is where members of the family, as well as their other loved ones, friends and guests gather to eat, have long talks, play, and just simply enjoy each other’s company over food and drinks. If you think about it, every person who has come in contact with an antique dining table has become part of the table’s rich history, with stories that develop as time passes by and are passed from one generation to the next.

If you look at the  aged and shrunken wood of your antique dining table, notice the uneven wear and tear of its legs, you can just imagine what it would look like when it was still brand new decades, maybe even centuries ago, just like a clean set of papers, ready to be written on by its great author. The smooth and rounded edges of the table are sweet reminders of the many people who have come across its path and have added to its luxurious wear and tear. You can just imagine how different and colorful life must have been back then as it witnessed a whole new other culture and lifestyle back in the day. An antique dining table serves as the common thread woven into our past and current lives that hold us all together across distance and time.

Looking into its origin, all you have to do is study the antique dining table’s material, design, craftsmanship and style. As an example, those that date back to the early medieval times are usually the trestle tables. Tops are made from long slabs or planks of wood that rest on trestles and can be dismantled for easier transportation from one place to the next, or to simply set it aside in order to make room for other more important activities other than dining.

Fast forward to the 16^th century and the refectory tables were developed. This kind is more permanent and is usually made of oak or walnut. It’s an elongated type of table that became popular all over Europe during that time.

Then come 18^th century, the pedestal table came around. This one is different from the other two primarily because of its round shape that stands on a single, central, cylindrical column for support.
Antique dining tables are not just simple pieces of furniture for utility’s sake. They are pieces of art and culture that have become parts of our lives. They must be continuously preserved and treasured so they can be continuously passed from our generation to the next, in order for the next chapter of our history to be written, even after we’re gone.