I stood staring at the cute little item in the glass case trying to decide whether I wanted to actually handle it or not. As I wavered, a staffer came up and asked if she could help me.
So I pointed out the item that had intrigued me. It was black with a brass enclosure and red accents, and I could not figure out what it was. She took it from the case, but my seeing it up close did not open up any new insights into its identity.
“What is it?” I asked her. She didn’t know either, so we stood there guessing as I turned it from side to side to side.
Then a bulb went off in my head. I knew exactly what it was. It’s one of those things that were prevalent during the early half of the 20th century, but fortunately are not glamorous anymore. I suspect that this one was a novelty item.
Having determined what it was, I continued to preview the other items for sale. Then I saw a book bearing the title of items like the one I had just identified. Could it be in the book, I wondered. It was, along with a snippet of information about it.
Can you guess what it is? Click on the first photo for the answer.
