One of the things that make collecting so much fun is finding a thing, an object, a thingamabob, a gizmo that just can't be identified. Try as I might, I have not found one these things on the internet and none of the antique collectors with whom I come in contact has ever seen anything like it.
"It" is a whisk broom wrapped around a half-pint size bottle.
Now I can imagine all sort of uses:
The valet who dusts off your clothing and then has access to a quick nip, all the while keeping it secret.
The housewife who brushes up the dinner table and then decides on a short snort -- you know, something to take the edge off.
The old man cleaning out the car on a Saturday morning needs a little fortification -- but not so's the neighbors will know.
Maybe hooch and secrecy are not involved -- but then why keep the bottle under wraps?
It is obviously a manufactured item, with fine tight stitching around the straws, a nicely made cork stopper - but nary a name tag anywhere
What does my reader think?
Help me, please
2 comments:
I have a feeling that secrecy is the entire point of this object. A bottle in a brush is certainly novel, but there's no novelty to the device aside from it's fairly obvious purpose.
Can you gauge the age? I'm thinking it's a relic of 'the prohibition', and the manufactured (as opposed to hand-made) look of the thing would be crucial for keeping suspicions at bay.
Thanks for the comment.
With Prohibition in the US during the years between 1920 and 1933, it makes perfect sense that this thing was manufactured during that time -- as marks on the bottle indicate. I have since learned that bottles have also been secreted in a wooden log and a book.
If the old man felt like having a wee nip while sweeping out the family jalopy or the lady of the house wanted to ease her household chores, this thing would have been pretty handy in helping keep the habit under wraps. It also would help keep the neighbors from talking.
I don't see it being much use to keeping the Feds off a person's back, though.
PS: By the way, did you know that the US was not the only country to try Prohibition? Russia (1914-1925), Iceland (1915-1922), Norway (1916-1927) and Finland (1919-1932) tried going booze-less.
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