First Dive Finds of 2012 - Maine

[CALDIGR2]

ORIGINAL: adshepard

Now a bit of help is appreciated. I'm not sure what this thing is. It's made of clay, about 4" long, it's hollow like a straw and has the letter "C" or "G", not sure on it's "lip". My guess is that it is a cigarette holder but that's just a guess. I've ignored these on previous dives thinking they were just junk but decided to bring one up and clean it to see what it might be. So what is it?

Thanks,

Alan

It's a tube used in wiring old homes for electricity. The system was called "knob and tube" and the tubes carried a wire through framing boards to avoid contact with wood. The knobs held wires attached to surface of framing. It was a two wire, ungrounded setup that was popular from the late 19th Century until the 1930s.

 

[BillinMo]

Yup, it's a wall tube. Here's a wealth of info on them: http://www.r-infinity.com/Wall_Tubes/index.htm

 

[AntiqueMeds]

Those steamship items are a great part of history.

That was an age where you could travel in style (if you had a few bucks) rather than the cattle herding transportation mentality today.

 

[adshepard]

ORIGINAL: AntiqueMeds

Those steamship items are a great part of history.

That was an age where you could travel in style (if you had a few bucks) rather than the cattle herding transportation mentality today.

Collecting the bottles from the old steamship site and the actual steamship items is a thrill. The site is at the far eastern point of the U.S. and the bottles
nearly all come from the various ports the steamships stopped at. Bottles as far south as Philadelphia and as far north as St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. The majority are from Boston and New York with some from Portland, Maine.

The connection to the history is just plain cool.

 

[cacarpetbagger]

ORIGINAL: adshepard

In the last post i mentioned that I pull out all plate shards looking for steamship company logos. This trip I got very lucky and got an intact saucer with the International Steamship Company logo. It is 3" across and has only a minor scratch. I'm now looking for intact pieces from the Frontier Steamship Company and the Calais Steamship Company, both very rare although I do have full logo shards. I also need an intact Eastern Steamship Company item.

Alan

Congrats on your dive finds, I really like the steamship pieces. The 3" saucer could be a butter pat.

 

[DIGS CHESCO]

That looks like a butter plate. Incredible find congrats!

 

[adshepard]

Here's the best pipe bowl of the trip. Figural with a cat catching a bird.

Found many other non-figural pipes and bowls but I've got so many I now generally give them away to the curious people on shore.

Alan

 

[msleonas]

Love the old key!

 

[JOETHECROW]

Alan,...Pretty interesting finds,...Love the stateroom key and the other memorabilia....The bottles are nice too. Thanks for sharing your dive with us.

 

[elmoleaf]

The Boston bottle is nice, even broken. I walk by Court Square every day on the way to work!
The steamship stuff is awesome.