Dug several unusual "Firsts" in 1880-toc privy

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Lastly, and most unexpected were the 3 pictures I dug out. The larger of the 3 was dug at the end of day 2, the smaller ones on the last day. They first appeared as negatives pressed between glass plates, but after digging the second one I discovered they painted the backside with a black paint to give the negative definition. The old copper frames are falling apart but considering where they were found, it is amazing they survived the simple act of being tossed 10 feet down a stone lined privy hole! One of the smaller pics appeared to be a mirror at first but after a little careful cleaning the image appeared.

 

[ScottBSA]

That's some really cool stuff. The photographs are really neat finds. Were they near the top or bottom of the hole. It looks more like a true trash pit than an outhouse pit. Scott

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

They were near the bottom 10 foot level, and most certainly a privy. Several broken slop jars at the bottom and a seedy poopage layer at 8-10 foot deep. Had the usual (for around here) 4-5 foot of ash fill and a newer 1890-toc use layer above that.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Pic of the hole is poor and should have been turned clockwise for the true view. Here are a couple better shots. It was 6'X3'X10' deep.

 

[DiscoverUnderground]

Fantastic finds! The photographs are a real gem, you don't see those come out of the ground very often. I would be tempted to check out census records to determine who lived in the house in the 1880s - that may give some leads as to who these fellows are. Great finds all around, hope the rest of your year is just as fruitful

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

The home was built for one of the town's lumber barons and the first of 3 mansions they owned. They occupied it until at least 1888, but by 1892 (the next surviving directory) they were living in mansion #2. It appears the older artifacts in the bottom were of their time period and this privy appears to have never been cleaned or dipped. There was evidence there was a photographer in the family as an early Eastman bottle came out of the hole.

 

[CanadianBottles]

That green jar is a Chinese ginger jar, I think.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

That's what I was thinking, though we don't see much Chinese stuff here in the mid west, other than an occasional decorative vase or dinnerware. But ginger jar did come to mind and seems most likely, esp. since the glazing is very uneven and non-existent in places, typical of Asian pottery I have dug out west in the past. Thanks.

 

[CanadianBottles]

Apparently they were shipped all over the place, I saw a site saying that they're really common in Holland. Plus it's enough of a curiosity that it could have been brought from somewhere else. But I'm not sure how much Chinese ginger jars were used by actual Chinese communities in North America. When I used to find Chinese artifacts in B.C. I never once saw even a shard of a ginger jar and don't remember seeing any at bottle shows or museums.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Yeah, I experienced the same in California where I grew up digging in a number of Chinese and Japanese dump sites, as well as our old town dump. Loads of saki jugs and Men Gei pots along with the misnamed opium vials, but never a ginger jar shard......Here in the Midwest there were a few Chinese families that were launderers and seemed to be the only ones in that business, but no true communities like in the west. Just found one in an old bottle book from the 60's that looks very much like mine and identified as a ginger jar.