Folding Device found near Chancellorsville, VA

RFWoodVT

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
51
Morning all. Found the device below in the woods near chancellorsville.

Not sure how old it actually is but am guessing somewhere between the civil war and the 1950's I think it is made of brass with steel/iron pins. Folds compact and opens very flat as if it were meant to form a reasonable straight edge

Tried to find more/missing parts but I think they just corroded away. Found it among other stuff that ranged from suspender snaps (sewn 1950's vintage?) to sardine tins (vintage unknown) Kind of looked like someone had a bunch of stuff and left it, but not a trash pile

First pic has pen cap for scale.

Welcome your thoughts.
 

Attachments

  • 20181115_085426.jpg
    20181115_085426.jpg
    39.2 KB · Views: 549
  • 20181115_085319.jpg
    20181115_085319.jpg
    44.6 KB · Views: 535
  • 20181115_085206.jpg
    20181115_085206.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 507
  • 20181115_085302.jpg
    20181115_085302.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 501
  • 20181115_085231.jpg
    20181115_085231.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 504
Looking like part of an old Stanley folding architect ruler

At first the picture above kind of threw me for a loop because the hinge was wrong but apparently that was the center hinge and then both leg on the folded flat along the same kind of lines that my little device has.

So far Stanley is the only one I've seen that has had brass rails along both sides of the ruler section
 
Definitely the side rails of a Stanley folding rule!
I bought this one at an antique store about 10 years ago and it is one of my most prized possessions.
 

Attachments

  • Ruler 1.jpg
    Ruler 1.jpg
    47.7 KB · Views: 413
  • Ruler 2.jpg
    Ruler 2.jpg
    33.1 KB · Views: 399
Just a quick update. Been trying to find out more about these rules and what their timelines are.

Apparently Stanley and Lufkin made them here in the US but not until the late 1800's, after the CW. That said, many were imported from Europe prior to that, however I don't know how much earlier.

I do know that examples from the CW do exists so that doesn't exclude this item from that time frame.

I did find one interesting item that looks similar and that would be a slide rule decoder device. I really don't think my frame is from such a device but it is a rather interesting thought. Here's an example of such a device:

bbe423bf8c4bc9b897fb078d102d8608.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom