Uncategorized – Page 5 – Whistle Museum

Black & Co. a 19th Century Glasgow Whistle Maker History & Whistles. A. Strauss

Black & Co. ( David Black ) 81 North Frederick St. Glasgow – 1885 (or 1883) to 1898 , Zin & Tin workers Packing-Case Makers were pioneers of Snail type whistle making and may well have been the first to use the title ‘ Thunderer ‘ for a whistle.
Little was known about the company’s History, a new whistle; the first one stamped with maker’s name found 2017 which proved to be a Key Whistle, triggered me to more research and findings .
Previously many whistles as these, none stamped whistles attributed to Black showed, All 5 piece London type snail ( Escargot ) whistles.
Here is the new one, fully stamped found.

A railway guard whistle stamped D. Black Maker Glasgow, And C & OR for Callander & Oban Railway (a small railway Co. ) on one side, other side shows # 3
In Aug. 2018 a smaller variation 49mm with a stamp using different letter design and top (knop) surfaced on eBay It ended for about 400 USD.
We learn from the Paisley one, 4 pictures below that there is a much smaller model may be two smaller ones. As usual with these type the smaller ones are the rarer, so we know of only one model with that small size.

Another variation, a 3rd known

History
Black & Co., Ltd.
Address : 81 North Frederick St. Glasgow
1886 Glasgow post office directory.
Mrs. Black was manager of the Black & Co. Making cases, By 1886 they were Continue reading Black & Co. a 19th Century Glasgow Whistle Maker History & Whistles. A. Strauss

Bakelite Snail Shaped – Escargots Whistle Types with a Stamped Metal or Aluminum Plate Insert Side & More.

Bakelite Escargots with Metal side plate a comparative study, U.S.A made and England . A Strauss (At work to be cont.)
Bakelite escargots with a stamped metal plate insert to one side.
A.Strauss , Copyright © 2009. ( Under Reconstruction )

Bakelite* escargots with metal plate inserts at the side are all Glasgow type escargots made in England and in the U.S.A ,
The side plate insert is applied to the right hand one side of the whistle
(And later on the left (N.S. Meyer N.Y shows on the left side as well).
‘Leftiees’ are post 1946
Acme Whistles – J. Hudson & Co. made these in 3 sizes,
Smaller ones are rare (As is with most metal Escargots).
Colors; Black, Brown, Orange, White, Green. (last three much rarer)

Used mainly by Sporting Goods & Arms companies as well as by British railway and Transportation companies, also by some police forces and colleges.

The big advantage of Bakelite made whistles was that in cold weather ( Sub zero) they would not get stuck to the lips or fingers as the metal ones. They were very sturdy when plastic was still of lesser strength than hard plastic types made later.

The metal inserts are of different designs which makes it possible to know where made.
The ones made in England are all made by J. Hudson & Co. , Acme Whistles Ltd. And are stamped Acmeoid. Made From 1926 to late 1940s , Production of Bakelite whistles by Acme whistles was stopped c 1986. (According to Mr. Simon Topmann).
The whistles are constructed of two parts plus pea,
One piece mold and an additional circular flat drum side plate inserted to side with or without Aluminum plate.

Hudson

*Stamped in 2 ways
1) Early stamps ;
Below window ” The Acme Thunderer” , and Hudson Monogram on the underside of the whistle “Beak” – mouthpiece.
2) later models ;
“The Acme Thunderer made in England” and no monogram on the underside.
Note; All the whistles seen here are stamped the Acme Thunderer except for the USA & Mexican made ones.

* Metal plates of few kinds but the circular ones with four pins have the pins pointing at north , east, south and west, or 12 O’clock 3, 6 and 9.

* Colors; Hudson made these in Black Brown Orange & white The last two colors are rare.

* The D & M one & the older Iver Johnson have a longer beak , about 3 mm longer similar to USA made ones and are not as wide, a different mold was used for these and it is certainly the earlier one, might even be earlier than 1926.

Because of way made the cup and the material the whistles deviate by 1 mm up to 2 mm in measurements in same models. ( To be cont.)
Dating : The “modern” post WWII 1946 are ‘lefties’ The Aluminum plate, insert is on the left side, The older ones always have the plate on the right side,
It may be that there are exceptions, but the autor had not seen one .

American

* Smooth, no stamps on Bakelite .

* Size; American made ones are not as wide, But Longer.

* Do not have a circle pattern sunk, on the side opposite to the metal plate insert.

* A wider and thinner tooth grip on the lower lip.

* Color; Black or Brown.

* Metal plates are all of the circular with 4 pins pattern, inserted in a way that the pins show the hours of roughly 11 O’clock 1, 5 and 7 O’clock.

* Some have “Made in the U.S.A” stamped on the metal plate, (See Goldsmith # 12).

** Foot note
Barrel end is 28.50 mm and accurate on the USA samples I inspected.
L; is 61mm and varies by less than a mm.

In general The U.S.A. made ones seem to be much harder to find,
and it seems that as of now the American Manufacturer remains a Mystery.

The metal plate inserts are all Aluminum or nickel silver.

Early Hudson’s Oval shape metal plate insert L; 60.81mm W; 22.55 mm Barrel Diameter,; 28.50 mm
This oval plate is the only one noted by the author. seems to be a very early one pre 1926.

Above, Iver Johnson Later made by Hudson, L; 57;72 mm W; 23.09 mm Barrel Diameter ; 27.63 mm
Continue reading Bakelite Snail Shaped – Escargots Whistle Types with a Stamped Metal or Aluminum Plate Insert Side & More.

J. Hudson & co. New Historical Research The 1870 First Address Found and the 1882 To 1885 The Unknown Police whistles , Asylums , Fire Brigades Prison and Parks whistles by J. Hudson & Co. A. Strauss

(At work ) The new information which surfaced on the web in the last two years brought MANY previously unknown facts dates and research options for whistle manufactures in Great Britain during the the 19th century, this new info changed the way many we see Dates, and miss-concepts which prevailed whistle research up to now. Newly discovered info about whistles and manufacturers led me to work on a new and some updated articles about whistles and their makers.
Some of the observations and conclusions can be found hinted
in between the lines.
This article would deal with some news about the background and The
First address For J. Hudson previously unknown and mostly
Police whistles made by J. Hudson & Co. in 1882 – 1885 ,
Mostly the ones not made for the Metropolitan police (Already discussed in Depth in the “Collecting Police whistles and Similar Types” Book by Martyn Gilchrist and Simon Topman Pub. 1998 ) The Book is a must and highly recommended for anyone who wishes to study whistles ,
Published almost 20 years ago it was a great stepping stone and inspiration for collectors and students of these and the best so far .

While the previous article dealt with How to date J. Hudson whistles by Stamps and other means, Victorian and Post Victorian stamps and the next would try to deal with whistle manufactured 1870 – 1882.
Joseph Hudson started working with metal at the age of Twelve that is 1860 ,
a dated metal ashtray stamped with his name and was found, since studying
whistle makers we now know that every Master studied – worked with a previous one since there were no schools for that it fits well that J .H. worked for Bent (since 1861 being 13 years old , Later Bent & Parker on 87 Newhall st. ( Parker Joined Bent in 1863 ) they were making military ornaments and whistles .
In 1870 the Young 22 years old Hudson moved to start his own workshop buying tools and having a home work shop, In Febuary 1871 he got married to Jane, and was working as a military ornament maker at :
7 House, Court 3, Bell Barn Road in 1871.
In 1874 He had his younger brother James Joined him and together
they had a larger place at 17 Mark’s St Registered as Co. Joseph and James Hudson Co.
In 1876 they registered a corkscrew and whistle design .
( James Died in 1889 making some unique whistles which are recognizeable by his unique Mouthpiece )
As all other “whistle Makers” at the period whistles were a small part of business and a large array of products and they as othesr
relied financially on manufacturing many other Brass items .
It was so to such an extent that WHISTLE MAKERS advertisments
in previous years mentioned DOZENS of items but no whistles
albeit they were the largest manufacturers of whistles , (1830’s – 1870’s ).

First address known for J. Hudson 7 House, Court 3, Bell Barn Road. Barn
1870 – 1874

bell-barn-rd-birmingham-c-1870s

So we have Hudson at Two addresses in the Early Years:
1870 – 1874 : 7 House, Court 3 Bell Barn Road
1874 – 1881 : 17 St. Mark’s St. cottages
Continue reading J. Hudson & co. New Historical Research The 1870 First Address Found and the 1882 To 1885 The Unknown Police whistles , Asylums , Fire Brigades Prison and Parks whistles by J. Hudson & Co. A. Strauss

Dating of J. Hudson & Co. Acme Whistles Ltd. Tube TNT -Two Notes Whistles, NEWS ! Victorian & Post Victorian Times By Whistle Stamps. A. Strauss

Victorian and Post Victorian General Service whistles made by J. Hudson & Co. before 1902 and Post 1902 system for Dating whistles by Stamps.

A Guide to Dating J. Hudson Whistles.

This is a work is certainly great news for whistle collectors about Dating the
J. Hudson & Co. whistles in The 19th Cent and the early Part of the 20th Century.
Dating Two Note Tube whistles – T.N.T.W
(Also known by function as GSW – General Service Whistles)

The article is based on CAREFUL OBSERVATION of STAMPS and DETAILS brings a new set of thumb rules when dating Hudson whistles.
some points here are really for the ADVANCED COLLECTOR.
This article is a great addition, in fact a ground breaking and makes it possible to precisely date whistles which previously was done by mare address, The best addition to the tools of dating J. Hudson & Co. Police whistles and none police whistles as G.P.O and other services.

For many years the dating system was based on 4 basic elements shapes of a whistle’s parts (see interlude ).
These are: The Mouthpiece, The Loop, The address on Body and the one which one can not see without looking into the whistle itself that is the Diaphragm disk construction. Most advanced collectors are familiar with these and use to determine the date.

We learn that the address does NOT always correspond with date made , or serves as an always an accurate tool for knowing the exact year-date made.

Many marked 13 Barr St. where actually made later at 244 Barr St and stamped with the older address . This explains a 13 Barr st. address stamped whistle with a military date of 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 for example.

I will try to bring it in a chronological in 3 Main parts :

Interlude
Table one and variations in a closer look
Table II and variations in a closer look

So take a CLOSE LOOK at the stamps :
—————————————————————————————
Interlude

( As interlude a general view of Pre 1902 in the first line and Post 1902 in 2nd line : Stamps and whistle 3 main whistle parts, The next Three charts deal with each of the parts separately . )

The Mouthpiece
The early one is what I called ‘apple’ mouth Piece 1883 -1885
Second is the the ‘Sand clock’ shape 1886 -1920’s
and the third the ‘flattened Sand Clock’ 1920’s -Late 30’s

The Loop
4 Main Types of loops in J. Hudson & Co. Tube whistles
Thin Concave 1882* -1900
Thicker Concave Loop 1901 -1908
Slightly concave on a two part top of Loop – Ring and cap. and Flat ring 1908 onward . There are more variations looking at the loop from the other angle,
Viewing the hole , for example the later D shaped loop.

* 1882 is rare , made at 17 Mark st. few are known so in general we start at 1883 .
A General Chart of J. Hudson stamps , General View Pre and Post Victorian Period .

First PRE 1902 Table I Chart Ia, Ib

Table I

I a

Continue reading Dating of J. Hudson & Co. Acme Whistles Ltd. Tube TNT -Two Notes Whistles, NEWS ! Victorian & Post Victorian Times By Whistle Stamps. A. Strauss

More Whistles By Martyn Gilchrist, B. Lilly & Sons – H. A. Ward Siren Whistle, J. Dixon & Sons Pre 1843 Beaufort Whistle

More Whistles by Martyn Gilchrist and some about two early whistles and updates about the makers history.
Above B. Lilly and Sons whistle which seems to be made by Henry Arthur Ward,
New material points to the facts that B. Lilly started at 1857 and H.A. Ward at about the same time as J. Ward 1857 * (See foot note) Both were skilled brass founders.
There seem to be 3 Variations some differ in the inner parts , Here is another larger variation which seems to be a later one with a none cast Mouthpiece.

Continue reading More Whistles By Martyn Gilchrist, B. Lilly & Sons – H. A. Ward Siren Whistle, J. Dixon & Sons Pre 1843 Beaufort Whistle

19th Century Round Pea Whistles Timeline History and more. By A. Strauss

Above J. Hudson 1870’s Round Pea whistle with a stop hole, Birmingham.
Underconstruction

See READ MORE For few dozens photos

Preface

This article is just a glimpse and a part of Part one in a very long 7 part research into this type of whistles, consider it a first draft , There are MANY more which can be accurately dated and way more which I could not yet accurately date
but as a draft it may inspire others and you may send and email to info@avnerstrauss.com to add ask contact.
I would try to first cover mostly British 19th Century and some whistles of other countries without going into many details, since some countries deserve another article.
Part one is a draft and 19th Century General Time line and whistle designs.

Continue reading 19th Century Round Pea Whistles Timeline History and more. By A. Strauss

Spherical , Globular shaped whistles and More, Bicycles Whistles By A. Strauss (23 photos)

Spherical whistles is a term I use for various whistles , Globular shaped Balloon shaped and others which were not in use in Marine vessels or as Swiss and French railway whistles , Known as short Buson type whistles , but for Hawking, Bird calls , and Bicycle whistles , It is also known as Short Buson or Swiss Railway whistle. there is a large variety of French made toy and military whistles which were made in France when Flying Balloons were popular, although they do have a spherical sound chamber the mouthpiece is note a pipe (See last photos samples of round whistles with spherical sound chamber). The term Globular whistle appears on old catalogs.
The above Hawking whistle was made in Switzerland c 17th, 18th Century ,
It has a the look and feel of a Copper and Bronze mixture I did not see before.

Continue reading Spherical , Globular shaped whistles and More, Bicycles Whistles By A. Strauss (23 photos)

19th Century British Snail Whistles, Referee, Escargot Whistles, Rare Antique Whistles

( Under construction ) Includes 65 Photos
1881 Maker L. D. sold by Ortner & Houle 3 James St. London , Snail whistle (Escargot ) shaped whistle.

The article is about British snail (Escargot ) whistles made with in Victorian times.
Other articles about Snail Button type whistles which is a sub- category and as far as I know came first but there is less information about its makers will follow.

Three whistle Models made by Henry Arthur Ward late 1880’s and early 1890’s
Glasgow style construction and stamped;
Alpha Improved Call No. 23 No. 24 and 25
As with most referee standart types the smaller models are rarer , and so Model # 25 was first noted after 2005 .
These were made in his Alpha Gun Works in Birmingham.

Henry Arthur Ward 3 whistle Models Alpha Gun works Escargot, snail whistles whistle museum

Continue reading 19th Century British Snail Whistles, Referee, Escargot Whistles, Rare Antique Whistles

Slide whistle, J. Stevens & Son Model # 36 Glasgow, nineteenth Century ,England

Stevens & Sons Glasgow and London , see British Whistle Manufacturer History , The whistle was Probably made around 1850’s and designed by Richard Porteous. It is marked a Model # 36 on the body.
( August 5, 1802 – Jan. 3, 1881)
Closed position It is a brilliant design since while other slide whistles of the period 1840’s and 1850’s had a sliding rod which could be moved in and out inside to determin the pitch , this design has the cap top around the body and the sliding part is out side the whistle’s body.

Open position & back side

The Three parts

Certainly a very innovative tricky design, of a Slide whistle, unlike most slide whistles it has a smaller register within a range of a 5th, not a full octave. C – G notes. the picture above shows its unassembled 3 parts.
The shorter part has a fillet and longer one a flare outward , so once the longer part (middle of picture) slides into the shorter part which is just a bit wider and comes to a stop at the flare, then the loop – knop top screws on top and the and by pulling the knop the slide works making the whistle shorter or longer.
The top part is cast and milled and has a screw thread on the inner part, all made of one piece.
All in all very rare and extremely well made whistle.
Made of German silver.

Whistle Museum

A web site dedicated to whistles, research and collecting whistles. by Avner Strauss.

The well known foremost website Whistlemuseum is now in the progress of rebuilding.

See you soon! Please feel free to contact for advice on whistles. We will not be able to answer all questions only questions with a photo attached can be answered.

Thanks for visiting and sharing

Avner Strauss