For Northsider and Steve

The first picture is for Northsider Dave. This is a picture of the brass and copper gas light that bought in a box of stuff at auction. It has been wired to work as an electric light. Auction price of $5.00. We bought polish and dremel pads and sealer. It was a cool find and Tim is pleased with it. 

The next pictures are for Steve. He wanted a picture of the ruler. It is a yard stick actually, that is divided into four sections. Folded completely it is 9 inches long. 

It is marked. Michael Rabone and his wife started this company in 1784. The factory was located in Birmingham. (8 Snow Hill, to be exact).When he died in 1803. his wife took over the day to day operations. His son John, took over in the 1820s. 

At that point, England was beginning to mechanize, and (this is pure conjecture on my part since I cannot find a lot of information to fill in the blanks) I'm guessing this is when the rulers began to be made with callipers and protractors and the like to meet the needs of draftsmen and machinists I am guessing also that this is when the rulers began to be stamped with a number. Ours does not have a number at all and I am (again speculation!) wondering if this is perhaps due to the fact that before the industrialization of England, Michael and Elizabeth Rabone's small company had a very limited inventory and had no need to number the products. 

So, at some point in John's 'reign' these different rulers began to carry product numbers. He moved the company to Hockney Abbey to accomodate the bigger business as well as his modernization. There is a story about a disgruntled employee stabbing John Rabone in a rage because he felt that mechanization was going to deprive him of employment. 

But...back to the time line. In 1845, John's son, John Jr. joined him in the business and it became John Rabone and Son. In 1877, John Jr.'s sons joined the party and the business name was changed to John Rabone and Sons. 

No model number.

It has a 'swing hinge' in the middle. On some of the later models, this was a protractor for measuring angles. The models during John's time began to be made with a half circle cutout instead of the flat ends on the swing hinge. 

Each 'leg' coming off of the swing hinge has an additional hinge to unfold the four sections into a 36 inch yard stick. each inch is marked off to 1/8 inch intervals. 

It's a fascinating thing, so perfectly designed and made. We can know for a fact that the yard stick we have was made before 1845 when John Jr. joined his father in the business. Again, it is pure conjecture, but I believe when John took over from his mother in 1820, he began to make changes, add to the product line, label his products with product numbers as he kept pace with England's industrial boom. It is my guess that the ruler Cara and Colin sent Tim is something from early on in John's control, and it may well date back to Elizabeth and Michael's time. It was a fascinating rabbit hole to fall into. If anyone has any information to add, please feel free to do so. We'd love to hear it. 

In other news today, Houdi went back to see the vet again for a recheck. He was not happy about finding himself once again in a cat carrier, but interestingly enough, he did not yowl all the way to the vet. He rode quietly, and he behaved like a perfect gentleman cat. Better yet, when I brought him back home and unzipped the carrier, he jumped out and bolted for the basement as he usually does when he's spooked but this time, he did not stay down there for a couple days. He returned in minutes. I rewarded him with one of those lickable treats, picked up specially for this day. He loved that little treat. We played with the laser light for a while. and he is now yowling at me. He is used to spending the evening on my lap, and he can't do that if I'm on the computer. 

We will have all the interior walls up in our new house before we ring in 2024. Then Tim will wire the house. Plumb the house. Figure out where we are going to put the other two windows.  Then we will begin the drywalling.