Mervyn Mitton Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Known as a 'life preserver' many people carried these for protection in the 19thC. In the 18th.C swords were worn but, these had gone out of fashion - certainly by Victorian times - however, crime had not and the streets were very dangerous places.Men carried a variety of weaponry in case of attack - from pocket pistols ; sword canes ; bludgeons ; flails and these life preservers. They were usually made by sailors for extra income and the centre could be made from a variety of things - the main requirement being that it had flexibility to strike with extra force. This one has three pieces of whalebone - and is very 'springy' - both ends are a lead ball covered with intricate knotting - which is why the sailors were able to make them.They are fairly common and come in different sizes - I will show pictures of the other personal protection pieces at another time - however, it is interesting that two of them gave rise to common English expressions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 This gives a clearer view of the head and the interwoven whalebone. I should have said the length overall is approx. 10 inches. mervyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 :speechless1: That is medieval looking! Ten inches is rather large-- how would it have been carried? Maybe THAT is why they wore those knee length frock coats... very deep pockets? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Absolutely right - before frock coats men wore a swallow tailed coat - until about the 1850's - in each of the tails was a deep pocket where they carried things like this. The first police in 1829 carried a rattle - whistles were from 1884 - and this was in the tail pocket.Mervyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leigh kitchen Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 And similar things under the same name were used as trench clubs during WWI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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