1887 Scrimshaw Whalebone Orange Peeler from Catalina Island, Cal

[Plumbata]

At the best antique store in town I spotted this little scrimshaw tool. Anything whaling-related is good and I thought it was sweet so it came home with me. It seems to be in essentially perfect condition and the hook is still extremely sharp.

"1887 California - Hand Made - Made of Whalebone - Catalina Island"


"Patent No 2260 - The Rapid Orange Peeler"




I've tried many iterations of relevant search terms and the only closely related hit I've gotten was for a Kovels listing from 1995 for a peeler dated 1897:


An essentially identical tool but much more plain, apparently made under the same patent, has shown up 2 times in my searching:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-orange-peeler-477813201
https://picclick.ie/Antique-Bone-The-Rapid-Orange-Peeler-Patent-391937698193.html

Both items seem to have been sold by sellers in the UK, so I wonder of the Patent No 2260 is an English patent? Or is it a US design patent? I haven't gotten anywhere searching for the patent records.

It appears that the "made of Whalebone" side is hand-carved whereas the Patent No side is stamped, and appears to be the same stamping as the one in the worthpoint link, claimed to be ox bone. I wonder if the Catalina Island peeler is actually whalebone, or if the purveyor bought them in bulk and carved them for sale to unsuspecting tourists?

Any insights or help figuring out the patent info would be appreciated!

 

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[Retired Sarge]

Here's an Ebay one that sold for $19.58.

https://picclick.co.uk/RARE-ANTIQUE-BONE-PATENT-ORANGE-PEELER-THE-123068305500.html


Some sites list them as either being made of Bone, Ivory, Bakelite, or Celluloid. Use the word vintage in your search parameters. IE vintage bone orange peeler.

 

[Plumbata]

Thanks for the link, it has a better picture that confirms it is the same tool:



That seller was also in the UK, so the Patent # of 2260 is likely English or European. I had tried to find a searchable UK patent database but didn't have luck.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I think this is very relevant information provided by ffuries.

"A highly unusual old (ox bone) orange peeler in very good condition, believed to be patented in about 1840. It appears this mid 19th century invention, was patented in America c1840, was manufactured from cow bone and used to peel oranges. But like many inventions it probably failed to be a big success. (peeling an orange is not hugely difficult.) As you can see, all inscribed writing is still in good order, which is understandably quite rare, as if used a lot, the acids would soon eat away all such writing."

The one you found looks almost too good to be true, if you know what I mean.
As a kid growing up in the 1970s, I remember that we had something similar made of plastic for peeling oranges as well.

I hope your find proves to be the real deal,
Dave

 

[Plumbata]

Thank you, I think the UK sellers are wrong about the age, the US patent 2260 has nothing to do with bone orange peelers and the appearance of the stamped side is more consistent with late 1800s toothbrush handles found digging bottles.

I'm now of the opinion that it was the same as the other undecorated peelers, but was modified by a vendor on Catalina Island to cater to the sunbathing tourists that would be ferried over to "Avalon Bay" at the time. Unless all the peelers were manufactured from whalebone, which is possible, it is probably made of the same bone as the others. My guess is that a beach vendor made these in rather limited quantities each year, and if the Kovels entry isn't a typo they did so at least between 1887-1897.

Regarding authenticity, I know that modern scrimshaw fakes abound. My dad collected scrimshaw whale teeth and walrus tusks years ago and only 2 are authentic. Based on what I've seen this seems legit, and the store owner picked it up very recently from a big old 100+ year old multi-generational estate auction along with lots of good old stuff (I got 9 old tokens from the same estate haul also) so the context is very solid in my opinion.

 

[tamrock]

Neat item

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Thank you, I think the UK sellers are wrong about the age, the US patent 2260 has nothing to do with bone orange peelers and the appearance of the stamped side is more consistent with late 1800s toothbrush handles found digging bottles.

I'm now of the opinion that it was the same as the other undecorated peelers, but was modified by a vendor on Catalina Island to cater to the sunbathing tourists that would be ferried over to "Avalon Bay" at the time. Unless all the peelers were manufactured from whalebone, which is possible, it is probably made of the same bone as the others. My guess is that a beach vendor made these in rather limited quantities each year, and if the Kovels entry isn't a typo they did so at least between 1887-1897.

Regarding authenticity, I know that modern scrimshaw fakes abound. My dad collected scrimshaw whale teeth and walrus tusks years ago and only 2 are authentic. Based on what I've seen this seems legit, and the store owner picked it up very recently from a big old 100+ year old multi-generational estate auction along with lots of good old stuff (I got 9 old tokens from the same estate haul also) so the context is very solid in my opinion.

In my 40 years of buying, selling, picking and even digging antiques, I've found that even the dealers can't be right all of the time. In determining if an item is real, a reproduction or a fake, it's always been 'buyer beware'... if it looks too good to be true, it often is.

Antiques are hot and anything that is hot is probably being reproduced. Not knowing how to tell the difference between something that was made a hundred years ago and something similar that was made last year can result in a buyer getting burned. With the prices being paid for many antiques, it could be a serious burn. An antiques store may offer the luxury of having pieces appraised, but not at an auction or flea market, that's unlikely. When having a piece appraised, make sure to pay an appraisal cost per piece. Don’t get locked into a situation paying a percentage of the value of the piece to have it appraised, or else the appraiser might be tempted to bump the price up a bit. Replicas are everywhere, even in antique shops and today it can be difficult to determine at a reproduction from an authentic antique. It takes an expert eye to spot a fake.

The best advice I can give to the novice collector is, read, research and ask questions from people who know what they're talking about!

Dave

 

[Plumbata]

Replicas are everywhere, even in antique shops and today it can be difficult to determine at a reproduction from an authentic antique. It takes an expert eye to spot a fake.

Absolutely! My specialty is Neolithic through Medieval European antiquities and probably 90% of the stuff is fake with much of the rest purposefully mis-attributed for profit. The sophistication of some fake items is terrifying, but like anything they can be studied and avoided. I see people spend thousands every day on what are obvious fakes to me, but if you don't know the parameters of how bronze or iron reacts within a broad range of conditions and don't know the archaeologically documented styles reported for different eras and regions then that green-patinated bronze "Roman Military Diploma" or fancy oil lamp might look mighty appealing to someone with more dollars than sense. I could go on for days about it. Anyway, thank you for your thoughts and judicious skepticism.

The bone tool itself must be original, but that doesn't mean someone in the past 60 years didn't discover a New Old Stock batch of the peelers and inscribe them with the fascinating Catalina Island details. I sure wish I could see what the one referenced by Kovels looks like. It didn't cost too terribly much thankfully so if the most piquant attribute is inauthentic it's no big deal. I won a misidentified ancient Greek iron "Makhaira" 17 inch short sword/fighting knife for a small fraction of its value yesterday, so overall it was a lucrative day even if the peeler is no good.

 

[Retired Sarge]

There is another style, but same concept, that was sold in Florida as souvenirs.

https://www.google.com/search?q=vin...xcBowQ_AUoAnoECAwQAg&biw=798&bih=340&dpr=2.63