a groundhog dug this out of his burrow. Eye ball find.
I don't see this as being part of a child's or a doll's toy umbrella.
Taking into account where you found it, I'm thinking it's more likely to be related to a medical machine part being used in the hospital.
I'm also thinking it's probably made of Bakelite as opposed to plastic, which would date it to early in the 20thc.
Dave
"In 1909, a Belgian chemist named Leo Baekeland created the first entirely synthetic plastic–and it would revolutionize the way many consumer goods were manufactured. Baekeland called his plastic “Bakelite.” (I guess that sounded better than “Leolite.”) Its properties made it suited for a much wider variety of purposes than its predecessors. For example, it was resistant to heat and would not conduct electricity, so it was a really good insulator–which made it particularly useful in the automotive and electrical industries emerging in the early 1900s.
Like many modern plastics, Bakelite was lightweight and durable, and it could be molded into nearly infinite shapes, so its use quickly expanded as manufacturers realized its potential. Consumers primarily were attracted to its aesthetic qualities: a sleek, stylish look coupled with a substantial, high-end feel. People bought Bakelite jewelry boxes, lamps, desk sets, clocks, radios, telephones, kitchenware, tableware, and a variety of game pieces such as chess sets, billiard balls, and poker chips. Bakelite ushered in a new era of attractive, affordable, convenient consumer goods, making it possible for a broad range of consumers to enjoy products that previously had been inaccessible."
