paleomaxx
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- Aug 14, 2016
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- Location
- Upstate, NY
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- Detector(s) used
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- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I love researching the relics that I unearth detecting, and sometimes I come across a piece that leads down a rabbit hole and I end up learning about some corner of history that I never even knew existed before that day. This crumpled little piece of silver has had me reading 150 year old newspapers, theater history books, and retrospective articles like you wouldn't believe and it's all amazing. I just had to post about what I've found so far since this may be one of the most amazing relics I've recovered to date!
First things first, here's the relic as it appeared right out of the ground:
I knew instantly that it was sterling silver and I could see detailed little etching around the border so I tucked it away and kept detecting. This site produced a tremendous quantity of beautiful Victorian brass pieces and several other sterling relics, but as soon as I started cleaning this one up I saw the etched lettering and it became priority one to restore it and see what it said.
I used the standard annealing technique on this piece since it was crumpled in several directions and I was sure that if I went to bend it, it would simply fragment. Here's where I started from:
It's a slow process as you can only bend it back a little at a time before reheating and quenching. This was after about 7 treatments:
I didn't realize at first that it was convex in shape. Knowing that would have helped me bend it better initially so I was left with a few creases, but the lettering was finally clear and I could figure out what it said:
"Walter Sinn, Park Theater"
The edge etching are absolutely stunning and it's clear that a lot of skilled craftsmanship went into making it. Initially I was thinking maybe a souvenir, but a quick search turned up a treasure trove of information and I'm now convinced that this was a personal item. As it turns out, Walter Sinn and his father Colonel William Sinn were famous theater managers in Brooklyn NY around the end of the 19th century. There are dozens of newspaper articles about the plays and performances they organized and their success in the field. Colonel William Sinn took over the Park Theater in 1875 and turned what was at the time a failing theater into a thriving enterprise. He soon brought his son onboard and they managed the theater for 20 years; ending only because they were given management of a brand new stage, the Montauk Theater. I actually found a promotional pamphlet written about the Montauk Theater in 1895 that had a surprisingly detailed biography on Walter Sinn:
Fascinating information and it seems like he was involved in and excelled at all aspects of the business. I was even able to find a picture of Walter Sinn:
The Park Theater no longer exists, but was quite renowned and there's even a Wikipedia page with a photo of the theater:
The Park Theater burned down in 1908, an event that numerous newspapers covered at the time. The fire is thought to have been due to the newly installed electric lighting system and nearly destroyed several other important building nearby. After the move to the Montauk Theater the newspaper articles on the Sinns ceased and I was eventually able to find that Walter Sinn died suddenly in 1896 and his father a few years later in 1899. A sad and abrupt end, but their work at the Park Theater was their legacy and it seems to be without equal.
I found this artifact well away from New York City and the fact that Walter Sinn wouldn't have had any opportunity to live at this particular homestead; it seems likely that he lost this item during his travels and it was later found by a local. Just theorizing, but I also found a stamped railway key at this spot despite it not being particularity close to any rail lines so it's possible that the person who lived here worked on the railway and would have had the opportunity to find this left on a seat somewhere.
One of the other sterling pieces I found was a thin and ornately engraved strip of silver which matches the pattern and would have originally been around the edge possibly indicating that this was a case or compact of some sort.
I like to think that this was a gift from the elder Sinn upon his son being made a partner in the theater, but it's impossible to say for sure. Without a doubt this was custom made for Walter Sinn and was probably a cherished item he carried around on his person. Just the sheer volume of history that this thin little piece of silver brought up was astounding and I don't think I could hope to find a more incredible and tangible link to someone of that magnitude.
Truly a once in a lifetime find!
First things first, here's the relic as it appeared right out of the ground:
I knew instantly that it was sterling silver and I could see detailed little etching around the border so I tucked it away and kept detecting. This site produced a tremendous quantity of beautiful Victorian brass pieces and several other sterling relics, but as soon as I started cleaning this one up I saw the etched lettering and it became priority one to restore it and see what it said.
I used the standard annealing technique on this piece since it was crumpled in several directions and I was sure that if I went to bend it, it would simply fragment. Here's where I started from:
It's a slow process as you can only bend it back a little at a time before reheating and quenching. This was after about 7 treatments:
I didn't realize at first that it was convex in shape. Knowing that would have helped me bend it better initially so I was left with a few creases, but the lettering was finally clear and I could figure out what it said:
"Walter Sinn, Park Theater"
The edge etching are absolutely stunning and it's clear that a lot of skilled craftsmanship went into making it. Initially I was thinking maybe a souvenir, but a quick search turned up a treasure trove of information and I'm now convinced that this was a personal item. As it turns out, Walter Sinn and his father Colonel William Sinn were famous theater managers in Brooklyn NY around the end of the 19th century. There are dozens of newspaper articles about the plays and performances they organized and their success in the field. Colonel William Sinn took over the Park Theater in 1875 and turned what was at the time a failing theater into a thriving enterprise. He soon brought his son onboard and they managed the theater for 20 years; ending only because they were given management of a brand new stage, the Montauk Theater. I actually found a promotional pamphlet written about the Montauk Theater in 1895 that had a surprisingly detailed biography on Walter Sinn:
Fascinating information and it seems like he was involved in and excelled at all aspects of the business. I was even able to find a picture of Walter Sinn:
The Park Theater no longer exists, but was quite renowned and there's even a Wikipedia page with a photo of the theater:
The Park Theater burned down in 1908, an event that numerous newspapers covered at the time. The fire is thought to have been due to the newly installed electric lighting system and nearly destroyed several other important building nearby. After the move to the Montauk Theater the newspaper articles on the Sinns ceased and I was eventually able to find that Walter Sinn died suddenly in 1896 and his father a few years later in 1899. A sad and abrupt end, but their work at the Park Theater was their legacy and it seems to be without equal.
I found this artifact well away from New York City and the fact that Walter Sinn wouldn't have had any opportunity to live at this particular homestead; it seems likely that he lost this item during his travels and it was later found by a local. Just theorizing, but I also found a stamped railway key at this spot despite it not being particularity close to any rail lines so it's possible that the person who lived here worked on the railway and would have had the opportunity to find this left on a seat somewhere.
One of the other sterling pieces I found was a thin and ornately engraved strip of silver which matches the pattern and would have originally been around the edge possibly indicating that this was a case or compact of some sort.
I like to think that this was a gift from the elder Sinn upon his son being made a partner in the theater, but it's impossible to say for sure. Without a doubt this was custom made for Walter Sinn and was probably a cherished item he carried around on his person. Just the sheer volume of history that this thin little piece of silver brought up was astounding and I don't think I could hope to find a more incredible and tangible link to someone of that magnitude.
Truly a once in a lifetime find!
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