SOLVED! 1850-1875 PhotoAlbum Spiral cam Booklatch

[steelheadwill]

Hello All!
Dug this a day or two back.
Turn the round spiral cam, and the two bell shaped pieces extend and retract,
(or vice versa). wondering if anyone knows what this item was used for?
Nola_Ken suggested Book Clasp.
Any more ideas would be welcome!
thanks for looking

 

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[NOLA_Ken]

Re: Spiral cam mechanism

Bump! really interested to see what this turns out to be.

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: Spiral cam mechanism

Bump! really interested to see what this turns out to be.

The piece on top in photo 2 would accept a slide pin connector, like a hinge.
hole in bottom would accept screw/bolt/pin.
I'm baffled by this, some type of light duty precision adjuster?
The bell shaped pieces move very little in comparison to rotation of the disc.

 

[lostcauses]

Re: Spiral cam mechanism

looks to be a book latch. turning the cam would allow a tightening of the latch, what ever it came off of.

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: Spiral cam mechanism

Sounds like a green check to me.
booklatch wouldn't have to move much.
hinge pin attached on back cover, hole went over pin on front cover,
twist the disc, it was locked

Nola_Ken gave the first booklatch id in 'Todays finds'
Seconded by Lostcauses here.
Now I see clearly
Thanks guys! Great work

 

[creskol]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

 

[creskol]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Thanks Ken .. What is the link?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Thanks Ken .. What is the link?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

Creskol, here's a site with some history of book clasps. I always thought they were really neat, and something you just don't see much anymore.

http://www.edenworkshops.com/book_clasps.html

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Creskol, here's a site with some history of book clasps. I always thought they were really neat, and something you just don't see much anymore.

http://www.edenworkshops.com/book_clasps.html

GreatID Nola Ken. I remember personal diarys used to have clasps. My sister had one in the late 60's. You had to push the tiny slide button to open it. Some also had tiny keys.

 

[creskol]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Thanks Ken .. What is the link?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

Creskol, here's a site with some history of book clasps. I always thought they were really neat, and something you just don't see much anymore.

http://www.edenworkshops.com/book_clasps.html

Thanks Ken .. I am familiar with the old strap-type clasps, but I have never seen one of these before. Thanks for the education. Learn something new every day if you aren't careful.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

[/quote]


Thanks Ken .. I am familiar with the old strap-type clasps, but I have never seen one of these before. Thanks for the education. Learn something new every day if you aren't careful.
[/quote]

Yeah seems like whether I want to or not

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

That is unbelievable
Now there can be no doubt...
Relentless researching pays off!
Thanks VERY much

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

now the trick is to date it.....

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

now the trick is to date it.....

One would think that such a neat design might be patented
The item shows no numbers or letters.
Can a patent search be done by item description?
If I were to guess from the condition of the book shown, 1880-1900

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Can a patent search be done by item description?
If I were to guess from the condition of the book shown, 1880-1900

Yes but its a lot of searching.
http://www.google.com/search?q=spir...YL00gHyl9HtDA&ved=0CBgQpwUoAg&biw=727&bih=526
You could go to "advanced patent search" or "restrict by issue date" and type in an estimated date range. I clicked on "filing date oldest".
Or use different key words.

 

[Bramblefind]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

Don't want to seem stupid, but what is a book latch and how does it work?

Some old books had a clasp on them that would keep them shut,

Steelheadwill.....you're not going to believe the pic I just found online....

Awesome picture!

looks like it is a clasp for a photograph album.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Re: SOLVED! Spiral cam Booklatch

The guy with the book clasp site says it's likely to be from a Victorian photo album, and guessed maybe 1850 -1875.

 

[steelheadwill]

Awesome Job on This Item
Exact photo match and Date, can't get much better than that
Thanks to all who replied and assisted with this Item