Thank you so much for the spooky newsletter - can you add some info on the coconut sander? What on earth is it? Do you use it to sprinkle sand on wet ink? To bludgeon someone? I tried googling it but only got redirected to your newsletter and to the auction site. Inquiring minds want to know!
I looked all over the place and couldn't find anything at all, and it turns out that's because Doyle was a bit off on the description. The brilliant silver expert Michael Baggott just solved the mystery for me on Twitter, but we have to keep this quiet so we can get it for a song the next time it comes up for sale, lol: It's a sugar caster made by none other than the amazing 19th century jewelry designer Carlo Giuliano in the late 1870s. Here's a less ornate piece, that's along the same lines: https://petercameronantiquesilver.com/product/a-carlo-giuliano-pepper-pot/
I was totally confused by the sanding part, too! I spent AGES peering at the photos trying to see if maybe the holes were sharp enough to shred the interior? But no. Just a sugar caster. Thank god Michael cleared that up!
What fun! Thanks so much for responding - I shared your newsletter with my 8-year-old son this morning, who thought it was delightfully spooky. I'll share what the coconut sander is with him this afternoon - we were both confused :)
Oh yay, I'm so glad he enjoyed it! And I'm very glad that mystery is cleared up, too - it was driving me bananas. But that thing would totally still be a great weapon.
Monica! As soon as I saw the pic of that javelin earring I remembered your original Hairpin post. I'd have the same kind of agita if I found myself unknowingly cited as an expert, but second-hand I am only extremely delighted!
Otherwise, if anyone wants to bring me that Codognato skull ring, send them up, for I am entirely at my leisure.
Oh, thank you so much. Truly! It's a lot of work and sometimes - particularly now - I really struggle to get it done because my day job is basically conferencepalooza in the fall. But knowing that you all are out there and interested helps keep me going. So really - thank you!
These are all so horrific and frightful and I have a long, long list of people I want to send them to.
Oops, I said that out loud. Cough.
>>"He was a great musician but also a bit of a dick, so some nymphs eventually turned him into a stag beetle and left him to wander the woods alone."
OK, on that criteria, my list is now twice as long...
>>"a Lilliputian battery carried in the pocket, enabling the death’s head to distend its jaws and close and open them at the wearer’s pleasure"
This is a use of the word "pleasure" that I am wholly unfamiliar with. And really, this whole catwalk of bejewelled horrors is frightening the hell out of me, as someone who wants to believe the best of most of humanity.
Sorry for the mental distress, lol. But heck, there are any number of billionaires out there who would benefit from a memento mori! I'm thinking of a posy ring for Peter Thiel that's inscribed "it doesn't matter how much teenage blood you infuse; death is patient."
That mouldering 'watch thy houre' skull is sooo haunted.
That ring gave me the shivers!!!
Thank you so much for the spooky newsletter - can you add some info on the coconut sander? What on earth is it? Do you use it to sprinkle sand on wet ink? To bludgeon someone? I tried googling it but only got redirected to your newsletter and to the auction site. Inquiring minds want to know!
I looked all over the place and couldn't find anything at all, and it turns out that's because Doyle was a bit off on the description. The brilliant silver expert Michael Baggott just solved the mystery for me on Twitter, but we have to keep this quiet so we can get it for a song the next time it comes up for sale, lol: It's a sugar caster made by none other than the amazing 19th century jewelry designer Carlo Giuliano in the late 1870s. Here's a less ornate piece, that's along the same lines: https://petercameronantiquesilver.com/product/a-carlo-giuliano-pepper-pot/
Thank you! I was trying to imagine how on earth you’d use it to sand a coconut and also if coconuts really need to be sanded 🤣
I was totally confused by the sanding part, too! I spent AGES peering at the photos trying to see if maybe the holes were sharp enough to shred the interior? But no. Just a sugar caster. Thank god Michael cleared that up!
What fun! Thanks so much for responding - I shared your newsletter with my 8-year-old son this morning, who thought it was delightfully spooky. I'll share what the coconut sander is with him this afternoon - we were both confused :)
Oh yay, I'm so glad he enjoyed it! And I'm very glad that mystery is cleared up, too - it was driving me bananas. But that thing would totally still be a great weapon.
Monica! As soon as I saw the pic of that javelin earring I remembered your original Hairpin post. I'd have the same kind of agita if I found myself unknowingly cited as an expert, but second-hand I am only extremely delighted!
Otherwise, if anyone wants to bring me that Codognato skull ring, send them up, for I am entirely at my leisure.
I literally snorted tea up my nose when I saw my name listed! Eeeek.
The Codognato sold for $100 under estimate at $3900. Somebody got a bargain!
Ugh that IS a bargain. I can only hope a secret admirer has bought it for my birthday!
I'm honestly surprised you aren't cited more. Your research is always impeccable and so thorough - it is impressive.
Oh, thank you so much. Truly! It's a lot of work and sometimes - particularly now - I really struggle to get it done because my day job is basically conferencepalooza in the fall. But knowing that you all are out there and interested helps keep me going. So really - thank you!
Scariest toothpick ever!
It looks quite dangerous until you realize it's an inch and a half long, lol!
😂😂😂
These are all so horrific and frightful and I have a long, long list of people I want to send them to.
Oops, I said that out loud. Cough.
>>"He was a great musician but also a bit of a dick, so some nymphs eventually turned him into a stag beetle and left him to wander the woods alone."
OK, on that criteria, my list is now twice as long...
>>"a Lilliputian battery carried in the pocket, enabling the death’s head to distend its jaws and close and open them at the wearer’s pleasure"
This is a use of the word "pleasure" that I am wholly unfamiliar with. And really, this whole catwalk of bejewelled horrors is frightening the hell out of me, as someone who wants to believe the best of most of humanity.
why
no, why
all of these. whyyyy
*confused sobbing*
Sorry for the mental distress, lol. But heck, there are any number of billionaires out there who would benefit from a memento mori! I'm thinking of a posy ring for Peter Thiel that's inscribed "it doesn't matter how much teenage blood you infuse; death is patient."
I'd be very happy to chip in for half the cost of making that ring. *supplies Venmo details*