Many of you who visited our previous exhibit might have participated in the trivia challenge What Is That Thing? We invited visitors to identify objects in case 16. We can now reveal their names and purposes! Read what the mystery objects were below:
First Item: Powder Tester
The first object is an eprouvette or gunpowder tester. To determine the quality of powder a small amount is placed in the tiny vertical barrel, the muzzle of which is covered with a flap connected to the notched and calibrated wheel. The flintlock on the side is primed and, with a squeeze of the trigger, the powder sample is ignited. The force of the explosion is conveyed to the calibrated wheel so the tester can measure the strength of the powder. The most imaginative visitor guess on this was an “eighteenth-century pizza cutter!”
Middle Item: Flash Pistol
The middle object is a photographer’s flash pistol, used before flashbulbs to light a scene. Only three individuals correctly identified this item. The majority of our trivia players guessed that this was some type of stamp.
Last Item: Sticking Tommie
The final, right-hand item is called a “sticking tommie,” a wrought iron candle holder that can be hung or driven into a post to provide illumination.