*Doppelgänger Edition

The venerable Dick Stout, my doppelgänger detectorist friend from Texas not only looks like me, but we also think alike. He also keeps a blog. In his latest post, he says …

I was trying to come up with something interesting to post and wondered if it really mattered. I mean how many people read what I write and does anyone really give a rat’s ass? [I’m] sure John and I will continue to write and to bitch and complain. It’s in our DNA. 

Read the full post on Dick Stout’s blog. Although first written in 2016, the short extract I show above is still as relevant today.

From The Searcher magazine – yonks ago. © JW

Edward VII pencil topper. © UKDFD No. 19015

Validator Sandra Shaw described this artefact as, ‘most probably a novelty pencil top’ (?)
These hollow cast heads were popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
But, judging by the UKDFD and PAS databases the one of Edward is quite a rare find.

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Old Nosey

Much of what I understand about the distant past I know from the multitude of lost and discarded objects unearthed on metal detecting forays. In the early days I used to ask a knowable detectorist. Sometimes my finds were interpreted by historians or archaeologists. Finding artefacts and engaging in research has taught me more about history than I ever learned at school. I know many detectorists who say the same.

Duke of Wellington

Death mask of the Duke of Wellington. Courtesy English Heritage

This death mask of the Duke, a plaster model of his face, was taken on the day he died of a stroke – or seizures – in 1852, at the age of 83.

During the 19th century it was common to make a model of the face of someone who had recently died. This could be used to produce plaster casts, like the one above, as a memento or commemorative item for the friends and admirers of the deceased. This cast, unlike some, was not widely distributed – perhaps because it shows the Duke as an elderly and fragile man.

Apsley House / English Heritage

Parkinson’s DISEASE and DETECTING

71 year-old Jim Druett who, at the time, was a member of Camberley and Bagshott and also Farnham and District MDC’s, has Parkinson’s disease.

This blog was written in August 2015 and worth a reprise. Jim will be now 77 or thereabouts. I’m pleased the Druett’s have given their approval for me to reprise their story for new detectorists, many of whom won’t have seen the original.

Jim isn’t computer savvy, so wife Sylvia has transcribed his words

Jim Druett