Stories Collected While Living in France
Every now and then I come across an antique at the brocante that I do not know what it is.
Do you know what it is, what it was used for?
If so write it in the comment section, or if you do not know what it was used for, make up a response in the comment section.
The first one to guess correctly will receive a gift as well as the most creative response.
Happy Guessing
xxx
Caterpillar re-locator. The pincher is padded so it doesn’t harm the little guys.
Candle extinguisher or very fancy tongs.
I think its a holder to hang your purse from at a table.
To prevent outdoor table cloths from flying away. OR ear protection for a toy poodle.
Roach clip de papillon.
I think it is to pinch your nose in very elegant manner. xo gina
Have you ever been on a lake or on a seashore and saw two metal antennas sticking out of the water? Then it was this thing what you were looking at. It’s an eavesdropping device for otters when they’re under water. When they put it on, they can hear what’s going on above the water surface. It also serves a second purpose. The otters use it to play a fun dating game. They chase each other through the water and the first that touches the other one’s butterfly with one paw, wins. The loser has to find a super yummy sea shell and open it up for his/her date. It’s becoming a trend among sea turtles as well now.
to hang a towel? Put the towel between the pincers, close it, than hang the whole thing from a hook in the kitchen (or at a bar….I think that’s where I have seen similar contraptions)
Ice tongs for a fairy princess’s birthday party. It’s late, I’m in the airport in Seattle and my mind is wandering. 🙂
A nipper to redden cheeks before rouge was OK for Une Bonne fille.
Perhaps it is a small cymbal that you hold in one hand.
Squeeze the top numerous times, for quiet applause 😉
Well obviously, it is hung on a chain or ribbon around a lady’s neck to clip her dance card into for easy access when dancing at the “Butterfly Ball”. ;>)
Obviously a skirt lifter!
Elsie beat me to it. Yes, it’s a Victorian skirt lifter. I used to own one years ago. It came with a vintage cornet I bought and was in the case. I sold the cornet but kept the skirt lifter, but eventually it was sold when I had a house clearance. I didn’t find out what it was until after. The one I had wasn’t this fancy – basically a long cord with the clamp at the end.
One of these was featured last year as part of a guessing game segment on the UK Antiques Roadshow.
A truss.😜
It holds escargot shells while u r eating
I imagine that once upon a time a man purchased this as an anniversary gift for his wife who absolutely had to have more than one cup of tea … several times a day in her flower garden , her favorite spot to read and grow her flowers , and she welcomed the variety of butterflie that visited ( which she also loved ) . It hung around her neck and she could gently remove her tea bag from her cup , and in between her cups of tea she would carry her reading glasses on it . It would be a favorite gift from him .
I am sure this is a candle snuffer that hangs on a chatelaine. The sweetest one I have ever seen.
Victorian and Edwardian ladies needed to raise their skirts – to ascend stairs, or to dance, or to lift their hemlines off the pavement while strolling. This device is an ingenious clamp that holds the fabric securely!
Link… http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2013/08/skirt-lifter-c-1876.html
Ha Ha Ha – it is a nose pincher device to hold your nose closed while you eat escargot’s
do you remember the “I Love Lucy” episode “Paris, At Last!” broadcast in 1956.Lucy is in a restaurant in Paris. The scene is hilarious where she orders snails escargot and doesn’t know what it is or how to eat them so she uses the escargot tongs as a nose pincher and watching it sent me looking for my escargot tongs and until now I have finally find them with your “guess what it is”
You attach the padded clip onto the hem of a long dress while dancing, and lift up the hem so that you do not step on it….Since I do not have the technical name, I will call it a “madams Butterfly Hem Clip”…lol
It is a salad tong known as a “Butterfly Tong”. It’s name or design seems to have been possible inspiration for ladies thong underwear. Perhaps it can be used for a gentleman to pinch a lady’s derriere?!
Skirt lifter is a delightful possibility … though my thoughts went immediately to the corsage that will require adjusting for Chelsea’s wedding dress … thus … tie a pretty blue ribbon on it and hold on to it Maman! Bisous bisous bisous … Ina + Pokey + Stella
Used for attaching a dress train to the waist?
To hold and lift the hem on a ladies skirt
Canning tongs??
Leave a Reply