In my opinion it looked close to perfect in condition - no cracks or fractures, perfect floral picture, no chips. Now it is smashed from falling during our earthquake in February 2011. We would love to get some sort of idea about replacement value in order to notify our insurers.
This rare antique brass bell has been in our family for years. Through hearsay, and undocumented I am afraid, it has been said to have been bolted to one of the Liberty Ships built in the 1941- 1945 WWII era, but sometimes truth becomes stories and stories become embelishments. So the story goes that many years ago, father in law, a retired naval officer- deceased, aquired this bell and said that it came from a libery ship. After MUCH seaching and seeing so many bells, I am just confused now. Ships bell? Railroad bell?
anyway here are the specs and some pics...
Brass Bell
Mouth of bell is 18" Diameter
Height is 14" to first ridge on top and 16" to very top of bell (not the bolt).
Thought to be off of a "liberty Ship", 1941-45 WWII era.
Very heavy 75-100 lbs.
There are NO marks or halmarks. I looked with magnifying glass and nothing.
The 28 piece set includes place settings of knife, fork and spoon for eight, a two piece set consisting of meat knife and two prong fork and another set consisting of three prong fork and serving spoon. These last two pieces have twisted handles from the base of the spoon/fork down to the beginning of the handle. All pieces are intact and though some wear, no pieces have scratches, dulled knives, chips or bends.The wood in all pieces are smooth with no chips or cracks and all the rivets are intact. The outside of the box has a green reptile looking covering that shows some wear, but there are no major tears or missing pieces. the box itself is intact. The latches, hinges and handle are all in working order with no cracks, dents, or chips. The handle appears to be plastic, reminiscent of bakelite. The interior red velvet is well attached to the box and has no tears. The velvet when the spoon and forks slide into the bottom holders are a bit worn but still adhered. One person I spoke with from a local antique store thought it was from Vietnam, but could not give me much more information. I have had a couple of people who think the wood was cherrywood or rosewood. Could find no markings either in/on the box or on the individual pieces. Any information as to its history (or even where to begin to research) and its value would be great!
For the age of the set, it's in mint condition. There are no scratches, chips, scuffs or any other marks whatsoever. I've tried to do some online research, but I've been unable to find an identical set. Even through scouting on a website that sells replacement dishes for this company I was unable to find anything with same design.
Sorry for the quality of the images but I can't seem to find the cord for my camera and got stuck using my cell phone. I hope it adequately gets the quality of the pieces across.
