Gold Plate Victorian Bangle (S. F. Company)
When I first found this bangle, it was in bad condition. Several people told me to throw it away. I originally thought the plate was gone completely because of the heavy patina, but the engravings were interesting. Since I'd bought some Simichrome (a German chrome polish) to test pieces for Bakelite, I decided to give the substance a try on the bangle. It cleaned up nicely and is a pretty bracelet.
The bracelet probably belonged to my great-great grandmother, Nancy Annabelle "Nanny" Scates McDaniel. She was born in the American South in the mid-19th century and suffered from one of the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, Type II varient. Nanny lost her eye as a child while her brother attempted to rock her in a chair. When he threw her over his shoulder, her eye hit against the point on the rocker, dislocating it. She was blind in her left eye and had poor vision in her right. Nanny grew up and married Asbury Scates, a country vetraniarian and occasional "people doctor." He was a handsome man and, upon seeing him for the first time, Nanny declared: "That's my man, even if I should never get him!"
She got him partly because she ran over and hugged him after he'd been stabbed trying to break up a local barfight. This was the Victorian times, so a gentleman didn't take an action like being hugged by a woman lightly. She lived with him until the day he died, perfectly content.
Those were the "good old days."
The only other things I have that belonged to Nanny are:
- her physical disorder
- a locket
- the glasses she wore when she was an old lady
Here is a picture of Nanny when she was elderly:
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd99/Razor_M/nannyscates.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment