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#16
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What do you mean by "north-south" post, are we talking about the direction of the pin on the back?
I'm guessing this one must have a Yorkshire connection because of the badge centre, but the pin back also puts another question in my mind. The war service badges are assumed to be male or female owned because of the fitting on the back, but at what point do we stop using that? When did men stop wearing suits that could take the half moon fitting and start wearing pin on badges? Did this badge belong to the wife of an old contemptible who was allowed to be a patron of the club or was it the mans? Michael |
#17
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That's okay, the fitting on the reverse does not look to be the original one, but, it's fine, they were brass, with an applied bronze finish and whilst you do see odd examples applied with the two prongs pointing downwards, they do tend to point upwards.
You will also encounter them with the registration number stamped to the centre of the "half moon" but, again, not always and of course, some of the actual badge dies used were engraved with Toye & Co Ld London, but, again by no means all. Quote:
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#18
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Old Contemptiles
Hi Michael
Thanks for your message. By saying "north-south" that was my way of saying "top to bottom". I'll check my Old Contemps badges over the weekend and see what is there. Most of the Toye & Co bronze(d?) badges I've seen have all had the "half moon" clip and it was always a theory that the pin backs were for wear by women but there was also clearly a time when gent's suits no longer had a "functional" buttonhole and they went over to a pin back. I've got a wide range of badges (mostly "on war service") where you can see that the "half moon" has been cut off and a "catch and hinge" (as I've heard them called). You'll see that photo that I posted of the badge with the red Maltese cross in the centre (pin-backed and also by Toye & Co) and am wondering if this is for nurses as the emblem is very similar to that found on the armbands worn by nursing staff (or at least there is one like this in our local museum). Thoughts? I'm intrigued that the Old Contemps seem to have been more than well-catered for in the Patron area if we are to judge by the number of badges that turn up! Something that makes me wonder if your badge is later (50s? 60s?) is the chrome(?) finish and the slightly "rougher" texture to the back. Hope this proves interesting. |
#19
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I don't think that I have ever seen an example bronze finished badge with the half moon actually stamped by the maker, they normally have the registration number on the clip.
Perhaps you can show an example? Quote:
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#20
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Again, on the bronze finished badge, that would be unusual, can you show an example?
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#21
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Hi Frank
I'll dig out my ones. I think I've posted some photos of them before but I'll check again. One of my badges has: a curious "coffin shaped" fitting that you see on badges from the 50s; no back stamp or maker's name;a very dark, untouched bronze colour; no association number I've got one or two that have clearly "had a life" and they are a lot more "copper" in colour than I would expect from brass. One thought that does occur and that is that there was a metal commonly used at the time called "gilding metal". This metal was used as it was possible to enamel it quite easily whereas copper would produce a dark "firescale" that made transparent colours darker and brass is "difficult" to enamel as the zinc causes problems with enamel retention. Amazing what you can learn from old books and even older people! |
#22
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Hi all
Here are some snips from previously posted pics. You'll see the standard Old Contemptibles badge and it does indeed appear that the "half moon" has a registration mark , then with the raised backstamp of TOYE & Co. I've also put there a chromed example that has intrigued me along with the mystery "red cross" Old Contemptibles badge. I'm a little annoyed that I don't seem to have photographed the one that might be much later (without number or maker's mark and with the variant on the fitting). Time to dig the camera out again! |
#23
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Old Contemptibles Badges
Hi all
Here is a small selection of some Old Contemptibles badges that I dug out. The first four are the normal badge and are suffixed "A;B & C". Interestingly enough, the chromed badge that featured in an earlier pic has a "D" suffix. The badge to the top left has traces of very old gilding remaining and I noticed that the badge bottom left has a few minor "die cracks" that I've not seen on other badges. The other two photos display a novel approach to how to wear a badge when you can no longer get a suit with a buttonhole! Also see the badge that I mentioned before that has no maker's mark, no association number and an unusual style of half moon clip. I looked very carefully at the letters and numbers on this later (?) badge and think that it was a new die as the letters and numbers are just SLIGHTLY different (think coin variations). They must have been a very "social" lot the Old Contemptibles, as there seem to be many regional variations on the wives' social club (see the Folkestone example) |
#24
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Old Contemptibles Badges
Hi all
Here are two more Old Contemptible badges. One is the previously mentioned "Patron" badge with the "top to bottom" catch and the other is a chromed badge (with the "D" suffix). You can just see the Toye & Co stamp to the back of the Patron badge. I notice that the rose is white whereas the Folkestone Wives' Social Club has a red rose. Any comments? |
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