Horn with a story...
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 9:44 pm
25+ years ago, I found this horn in an antique shop. I was interested, but had never seen a witches hat horn with flowers painted on the outside. Thinking it was a homemade flowered horn, I decided to pass. I did some research and found that, yes, they did make witches hat horns with flowers on the outside. I hurried back to the shop and found that it had been sold several hours previously...
Several years passed and I was at the home of a local collector and discovered that he had purchased this horn. I tried several times to buy it from him, with no luck... I gave up on the idea of owning it and lost track of the collector. Fast forward 20 years and I was contacted by the collector's daughter who informed me that her dad had passed and wondered if I was interested in buying any of his stuff. I asked about the horn and she said she hadn't seen it anywhere and thought he might have sold it. Another missed chance.
A collector friend who had heard about the estate sale of the previous collector, said he was going over to look at some items and asked if there was anything I wanted. I said the only thing I was interested in was the horn with flowers on the outside, if it was still there somewhere. He looked for it with no luck, but said he was going back to look again. He called me and said he found it and bought it, but was now attached to it himself, and didn't want to sell it. Six months went by and I had to go to his house for something and saw the horn getting ready to be loaded up to take to the Orlando Show. I asked if he would sell it now and he said he finally decided to let it go...
I finally got it after 25 years of trying to negotiate a price...
Now the question: who made this horn? There is no name on it anywhere, no patent dates or other identification. The only somewhat remarkable feature is the small brass triangular backing plate for the horn hanger... Any ideas?
Several years passed and I was at the home of a local collector and discovered that he had purchased this horn. I tried several times to buy it from him, with no luck... I gave up on the idea of owning it and lost track of the collector. Fast forward 20 years and I was contacted by the collector's daughter who informed me that her dad had passed and wondered if I was interested in buying any of his stuff. I asked about the horn and she said she hadn't seen it anywhere and thought he might have sold it. Another missed chance.
A collector friend who had heard about the estate sale of the previous collector, said he was going over to look at some items and asked if there was anything I wanted. I said the only thing I was interested in was the horn with flowers on the outside, if it was still there somewhere. He looked for it with no luck, but said he was going back to look again. He called me and said he found it and bought it, but was now attached to it himself, and didn't want to sell it. Six months went by and I had to go to his house for something and saw the horn getting ready to be loaded up to take to the Orlando Show. I asked if he would sell it now and he said he finally decided to let it go...
I finally got it after 25 years of trying to negotiate a price...
Now the question: who made this horn? There is no name on it anywhere, no patent dates or other identification. The only somewhat remarkable feature is the small brass triangular backing plate for the horn hanger... Any ideas?
. I could see this going fantastically with a 2 clip and a Howthrne & Sheble crane, or even the Rapke crane which displays the horns perfectly. Would love to have one, but they are impossible to find.
, but it's also happened to friends of mine. Maybe it's just best to chalk it up to forgetfulness and move on...
It has happened to me on other occasions, also, and I can't figure it out. Maybe they think that it somehow limits their asking price...