Antique toolbox: Can you guess what this Landis Valley Museum artifact was used for?

Can you guess the identity of this tool from the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum?

Landis Valley Museum Curator Jennifer Royer says this object is 12 3/4 inches tall, 4 1/2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long.

Do you know what it was used for?

If you think you do, send your guess to Mary Ellen Wright at features@lnpnews.com, with “Antique Toolbox” in the subject line, or mail to Mary Ellen Wright/Antique Toolbox, LNP Media Group, P.O. Box 1328.

History

Pioneering filmmaker, McCaskey grad to join Zoom Q&A Saturday at LancasterHistory; 2 of her films to be screened

MARY ELLEN WRIGHT | Staff Writer

Important: Please include your full name and the town you live in with your guess. Guesses are due by Monday, Oct. 16, We’ll reveal the correct answer in LNP and on LancasterOnline on Oct. 27.

• Don’t forget to save the date for Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum’s Harvest Days on Saturday, Oct. 7, and Sunday, Oct. 8. The museum at 2451 Kissel Hill Road is gearing up for its oldest and largest annual family event, featuring food and craft demonstrations from centuries past. For information about Landis Valley events, visit landisvalleymuseum.org.

HG old antique tool s22.JPG — Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum Curator Jennifer Royer says the mystery object is a circa-1900 vacuum press for sealing paint cans.
Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum

Last month’s tool: A vacuum press for sealing paint cans

Our readers submitted some good guesses, but no correct ones, as to the identity of last month’s tool from collection of the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum.

Landis Valley Museum Curator Jennifer Royer says the mystery object is a circa-1900 vacuum press for sealing paint cans.

The press is from “Valentine’s Varnishes, Manufactured by Valentine & Company, Boston, MA,” Royer adds.

Home & Garden

Thistles, chickens, mushrooms and mermaids: 15 home decor trends for fall

ERIN NEGLEY | Staff Writer

Valentine & Co., a varnish company, was incorporated in 1832, Royer says. This press was used 12 years after the first commercial production of varnishes in the United States, Royer adds.

• Best guesses: Tobacco clamp to tie leaves in bundles, a clamp for woodworking or an arbor press.