painter – David Wilkie (1785 – 1841) and engraver – Abraham Raimbach (1776 – 1843)
Another piece to the puzzle. Does any have an idea about the bottle on the string?
Detail: broom, barrel, bowl, chair, newspaper, spectacles, funnel, candles, beer bottles, bird cage, bottle on string, tavern, door, door latch
OK…an intrusion of 21st Century Plow and Hearth here…Wonder if it’s some sort of fly or bee trap?
I agree with Pam. I would say its a fly/bee trap.
Or perhaps just a fly repellent (as opposed to trap), as described here http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/amazingly-effective-nontoxic-fly-repellant/
Bottle on a string……….Some say it doesn’t work but a plastic bag with water in it will keep flys away from a small area (we keep one out side the kitchen door, it works). They may be doing the same thing.
Door, door latch
The Bottle with the string is a fly trap My grand mother had on in our house when I was a kid. also at the museum I volunteered at also had one on display. they also had one for bed bug it look like a pot with a funnel on top.
Jon,
I agree with the fly trap or wasp/bee trap line of thinking. Ones I have seen have a bottom opening that funnels up into the main cavity. Water is added, creating a small moat around the funnel where the insects eventually drown. I believe it is because they easily fly up through the entrance, but have a hard time finding their way out. The top would be corked.
The bottle on a string is a fly trap, my Grand mother had one that belonged to my Great Grandmother. Her’s was a mason jar that had a special top that went on it, you put sugar water in the bottom and the fly’s could get in but not out. I also remember her doing the trick with a glass Coke Bottle.