small old horn

[vtbuck223]

I picked up this little horn at an antique store while on a camping vacation last week. It was so cheap my wife didn't even say anything. It measures 8 inches straight across. Any thoughts on age?

[BrownBear]

Not-a-clue on age, but it's in the size and style I lean toward.  Coupla quick observations and a question:

It's pretty clear that the base was heated and the plug shoved in to expand the horn a bit tighter fit. Nice.

The nails look pretty modern, but I'm no nail expert.

The plug is surprisingly "blond" or unsoiled, making me wonder if it was use much, or if it's a more recent build.

Now my question:

I like the low profile of the strap hanger on the plug.  Do you have a better pic of it?

Thanks!

[vtbuck223]

BrownBear....thanks for the response...good observations. The plug is definately a tight fit...and the horn prominently flares out around the plug.  The nails are interesting...different sized heads....not very uniform at all in appearance.  The plug is very "blonde" and has apparently lost any stain it may have had....still not sure what type of wood it is. It has a couple worm holes and as such is now in the freezer. The big wormhole appears to have helped take out part of the plug as you can see in the pics. The low profile of the strap hanger appears to be just a crude staple...interestingly next to a centered brass tac.

[BrownBear]

Almost looks as though the staple was added later, but from the staining, still a long time ago.

[mr. no gold]

Nice find! Thank you for showing it. Horn is old and dry looking. That is a good sign. The nails used to fix the butt plug are old and appear to be from around 1835. Some of the Lancaster factory horns, thought to date to that time, have the same type of nails. This was probably a home made horn and the butt plug may never have been stained or someone cleaned it later. You might put a light coat of lanolin on the horn to renew it, if you wanted to do that.
Thanks again.
Dick