The last item is a Spencer Buffalo microscope light source with integrated blue filter, manufactured in Buffalo NY. Spencer Buffalo was purchased by American Optical in 1935, then renamed in 1945 to the Instrument Division of American Optical. Their products were frequently branded "AO Spencer" after this time. Many are still in use today, and I am paid to repair them.
Note the outline around the words. Those are cross sections of lenses. The top of the stylized ‘S’ with Spencer is a plano-convex, and the two outlines around Buffalo and U.S.A. are an achromatic doublet, usually cemented together, made of two different types of glass to combat rainbow fringes of light from the prism effect of glass tending to bend different colors by different amounts.
I have also seen them used to moisten finger tips instead of licking them in banks for counting money, paper shops and in sewing shops to hold and catch thread.
regarding the stamp/envelope roller - I used a similar device to butter toast when I cooked at a truck stop diner. Same principal, just with melted butter. Much faster for the breakfast rush. That was 40 years ago. I don't know if they are still in use.
Buttering toast was the very first thing I thought of myself! But I do remember way back when stamps needed to be licked - forgot about that! I still go with the buttering though 😁😁😲
I concur! Smooth, even light with minimal glare makes slide viewing much easier! Some microscopes still have mirrors for reflecting sunlight but that is very bright. Electric lighting is much better
Spencer was a famous maker of optical instruments, especially microscopes, so that's a strong clue. They also produced some interesting photographic lenses as well.
I think many of us knew the envelope & stamp moistener as they were very common in offices until self-adhesive stamps and envelopes started becoming the norm.
The Lutz tool item: I used a very similar looking tool back in the late '70's for a different purpose. Similar design but a tad different, I was a phone guy, worked on telco cables that were sheathed in lead. When a repair or change had to be made to a large splice case made of lead, you sometimes had to 'unzip' the large lead sleeve around that area. It was split in the middle down the length when installed then sealed with a torch and lead/tin solder. To open it back up you would depressurize it a bit, then heat up that seam a bit at a time and winkle that tool into the gap and force it forward as you melted the solder mix. That way you could reuse the old sheath if you were careful. Never did work very well so a lot of them got tossed out.
Well, the fact that there are videos on UA-cam doesn’t mean he’d ever seen them before he started researching this. There’s tons of stuff on UA-cam that I’ve never seen, and likely won’t, unless it randomly shows up on my feed.
I knew the stamp/envelope moistener but that was about it. I suppose it was in with kitchen supplies for use with trading stamps. I remember licking whole pages worth of those stamps when I was a kid S&H I think it was had a minty flavor to the glue but all the others were nasty.
S&H stood for Sperry & Hutchinson. There was also Blue Chip stamps at the same time. Both given out at stores and gas stations. We hated those things when customers always bitched about how many they'd get. I have a Dymo label maker (with 3 rolls of tape) in the filing cabinet next to me. 1 book of blues at the time. A popular and efficient way to wet them was to tap the top of a wet sponge laying on a table or sink.
@@ivanleterror9158 I don't remember Blue Chip, they must not have been in our area. We had S&H, Gold Bond, and one store that did Treasure House I think it was called? Nobody liked those. Mom used a sponge too, but being a kid I thought it was more fun to lick them. Ah, fun memories, thank you :)
@@xlerb2286 I'm referring to the LA area in SoCal. Who knows what they had all over the US. There was so much consumer fever over what people thought was free.
The stamp moistener did not use water but mucilage glue thinned with water. If you used only water to moisten stamps/envelopes the stamp could fall off and envelopes open during transit. Saliva reacts with the dried glue on stamps and envelopes where water would not. Now stamps and most envelopes are made sanitary by self sticking strips.
@@Ron-d2s That probably worked better than the Aquaball, which is always too wet. My boss wouldn't give up her ceramic one, but I was allowed to use it.
@@jeanettemarkley7299 I remember that every post office had a stamp licker on every one of there huge marble tables in there lobbys also the glue on the stamps was flavored ( different flavor 4 different denominations ), I think that the stamp likers AND the tables were made out of local marble ( VERMONT MARBLE!!)
Final item is an early lighting system for an adult film studio. It cast a blue glow on the actors as they engaged in pleasurable activities. Thus the term, " blue movie."
Seriously, were you aware how correct you really are? In the early days of Burlesque they would have a spotlight on the dancer and someone was in front of the light with bottles containing differently colored liquids. When the ladies would go into their sauciest part the color would be changed to ...... BLUE... hence the concept of "Blue Movie" was started, also when a comedian says they are "Going Blue" or telling an "Off Color Joke". A Blue Moon is completely different, frost burn of the gluteus maximus is no laughing matter🥶🍑
The last item is a Spencer Buffalo microscope light source with integrated blue filter, manufactured in Buffalo NY. Spencer Buffalo was purchased by American Optical in 1935, then renamed in 1945 to the Instrument Division of American Optical. Their products were frequently branded "AO Spencer" after this time. Many are still in use today, and I am paid to repair them.
Note the outline around the words. Those are cross sections of lenses. The top of the stylized ‘S’ with Spencer is a plano-convex, and the two outlines around Buffalo and U.S.A. are an achromatic doublet, usually cemented together, made of two different types of glass to combat rainbow fringes of light from the prism effect of glass tending to bend different colors by different amounts.
Knew the stamp moistener.
I have also seen them used to moisten finger tips instead of licking them in banks for counting money, paper shops and in sewing shops to hold and catch thread.
We still use them. I never knew it had a name. Just called it a ceramic wheel.
regarding the stamp/envelope roller - I used a similar device to butter toast when I cooked at a truck stop diner. Same principal, just with melted butter. Much faster for the breakfast rush. That was 40 years ago. I don't know if they are still in use.
Buttering toast was the very first thing I thought of myself! But I do remember way back when stamps needed to be licked - forgot about that! I still go with the buttering though 😁😁😲
The ring shrinker answered so many questions for me!
Your last item is a Microscope illuminator.
There is one on Thebay atm
I concur! Smooth, even light with minimal glare makes slide viewing much easier! Some microscopes still have mirrors for reflecting sunlight but that is very bright. Electric lighting is much better
I have one just like it
Spencer was a famous maker of optical instruments, especially microscopes, so that's a strong clue. They also produced some interesting photographic lenses as well.
I think many of us knew the envelope & stamp moistener as they were very common in offices until self-adhesive stamps and envelopes started becoming the norm.
I have only seen a sponge type, very common in offices around Denmark (years ago). Also usable for paper adhesive tape.
We had one in our house
3:40 - "The first word is illegible" - not very illegible LOL; I could easily read it!
The Lutz tool item: I used a very similar looking tool back in the late '70's for a different purpose. Similar design but a tad different, I was a phone guy, worked on telco cables that were sheathed in lead. When a repair or change had to be made to a large splice case made of lead, you sometimes had to 'unzip' the large lead sleeve around that area. It was split in the middle down the length when installed then sealed with a torch and lead/tin solder. To open it back up you would depressurize it a bit, then heat up that seam a bit at a time and winkle that tool into the gap and force it forward as you melted the solder mix. That way you could reuse the old sheath if you were careful.
Never did work very well so a lot of them got tossed out.
There are videos of such a strongbox on UA-cam. Never seen anything like this before.
Well, the fact that there are videos on UA-cam doesn’t mean he’d ever seen them before he started researching this. There’s tons of stuff on UA-cam that I’ve never seen, and likely won’t, unless it randomly shows up on my feed.
@@anna9072 I wanted to say that I haven’t seen something like this before. I searched for it after seeing it on this channel.
That last one looks like some kind of ozone generator.
FYI, I used the stamp/envelope moistener @0:55 in the 2010's while working at the San Jose Police Records Unit. 😊 😂 Old tools still find a use today.
I knew the stamp/envelope moistener but that was about it. I suppose it was in with kitchen supplies for use with trading stamps. I remember licking whole pages worth of those stamps when I was a kid S&H I think it was had a minty flavor to the glue but all the others were nasty.
S&H stood for Sperry & Hutchinson. There was also Blue Chip stamps at the same time. Both given out at stores and gas stations. We hated those things when customers always bitched about how many they'd get. I have a Dymo label maker (with 3 rolls of tape) in the filing cabinet next to me. 1 book of blues at the time. A popular and efficient way to wet them was to tap the top of a wet sponge laying on a table or sink.
@@ivanleterror9158 I don't remember Blue Chip, they must not have been in our area. We had S&H, Gold Bond, and one store that did Treasure House I think it was called? Nobody liked those. Mom used a sponge too, but being a kid I thought it was more fun to lick them. Ah, fun memories, thank you :)
@@xlerb2286 I'm referring to the LA area in SoCal. Who knows what they had all over the US. There was so much consumer fever over what people thought was free.
I think the last item was a lamp meant to reduce light output so your house didn't get bombed in WWII while reading at night.
The stamp moistener did not use water but mucilage glue thinned with water. If you used only water to moisten stamps/envelopes the stamp could fall off and envelopes open during transit. Saliva reacts with the dried glue on stamps and envelopes where water would not. Now stamps and most envelopes are made sanitary by self sticking strips.
Not sure where you are from but stamps way back here in the US (1950s+)already had adhesive on the back but needed water /tongue to moisten them!
Last item: A bug zapper.
The modern version of the ceramic stamp and envelope moistener is called an Aquaball. I bought one when I could not find a ceramic roller for my desk.
My dad had an ashtray with a sponge.
@@Ron-d2s That probably worked better than the Aquaball, which is always too wet. My boss wouldn't give up her ceramic one, but I was allowed to use it.
I DID guess the first item A STAMP LICKER!!
My husband got the first one too. He cheated because he's 65.😉
@@jeanettemarkley7299 I remember that every post office had a stamp licker on every one of there huge marble tables in there lobbys also the glue on the stamps was flavored ( different flavor 4 different denominations ), I think that the stamp likers AND the tables were made out of local marble ( VERMONT MARBLE!!)
I kinda got...well no I didn’t get the jewelry makers tool right I thought it was weights to weigh gold.
I knew a few of the items and the windscreen tool I’ve actually used one but it went walkabout from my toolbox
The label/stamp moistener. I have a similar one.
Me I guessed it was a ring stretcher
❤
Who can't distinguish marble and purcelain?
Always a pleasure
Thanks again @joniangelsrreal6262!
Weights for a scale, and a postage stamp wetter.
No they aren't weights.
That metal object at around 4.46 is not a buoy. Its a metal shield boss from the Anglo Saxon times.
4:46
Final item is an early lighting system for an adult film studio. It cast a blue glow on the actors as they engaged in pleasurable activities. Thus the term, " blue movie."
I'm 51 seconds in... and even without seeing the last item I can see you are much better at this now 😄
That would explain why she "has no idea where that came from."
Seriously, were you aware how correct you really are?
In the early days of Burlesque they would have a spotlight on the dancer and someone was in front of the light with bottles containing differently colored liquids.
When the ladies would go into their sauciest part the color would be changed to ...... BLUE... hence the concept of "Blue Movie" was started, also when a comedian says they are "Going Blue" or telling an "Off Color Joke".
A Blue Moon is completely different, frost burn of the gluteus maximus is no laughing matter🥶🍑
Funny idea but its an old microscope light
@@Ron-d2sit's an old microscope light
The long pauses before the reveal are a little too long.