@Denise Vanasse - Hello & welcome to the forum!! I can be of no help to you on your miniatures other than to say they are wonderful. You may want to check back on this thread over the next few days since this is an international forum members tend to come & go throughout the day & night. Also, not all of the members are here every day so you just never know if someone might come along who has some additional information for you.
This is the one that looks very similar (sorry for the double image). Same letter shapes and only one period. This is totally spitballing but they apparently did make agricultural implements so maybe salesman samples.
I honestly don’t know. He passed before I was born. My Aunt is the last one left of his children, so I’ll have to contact her to find out.
Not Freemasons, but the Grange! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natio...f_Patrons_of_Husbandry#Rituals_and_ceremonies
Yes! I have been looking into it more. I emailed a museum in PA that has one of the founders original set. I have yet to hear from them. I’m still trying to figure out who the manufacturer was and if they were part of the Grange.
Boy Howdy- I tell Ya Gramp's story keeps on a gettin' more interesting-'The Lone Granger ! '. Probably a fair amount of Grange Members were also Freemasons-look how close the symbology is,except perhaps for the Plough ? These are definitely bigger than the Masonic miniature 'tool sets',maybe hand-crafted by a local Grange Brother Blacksmith-fine 'folk art' ensemble Denise. You could get an opinion by a few reputable East Coast Folk Art Galleries/Auction Houses.
Denise-Old Grange Halls are some of my favorite older 'vernacular' (?) examples of American Architecture.You'll be in the middle of a blindingly boring U.S. subdivision,and sitting right in the midst of the mess will be a beautiful old Grange Hall.
It is so interesting! The pieces displayed at the Maclean Museum are nearly exact to the ones I have. With the “spikes” on the Star protruding from both sides of the piece, unlike ones in the picture displayed above. Possibly from the same company and time frame.
While I have seen sterling/Silver items signed and not marked, I am not so sure these are silver. If I had to venture a guess, a salesman sample set made of stainless steel.
