Featured Some random junk

Back visiting family where I have some of my stuff stored. Included is the never ending bag of mostly costume jewelry that I grab a few handfuls out of to inspect every time I visit. Came from an auction years ago that I filled a van up at and dropped off here without ever seeing most of it again since auction day. This bag I never even opened for years. Anyways here is some of the interesting junk I pulled out this time. A single 14k earring and four broken sterling pieces included.

Would like help with a few things.
1. The two identical pointy pieces top right. They have a turning wheel at tops. Like tiny pie crimpers. I assume they are maybe drafting tools?
2.The (french ivory or real?) dreidely thing. P & T with a number on most sides. What was it used for?
3. Stone fob with HTWSSTK(or R) any ideas what it stands for?
4. Please help me find out when AM Weikel was a Tobacconist in Allentown! Can’t figure it out. That’s my fav piece and strikes me as pretty old.
5. The amethyst glass necklace. Does the mark look like just “Sterling”? Where/when? American first half 20th I assume? Maybe pretty early 20th or older?

In more exciting find news I bought an auction lot that included framed military related photos recently. Didn’t even realize when bidding but two of them belonged to JFK!!!! They were in the 1998 Manhattan auction of his things. They have the auction houses provenance on the back of the frames from that auction and belonged to an Uber rich manhattanite (is that a word?), woot!

 

Allentown cigar background ...
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1997-06-08-3142778-story.html

and a possible hit on A. M. Weikel ...
http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/cdm4/...R=15499&ptr=15808&searchworks=cat21&DMTHUMB=1
Nope, this lists him as a brick mason and he died at age 20.
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/K8ST-364/alfred-m.-weikal-1848-1870

 

#3 is a Masonic fob.

HTWSSTKS is an acronym with connections to the Masonic Temple, specifically Royal Arch Masons. The letters stand for, “Hiram, Tyrian, Widow’s Son, Sent to King Solomon.”

 

Your digging is appreciated! Neat to know about Allentown’s cigar history either way. That article would put the peak of the local industry around 1880-1920 it seems. I was thinking this could be a bit older but that window wouldn’t seem unreasonable. Weikel seems to be a pretty prevalent name down there based on my research. Not surprised there was a false positive.

 

the little mechanical pencil maybe be from "dance card" google antique dance card pencil and you will find many like yours. I have my mother in laws'.

 

Could you provide a better picture of the 2 metal "pencils"? I can make out part of the stamped info, but not all. #10 VERK????? Thanks!

 

I keep literally falling asleep as I try to read more about this. Thanks for the deciphering though! https://www.grandlodge-nc.org/storage/wysiwyg/Who was the Widows Son.pdf

 

It’s Verkuil NY. Even knowing that I couldn’t find anything. They just come to a point at the end.

 

#2 Put & Take spinner game piece

 

Huh, I had never even heard of this game! Looks like mine is pretty unique material wise. People pay $10-$30 or so for these turns out. Seems the brass spinners are most popular with collectors.
https://averweij.web.cern.ch/top-pt.htm

 

On the pointy things, the wheels look like glass cutters, but I don't know if that's coincidence or how the spike part fits in. What's stamped on them?

 

I just spent a while searching for "Verkuil New York." Not in my road atlas, not in Google. The only Google hits are people with that surname and a fair number of them. I suspect the stamping you see it also a person who lived in NY or a company named for a person with that name.

 

Ah yeh I think maybe that’s it. Looks quite a bit like some of them. You actually helped me ID another object I own. Which I know by just searching for antique glass cutters is a “corkscrew glass cutter”. I’ve had it sitting around since last fall wondering what it was.

These two are marked Verkuil NY.

 

That makes sense. I appreciate you digging around! Small niche family businesses were probably pretty darn common.