30 Things That Washed Ashore to Remind Us of Our Impact on the World
These are some lucky finds.
Published 4 months ago in Ouch
The ocean, being the vast well of life from whence we and all other creatures sprang, also happens to be our favorite garbage car. Littered with the detritus of a society evolving too fast to keep its pants on, the ocean is rich with garbage so old it's become "old enough" to be something like treasure. And these lucky people happened to come across some really good, really old trash of significance.
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These are "Hellers" from the Austro - Hungarian Empire. On one side there’s a double-headed eagle, on the other side the number 2 and the year it was made. On one piece you can see the year 1897! In Austria-Hungary, Heller was the term used in the Austrian half of the empire for 1/100 of the Austro-Hungarian krone (the other being fillér in the Hungarian half), the currency from 1892 until after the demise (1918) of the Empire.
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One of my proudest is a 200-year-old undamaged Maraschino bottle from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After finding it, I returned it back »home« to the Cosmacendi Palace (located in Zadar, Croatia), where the maker of the bottle once lived, and which is now the Museum of Ancient Glass! It was not only an incredible find, but also a bottle without any proof that it even existed. The museum was thrilled to have gotten this amazing piece of history and I was over the moon to have contributed to their collection.
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Toothbrush with markings: G. B. Kent & Sons London. Kent Brushes was founded in 1777. They've supplied Royal households with their hairbrushes. They've been involved in both World Wars, equipping millions of brushes to troops in the Army, Navy and RAF, even creating special brushes in which maps and compasses were concealed to help the war effort.
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Creme Jris was made by pharmacist Weiss & Co. from Giessen, Germany. It was filled with a creme used for facecare. Research time was long because I could not find any information until my aunt who knows German helped me research. I found an advertising stamp and a piece that was probably a part of a newsletter to help me find out what this bottle was filled with and how old it was (100+ years).
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This fork is made from the Alpacca material and is from the 19th/20th century. It has a tiny symbol and the marking C&D on it. Before aluminum came on the scene alpaca was the popular material of the cutlery industry in the years of the 18-19th century. It counted as a rather great achievement, the factories stamped every piece with their own mark. The nice silver color of the alpaca is due to the nickel, extensibility comes from copper and zinc gives its melting ability.
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Monte Santo (in Slovenian Sveta Gora) or simply Holy Mountain is a Slovenian mountain located to the northeast of Gorizia (Italian town). The mountain got its name after the apparition of Mary to a shepherdess Orsola Ferligoi in 1539 (picture of the apparition is on the backside of the medallion). During the apparition, Mary said to her: “Tell the people to build me a church here and ask for graces!”. After the shepherdess told what had happened, the authorities didn't believe her. She was thus locked up multiple times, however, Mary freed her each time. After that, the church was built on the top of the mountain, which was then destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. The current church was built between 1924 and 1928. The basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin of Monte Santo, the seat of the Franciscan Convent, has been a pilgrimage destination for the Slovenian and Italian people of Gorizia for centuries.
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This bottle, with the words "Melissa dei c scalzi" on one side and "Venezia" on the other, is the famous "l’Acqua di Melissa" – healing water made from the Melissa herb. I have contacted the so-called barefoot Carmelite Fathers of the Venetian Province and they have told me that this bottle was made in the early 1800s.
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A part of a 1850s R. DITMAR Wien kerosene lamp burner. Brothers Rudolf and Fredrich Ditmar relocated from Germany to Austria (Vienna) in 1839 where they traded in oil lamps. In 1841 they started their own lamp factory. A decade later they succeeded in developing the “moderator lamp” that could be used reliably thanks to having an option to adjust the intensity of the flame. The international success enabled the further expansion of the company, which continued after Friedrich Ditmar's death as "Lamps and Metalware Factory R. Ditmar".
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Last year I found this amazing green bottle on the beach sticking out of the sea bed. After months of research, I’ve found barely any information about it. This can be a special edition of the bottle made in collaboration with Gustav, filled with Vlahov liqueur. Gustav Topfer was also a producer and trader of alcoholic beverages that he made himself. This bottle was probably made in 1890 - 1910 and exported to Linz (Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Austria).
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This is a part of a stoneware pot lid for Atkinson's Rose Cold Cream. Dates late 1800’s to early 1900’s. It was a cream for men to use after shaving and on their lips. It was also a fine rose perfume. His store was at 24 Old Bond Street in London. A street known for prestigious or expensive shops.
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Lead seals were affixed to goods to communicate information such as place of origin, manufacture, quality, size, circulation, and taxation. Lead seals are the colonial equivalent to today’s merchandise tag. Most commonly associated with textiles, lead seals marked everything from tobacco and salt to bundles of various trade goods. Easily molded, a lead seal was affixed to a bale of goods at its place of origin (typically somewhere in Europe) and remained unmolested until the goods reached their final destination. They were used from the 17th to the 19th century.
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Helsingborgs Gummifabriks AB was a Swedish rubber industry company. For a large part of the 20th century, it was by far the largest workplace in Helsingborg, with at most more than 3,000 employees, of which a large proportion were women. The company was founded in 1891 on the initiative of Johan Dunker. The company's main product was galoshes. Galosch (from the French galoche) is footwear and is used as a shoe cover over shoes (especially more expensive shoes) in order to prevent them from getting wet or soiled.
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This 100 year old piece with the words "I. R. Priv. Prem. Fab. G. Luxardo ZARA" around the double-headed eagle (representing the Austro-Hungarian Empire) is a seal from a bottle that carried the famous Maraschino cherry liqueur - made from wild cherries named Marasca. Girolamo Luxardo is an Italian liqueur factory founded in 1821 in a city previously named Zara (today Zadar, Croatia) but later moved to Torreglia near Padua in Italy. In 1829, the great quality of the Maraschino Luxardo was certified with a ‘privilege’ awarded by the Emperor of Austria. They still sell the liquor today.
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