Posted 9 years ago
hotairfan
(385 items)
I have the left facing and the right facing Boston Terrier Cast Iron door stops.
While on a trip to Maine to visit our son, I saw this standing upright cast iron Boston Terrier door stop at an antique store in Bucksport, Maine. It now stands next to my other Boston Terrier door stops at home in PA.
I never saw another one like it and am not sure if it is early, like my others , or if it is a reproduction. It certainly looks early. The paint is oxidized and the patina looks early. It's true that they can reproduce cast iron items that look very real, and the fact that I never saw one like it gives me hope that it's old. I am hoping that fellow collectors can help me determine if original or repro. Any help is greatly appreciated.
This is a difficult call from pictures of any quality. I can tell you it is not one of the earliest made for several reasons. That doesn't mean it isn't a vintage piece. The feet on this are ground flat which indicates it is somewhat newer. Originals were hand filed and the feet bottoms were slightly rounded. The ears and rib cages had more well defined detail as did the leg muscles.
The New England area is great picking grounds for cast iron but like everything else you run into things that require attention. There were any number of forges up there that turned out such things so identifying many of them is a pain without the markings/cast numbers. Those numbers are normally on the inside which presents obvious problems getting to them. You will also find that Sears sold these items pre WWII.
The weight of this item would help to a point. An older stop of this size should go 5 pounds or more. Newer ones will weigh less. If and when you identify it the weight, height and width become very important assuming you are able to find and original for comparison. Reproductions are always lighter (because of the metal used) and they are smaller in dimension because of the casts/forms used.
Hope this helps a little
Thanks a bunch fhrjr2, you gave a lot to go on and I really appreciate your help
I LOVE this one!! Now, I have to have one. He's a real cutie!!
Thanks Scott, hope that you find one.
He's Fabulous. I've been collecting dogs for 42 years and this is the first time I've even seen a picture of this little guy.