or stamped lettering
Patents or patent numbers
Material and construction
Moving parts
Original packaging
Labels or instructions
Evidence of its intended setting
Old catalogs, patent records, museum collections, and specialist antique references can also help establish what an unusual object was originally designed to do.
Don’t Forget the Context
Where you found the object can provide another clue.
An item discovered with old automotive accessories, travel equipment, household tools, or emergency supplies may have a different story from an object found among purely decorative antiques.
The surrounding objects can sometimes
