State

hunting lodge," he said. "I think I value this doorknob the most of any in my entire collection." Three Kinds The doorknobs in his collection arc classified into three categories: “Mono¬ gram knobs,” "’commemorative knobs.” and "emblematic knobs." One of the "monogram knobs" he owns bears the word "Coty" in script letters. Mr. Wardell thinks that door¬ knob came from a yacht owned by the Coty family of cosmetic fame. The "emblematic knobs" include those which have symbols on them representing an organization such as the Masons. YMCA. or Oddfellows. One of the most striking of the em¬ blematic knobs owned by Mr. Wardell is one that bears the Treasury Depart¬ ment symbol. It came from the old San Francisco Mint. Mr. Wardell thinks the old-style knobs and locks not only were more attractive than the new' ones, but that they were also more secure than the modern ones. Craftsmen put a lot of pride into making doorknobs in the old days, ac¬ cording to Mr. Wardell. He recalls taking one of his more intricately designed knobs to a foundry and asking the foundry operator if he could make a knob like it. "I don't have the ability to make anything as beautiful as that." the foundry owner said. ' ’ Everything is on a production schedule today." The majority of Mr. Wardell's door¬ knobs arc made of brass. But he owns others that are made of delicately painted porcelain, wood, cut glass, cast iron, ivory, and other materials. Other "Serious" Collectors At one time. Mr. Wardell thought he was the only doorknob collector in the country. He has since learned there are about five other "serious" collectors, in¬ cluding a medical doctor in San Fran¬ cisco. an Arizona banker, a Chicago police captain, a Minnesota rest home operator and an Oregon woman who recently wrote a book on the subject. Mr. Wardell does not sell any of his doorknobs, but he does trade them. "If I have a duplicate. I will trade it for one I do not have." he explains. To expand his collection, he visits antique stores, flea markets, and places where buildings are being tom down. He doesn’t like to talk about the monetary value of his collection. "But I do not hesitate to sav that it's worth l.(HX) percent more than I paid for it." he says. "But I put money in this because I really love it. I ap¬ preciate the artistic effort that went into the doorknobs." Because I have had first hand ex¬ perience with the practice, the com¬ ments in a past issue of Statu Maga¬ zine on the ear-marking of pigs on the Outer Banks interested me greatly. The author's descriptions of the markings used were tentative because the practitioners of the art saw no rea¬ son to record descriptions, much less illustrations, of what was common knowledge to all concerned. In Screven County. Georgia, where open range was legal until 1950. the ear-marking of livestock was a com¬ mon practice into the 1940s. As on the Outer Banks of yesteryear, ear mark¬ ing in Screven County served the practical function of allowing honest folks to readily identify their own stock. The practice was never much of a deterrent to thievery, nor did that seem to be the main intent. Moreover, the fact that a pig might escape un¬ marked did not mean that the animal was fair game for anyone who might choose to claim it. Farmers in the old days had an uncanny knack for tracing kinships among their cows and pigs, so the ownership of unmarked animals was usually settled amicably in a cli¬ mate of mutual trust. Come to think of it. I was pretty good at pig and cow genealogy during my boyhood years. From North Carolina Many of the earlier settlers of Scre¬ ven County came from North Caro¬ lina. my ancestors included, so it is likely that those pioneers brought the practice of ear-marking with them. Be that as it may. ear-marking seems to have persisted longer in that corner of Georgia than it did in North Carolina. A registry of ear marks is still stored in the Screven County records, but, as in Wardell picks up one of his door¬ knobs. fondles it lovingly, and adds. "It is something that has disappeared from our society. We'll never see it again." Carolina, there arc no descriptions or illustrations. Ear marks had to be readily visible. They also had to be designed so that they could be easily cut with a sharp pocket knife and not overly injurious to the animal being marked. The fol¬ lowing is taken from my own recollec¬ tions of ear marks and from those of my Uncle Brantley Lee. now past eighty. I have provided both descrip¬ tions and hand-drawn illustrations. Not suprisingly, the marks seem iden¬ tical with some of those reported ear¬ lier in State Magazine. (DU nder Bit — a small . more or less U-shaped, plug cut from the outer edge of the ear just aft of where the car flares widest. (2) Upper Bit — the same cut from the inner margin of the ear about one-fourth of the distance from the root of the ear toward the tip. (3) Swallow Fork — a V-shaped slice from the end of the ear. I never saw' a swallow fork at any place except the tip of the ear. Placed elsewhere it might be confused with a sloppily-made upper, or under, bit. (4) Hole — is self-explanatory. Holes, usually about one-half of an inch in diameter, were cut where the ear was broadest. A registered mark might call for more than one hole in an ear. but most farmers liked to keep their marks as simple as possible. (5) Split — ear was sliced length¬ wise. never across the ear. A mark might call for more than one split per ear. In 1946 1 saw a lot of steers at an auction bam near Ear-Marking On The Outer Banks And Elsewhere By JOSHUA A. LEE 22 THE STATE. FEBRUARY 1982