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Forums10
Topics38,505
Posts545,561
Members14,417
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Most Online1,344
Apr 29th, 2024
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,090 Likes: 36
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,090 Likes: 36 |
English (and New England) sea-captains returning from the South Pacific. This is from a 28 bore (?) single barrel I have... 
My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
- Errol Flynn
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,703 Likes: 103
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,703 Likes: 103 |
Thistle may represent hospitality, but if it gets into your pasture you'll have to kill it...Geo
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,278 Likes: 11
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,278 Likes: 11 |
I'm not buying the pineapple thing. Doesn't even look like one. Thistle at least has some rational connection.
I've noticed that the BS quotient here can be wonderfully elevated when the posters don't have a clue.
Pineapple? PPPhhhhtttttt!
Dr.WtS
Mysteries of the Cosmos Unlocked
available by subscription
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,737 Likes: 96
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,737 Likes: 96 |
It will be a pineapple. They are often seen also in England carved in stone and set on top for stone gate posts. They were an exotic fruit and only the very wealthy could afford them so they became a sort of status symbol. They started growing them in special hot houses in English stately homes along with other such rarities as apricots, peaches and oranges. Things we take for granted now but would be wildly expensive in the 18th. century. Put the word 'pineapple finial' into the search engine for much more. Thistles are a pain and best dug out with a tool called a 'thistle spud'. Lagopus.....
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,278 Likes: 11
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,278 Likes: 11 |
It will be a pineapple. They are often seen also in England carved in stone and set on top for stone gate posts. They were an exotic fruit and only the very wealthy could afford them so they became a sort of status symbol. They started growing them in special hot houses in English stately homes along with other such rarities as apricots, peaches and oranges. Things we take for granted now but would be wildly expensive in the 18th. century. Put the word 'pineapple finial' into the search engine for much more. Thistles are a pain and best dug out with a tool called a 'thistle spud'. Lagopus..... OK - that makes sense from an on-the-site commentator. Thanks.
Dr.WtS
Mysteries of the Cosmos Unlocked
available by subscription
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 4
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 4 |
Here is an example of the earlier acorn finial that was largely superseded by the pineapple style in the following 10-20 years. This is from a gun made circa 1780 listed on Joe Salter's website. It's fascinating to contemplate that this seemingly simple change in style was the result of a massive shift in global dynamics and extensive exploration that was rapidly taking place during the late 18th century. 
“I left long before daylight, alone but not lonely.”~Gordon Macquarrie
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,398 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,398 Likes: 16 |
That's not an acorn, just ask wonko the noitall~~~~
Both the acorn and the pineapple just happen to fit in the allowed space of a thin finial.
Having filed up several on the end of a rectangular trigger plate I can say that there isn't much room for elaboration. They evolved from very simple to quite elaborate by the breech loading era, but the width stayed pretty much uniform with the plate.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,021
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,021 |
"As tradition would have it, a pineapple was served or placed in an arrangement at every meal when a guest was visiting your home or plantation. Pineapples were very rare and hard to attain in colonial and early plantation life, hence it was a sign that you were truly welcome and your presence was celebrated. Traveling was a great feat in the days before gas powered engines, the journey to and from could take weeks on end. Therefore guests would stay for extended visits, and once the pineapple was removed from the serving table they would know it was time to leave."
Hey Wonko, I guess you don't see many of them there pineapples when you're visiting. Or they ain't there very long.
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Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 593
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 593 |
Now that we have established it as a pineapple, the question still remains.
Which is the rough end of the pineapple ?
OM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 602
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 602 |
Have a John Manton percussion double c1846 with a pineapple finial; the explanations above are congruent with my understanding - something quite rare, exotic, a luxury etc for the time. I've read somewhere that they could even be rented.
Pineapples in Australian military vernacular are something completely different...
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