I always have an eye out for beautiful brushes, and this one is tops among those I have found. In addition to its sheer beauty- the hand-stitching on those fan-like pale blonde horsehair bristles, the velvet wrap on the ferrule, and the lovely shiny black painted handle--what makes this one really special is the engraved silver ring just below the handle. It features three dates: Mar. 5, 1872, Nov. 16, 1875, and Feb 22, 1881, which I'd guess were likely the dates of birth of the three children of the woman who owned this, making me think this was likely a gift from her husband, perhaps on an anniversary. Pretty cool!
I have not tried to clean it, but would imagine that band is silver. It does turn, so if hanging this one the wall--which I would do straight away!-- one could position it to have the dates showing. As obvious, some of the thread stitching on the bristles is loose, which makes it all the more beautiful to me, and some flyaway hairs. There is one ding to the handle where bare wood is visible, but otherwise the handle is in very good shape, with a steel wire loop at the end for hanging. 6 3/4" long not including loop; 6 1/4" wide at widest spread; 1 1/2" across at ferrule; 1" d.
