Featured Primitive step ladder

Hello all. I apologize for not being able to get closer photos. When I zoomed in to get a picture of the steps, and of the sun carving on the side, the upload failed because the file was too big.

This is an old wood (oak?) stepladder that has been in the family for decades. It, too, was purchased at an antique store, so I have no idea of its country of origin. It is sturdy enough for my weight (in a pinch). One of the pieces broke off years ago. I tried to get closer photos of the nails, because I know that nails are a good way to date a piece, but a zoomed in photo was too large to upload. There are three nails on the outer edge of each step. There is some type of material covering the nails or screws on the inside and outside, so I can't really tell if it is held together with nails or screws (but likely the latter).

There is a carving of the sun (or is it a Green Man with sun rays?) on both sides, and the smiling mouth is open.

This is the closest in I could get to download.

You can see that the screw/nail on the left is covered up, because it is in one of the sun rays (covered with what, I cannot tell) but the one on the right appears to be a screw. This is exactly where it is broken off on the other side. There also appears to be a wooden dowel on the inside.



The whole thing is less than 22" high.

Please let me know your thoughts and feedback about where this came from, and its age.

Thank you!

 

I think late 19th to early 20th century. Doubt the screws on the outside are original unless they all were originally covered.

 

Hi Sedona....keep checking back, the wood and furniture people will eventually be along!!!! Aaaand there ya go......while I was typing!!!!

 

Thank you. Is there any way to find out if it is Americsn or English? I can't imagine this is the only sunburst step ladder out there.

 

I'm thinking it might be home-made, apparently quite a while ago; and if so, it might well be the only one out there.

 

Thank you. That makes sense. I have it at work, next to a bookcase. I enjoy antiques and I think they add character to my work space, but I do not want to keep anything particularly valuable at work, either.

 

Make your photos 480x640 always and you won't have any trouble. Then do as you have here and use the full image button for them all.

 

Thanks. I will have to figure out how to do that. They are photos on my iPad's photo library.

 

In the interest of supplying ANY useful information, I own(ed) any number of utilitarian pieces made by either some "craftsmen" who lived on our farms or by an Uncle who made/repurposed furniture after the War as therapy. I say craftsmen in quotes because they were farmers with a small talent or penchant for carpentry and usually made things for us that we needed (we were rich but cheap). I still have a very plain, 9" tall step stool made for me by a tenant at the request of my Grandfather so I could brush my teeth as a tot..............it's been around for over 50 years, but it was used by me and my 6 brothers, so it is beat to heck and looks MUCH older!

much as I do.......................

 

Mansons: My grandfather made me a stepstool (same reason). Not quite so tall as yours, very heavy, and solid pieces of wood form an X across the bottom -- no tipping!

I still use it. High bed. And, oddly enough, the same one I had when the stool was made.

And give me a few more years, if I continue shrinking, I may be the same height I was then!