Divided into gadget categories of domestic, the kitchen, business, social, medical, transport and miscellaneous and with merry captions, we have here some very wild thoughts. The fearsome pianist's finger stretcher was perfected in the US in 1910 to help pianists with small hands - an earlier version allegedly destroyed Schumann's hands. Then there was the moustache neatener, rather like a small hedge trimmer, which worked by pressing the spring-loaded handle so the blade ran across the trimmer, giving as shaggy a result as a small hedge trimmer. How about the lying-down spectacles, or the linen damp tester, offered by the proprietors of Folkestone's Dover Hotel in the 1920s? There is an astonishing looking Gatling stapler, a simply splendid envelope sealer and any number of odd kitchen appliances, including the totally pointless 1870s peach-peeler.
A very entertaining book for ephemera collectors and published in a very worthy cause, as all the royalties will go to the Charity Kith and Kids, who provide a range of services to families with disabled children, and which Mr Collins co-founded.
Eccentric Contraptions by Maurice Collins, published by David & Charles Limited. ISBN 0715318217 £9.99sb
