In 1984 we bought our dream house, an 18th-century center chimney cape in Central Massachusetts. Over the years the noise of road traffic built up as town became more of a bedroom community. The corner of our bedroom was about 10 feet from the road. Luckily, the house set up on a little stonewall-faced hill above it, so we never wound up with a Ford in our foyer. But the noise was annoying. The only time it wasn’t was in the winter, when the snow on the road and in the air muffled all the noise outside.
Above is our olde homestead in an early 1900s photograph. Our bedroom was the one window on the left. Note that woman, child and dog are standing in the road.
During this period, I was lucky enough to work at a living history museum and learned so much about the history of seasonal work and home life. I learned the best time of year to visit for agricultural folks in the 1800s was in the winter, when outdoor chores winnowed down to wood splitting and animal tending. The frozen snowy road made travel easier to walk (this was called riding shank’s mare) and also by cart and sleigh. Due to the fact that there were plenty of pedestrians, children and animals in the road, one needed a warning of an approaching sleigh. Round bells were attached to the harness of the horses to announce their presence in day or night.
Knowing the context makes me appreciate the beauty and function of antique sleigh bells all the more. The following round style sleigh bells were part of an estate of a woman who collected bells of all sorts. She marked several of them with the date she was given these and the giver. Thank you dear collector!
This cast bell is marked No. 5 measuring 2.75” in diameter. This would be called a rumbler.
This is called an 8 petalled bell and is smaller. The shank can be fixed though a piece of leather and held in place with coiled wire.
This small antique sleigh bell beauty has an elegant design that I love.
Antique Sleigh Bells FYI:
If I’ve piqued your curiosity about antique sleigh bells, you might also enjoy reading:
Everything You Never Knew You Never Knew About Sleigh Bells from the folks at Horse Nation
Classic Bells who could publish a book about their knowledge of sleigh bells.
