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A jack used for turning a spit. English-made weight-driven spit jack. 2nd half of 18th C. Engraved with the initials 'HS' and the date '1772'.
A jack is a device used for turning a spit. This is an English-made weight-driven spit jack made of wrought iron, brass and wood. It dates from the second half of the eighteenth century. The brass front plate is engraved with the initials 'HS' and the date '1772', which are believed to have been added later.

1 spit jack: wood and metal [iron and brass]; good condition

Pre-MERL list / description – [Victoria and Albert Museum] ‘Ironwork objects for transfer to Museum of English Rural Life, Reading ... No. 42. Spit-jack. Brass, iron and wood, with initials and date H.S. 1772 added later. English: second half of the 17th century.', MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Description: Weight driven spit jack, geared with a single shaft. The shaft, worm gear and frame are made of wrought iron, the two largest gears and the front plate are made of brass. The drum and driving wheels, or pulleys, are of wood. // The brass front plate is engraved with the initials ‘HS’ and the date 1772: a scroll from this piece has broken off. The flywheel is also missing. // Dimensions: length 30.5cms. width 27.3cms. height 27.2cms. // Associated information: ‘The weight driven jack came into use towards the end of the sixteenth century… this machine worked on much the same principle as the weight clock, the weight being wound up on a drum having at one end the wooden driving wheels which are connected to the spit by a leather belt or chain.’ (ref.) // This particular jack resembles fig.96 in Seymour Lindasy, which he describes as the standard eighteenth century type. // References: J Seymour Lindsay ‘Iron & brass Implements of the English House’, 1927, pp.22–23, 42.’

England

1750-01-01 - 1799-12-31

Eighteenth century, second half

Metal, iron, Metal, brass, Wood