by A.Strauss

Coney & Co. , Est. by John Coney 19th Century corkscrew maker, steel toy maker, gun maker and whistle maker in Birmingham. 
 c. Early 1860 to c. early 1900's

Addresses

 80 Lionel St..
 56 Howard St.
and as Coney John, gun, pistol, and corkscrew' maker,
75 Stafford street .

John Coney 1854 Patent No 1811 for a steel two-pillar corkscrew, is the earliest date his name is mentioned.
                                                                                                                                                                            
The above is a round pea whistle,  by Coney & Co. with a mouthpiece that is usualy found on GSWs, and rarely on round pea single tone whistles.

The whistle  is formerly of the M Gilchrist collection if you turn your head you can read his notes that are by now familiar to most whistle collectors.

Coney's whistles have a some very distinctive features by which they can be identified when not stamped, some are subtle and some obvious. note the rectangular window shape, found with very few makers of the time mostly Stevens & Dixon, and later on german whistles. 
The whistle below (79mm)  has features usualy met with GSWs, cast top loop & mouthpiece.
                                                  

Coney were well known for making carriage key's & cork screws combined with whistle that folds into a metal case, picinic corkscrews. This one is stamped with a late 1870s british registered trade mark, & Coney & Co.
                          
     'Kite' Rergistered trade mark on a coney's carriage key .
 Coney's  folding carriage key & whistle combination.Pre 1883.  I believe this one is 1875.
 |             
"Coney's Alarm"  is by far his more often met with whistle, still a very  scarce whistle,
it has a diaphragm which is not the usual disk type but designed to fit the two windows which are not located one against the other as in other two notes cylinderical whistles ,GSW's, see picture below.
L; 80mm W; 16.5 mm.
                    
 From somewhere around early  1910's J Hudson & Co. bought coney's whistle buisness and made the same whistle , but with a slightly different stamp.

The whistle has a shallow stamp Coney's Alarm sideways in very small letters and many time letters are partly rubbed off.
 On later models the stamp apears on both sides of the whistle.
 letters are partly rubbed off at times the stamp apears on both side of the whistle.

The stamp; Coney's Alarm  T.E Thompson & Co. Ld. Calcutta is Large deep and clear. (Hudson made ones are stamped 'Ltd.'). see pict.
The whistle is made of nickel plated brass with a seamless tube.
The windows are very wide and narrow reminiscent of Stevens GSWs.

                      


  Extra size central  whistle, L; 94.5mm Body W;19.7mm cap W 22mm Weight; 56 gr. and a Central whistle model with bubble top GSW
made by T Yates.   L;76mm .         
  At times  single tone whistles with a one dome shape- arched window, arched top window (As the round whistle at top) show but these have two windows (Below).
           
Close up of coney's distinctive top loop.
                     
Coney's 
            
Thinking of Coney's famous whistle with windows at different heights I thought to bring some of
Americasn whistles influenced by his design.
American whistles with windows at different heights were first patented in August 1899
by F.L. Johnson of Walingford, New Haven, Connecticut, Pat, #632184
    

The American Nick Haris whistle co. adopted this patent and design later, 1920's only other sample of windows at different heights in a genral service whistle.
The "Nick Haris" stamped sideways as well, was sold as a police whistle and was used as an advertising premium for the the Nick Harris detective agency co..
                      

To be cont.          

                                                 
Whistle museum, A.Strauss All rights reserved, please do not use any part of this web page without a written permission from the author.