Pioneer WATER, Resonant and Perfectly Patinated Old Cast Iron Street Water Valve Cover brass seal and--making it especially great as

and--making it especially great as a sculptural object--this fantastic tread of metal nails ("hobnobs" I believe they are called) and horseshoe type heel plate

and surely this dancer with skirt aloft must have pleased the troops

which I'd guess were likely the dates of birth of the three children of the woman who owned this

and perhaps feels all the holier for my lack of capacity to readily translate it

This one has a blank circle at the center of one side where the monogram would be carved (and still could be

Pioneer WATER, Resonant and Perfectly Patinated Old Cast Iron Street Water Valve Cover brass seal and--making it especially great asYou know I love found language (and what a resonant phrase here), and sometimes a great old cast iron object too. And I find the the graphic punch and clarity of the lettering on this just completely satisfying. This would have functioned as a street water valve access cover for a municipal water system, I believe. I found it in mid coast Maine and have since found one other example out there of this particular Pioneer Water cover, but in nothing like