The oldest cast iron Boston Terrier or Bulldog door stops for instance were cast by craftsmen who made sure they had soft edges grinding them down they were smooth to the touch around the feet, ears and where the seams meet. Most old door stops were painted on the body by airbrush, so there is almost always an overlap of paint depending on the dog’s color. If the doorstop has clear-cut distinct paint lines with no overlap, most likely it has been repainted by someone. Eyes were hand-painted, usually gray with black pupil and some of the Hubley produced dogs had a hand-painted red dot for a tongue. I recommend the book “Doorstops” by Jeanne Bertola it shows photos and prices for the cast iron door stops. The screw or the screws that hold the dog together should be a large flat-head screw on the left side of the body (rib area with one screw or if there are two screws, neck and flank). A guarantee of newness is a phillips-head screw like decking screws, rough metal edges that have no grinding marks anywhere on the body and the look of new hand painted colors. The oldest Boston Terrier dogs were produced in the late 1800’s as fairly thin dogs with strong rib cage definition and some definition lines inside the ears. The earliest Boston Terriers were molded, but did not have the bottoms of the feet ground flat. They always had some roundness to the bottoms of the feet. Next generation dogs, created in the early 1900’s, had grinder marks under the body at the seems and around the ears, and had grinder marks on the flat bottoms of the feet. Early dogs were supposed to stand flat, have smoothly ground edges and look realistic as possible with detail in the body including leg muscles, ribs and facial features. They create character from a day when doors were held open by heavy metal decoratives. Simple tips for spotting the real thing in Antique Cast Iron Boston Terrier Doorstops are smooth cast iron, not bumpy or rough, air-brushed overlap where the colors meet, typically, but not always, gray eyes and red tongue, and flat head screw either in the centerof the side of the dog or two flathead screws with one in the side of the neck and one in the flank. Screw heads were typically filled and painted over, but you can usually see an outline. Old Cast Iron typically does not have red rust that rubs off when touched. Red dusty rust is an indicator of new metal. Most unpainted old cast iron is smooth, very dark and rust-free unless it has been stored in very moist conditions like a basement. If there is exposed cast iron, it should be almost black and very smooth to the touch. Newer metal will be rough and have red rust. I use an odd method for comparing old to new. If you have a good sense of smell, old cast iron will have an earthy, mushroom-like smell that new metal won’t have, especially when wet. That is true of all cast iron doorstops. Originals are heavy, weighing in at 5-8 pounds each and there are three sizes. This door stop is the heavest model weighing in at over 8lb!! You’ll spot a modern reproduction by its rough metal and rough edges, seams that are not a tight fit, hand-painted look with bright colors and typically a phillips-head screw holding the dog together. If it looks new, it probably is new. Also the rust on the bottom of the cast iron figure or doorstop should not rub off on your hands that is a tell tale sign the piece is a little newer of metal. The item “Hubley boston terrier door stop” is in sale since Friday, May 24, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Metalware\Cast Iron”. The seller is “mygrandparentsatticinc” and is located in Buffalo, New York. This item can be shipped to United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Turks and caicos islands, Bangladesh, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Uruguay, Russian federation, Canada, South africa, Colombia, Antigua and barbuda, Saint lucia, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman islands, Maldives, Oman, Reunion, Sri lanka.
- Modified Item: No
- Object Type: Door Stop
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
