Decipher this

[joinerman]

Can anyone decipher this please, I know it says May 1897 but can't make the name out above,

 

[SteveJB]

Few ideas go over with a marker pen and carefully wipe away the edges or do a brass rubbing type thing tension some grease proof paper over the site and use a pencil to reveal your mystery word

 

[Higgy]

What is it exactly ?.... Like Steve 'sez' rub something into the scratches.....

 

[BobMurphy]

1897 ?? It must be from a 40-Series

Bob.

 

[stuzbot]

Ooh! --an exciting mystery adventure for a rainy Sunday afternoon. Be there treasure at the end of it?

A <something>SON MAY 1897

I've zoomed into the text, desaturated and upped the contrast a bit....

I can't see past HUDSON... which is obviously wrong because there's no D. And I suspect there are at least two letters at the beginning of the 'surname' bit.

It's obviously graffiti left by the mechanic, the last time the previous owner of my Land Cruiser had it serviced.

 

[flint]

A H Leeson ?

 

[Higgy]

Hi, it's Higgy's other half here.
I think it says either H. Hason or H. Huson.
I've had a look on Ancestry and there was an H Huson living in Colteshall, Norfolk in 1911.
There was an H.E. Huson living in Derby in 1895.
There seem to be a few Husons in Yorkshire (Leeds), Stafford, Yarmouth and West Ham in Essex, and one in Blean, Kent. Huson is not a common name.
There are a few in the States, a couple that moved out to New South Wales, etc.

Hason is even rarer. There was a Harry Hason in Ipswich in 1897.

Both Huson and Hason seem to be more common names in the USA.

What is this piece of metal from?
What country was it from (e.g. was the original manufactured in the UK, where in the UK?).
Do you have any provenance, e.g. who owned it before you, or where is it?
I'm sure with a little more info about the item the name is scratched into, we can track down the original owner

 

[Towpack]

The "a" in May looks very similar to 3rd letter in the name so I'll take a guess with A Mason.

 

[stuzbot]

I think it says either H. Hason or H. Huson....

Ah. That would fit with my 'HUDSON without a D' theory. I didn't think HUSON was a name though*. But, seeing as it apparently is, I'll vote for H HUSON too. I think you're right that what I thought was an A is actually the left half of an H.



* Actually, come to think of it. I've seen HEWSON as a name. So a HUSON version doubtless exists too

 

[joinerman]

Thanks for all the replies, The clock actually dates about 1790 and this can be confirmed by the dial which is extremely rare, it's currently away being restored, the case was in a poor state when I got it but i have restored that, I gave £30 for the clock and when finished will be worth quit a bit.

 

[frank rabbets]

That's my speciality, clock movement making and restoration.
That's an early English Long Case clock movement by the look of it. That would be a repairers signature and date.
Looks like you've got the original seat board which if fitting the case well may mean the movement and case are matching. 80% of clocks that age are made up from miss matching parts.
If you have a makers name, usually on the dial, I can tell you when and where it was made.

 

[joinerman]

I do have the name on the dial Frank the dial restorer found it under ultra violet light, she told me what it was but my memory ain't what it was, she dated it at 1790 and a Birmingham case, the seat board is riddled with worm so much so it's just crumbled to bits. The hood was in two halves when I got it but luckily the glass survived, the trunk door had the top right hand corner missing from the top centre to the top hinge.