30 Feb 1930 - heirl...
 

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[Closed] 30 Feb 1930 - heirloom question

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My sister has found a silver hairbrush in my mum's possessions.

We think it belonged to her mother.

The brush is hall-marked and engraved 30 Feb 1930 - which doesn't make sense.

He mother lived in south Wales and married on 30th Sept 1930. Her married name was Eliza Kemble - which suggests that it was a wedding-related gift.

Any ideas as to why the brush could be engraved 30 Feb 1930? Is it just a stupid mistake that has lasted 90 years?

Photo ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GNEiE7OHc86rlhE6gt1DP4VEL0XkkxTS/view?usp=sharing

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:31 pm
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Maybe it wasn't hers.

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:35 pm
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Probably an in-joke? He told her he'd marry her on 30th February 1930?

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:35 pm
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Is there a connection with Russia?

February 30 existed from 1930–1931 after the Soviet Union introduced a revolutionary calendar in 1929. This calendar featured five-day weeks, 30-day months for every working month, and the remaining five or six days were “monthless” holidays. The abolition of the seven-day week in favor of a five-day week was intended to improve industrial efficiency by avoiding the regular interruption of a non-working day.

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:38 pm
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Is there a connection with Russia?

Wow. I had no idea about that. Thanks.

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:40 pm
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Seems an expensive in-joke - remembering they were married just a few months later - but that is a possibility.

No connection with Russia. My grandfather - a former Welsh miner - was serving with RAMC at that point and had returned from India/****stan before being posted to Malta.

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 2:42 pm
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[s]Engagement present rather than a wedding gift?[/s]

Never mind. It's Russian and she bought it second hand?

Do the hall marks not tell you when and where it was made?

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 3:27 pm
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Do the hall marks not tell you when and where it was made?

Not that I can see ?

Photo:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cukirvJiT9FJ34qVM_M81H-xwDgHQLXE/view?usp=sharing

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 3:43 pm
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according to this, it wasn't made in 1930 https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham.html

either 1913 or 1938 https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham/Date%20Letters%20O.html

so, could be the latter, as a memory of something

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 3:58 pm
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petec  -thanks.

That makes even less sense to me now (or my sister!).

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 4:44 pm
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February 30 existed from 1930–1931 after the Soviet Union introduced a revolutionary calendar in 1929.

That's fascinating, but Wikipedia suggests it may not be correct, and has an image of a 1930 Russian calendar with 28 days in February:

Russian calendar 1930 Edit: that should have displayed the image, didn't work, link below

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 10:16 pm
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If it was Russian, surely the month would be in Cyrillic script.

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 10:25 pm
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Could it have been ordered by the elephant Man?

 
Posted : 06/10/2020 10:41 pm
 kilo
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@thestabiliser - excellent, just snorted tea all over the place!

 
Posted : 07/10/2020 8:14 am
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From Wikipedia:

February 30 is usually used as a sarcastic date for referring to something that will never happen or will never be done.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_non-standard_dates#February_30

 
Posted : 07/10/2020 8:28 am

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