Antique ivory, possible blade or shoe horn.

[curtisbull]

Hi

 I've been looking everywhere trying to find anything that resembles this piece, but I can't seem to find anything. When I tried researching all possible combinations of the letters stamped on the item ("CWS") all I could find was a company that sells knives. To my knowledge this is all ivory. The item has 2 parts, and it fits together with a screw thats cut into the ivory itself.

 If anybody knows anything about this item and its origin or value, please share.

 Thank you.

[KC]

You might want to search under "antique ivory page turner" and also known as a "Ivory page knife"!  I do believe that is what you have.  They start at 18 - 20" and can go much larger!

Back in the days before digitalized books, and the luxury of having encyclapedias or dictionaries at your own home, you had these large volumes that had page turners so that you didn't rip the pages dues to the sheer weight of the book itself with all the pages.

Here's one to show you that I am not totally insane! (Just partially)
http://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/fabulous_asprey_ivory__silver_page_turner/as339a072

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-late-victorian-ivory-page-turner-late-5134143-details.aspx

They are very collectible!  Typically from the Victorian era.

The only reason I knew what they were is that we inherited a dictionary stand that has been carried down through the family and heard of the ivory turner that had been with it but was lost over the years.

[rink28]

From the pics it looks to be bone not Ivory

[rink28]

Ivory doesn't stain like the item you have in your pic

[curtisbull]

From the pics it looks to be bone not Ivory

 Are you sure?

 I'm not doubting your expertise it's just I know my grandfather (whom this belonged to) was a collector of ivory and got rid of everything except this when ivory became controversial in the 80's I believe.

[rink28]

When buying ivory people get confused a lot between bone and ivory. Some people take tea to stain ivory to make it look like it's old when it's really not. If it is really smooth to the touch and if you see parallel lines with a magnifyer it's a good indication that it might be ivory. I'm not saying it's not 100% percent ivory but I just never seen that much staining on ivory. I have known collectors that been collecting ivory for 15 years and they have came across what they thought was ivory but turned out to be bone cause people would make it look like ivory. It's tough to tell.  I'm not saying its not Ivory but I would take it to someone locally to get further identification just to make sure.

[mart]

I have never seen that scrimshaw technique used on African Ivory !!  Possibly walrus tusk or whale bone !!  Can you take it apart so we can see it ??

[talesofthesevenseas]

It looks like bone to me too. That might be the reason why your grandfather kept it. If it is ivory, you should see a double criss-crossing grain, not a single grain. This page on identifying ivory and bone should help:
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6485.msg28188#msg28188

[KC]

If you research these page turners, you will see that they are often made of two pieces.  Walrus tusks, whale bone, tortoiseshell, etc AND ivory.  So, most often two different origins with your two pieces! 

Do you have a museum or reputable antique appraiser that you could take it to for evaluation?