YMCA horseshoe plaque trivet

At one time I had 80+ horseshoe plaque trivets in my collection. Over the years I’ve sold many of them, the majority going to fellow collectors- in particular to my friend Bill Kotrba of Connecticut. He and his wife Sandy collect and research these and at this time have 105 horseshoe plaques, most of which are different designs. This rare YMCA horseshoe plaque trivet, pictured on p.73 of my book The Expanded A-Z Guide To Collecting Trivets, found a special place in their collection. 

COMPOSITION: cast iron with traces of the original gold paint.

DIMENSIONS: 6 1/4 x 4 1/4″ and flat on the reverse (as all these trivets are) with backcoping to the horseshoe.

ON FACE: Y.M.C.A. and MIND SPIRIT BODY

ON REVERSE: DESIGNED BY Y.M.C.A. NORTHAMPTON (inscribed on triangle)

One of the most interesting things about collecting trivets is discovering the history behind a design! The Northampton, Massachusetts YMCA was was built in 1904. This horseshoe was likely sold as a fundraiser for the construction project or it may have been a commemorative of the grand opening.

I was also excited to find this RPPC (real photo post card) of the Northampton YMCA a few years ago on eBay. After scanning the image, by using Adobe Photoshop I was able to sharpen the picture. The postcard was designed to look like the bark of a tree, with a section peeled back to reveal the image. This RPPC postcard is dated 1906 (on the right front) and the back of the card is postmarked FEB 2, 1907.