Please help identify - early Paragon, maybe?

[alwardle]

Hello -

Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to provide in identifying a propeller that has been tucked away in my storage room for the last decade+. Based on what I have been able to glean from your very helpful site and a few other web sites, I think it might be an early Paragon propeller.

I've reviewed your charts, abbreviation explanations, and many of the photos on the site and forum, but my propeller doesn't seem to match up fully to anything I've found online. Perhaps it's a repro. I am not at all knowledgeable about this area of collectibles.

The propeller was displayed in an office for years, then stored at our home, as mentioned. It has markings on the hub, but not on the face or the back of the hub. Instead, the markings are on the side of the hub. I can see no other markings at all - no logos, decals, or stamps anywhere else. Maybe it was "restored" and they were sanded off in the process?

The markings stamped on the side of the hub are as follows:

P.P. 130
1227-9
8' - 3" x 5.0'
R.H.

I think, from what I have learned here, that the "P.P." may stand for Paragon Propellor; the "5.0'" may indicate pitch; and the "R.H." indicates right-hand.

I would be grateful for any assistance you can offer in identifying the brand/manufacturer, date of manufacture, and/or type of plane on which it may have been used. I would also be very interested to hear any comments on its apparent condition. I have uploaded pictures with this post, including images of the stamping on the hub.

Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Amy

[alwardle]

Hi, all -

Following up on my original post to see if anyone has any thoughts on the provenance of my mystery propeller. I would very much appreciate any insights regarding from what manufacturer or time period the propeller came. Or, perhaps someone has a suggestion as to what other resources I might look for answers?

Thank you very much!

Amy

[Dbahnson]

I think you know everything there is to know about it already, i.e. it was manufactured by Paragon. It doesn't look like a reproduction but it is likely that it has been refinished, as many of them have been since their manufacture, and that typically removes the Paragon decals.

It would help if you removed the metal plates to see the condition of the center of the hub. It may have been cut out or otherwise altered to fit a clock, etc.

It's virtually always impossible to know any of the history of the propeller. Many of them were obtained as surplus in the 1920s at a price of $2, or $3 if metal sheathing was present. (There were 25,000 Paragon propellers produced by the end of WW1.)

[alwardle]

Thank you for your reply, Dbahnson - and for confirming that it is a Paragon. I wasn't sure that I had interpreted the "P.P." correctly. Any idea from what era it might be?

Thanks, again!

Amy

[Dbahnson]

It's almost certainly from the late teens/early twenties. I've owned several of these over the years and have only kept this one.

[alwardle]

I sincerely appreciate your input. Thanks for taking the time.