Ever heard of a Boettger & Wittig semi-automatic key? Neither had I — until about a week ago when one appeared on eBay.
The key appears to be a plain vanilla Vibroplex Lightning Bug. It has a black painted base, and the usual Lightning Bug damper, etc. The unusual aspect of this key is that its ID tag. Instead of the usual brass Vibroplex tag, there's a simple metal ID tag that states “Boettger & Wittig, 393 Third St., Milwaukee, WIS.”
I've found absolutely nothing online about the key, though I did find that this company produced products for the watchmaking industry at the turn of the century.
Now the key has holes started in the base that show it originally could have been drilled to accept the larger Vibroplex ID plate. The base also has the starter hole for the circuit closing switch, which this key does not have, nor does it look like it ever had one.
The key is in superb shape, and something tells me the hardcore collectors are the ones who know the history of this key's manufacture. Theories? Well, it could have been a company that was doing contract work for the military in WWII. If that's true, they didn't make many (judging from the lack of information online about the company).
One thing I know for certain is that this is a very rare or unusual key — it sold for $1,526.01. I watch a lot of key auctions on eBay, and the winner of this key is one of the guys who regularly wins auctions for the rarest of the rare keys. He doesn't buy anything but the very collectible ones, and this one didn't escape his eye.
The only identifier I might add is that the screws appear to date the key more in the 1930s than post WWII. Other than that I don't know when the key was produced. It was well cared for, or perhaps was restored by a previous owner.
That's all for this installment. 73 es CUL … de KY4Z … SK …. dit dit ….
The key's paddles look very much like those used on the J-36 Lightning Bugs produced for the military.