I love a handmade ruler, and love everything about this very long, very singular old handmade measuring stick/rod (pretty impossible to document well!) which was made by a Fernendo Buron, who stamped (impressed) his name into the wood on one side, with Odd Fellows FLT (friendship, love and truth) links separating first and last name. All sides are notched at the inch mark up to 48 inches, with each inch labeled on one side, and just feet labeled on the next. The third side is notched but unlabeled, but with a repeat of the last name Buron near the top end, which has a hole in it for a loop. (The string looped in it now appears a newer addition.) I have not figured out for certain what this would have been used for: grain measuring? yardage? lumber? surveying?  The wear is pretty much all over, just a little more at either end.  What I do know is that Fernendo invested a great deal of energy in making it, clearly heavily relied upon it, and it appears to have served him well. I have searched some but not able to place him. I found this in Western New Hampshire, close to the Vermont border.

48 inches marked; 54 inches long total; 1 1/16" w x d. Good condition, very sturdy and sound, with a marvelous patina of use and wear. There are just a couple of spots where an edge is a bit more worn/irregular, which I've tried to document but don't find at all detracting.