10m Metric Tape - made by Tibaut
I was lucky enough to pick this unusual tape up in an antique shop in Bruges, Belgium. The tape and cross are marked with the makers name of J.B.Tibaut, Bruxelles. The only reference that I could find on the whole of the WWW was through Nicolas de Hilster's website.
Nicolas' description - "The tape is made of steel and wound on an oak frame. It is 10 metres in length and divided by punch holes every centimetre, every fifth of which has a larger diameter. Every 10th centimetre it is filled with a brass rivet, and an additional brass washers every 20 centimetres. At each meter, small brass plates are attached on both sides of the tape, showing complementary figures running from 1 to 9, indicating the metres. The handles bear the maker's signature "J.B. Tibaut Desimpelaere Bruxelles" They are made of brass and have grooves to fit the pins that would be used to stake out and measure a trajectory. Steel tapes tend to break easily when not carefully used "
My tape differs from Nicolas' collection in that it has a "T" and not a "D" handle.