# "John -errian Co"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303 "2010-11-20T03:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303/1 "2010-11-20T03:28:18Z")
While metal detecting today, I found a lead figurine of a bulldog in my grandparents’ yard. It was about 4" long and had “John -errian Co” around the collar, the hyphen representing part that was chipped off. I was wondering if someone might know the full name of the company and about how old this is. I’m not having luck searching for it myself. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303/2 "2010-11-20T04:56:42Z")
John Derian Co (one ‘r’)? ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303/3 "2010-11-20T06:18:03Z")
It seems unlikely - though not entirely impossible as banged up as it was - that I would mistake an E for an R and a D for an E. Plus that company is listed as starting up in 1989. Surely people weren’t making solid lead figurines then. (I’m not really certain it’s lead, but it’s certainly very heavy for its size, not like anything I’d expect from the past 30 years.) Also, the thing was buried pretty deep. The name is very close, but I’m thinking the company isn’t old enough to have made this. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303/4 "2010-11-20T07:10:50Z")
How many letters seem to be missing? ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-errian-co/561303/5 "2010-11-20T15:54:30Z")
That’s hard to tell. The first and second words are on opposite sides of the collar. It could just be one letter or there could even be a short word, such as “and” or an initial. It’s hard to tell how much is broken off. We did see what appears to be part of a letter before the “e” though so I’m pretty sure there’s at least one more letter in that word.