Strap and buckle

[JO BO]

Looks like Nov 5 1904 Pat date. And can read Reading on stamp. Is this auto related in any way. For a top/ luggage Etc?   Thanks

[JACK M]

Mirror on a side mount?

[JO BO]

That’s a sound possibility 

[wayne sheldon]

It might be a top saddle strap and belt. The one piece without the buckle fits in the top saddle that the top sockets sit in when the top is down. The belt and buckle go around the saddle (through loops on the sides!) and over the top sockets (the metal tubes that the top bows fit into!) and buckles so that the top doesn;t bounce up or out on rough roads when the top is down sitting in its saddles.

Part of my hesitation is that I can't see the belt well enough to know if it is long enough to reach around the saddle and top sockets. Different makes and models of cars used variations on top assemblies. A few had only two bows and sockets on each side to need to strap down. Some cars could have as many as five! The more bows and sockets, and the bigger the sockets, the longer the "belt" has to be. There were a lot of variations on these.

Mid 1910s and later cars, especially more expensive cars, used a clamp that would open up allowing the top sockets to drop inside and then close to lock them securely. However even the Dodge Brothers used the clamps rather than saddles and belts. Ford on the other hand used saddles and belts well into the 1920s.