[Ads-l] "gavel" antedatings

[Ben Zimmer]

The OED3 entry for "gavel, n.3" has two senses, the first being "a type of
stonemason's hammer" as used in Masonic rituals, with cites from 1760.
Sense 2 is "a small hammer or mallet, typically made from wood, with which
a judge, chairperson, (later) auctioneer, etc., hits a surface to call for
attention or order, or to confirm a decision," with cites from Aug. 1848.
Here are a few antedatings for sense 2 -- note the variant spelling
"gavil," not given by the OED.

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https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116154015/the-gavil-of-the-chair/
Daily Madisonian (Washington, DC), Feb. 15, 1843, p. 3, col. 1
Mr. Arnold was induced to say that, unless order was restored, the
Committee might as well rise at once. [...] The voice and the gavil of the
Chair partially produced this desirable result.
Same article in: Indiana State Sentinel, Feb. 28, 1843, p. 2, col. 2
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116154090/the-gavil-of-the-chair/
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https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116149640/the-sound-of-the-speakers-gavil/
New York Herald, May 13, 1846, p. 4, col. 2
What else he may have said, was lost in the thunder tones of "order,"
"order," and the sound of the speaker's gavil.
[re: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives]
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https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116149000/the-sound-of-the-speakers-gavel/
Baltimore Sun, Mar. 1, 1847, p. 4, col. 2
[T]he sentence was lost, from the sound of the Speaker's gavel, and his
call to order.
[re: Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates]
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This research is for my Wall Street Journal column this week -- can anyone
find earlier cites?

--bgz

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