Needlework tools from around the world, some which can be used and some just for collecting

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Pincushions / Pinholders

8/677 = $44 Mauchline ware transfer Brooklyn Bridge New York Statue of Liberty New York 88x64x55mm - original blue cushion but very worn so that some of stuffing visible - - damage with a crack in the whole length - - which seems to have been glued on one side - - one of the short ends has two cracks along the length - 17/95 = $17 Manor Ware Pottery © 1976 handpainted beak with blue stones for eyes Magherafelt [Ireland] - slight foxing - e18 = $6 Australia handmade Pet Porpoise Pool 41mm bk1322 = $7 Japan Kimono fabric handmade e21 = $6 handstitched in Jacobean type wool tapestry green woollen tassels 70x70mm rr124 = $13 Brass coloured metal pinholder contains original black glass-headed pins 38mm - some colour missing -

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Ribbon threaders / bodkins

8/1219 = $22 Metal The Tyton Redg sliding knob for the ribbon governs the width of the opening of the teethed end 78mm

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Scissors

8/867 = $18 Germany Embroidery steel bows and steel shanks 90mm 8/868 = $22 England Levi & Salaman [L&S] Birmingham 1913 sterling silver and steel nail scissors 102mm 8/870 = $36 England K H.? Embroidery Birmingham 1911 sterling silver and steel ornate embossed bows with ‘man’s’ faces 108mm - 2nd bow has been mended at join - 19/94 = $4 folding 56mm folded - one tip missing - 19/93 = $61 Portraits of Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife OR King Franz Josef and Queen Elizabeth of Austria c.1890 144mm 8/1329 = $50 [England] Mother-of-pearl & steel folding snips Patent lettered on shanks housed in leather sheath 1880s 60mm folded

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Sewing kits / etuis / mending kits

8/1224 = $14 Plastic Souvenir of … Motel Olsen’s Valley 64mm pristine plastic thread winder/needlecase - very rubbed lettering - 19/85 = $11 Plastic with modern keyring affixed aluminium thimble & cream plastic thread winder/needleholder bk1075 = $1 Wentworth Sydney 20/1 = $22 Stuffy grey felt cowboy 277mm mounted on the original card - slight paper tears - I save needles and pins my hood will hold your thimble English brass size 9 my middle your needles and pins Hang me high and always handy, I’m there when sewing begins bm359 = $26 tiered brass thimble - empty - - specks of lacquer missing -

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Sewing clamps

rr120 = $36 Ivory Chinese - pincushion missing -

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Spools of thread boxes

8/698 = $126br>Scotland Mauchline ware black lacquer ware wooden cotton reels box hinged box 101x72x47mm Patent is also lettered on the lid six bone/ivory-lined holes for the thread, each with a number - one missing - - advertising label is obliterated - - 6 wooden posts are intact - - empty -

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Stilettos

19/87 = $16 Steel and whalebone 103mm 19/91 = $18 Steel and ivory? 111mm

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Tape measures

8/622 = $34 Bone mini barrel ivory spindle 24mm includes spindle - grubby with age & use - - fine cracks on top - - tape missing - 8/719 = $80 Celluloid thistles and tartan ribbon painted top spring loaded tape - end of the tape is fragile - 8/1266 = $20 Wood original silk tape measures in nails 20x15mm without handle - chips in 3 places around top edge - 8/1394 = $22 Japan SKK souvenir Washington D.C. U.S Capitol Washington Monument Washington. D.C. on verso spring rewind mechanism c.1930s 37mm 8/1506 = $4 Crocheted cotton Australian modern handmade tape measure container 40mm contains white tape measure bb465 = $17 Yellow ‘cloth’ advertising with running different slogans for Rinso on both sides measurements only on one side marked in inches [60] - no metal ends - - some staining & wear at beginning end - 8/1630 = $38 [Japan] Celluloid fish [bass] tape is on a spring from the mouth marked SKK 1930s 38mm 8/1631 = $65 [Japan] Celluloid sailing ship 59x53mm - tape cloth is a bit fragile at its beginning - 8/1632 = $175 Gilt brass coronation coach with celluloid windows small figures at the front the wheels rotate a Neptune figure with trident at rear tape is wound from sword on roof 1900s 67x43mm - back wheels are a bit buckled -

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Threads

8/1395 = $9 USA paper sleeve The Brainerd & Armstrong Co’s “Asiatic” Filo Selle Pat. Sept. 10, 1895 200x20mm - threads quite tangled -

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Work boxes / Sewing boxes / Fitted needlework boxes The following sewing or workboxes are offered with their contents as I received them and I have described the condition and contents to the best of my ability There is no way of knowing which tools are original [unlikely] I have checked all the hinges and they are all in good working order and when present the keys work, unless specified

8/1669 = $130 blue velour with brass fittings original covering - some wear but not to the nap - brass fastener - lower part missing - - so the case doesn’t stay closed - opens wider with a spring action - bevelled mirror brass catch to reveal hidden compartment tools are housed on the sides Left: unused wax with silver metal top + bone bodkin + bone stiletto with metal top + bone/steel propelling pencil – no lead Right: brass #4 thimble + matching bone bodkin + bone/metal crochet hook + bone/metal needlecase Centre: steel scissors Rodgers & Sons all tools seem original and complete small pointed brass feet 180x155x90mm NEW 8/1670 = $480 Ceylon? Pre-Victorian c.1820s tortoiseshell shell veneer over cedar wood on 5 surfaces - one small piece of shell missing off back top edge - - but it is in the box - - small crack in veneer on top - back surface - - some slight damage to the back right corner but not too noticeable - narrow insets of ebony & ivory of zigzag patterning between shell pieces Inside: 10 compartments in the tray with ring lifts 4 have matching lids to the outer box 3 are of ebony & ivory inlay - all in good condition - empty - + bone spindle for thread + fitted wooden spindle for thread? lower compartment is empty - 1mm vertical crack on the base - - this does not detract from this rare piece - 250x172x71mm NEW 8/1671 = $500 Victorian highly patterned veneer of unknown wood brass bound edging on all edges brass cartouche on outer lid with Thos S Oborn Google has this name listed as a church minister in 1885 in Jamestown US - surface cracks on side & back surfaces - - they are slight for the age of the box - matching brass escutcheon base is green baize covered Inside: velvet ruched padding on inner lid “Patent” is lettered on the brass locking plate 3 lidded small compartments on the left coverings - may have been recovered + MOP ‘button' lifts rest are compartments within a tray: bone, winding clamp with a Chinese carving on clamp & carved pomegranates on winder base + 5 rectangular MOP thread winders, with engraved Chinese scenes on both sides & monogram ‘CDB’ on each + MOP engraved thread winder with monogram ‘JB’ + 2 bone Chinese carved cotton barrels with a fretwork bone covering - one minute piece missing - - with one top & spindle missing- + ivory needlecase with an acanthus carved, squared top with a steel screw thread + brass and steel stiletto in a smooth steel sheath that screws off + brass tubular needlecase with bone top that matches nothing else - dented - + small place for a thimble + a padded velvet section is a pincushion underneath: 3 open wooden long compartments a sycamore flat ‘rasp’ with a leather cover marked Parkins & Gotto Manufacturers …Oxford Street + 2 pieces of beading: one ‘Ben’; the other ‘Mother’ - some damage at one end - 295x210x120mm NEW 8/1672 = $280 England Victorian Inlaid Tunbridge ware on veneered front & top - in lovely condition Inside: silk ruched inner lid lining that opens to reveal secret compartment silver-papered, lightweight inner tray 2 shades of blue silk compartments - some recovered - no tools lower compartment is painted cream [not original] Contents: Hardy Bros Ltd Australia cardboard box for needles contains 1 packet needles + oblong box of ‘Toilet pins’ with white knobs’ + 2 yellow card boxes with English ‘Daintywear Lingerie Mending’ threads one with 3 threads; one with 6 [pastel shades]. 251x160x145mm NEW 8/1673 = $320 England Victorian Walnut veneer inlaid coloured Tunbridge ware on front, top & back surfaces 1880s 2 main bands have zigzag patterns diamond pattern on top & matching escutcheon - 2 small pieces of top veneer have worn off at right edge - - slight surface cracks - matching brass escutcheon base is green baize covered Inside: silk ruched inner lid lining that opens to reveal secret compartment silver-papered, lightweight inner tray silk compartments & MOP ‘button’ lifts contains: 3 rug-making tools - they don’t match + 2 matching MOP & bone thread holders - these have both separated -+ bone thread winder bottom compartment silver-paper lined contains: original working key + 5 silk embroidered WWI postcards used - ‘Fond birthday wishes’ & flowers used - fan with shamrocks unused - ‘Lyser' & poppy used - pansy & a rose ‘Souvenir from France’ - stitching is disintegrating - used - violets & ‘Happy Christmas’ 280x180x110mm NEW 8/1674 = $330 Chinese for export market Black lacquered wood gilt motifs – moth in each corner with trailing flowers Chinese figural central scene fern-type decoration on the 4 sides - in good condition - some minor damage to lacquer around one hinge - Inside: black painted tray with 2, lidded compartments with matching fern pattern all plain bone tools + original working key + 2 cotton barrels + thread spindle + 2 small thread winders + very small tatting shuttle [not functional] + mini thimble [impractical] + 4 bodkins etc bottom compartment empty 245x167x80mm NEW 8/1675 = $390 Rosewood & silver metal [silver stringing] inlay some paua shell insets whole outer top is wonderfully decorated with inlaid leaves, flowers & geometric designs - in great condition - - Whatever cased the escutcheons on the front is missing - Inside: ruched silk in lid with an oval bevelled mirror - discoloured patch at one edge - + original key - but it does not lock - black lacquered tray has lift-out loops 6 covered lidded compartments [4 faux] matching fabric & 6 open compartments with one missing divider - Lower compartment: 3 wooden spools of thread [none matching] + 2 folded tape measures - stain on base - tain on base NEW 8/1676 = $650 Combination sewing box & writing desk Mahogany veneer small blank MOP cartouche on top & matching escutcheon - slight damage to front bottom edge & along back bottom edge - green baize covering on base Inside: ruched silk in inner lid George Look lettered on brass locking mechanism silver painted lightweight tray with metal with lift-out loops 11 sections with silk covering wrong key Tools include: 2 MOP snowflake thread winders with Chinese engraving, in different sizes + sterling silver/steel scissors, with one missing tip [Birmingham 1912 Israel S Greenberg [ISG] + James Fenton Birmingham 1912 size 10 thimble - out of shape, holed & dented - + 4 bone crochet hooks + 3 bone stilettos hinged writing desk opens black painted with gold-tooled leather - worn - compartments above the writing slab have 2 glass & brass square inkwells + nibbed pen + spare nibs Underneath compartment 6 nibbed dipping pens one has a bone handle with “Versailles” original paper linings 355x255x172mm NEW 8/1677 = $400 England Victorian Walnut veneer inlaid coloured Tunbridge ware on front and top - one surface crack on top & along edge of left side - Inside: padded ruched silk in inner lid covered silk compartments have probably been renewed - small slice of wood missing on back inner right rim - Contents: James Fenton Birmingham, 1904, size 10 thimble + sterling silver/steel scissors with 2 angel faces on both sides [Birmingham, 1906] + MOP snowflake thread winder with ‘HB’ monogram & Chinese engraved scene + 2 other bone tools + large MOP tatting shuttle with Chinese engraving [tight fit in compartment] The next part is difficult to describe tray can lift out there is bare timber underneath a drawer underneath with matching ruched fabric - to access this [unless left ajar] - - some mechanism to release the drawer, has snapped!! - - .5mm crack on base - 305x220x150mm NEW

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Last updated 16 November 2009

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