Build and share your knowledge about thimbles - new topics added regularly

THERE ARE 32 "LEARN MORE ABOUT..." TOPICS
Brass Advertising | British Placenames | British Royalty on Thimbles | British Silversmiths | Charles May | Christmas | Coalport
Dorcas Thimble Boxes | Easter | Gadgets | Francesca | Hallmarked Thimbles set | 'Mother' | The World's Greatest Porcelain Houses
Royal Albert | Royal Crown Derby | Royal Doulton | Royal Worcester Handpainted Thimbles
Royal Worcester Decal Thimbles | S + H Foskett | Silver Advertising Thimbles | Spode | Stratnoid | SylvaC
Thimble Books | Thimble Collectors Club | Thimble Societies | Thimbles with Slogans
Thimblefuls | Victorian Silver Scenic Thimbles | Wedgwood Jasperware | Wedgwood Bone China

THERE ARE 22 PAGES OF THIMBLES & OTHER ITEMS TO BUY
aluminium 1 - books 1 - brass 1 - china 6 - display cases 1
gold 1 - needlework tools 2 - other collectables 1 - pewter 1 - plastic 1
silver 3 - steel & metal 1 - unusual materials 1 - wood 1

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One of the first fine bone china thimbles produced for the collectables market is one with a decal by Royal Worcester. In 1974 this Bridal thimble (I am not sure whether it was named this or it has become known by this name by thimble collectors over the last 30 years) was issued and is one of the most recognisable thimbles from RW.

As thimble collecting increased throughout the 1970s and 1980s and Royal Worcester phased out their handpainted thimbles in the very early 1980s, their decal thimbles came to the fore as a niche collection for collectors. In 1985, Royal Worcester produced their last decal thimbles. So their decal thimbles' output barely lasted 11 years. The exception to this is thimbles made under commission. The Royal Worcester factory has now closed in Worcester in England, after 255 years and their works is now based in Sri Lanka.

How do decal thimbles differ from those that are handpainted? A decal or transfer is applied to the blank thimble and the factory can then churn out more thimbles with identical patterns. Under a magnifying glass, a decal shows up as hundreds of small dots, similar to newspaper print seen under magnification. Royal Worcester would not have onsold their decals, so their designs remain theirs. These high quality thimbles are similar in quality and design to Wedgwood bone china thimbles.

The thimbles for decals used by Royal Worcester are exactly the same ones used for handpainting. They are thicker-walled and the apex is flatter. In later years I have seen examples where these changed and that changed the character of the thimbles, making them look like cheaper counterparts - where apexes are domed and the walls are very much thinner.

The first sets of decal thimbles of the early 1980s, continue a tradition of Royal Worcester handpainted thimbles - by having a decal sprig featured on the verso.

The backstamp in Royal Worcester decal thimbles is black and identical to those used on the post-1964 handpainted thimbles, showing that all their thimbles are made of fine bone china.

Learn more about
Royal Worcester Thimble Painters

Ballet This set of six thimbles featuring popular classical ballets was issued by Royal Worcester The scene is all round the thimble and each ballet is named inside and working with the Royal Opera House, were created in 1982 Cinderella BUY THIS THIMBLE Coppelia Giselle Romeo and JUliet Sleeping Beauty Swan Lake

Bridal This is the first decal thimble issued by Royal Worcester It is one of the only thimbles with a silver (instead of gold) painted trim The backstamp appears on the outside of the thimble, instead of the more usual inner marking lovely to find an original box with the lettering "To a new bride" with a verse to the bride from Royal Worcester I understand that this thimble was a wedding gift as early as 1963 - did you receive your bridal thimble any earlier? BUY THIS THIMBLE

Butterflies This set of six thimbles featuring English butterflies was issued by Royal Worcester in the early 1980s There is a sprig of grass or flowers on the verso The butterflies are not named in the thimbles but on the thimble boxes only I know the other unnamed ones here are:- charaxes sem - pupillis aegus - talemunus evagoris Maybe you know which is which or what the common names are?? Blue Skipper Clouded Yellow BUY THIS THIMBLE Meadow Brown Painted Lady Purple Emperor Swallowtail

Christmas There are five annual thimbles [1980-1984], each with the date on the verso 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Commemoratives Royal Worcester did not issue many commemorative thimbles     Wedding of Prince Charles and Diana 29 July 1981 the gold thimbles set of four are identical on the front with varying icons on the verso Papal Visit 1982 lettered inside Birth of HRH Prince William of Wales 21 June 1982 National Heritage Festival 1985 this was the last official thimble issued by RW

Cottages These thimbles features English cottages but are not a set. I am sure there are more? They were still available from the shop at the Royal Worcester factory, in Worcester, during my visit in 1995 BUY THIS THIMBLE Cottage Garden issued by Thimble Collectors Club

Fauna This set of six thimbles featuring English birds and animals was issued by Royal Worcester in the early 1980s The thimbles are not named in the thimbles so the terms used here are my own - if you know what Royal Worcester named them, please share Note that there are two gold bands - at the apex and at the rim Each has a different scene - the territory on the verso This set is rarer than their other sets bluetit later version with no gold bands fieldmouse or vole red squirrel robin stoat or weasel stonechat BUY THIS THIMBLE later version with one gold band

Flowers This is a favourite theme - not a set. None of have names? Some have the gold trim at both edges

Tableware designs The "Blind Earl" design is in relief to enable the pattern to be felt Blue Scale Evesham Blind Earl - white Blind Earl - colour Blind Earl - pink

Woodland animals This set of six thimbles featuring English woodland animals was issued by Royal Worcester in the early 1980s There is a sprig on the verso of each eg. acorns, wheat The thimbles are not named inside the thimbles, only on the thimble boxes The names I have used here are from the advertisements at the time of issue American Flying Squirrel BUY THIS THIMBLE Common Chipmunk issued by Thimble Collectors Club European Squirrel BUY THIS THIMBLE Hare Harvest Mouse BUY THIS THIMBLE Roe Deer

Special commissions Bertrams Junior School 1918-1993 To commemorate the 75th founding of this school, the Johannesburg, South African headmaster, himself a RW collector, commissioned 75 thimbles as a fundraiser for the school The thimbles are lettered on the verso with the commemorative details There is an accompanying certificate of authenticy Gloucestershire Regiment with regimental badge Historic Patterns thru the Ages Compton & Woodhouse In 1993 Compton & Woodhouse, an English mail-order business, commissioned a set of 22 thimbles The series was to commemorate the 242-year old heritage [1751-1993] of Royal Worcester, bearing the historical patterns on many early pieces of RW, held in the Dyson Perrins Museum in Worcester There is no uniformity in the design with thimbles [ie gold bands at the top and the bottom to link them as a set] - rather just the richness of the designs The thimbles were issued in batches of three and were accompanied by an illustrated card for each issue, with a picture, the name and history of each design. The 22 thimbles are shown on the original flyer on a free wooden thimble rack I was a subscriber to the original set on offer but cancelled after the number reached 15, as the subsequent thimbles were of an inferior quality, with thinner-walled thimbles being used. Neither did they match the first 15 in size Was this set extended to be more than 22? Yes, I now know that there were 42 issued and all are listed here alphabetically. The names used here are those from the original flyer/s which accompanied the set The thimbles are not named in the thimbles, so once separated from their cards, the original name is lost Apple Green Barr, Flight and Barr Imari BUY THIS THIMBLE Bleu Celeste Blue and Gold Panelled Imari Cannon Ball BUY THIS THIMBLE Chamberlain Garlands Chamberlain Rose Sprays Chamberlain Sprays Chinese Scene Cut Fruit Davis Blue Band BUY THIS THIMBLE Dry Blue Flowers Duke of Clarence Duke of Gloucester BUY THIS THIMBLE Finger and Thumb Flight Sprays Fruit Swags German Flower Giles Flowers Grainger Gold BUY THIS THIMBLE Grainger Imari Ho Ho Bird Hop Trellis Jabberwocky BUY THIS THIMBLE Meissen Style Old Mosaick Oriental Panels Phoenix Border BUY THIS THIMBLE Pink Garlands Pink Scale BUY THIS THIMBLE Poppy Puce Festoons Rococo Sprays Royal Lily BUY THIS THIMBLE Scale Blue BUY THIS THIMBLE Scarlet Japan Scarlet Panels Sea Green and Puce Floral BUY THIS THIMBLE Sevres Style BUY THIS THIMBLE Strings of Garden Flowers BUY THIS THIMBLE Tobacco Leaf Yellow Ground The Hallmarked Thimbles of the World's Great Porcelain Houses This set of 50 commissioned by the Thimble Collectors Club in 1985, included one from Royal Worcester Learn more about The Hallmarked Thimbles of the World's Great Porcelain Houses Thimbles of the Worlds' Porcelain Houses This set of 25 commissioned by Franklin Mint in 1980, included one from Royal Worcester Learn more about Thimbles of the Worlds' Porcelain Houses Thimble Collectors Club There were 7 thimbles included over the years in the TCC See the other two which are part of "Cottages" and "Woodland Animals" sets Learn more about Thimble Collectors Club thimbles Country Garden Enchantment Imari The USA club issue was named Finger and Thumb River Romance Swans Times Past This boxed pair of thimbles was commissioned for this mail-order firm in England

Others All these thimbles do not fit any of the above categories - until more information comes to light I wonder why there are 2 different thimbles made for Ascot and for Winchester Cathedral? Sweetheart Royal Ascot - 1 Royal Ascot - 2 Worcester's coat-of-arms the city crest includes three black pears Winchester Cathedral - 1 Winchester Cathedral - 2     Red Admiral/Tortoiseshell different from Butterflies set as there are 2 different butterflies on each thimble available with 2 or 1 gold bands

Allied brands The following thimbles have links with Royal Worcester - Palissy and Hammersley are part of the Royal Worcester Group and the Locke thimbles with Worcester's coat-of-arms are eagerly saught after             Locke and Co the porcelain is translucent the city crest includes three black pears

DO YOU KNOW ANY MORE DETAILS ABOUT DECAL ROYAL WORCESTER THIMBLES? DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ROYAL WORCESTER WITH DECALS THIMBLES NOT MENTIONED? DO YOU HAVE ANY DECAL ROYAL WORCESTER THIMBLES NOT PICTURED or a CLEARER PICTURE? EMAIL thimbleselect@bigpond.com TO SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

Contributors
Anne - Sue Burt - Denise Jenkins - Sue Nicholls - Heather Pead - Moyra Peckston - Kathy Rastall - Jean Taylor - Joanna Waciorski

This listing of Royal Worcester Decal Thimbles does not purport to be complete or accurate in all aspects.
Rather it invites comment and contribution to add to our knowledge. My thanks to the contributors.

Enjoy!

© Sue Gowan
February 2007

THERE ARE 32 "LEARN MORE ABOUT..." TOPICS
Brass Advertising | British Placenames | British Royalty on Thimbles | British Silversmiths | Charles May | Christmas | Coalport
Dorcas Thimble Boxes | Easter | Gadgets | Francesca | Hallmarked Thimbles set | 'Mother' | The World's Greatest Porcelain Houses
Royal Albert | Royal Crown Derby | Royal Doulton | Royal Worcester Handpainted Thimbles
Royal Worcester Decal Thimbles | S + H Foskett | Silver Advertising Thimbles | Spode | Stratnoid | SylvaC
Thimble Books | Thimble Collectors Club | Thimble Societies | Thimbles with Slogans
Thimblefuls | Victorian Silver Scenic Thimbles | Wedgwood Jasperware | Wedgwood Bone China

THERE ARE 22 PAGES OF THIMBLES & OTHER ITEMS TO BUY
aluminium 1 - books 1 - brass 1 - china 6 - display cases 1
gold 1 - needlework tools 2 - other collectables 1 - pewter 1 - plastic 1
silver 3 - steel & metal 1 - unusual materials 1 - wood 1

Any questions or comments?
thimbleselect@bigpond.com
I do not offer any type of valuation or advice on prices.

Last updated 21 November 2009

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