An auction of thimbles and sewing accessories last month saw 10 lots fetch more than £700 sterling, with sewing sets, thimbles, pincushions, bodkins and chatelaines fetching good prices. Gold, silver and porcelain thimbles dating from 1400 to the 1930s sold well at Christie's in London. An early 20th century US silver thimble far exceeded its estimate.
With its border chased in relief and three cherubs linked with floral festoons, it sold with 13 other silver thimbles for as much as £705 sterling (€1,104), exceeding its estimate of £150 to £200. Meanwhile, a single late 18th century thimble fetched £822. Unusual, it was covered with filigree - silver wire - decoration. A 2.4 centimetre blush ivory porcelain thimble from the late 19th century, with sides painted within gilt borders and a bird on a leafy branch, sold with two other thimbles for £528, just above its estimate of £400-£500. At a previous auction at the London auction house, a single thimble fetched in the region of £4,500, said Mr Jeff Lovell, specialist in the silver department. "There are hundreds of thimble collectors around the world because they're so easily collectable. They don't take up too much room."
The most sought after ones are gold thimbles, early porcelain (from about the 1730s) and some silver ones. Some 20th century thimbles are also collectable.
But Mr Lovell is of the view that 20th century commemorative thimbles have little or no investment value. "I would avoid them like the plague," he said.
As for pin cushions, "the ones to look out for really are the silver ones that are in the shapes of animals. You get ones in the shapes of pigs, cows, dogs, foxes, etc. with, as it were, their backs cut out. And then a pin cushion set into their backs". Most of these are Edwardian, that is, from the beginning of the 20th century. They can be worth £200 to £300, with some making more than that, he said. Bodkins are "not of great value" but nevertheless tend to make "£120 to £150 or a bit more".
A very ornate stiletto - used to make a hole in a heavy piece of material - in the recent auction fetched £1,410, while an 1834 "valise" sewing set fetched £1,175.
"That was more of novelty value rather than anything else. Quite literally it was a silver sewing set inside a case that was shaped as an old suitcase. You opened it out and found cotton bobbins, a tape measure, a needle case."
Interested collectors might like to get their hands on Antique Needlework Tools and Embroideries by Nerylla Taunton.
Published by the Antique Collectors' Club based in Suffolk, England, the book looks at needlework from the 17th century to the Edwardian period and is priced at £25.
The secretary of the Irish Antique Dealers' Association is unaware of anyone specialising in thimbles and sewing accessories in Ireland, while Mr Peter Geoffroy, director of Whyte's auctioneers in Dublin said needlework collections don't tend to be offered for auction here.
"It is a serious collecting area all right. In fact, they're quite decorative and people tend to display them in cabinets but we've never dealt with them."
However, there is a Thimble Society in Britain which caters for collectors of most sewing tools.
The Thimble Society is at 179 Maiden Road, London NW5 4HT (Tel: 0044 207 419 9562) or www.thimblesociety.com; The Antique Collectors' Club is at 3 Church Street, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 1DS (Tel: 0044 1394 385 501)
jmarms@irish-times.ie
