Treasure Hunting: Sewing Collectibles Can Be Found With Metal Detectors
November 6th 2006 16:22
The variety of collectibles that can be found with metal detectors is nothing less than astounding. As time goes on we will individually address the many different types of collectibles that can be found while metal detecting, and this article is one such -- as the title indicates, its about sewing collectibles.
One dream find of most metal detectorists is whats called a chatelaine. This was a ring or loop of chain or wire, sometimes ornate, sometimes simple, that contained the full sewing kit for use by its owner. These were popular during the Victorian period, and some were quite fancy.
wiki says this about chatelaines --- A set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys ... which to me seems a very modern definition, and incomplete at best I think, because some of the chatelaines I have seen pictures of were a lot more intricate and utilitarian, being an actual collection of sewing accoutrements and tools.
To find one of those intact from the Victorian period is a trip through time and could very well be quite profitable to the finder too. Many were made of silver.
Seam rippers, scissors, thimbles, and a lot more were carried on chatelaines by their users. The best place to look for, and find chatelaines with a metal detector is around the yards of old Victorian homes. There are many of those places still around, and even more which have been torn down, and left as vacant lots. These are sometimes best because they may have escaped detection by other hunters.
The Thimble As A Metal Detecting Target
Because sewing itself has been around quite a long time, many of the tools of sewing have become quite collectible. One of the most collectible sewing items are thimbles. A trip through ebays Sewing Collectibles categories will affirm this in no uncertain terms. Thimble collectors are called digitabulists, and if that does not key you into the fact that this field of collectibles is well developed, then I do not know what will.
Thimbles are also a fairly common target to most metal detectorists. How something that was supposed to be in Moms sewing basket ended up in the backyard can only be guessed at. Undoubtedly via the same mode of transport as all the spoons, forks, knives, scissors, compact cases, and what have you. Little hands with little legs. Yes, perhaps this type of thing could be hidden from Mom, but not from us, the metal detectorists of the future -- no WAY!
Some sources state that the first thimbles were Roman, and as far as metal thimbles are concerned, that may be so. The same source also stated that many old thimbles were made from bone, wood and leather, so thimbles no doubt have been around a lot longer than many people think, its just that the oldest thimbles have gone back to the dirt from whence they appeared. I personally have found some thimble-like devices used by ancient native Americans in Florida, made from various shell types of that area. No doubt the thimble preceded the Romans by quite a good ways.
Many different cultures possessed the thimble in some form or another, because it has always been necessary to have a tool by which to push a needle through a fabric, like cloth or leather. One interesting note is that the modern thimble as supplied by the white man, to the Native Americans as trade goods, was mostly ignored for its real real purpose, and was used as decoration for various items, most notably decoration for leather dresses! In fact dresses of this type are well known and valuable.
There is not much to say about the thimble as a metal detecting target, except that they usually sound good because of their shape, and many are made of silver, and some even of gold. One type known as the dorcas is heavy silver inside and out, but with a steel interior, to keep the steel needle from puncturing the softer silver, of which many thimbles were made until the Dorcas method of manufacture evolved.
Needles and their Cases as Metal Detecting Targets
Needle cases and the actual needles and pins they contained, can be very collectible. I once dug an anomalous target that to my ears was a lot like iron, but just sounded funny to me, so I dug it. It was at a fort site in sand that drained well. The target turned out to be a true winner, a set of hand wrought needles and pins still wrapped up in deteriorated but recognizable linen ribbon.
There were many elaborate contraptions in which to carry and secure needles and pins during olden times, such as the brass REVOLVING NEEDLE CASE I found in Tampa and which I traded for 3 large cents from the 1840's. These types of organizing sewing collectibles are highly sought after by many collectors now.
The revolving needle case is just one example of this type of thing. I dug it while sifting around the fort site in downtown Tampa, and it came out in five pieces. It was easy to put back together, and it was like a brass wallet for pins and needles with the interior revolving out of the exterior covering. All the parts of this brass case were very ornately machine stamped with acanthus leaf designs and the companies logo, name, and the name of the product itself, which of course was this: THE REVOLVING NEEDLE CASE.
Other types of needles cases in metal are the book type and tube types, although many of the metallics lose a lot of their value by being in the dirt. Unless they were machine stamped with design, these type of collectibles may not even be recognizable for what they are.
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