Thursday, June 07, 2012

More on Thimbles

After my last post, I started a new page on my website for fledgling thimble collectors.

I set about looking for good quality thimbles at very reasonable starting prices on eBay and I've posted the listings on my website. I don't have any financial interest in the thimbles, in almost all cases I don't know the dealers, but I love trolling for thimbles and other needlework tools.

Last week I found a pair of very pretty and very good quality silver thimbles with tiny landscapes on the bands. Little miniature scenes so carefully worked out on the tiny band of a thimble. Each thimble had reached the final day of its listing with no bids, at $9.99. Almost scrap value of the silver!

So I posted them on my website and thus began 'thimbles for fledgling thimble collectors'.

Yesterday I posted a series of excellent quality thimbles with starting prices of less than $15.00.

As I have written number of times, thimble prices have tumbled in the last few years, so that many great thimbles are now about 25% of the price they were 20 years ago.

I am by nature a contrarian collector, that is I like to collect something not at the height of fashion, and now is a perfect time to look again at thimbles. In fact, in the last year and a half I have bought a small stash of thimbles I've long admired but never thought would come my way. At the top of the list: a very rare Untermyer Robbins thimble that went begging. A delight indeed!

Yes, the prices have fallen, but the thimbles haven't changed. They are still tiny trifles of a bygone era, beautifully worked and a delight to the eye. I have always thought of them and the other beautiful sewing tools as a needleworker's jewelry. Go and have a look at the little thimbles on my website page and see if you don't agree.

For quick reference:
www.GayAnnRogers.com
click on 'Thimbles' on the yellow navigation bar
then click on the red button 'thimbles for fledgling collectors'

Let me know what you think of them.
Gay Ann

1 comment:

MeganH said...

Lovely! Collecting thimbles isn't my thing, but I enjoyed looking at your selections on your website. Thankyou.