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Collecting Thimbles Message Board
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A thimble is
a protective shield worn on the finger or thumb.
The earliest thimble was Roman and found at Pompeii. Made of bronze, it
has been dated to the first century AD. A Roman thimble was also found
at Verulamium, present day St Albans, in the UK and can be seen in the
museum there. Thimbles are most usually made from metal, leather,
rubber, wood, glass or china. Early thimbles were sometimes made from
bone, horn or ivory.
 Originally
thimbles were used solely for pushing a needle through fabric or leather
as it was being sewn. However they have since gained many other uses. In
the 1800s they were used to measure spirits (hence the phrase "just a
thimbleful"). Women of the night used them in the practice of
thimble-knocking where they would tap on a window to announce their
presence. Thimble-knocking also refers to the practice of Victorian
schoolmistresses who would tap on the heads of unruly pupils with dames
thimbles.
Before the 18th century the small dimples on the outside of a thimble
were made by hand punching but in the middle of that century, a machine
was invented to do the job. If you find a thimble with an irregular
pattern of dimples, it was probably made before the 1850s. Another
consequence of the mechanisation of thimble production is that the shape
and the thickness of the metal changed. Early thimbles tend to be quite
thick and to have a pronounced dome on the top. The metal on later ones
is thinner and the top is flatter.
Collecting thimbles became popular in the UK when many companies made
special thimbles to commemorate the Great Exhibition held in the Crystal
Palace in Hyde Park, London.
In the 19th century many thimbles were made from silver. Because this is
a soft metal, it is easily pierced by a steel needle. Charles Horner
solved the problem by using a steel core covered inside and out by
silver. The result was still as pretty as a traditional silver thimble
but more practical and durable. He called his thimble the Dorcas and
these are now popular with collectors.
During the First World War silver thimbles were collected from "those
who had nothing to give" by the British government and melted down to
buy hospital equipment. In the 1930s and 40s red-topped thimbles were
used for advertising. Leaving a sandalwood thimble in a fabric stores
helps to keep moths away. Thimbles have also been used as love-tokens
and to commemorate important events. A miniature thimble is one of the
tokens in the game of Monopoly.
People who collect thimbles are known as digitabulists.
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