Featured Old sewing box

I found this among my grandmother's things and have no idea of the age of this sewing kit. Other than the pin cushion, I don't know what the other things are even for! Any ideas how old this is? It's kind of falling apart.

 

Some sort of carved lace bobbin, perhaps?

 

Do any of the pieces unscrew?

 

Here's some closer pics. A couple of the pieces do unscrew and I found a thimble in one of them. There's a silk tape measure that has threads on the bottom of the stick it's on. The long piece unscrews on both ends for some reason, and it does look the right size to store needles. I can't determine what they're made of. Not wood, but not plastic either. Some of the pieces are brittle and chipping. So, any idea on age of this sewing box?

 

They look like Vegetable Ivory which is carved Tagua Nut, most likely Victorian as is the box

 

Thank you so much Poisonivy! Since you gave me a name for it, I was able to go online and find out a lot about the kit. I'm not sure I have all the pieces but I do know now that one of them is for sure called a thimble holder and another is a needle holder. I've seen thimble holders with sterling silver thimbles, but my thimble is also made from tagua nut. The box I haven't seen at all on line, so it's probably just a box my grandmother used to store the items. Even though it's falling apart it's still kind of pretty! Here's a couple examples of what I found online at Etsy. If these prices aren't out of line, I may have something that's worth at least a little something!

 

You're welcome, I'm happy I could help.
Yes the box is pretty even though it is falling apart and you have the sentimental value on everything too.
Those pieces on Etsy are overpriced compared to here in the UK but yes they do have some value and so nice for you to inherit

Have you got all the pieces of the tape measure?

 

Well, I have a few odd, random pieces but I'm not sure what the tape measure is supposed to look like when it's assembled! It's kind of like trying to put together a 1000 piece puzzle without having the picture to go by...

 

Do any of these help?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Se...etable-Ivory-Coquilla-Tagua-Nut-/183556088533

https://www.rubylane.com/item/441053-MS003489/Victorian-Carved-Pierced-Vegetable-Ivory-Tape

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/400538960581916078/?lp=true

 

After looking at your pics I found I have a piece with a slot in the side where I assume the tape would come out. But I don't have a base where the stick with the threads screws into so it just falls out. Did I mention I'm not mechanically inclined?? Seriously, I think I'm missing an important piece, but like you said, sentimental value. My grandmother was born 1887, so I'm thinking it probably was her mother's kit and she just held on to it.

 

Yes the tape comes through the slot and then there is usually a piece that screws on the top and the "stick" pokes out of that at the top, that's what winds the tape back in.
It's nice you have the tape though because they often just disintegrate being made of silk, often people replace them with ribbon.
Put together what you know fits and see what you're left with.

 

I have tried not to touch the silk tape too much, it looks so delicate! Thanks for all the help!

 

No problem....
Maybe you can show us what you have that is all there when you figure it all out

 

The hairstyle and clothing of the woman illustrated on the top of the box might give a clue to time period. Definitely 19th century, I would say. But I can't see enough of it to know if I would be able to ID it. As a wild guess, from what I can see it looks 1860s-ish. That might be wrong, though.