Featured Victorian-era Brass String Caddy

Because what else would the discerning Victorian gentleman put his ball of string inside??


Isn't this just adorable? This, this right here, is why I love antiques. The level of decoration and ornamentation that our forefathers put into something as bland and banal as a string-dispenser, turns it into a beautiful piece of artwork

 

That is the best and oldest string caddy I've ever seen.

Kevin

 

Shangas, I share the feeling! I will never forget the first time I saw one of those adorable little pots the English used for their condensed milk! Having never even heard of one before, the hole in the bottom baffled me completely.

Like Winnie-the-Pooh, I admire a "useful pot to put things in." Especially when they are pretty!

 

Is it large enough for a ball of yarn?

 

It's large enough for the ball of yarn I put into it! So I suppose so! It's about half-again, the size of a coffee-mug, so there's quite a bit of space inside.

 

I have seen a few string dispensers in my time, I even saw one made of silver! (Jeesh!). But then when I saw this one at the flea-market, it just screamed to me:

"Adorable little brass, Victorian-era doodaddy-thingo", and I knew I had to buy it!

What really struck me about it was just amazingly decorated it was with the flowers and the dragonflies and the patterns on the lid and the sides and how it would've SHONE when it was fresh-polished, and how it was made of BRASS, and designed to last FOREVER and how it looks GORGEOUS.

And all it bloody well does is hold string!!!

If we had something like this today, they'd make it out of bloody cardboard!! This was made to sit on your desk and look like it belonged there.

The lady I bought it from said it was from the 30s, but after digging around online, I'm pretty well convinced it's Victorian. Apparently these things date as far back as the 1870s! I don't presume to say mine is that old, but I don't think it dates past 1910/WWI-era.

 

PoisonIvy may have some input on its age when she pops by.

 

The oldest date I've seen for something like this online was 1870. I have no idea how accurate that is. The flowers and insects and the patterning and such, to me anyway, says late 1800s. So I'm imagining a period ca. 1880-1910. But I dunno how accurate that is.

 

Yes, the dragonflies and 'spaghetti-swirls' are very Art Nouveau. Love those dragonflies.

 

Hi Shangas,
Thanks for the ID. I have had this for years and years and never could figure out if something was missing (like the cap)or what. Mine has leather in the back ground. I always wondered if it was a Bruille type thing. It has an attachment I guess for the scissors.
greg

 

Very nice Greg.
But what is a Bruille type thing? Does it have anything to do with French towns called Bruille, manufacture maybe?

 

Hi,
I found mine as a kid. There was an old house that burned down in the 1800s. We used to dig in "cellar holes" looking for treasure that might survived the fire. This is one on many things I found. I never knew what it was but kept it all these years. Thank you so much for IDing it. I have shown it to many people and no one knew what is was. I imagined it had a jewel for the top and a nail file for the scabbard.
greg

 

Here are more string/thread holders, maybe u already saw. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/486599934713052964/

I particularly like those where the string comes out of an animal or human mouth!

I think OP's is bronze, long-term care if it still has any patina is a thin wax coating. If patina has been removed by some (insert mildly derogatory terms here) person, do nothing for a few decades hoping the patina returns.

 

Hi Any Jewelry,
Sorry not enough coffee yet. I was thinking the French designer that used leather backing and cut bronze for decoration on furniture. I had several brass and leather small picture frames by him.
greg

 

Greg, definitely a scissor scabbard. If u don't have scissors that fit send it to me and I'll give you a pair that matches from my old scissor collection, then return it RIGHT away (wicked laugh!)

 

Thanks for the explanation, another thing learnt. I hope for at least one new term or topic a day, for 'the little grey cells', this forum helps.
Enjoy your coffee.

 

Hercule Poirot would be proud of us learners! Never mind that in my case, there is a lot of flotsam and jetsam. I enjoy my factoids, and though I may never have a chance to use most of them, occasionally I win a great amount of theoretical money on Jeopardy! (I comfort myself regarding the lack of actual money with the knowledge that I won't have to pay taxes on it!)

 

I've done well on Jeopardy.....
Unfortunately....I've never had a button at hand.

 

KOT -- do you ever find yourself yelling, "You IDIOT!" at a contestant?

 

I don't.....but I do spend the rest of a day beating MYSELF up if I answer a clue incorrectly........................