Featured Wood & Metal Lace Bobbins & Beads

I wonder if anyone could tell me about old lace bobbins please? The beads look pretty old but no idea if they are contemporary.
I’ve tried to do my research to find out if these are anything other than average but failed miserably to find anything with the close metal bands or the odd metal work and studs on the thinner one. Thanks for any guidance

 

Looks a little like these.... https://www.antiquers.com/threads/u...-with-glass-beads-on-wire.75785/#post-6641937

 

Thankyou, yes, similar beads aren’t they. I think I may have to buy a book on bobbins!

 

I’ve found out a bit more if anyone is interested!
They seem to be c1870 give or take.
The studded one is a Bedfordshire Leopard and I think the other is a Bedfordshire Banded.
It’s quite the rabbit hole to go down but this is the most comprehensive website I can find. Some nice details about the types of beads used if you scroll down far enough. It’s a long read!
http://www.brianlemin.com/#P

 

Well, roll me up and throw me out with the dish water.....something I've NEVER SEEN or HEARD OF!!!!!!!!!!!!! FASCINATING!!!

 

I have a few but none that old.

 

Not surprised, the carving looks old even if that thread isn't. There's a lace museum or two would love those.

 

@Northern Lights Lodge of interest to you?
Surprised at all the different designs, some are really lovely, thanks for posting KSW.

 

There was a time when I thought I'd give bobbin lace-making a try and I bought all the accoutrements (second-hand but contemporary stuff). At that time, I also bought a few vintage British royalty commemorative bobbins... Jubilee, Chuck and Di marriage, etc. Unfortunately, I never really got into the hobby... but this thread has rekindled my interest...

 

My niece (21) just took up tatting. I sent her mother the link KSW posted. Looking at that site I see things I got in old sewing boxes but did not know what they were. Learning one day at a time!

 

Yes! I’d love to see your progress if you give it a go! I’m amazed how lace makers can create such detailed patterns.

 

Oh yes Dave, I'd love to know more!!
Leslie

 

Oh KSW! AWESOME! Yes, I can tell you a LOT more! I'll run up and get my book and be right back!
Leslie

 

@KSW... Yes, you are right they are Bedsfordshire bobbins! And yes, the top one is known as a "banded"; but it was also called a "tiger" - due to the pewter stripes. Often bobbins had dates - the earliest recorded date on a lace bobbin appears to be 1714.

From what I can see, it appears that your banded/tiger bobbin may have been made by (according to the book "Success to the Lace Pillow" by Christine and David Springett printed in 1981) "Bobbin Maker A". They were unable to give him a name and they weren't able to date the years that he manufactured bobbins; but apparently he was making bobbins during the early part of the 19th century.

He is identified by finishing his bobbins with a round or oval shape "bead" at the bottom end of his bobbins which has one line incised around the widest part and then there is a smaller projection under that which would be drilled to take the "spangle". The head of his bobbins are "flat topped" with a rather smushed oval or "onion shaped" under the flat head. The groove between the two is where the thread was looped so that it could slide and release more thread when necessary.
The only thing that differs in the description is that according to Springett's the "shoulder" under the area known as the "spindle" where extra thread was wound was quite flat... yours is quite rounded. Whether that discounts it being made by Bobbin maker A would be up for discussion.

As for the "spangle"; the beads are quite original to the era - although there is a chance that they were rewired if the wire broke, they probably used the beads over again. Also according to the Springett's - this time in a book called "Spangles and Superstitions" (1987); the square beads were the most common and were known as "square cuts"; although they are actually not 'cut'. Bead maker Robert Haskins watched both his grandfather and father make similar beads. He related to "The Bedfordshire Times and Independant' in 1912; "These beads were melted off one at a time, from a stick of glass and twirled on a copper wire which made the hole; then pressed on the sides with a file which produced the square shape and the peculiar markings on the surface. The glass was often obtained from decanter tops and tallow lamps.

The black faceted one was made from a hollow cane and were fairly common at the time.

The large blue and white one! A "treasure"! The Evil Eye Bead! The "snake" begins at the hole on one side of the bead and spirals round to the other end of the hole. This bead was meant to keep away the "evil eye" (still so well known in Turkish tradition).

Then it looks as if you have a "foil" bead. It is said that they were produced on the Isle of Man. It would be a fairly uncommon bead for a humble lacemaker.

The beads were sometimes attached to a circle of wire - and then that circle of wire was attached to the bobbin with a second loop of wire - very often a pin which had lost it's point.

The beads were an important feature of Bedsfordshire lacemaking bobbins. They prevented the bobbins from undue rolling (and therefore untwisting the thread); but more importantly added weight to keep the proper amount of tension on the thread.

Just an additional short note here: Every country that made bobbin lace (and often each county) had their own style of pillow and bobbin. The equipment was very specific to the type of lace that was being used.

Honiton lace (made in Honiton, of course) used a "Honiton pillow" which was a very rounded ball held in a wood cradle for working and Honiton bobbins were used. The bobbins were very lightweight and dainty with no spangles and very little ornamentation.

Bedsfordshire lace often relied on a round, hill shape pillow with a bolster roller in the center. The coordinating bobbins were larger and "spangled".

The history of bobbins, pillows and equipment is a story upon itself!

Ok. Well that gives you a bit of info about your tiger.
Cheerio, Leslie
On to your leopard!

 

@KSW - the leopard! This bobbin was undoubtedly made by Bobbin Maker "B". This information also comes from the book "Success to the Lace Pillow" by the Springett's. I'm actually very excited about this one! I have one by the same individual!

According to the Springett's, they were unable to discover the identity or the dates that he produced (apparently, he didn't date his bobbins). But he was responsible for a group of very distinctive bobbins, which he decorated with pewter inlay. Unfortunately most of the pewter he used has corroded very badly and they had christened him , perhaps rather unkindly, "the rotten pewter man"! In fact, he is probably less deserving of the title than many other bobbin makers whose pewter work survives unscathed, as he used a very high quality pewter with an appropriately high tin content.

On analysis, they found that 78% of the pewter he used was tin, 20% unknown material (probably antimony which would help to improve the luster of the pewter) and only 2% lead. Tin is very easily affected by corrosive agents, and the constant handling of the bobbin during the lacemaking allowed the perspiration passed from the lace maker's fingers to build up and attack the tin in the pewter, and caused the inlay to deteriorate. Pewter plates and mugs were in daily used and would have been frequently washed, thus eliminating such an accumulation of corrosive elements.

Once the surface of the pewter inlay became corroded, and the bobbin rough and uncomfortable to handle, she may have discarded it or attempted to make it smoother by removing crumbling pewter - so many of his bobbins have empty spaces were pewter once laid.

This bobbin maker made fairly intricate pewter inlay bobbins including "butterflies" - which is like the one I own. I'll try to take a photo tomorrow. But I'm unfamiliar with the pewter shape at the tail end - the wide pewter piece with points. Curious!

The beads - of course, you have square cuts again, and several round African trade beads which are fairly common. The large bead may be what they called a ribbon. Often the beads and trinkets on bobbins were special to the lacemaker; a seashell from a sailor beau or a trip to the seashore, perhaps a special button that came from some one special, maybe a gift from another lacemaker.

Anyway, there you have it! The man who made the pewter decorations of a higher quality than his rivals; unfortunately created pieces which have not stood the test of time. None the less... I'm quite fond of the man.

I'd also like to address the comment made in that article that was shown with the two other bobbins... that the pewter would have been abrasive. Having used bobbins with pewter inlay and pewter spangles for years... I can say that they are NOT irritating to use. The only exception would, of course, be if the bobbin was made by the rotten pewter man! I personally love Bedsfordshire bobbins as they are so interesting and the bobbins have such personality! But, I find them a little cumbersome to work with and prefer "Cantu" bobbins or Belgian style bobbins. I'll post about them tomorrow also.

Next I'll address @wlwhittier and @Hollyblue query.
Cheerio,
Leslie

 

A little video about making lace with spangled bobbins
Leslie

 

Amazing! And this one will blow your mind!


It is a "little easier" to see what she is doing as you are watching from HER point of view in this video; in the other one, you are a bystander and are actually watching her work almost "backwards" (for lack of another term).
Leslie

 

I just lost my eyes...................waaaaay too confusing.....more power to anyone who can handle it!!!!!!!!!!​

 

LOL... you made me laugh! I've worked with about 300 at a time... and that is plenty! I wish I could see her finished piece. Of course, it probably won't be off her pillow anytime soon!
Leslie