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Collectibles-General (Antiques)/antique thimbles (inherited)

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Expert: - 8/11/2010


Question

thimbles with box
I have inherited several thimbles from previous generations when Mom passed away and am trying to ascertain approximate dates of some of them.

Four are advertising thimbles, as follow:
"Elect Giordano" (looks tin to me)
"Ask for Miller Maid Butter" (possibly tin, with a blue stripe behind the words)
"Use Granite Flour" (possibly tin, with what may have once been a black/dark gray stripe but is now mostly worn off)
"The Prudential Life Insurance" (heavier duty, bronze color, not sure if it's actual bronze or not)

The thimbles in the attached photo are two that came to me in a sandwich bag labeled with my great-aunt's names, who lived in roughly the late 1800s-mid-1900s. But I don't know if the thimbles might pre-date that. One came in a box labeled "Harlogene-Buouterie Pernot-Guye/45 Grande Rue/Nogent-en-Bassigny" (pictured). My googling suggests that was the name of a jewelers shop in Nogent-en-Bassigny, France. The address still exists on Google maps but I couldn't turn up anything about a jeweler "Pernot-Guye." One branch of my family is French-Canadian.

The thimble further from the box in the photo is the one from the box (I'm pretty sure it was, anyway--the two may have gotten mixed up as they were moved around alot after my mother passed away--but they were both in the same bag).

There's something engraved on the one I think was originally in the box, but danged if I can read it. It might be an L to start, an m to end--only three or four letters in all.

Any ideas?

Answer
Hello Sandy.  I'm not sure what you are asking about your thimbles.  If you are looking to identify the makers of the two sterling thimbles shown in your picture, I would need to see better pictures.  Can you send images of the inside top of the thimbles or images of any other marks on the bands, top, or in the knurling (perhaps a 925 stamping?).  Barbara

Barbara K. Acchino

Experience

I have been collecting for almost 30 years.

Organizations
ThimbleCollectors@ONElist.com; Thimble Collectors International (TCI); Thimble Guild; Thimbletter & Thimbletter II, Empire State Thimble Collectors; CyberThimble; Yahoo Thimble Club

Publications
"Sewing with Scotties" Scottie Sampler; various articles for the "Bulletin" - official newsletter of Thimble Collectors International (TCI)

Education/Credentials
I have been collecting for almost 30 years.

Awards and Honors
TCI's President's Award

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