Thimbles 74/365
In the 18th century most women had to or wished to sew in order to make, mend or modify their clothes. The Charles Horner retail jewellery business sold a wide variety of thimbles in silver or gold. They soon found that ordinary silver thimbles were popular but were not particularly durable. Steel needles pierced the softer silver of the thimble – very painful for the user!
In the early 1880s, Charles Horner patented the relatively simple idea of a silver thimble sandwich with a strong, steel ‘middle’. He went on to design, perfect and patent the steel-cored silver thimble, registering his famous trade name ‘Dorcas’ – an inspired invention on which the Charles Horner business thrived, selling many thousands of the thimbles throughout Britain as well as abroad.
Thimbles 74/365
In the 18th century most women had to or wished to sew in order to make, mend or modify their clothes. The Charles Horner retail jewellery business sold a wide variety of thimbles in silver or gold. They soon found that ordinary silver thimbles were popular but were not particularly durable. Steel needles pierced the softer silver of the thimble – very painful for the user!
In the early 1880s, Charles Horner patented the relatively simple idea of a silver thimble sandwich with a strong, steel ‘middle’. He went on to design, perfect and patent the steel-cored silver thimble, registering his famous trade name ‘Dorcas’ – an inspired invention on which the Charles Horner business thrived, selling many thousands of the thimbles throughout Britain as well as abroad.