{{Short description|Container for sewing needles}} [[File:Belt accessory Branly 71.1977.0.38 X.jpg|right|thumb|19th-century needlecase of bone, lead, wood, glass pearls, amber, leather, bronze, and iron. Nivkh or Evenki people, Amur River basin, Russia.]] A '''needlecase''' or '''needle case''' is a small, often decorative, holder for sewing needles. Early needlecases were usually small tubular containers of bone, wood, or bronze with tight-fitting stoppers, often designed to hang from a belt. Needlecases are often components of an ''étui'' and are typically one of the tools attached to a chatelaine.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Andere |first=Mary |title=Old Needlework Boxes and Tools |publisher=Drake |year=1971 |isbn=0-87749-085-6 |location=New York |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=37-38}}A '''pin poppet''' is a similar container for pins, common in the 18th century.<ref name="Findings">{{Cite book| publisher = Yale University Press| isbn = 9780300134803| last = Beaudry| first = Mary Carolyn| title = Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework And Sewing| url = https://archive.org/details/findingsmaterial00fsam| url-access = limited| date = 2006 | page = [https://archive.org/details/findingsmaterial00fsam/page/n45 31], 71–79}}</ref><ref name="Oxford">{{Cite book| publisher = OUP Oxford| isbn = 9780191579042| last = Darvill| first = Timothy| title = Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology| date = 2008 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzEclkBq0u0C&pg=PT623|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> Bodkin cases, made for larger, thicker bodkin needles, were made in the 18th and early 19th centuries.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Gay Ann |title=An illustrated history of needlework tools |date=1983 |publisher=Murray |isbn=978-0-7195-4021-9 |location=London}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=62}}
== History == Early sewing needles were precious items and easily lost. Needlecases were a necessity for storing these fragile objects, and are found in cultures around the world. Tubular bronze needlecases are common finds from Viking-age sites in Europe. Cane needlecases were found in a grave from Cerro Azul, Peru, dated to 1000–1470 AD.<ref name="Cerro Azul">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1179/0077629715Z.00000000022| title = Studying the individual in prehistory: A tale of three women from Cerro Azul, Peru| journal = Ñawpa Pacha| year = 2015| url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277912074| last1 = Marcus| first1 = Joyce| volume = 35| pages = 1–22| s2cid = 129470616}}</ref> Bone, leather and metal needlecases have been found from Medieval London,<ref name="Findings" /> and bone or ivory needlecases were made by Inuit.<ref name="Ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/art_inuit/inart13e.shtml|title=Inuit art: Needle cases|website=Canadian Museum of History}}</ref> Bone and ivory needlecases and pin poppets were also popular in 18th century America.<ref name="Findings" />
Some medieval needlecases were suspended from a cord attached to a girdle that encircled the waist. These effective but basic needlecases were composed of something soft that was sewn to the cord to hold the needles, and a short hollow piece of wood or bone covered this It could be raised as needed to retrieve a needle.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=73}}
During the Tudor period in England, needlecases began to be fashioned as needlebooks, but by the early 18th century, cylindrical cases replaced the books that allowed moisture to rust the needles. These needlecases were made of many materials, but had in common their length (3 inches up to 5 inches) and the fact that the top and bottom screwed together. Some are extremely finely made.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|page=74}}
Elaborate needlework confections like the frog-shaped needlecase in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art appeared by the 16th century. These expensive needlecases, usually made out of a precious metal, were designed to be "a thing of joy," as well as a practical item.<ref name=":0" />{{Reference page|pages=74-75}} The Eiffel Tower needlecase shown in the gallery is another example of such a delight.
Unusual needlecases found in the Netherlands include ones that have the family crest at one end or the other, in order to be used as a seal. More rare is one that has two different seals at either end of the needlecase. These needlecases featuring seals were popular in the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. A late 18th century Dutch needlecase takes the form of a thimble house--there is a separate cylinder at the top for a thimble.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Needlework tools and accessories: a Dutch tradition |date=2004 |publisher=Antique Collectors' Club |isbn=978-1-85149-471-2 |editor-last=Sullivan |editor-first=Kay |location=Woodbridge}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=80-82}}
Heavily decorated silver and brass needlecases are typical of the Victorian period. Between 1869 and 1887, W. Avery & Son, an English needle manufactory, produced a series of figural brass needlecases, which are now highly collectible. Avery's dominance of this market was such that all similar brass Victorian needlecases are called "Averys".<ref name="Avery">{{cite web|url=http://www.coulthart.com/avery/|title=Avery Needle Case Resource Center|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref>
One style of needlecase was inspired by a French breech-loading machine gun, the mitrailleuse. It could discharge bullets from its multiple barrels all at once or rapidly one after another. The needlecase style bearing this name was a cylinder divided in compartments, each of which contained numerous needles of the same size. A revolving cap would allow the selected size compartment to open and discharge needles. Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other firms sold these needlecases inexpensively.<ref name=":1" />{{Reference page|pages=68-69}}
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==Gallery== {{gallery |width=120 |height=120 |File:Nålhus - Historiska museet - DIG 49592.jpg|Viking age bronze needlecase from Gotland, Sweden |File:Korean - Needle Case - Walters 542037 - Group.jpg|Gilt bronze needlecase, 10th century (Goryeo period), Korea |File:Needlecase (AM 1064-2).jpg|Needle carrier with bone cover suspended from a cord, Collection of Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, undated |File:Post Medieval Needle Holder (FindID 109994) (cropped).jpg|Damaged silver needlecase, 1500–1550, found in Dorset, UK |File:Needlecase, 'Frog' LACMA AC1998.85.1 (2 of 2).jpg|Embroidered frog-shaped needlecase, early 17th century, England |File:Needle case, Ottawa, undated - Wisconsin Historical Museum - DSC02954.JPG|Needlecase, Odawa, undated |File:Eiffel tower needle case.jpg|Eiffel Tower needle case, W. Avery & Sons, England, 19th century |File:British Porcelain Bodkin Case.jpg|Painted British Porcelain Bodkin Case, circa 1820 |File:Umbrella Needlecase.jpg|Bone needlecase with Stanhope in the shape of a furled umbrella, late 19th century |File:Front, mid-19th century folding needle book.jpg|Mid-19th century folding needle book with 2 packets of R J Roberts needles inside |File:Interior, mid-19th century folding The Pocket Needle Case.jpg|The Pocket Needle Case includes several beading needles, a pin cushion, and two boxes of R.J. Roberts needles, 19th century |File:Darning Mushroom with Screw-On Needlecase Sujur.jpg|A contemporary darning mushroom with a built-in screw-on needlecase for darning needles }}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commonscat|Needlecases|lcfirst=yes}} {{wiktionary|needlecase}} ''' Needlecases in museum collections''' * [http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/art_inuit/inart13e.shtml Inuit Art: Needle cases], Canadian Museum of History * [http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/2013/12/30/mongoliantibetan-needle-case/ Mongolian/Tibetan silver needlecase], 19th century, McClung Museum * [http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/08.+Applied+Arts/217976/?lng=en Carved wooden needlecase], 15th century Flanders, Hermitage Museum * [http://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/120194.html Needlecase with hanging loops], 1550-1680, Museum of London
{{Sewing}} Category:Sewing equipment