The Price of an Avery Needle Case in the 1870’s
You never know what direction something will take when you do research. You begin with an idea and by the time you are done, you discover something totally different from what you thought you would accomplish when you started. Let me give you an example.
Pen Room Museum Visit
After my trip to Birmingham, England in 2012 and my visit to the Pen Room Museum there, I decided that any receptacle with the name Perry & Co London or Birmingham stamped on it was definitely not a needle case. The curator at the Pen Museum, Robert Stanyard, aka "the Nibman", spent over an hour telling us about the history of pen nib making. In one of the displays I even saw several pen nib boxes that had been classified as needle cases on eBay or in earlier publications. This included the Book and the Gladstone Bag which were both listed in Horowitz and Mann’s book “Victorian Brass Needlecases”. In “My Avery Needle Case Collection”, which was published in 2012, I dedicated an entire chapter to the Book container by D. Leonardt & Co Birmingham, which I proved was not a needle case. Now after seeing the Gladstone Bag in person, it just didn’t feel like a needle case either. It didn’t have the fine detailed design that one usually finds on brass needle cases and there was no section for the needle packets. The majority of needle cases have specific places for the needle packets, either numbered sections or some type of clip like device that the needle packet could slide into. Of course there are a few exceptions but most of these are either stamped with the name of a needle manufacturer or a licensee of a needle manufacturer or are identified as needle cases on the patents.
While on my tour of the Pen Museum I asked about Perry & Co and was informed that they were one of the largest pen nib manufacturers in Birmingham during the 19th century. According to Mr. Stanyard, Perry & Co also made a variety of products revolving around the pen industry such as pen nib and pencil boxes, clips, inkwells, etc. The Nibman provided me with a 20-page booklet he prepared, the result of his years of personal research, which listed all of the pen manufacturers in the Birmingham area during the Victorian Period. To the best of his knowledge, Perry & Co did not manufacture needle cases. Months later I located the design registration for the Gladstone Bag which clearly lists it as a pen box, #325870 dated September 6, 1878 registered to Perry & Co Ltd Birmingham. I guess you could say I’m starting to become somewhat of an expert on pen nibs because so many pen nib boxes have been misclassified as needle cases!
Looking for More Evidence
Of course I needed a bit more evidence to support my theory that items stamped Perry & Co were not needle cases. Therefore I went to all of my earlier sources: trade directories, postal directories, business directories, commercial directories, shipping guides, exhibition catalogs, and looked up Perry & Co. Sure enough the company was always listed in these sources under one of the following headings: steel pens, pencil cases, paper binders, pen holders, steel pen makers, gold and silver pencil case manufacturers and in 1884, they were also included as dealers in stationary sundries. That was pretty good evidence, however while completing this research I discovered a Gem Needle Case on eBay with the Perry name inscribed on it. What could this mean?
Then one day I typed Perry & Co + needle into a Google Books search expecting no significant results. Was I ever surprised when “Perry & Co’s Monthly Illustrated Price Current for January 1876” popped up on my computer screen. What was this and what did this company have to do with needles? To my further shock, page 73 contained a drawing of the Gem Needle Case and on page 109 a sketch of the Eclectic Needle Case along with a list of several other pin and needle cases. Around the same time I received a response to a letter I wrote to the Pen Museum and Learning Centre asking if anyone had information regarding Perry & Co and needle cases. Larry Hanks, Chairman of the museum, included several photocopied pages of Perry’s July 1871 catalogue with his response which contained the same drawings of the Gem and Eclectric as well as one of the Fan Needle Case by H. Milward. After further review, I discovered these were catalogues of items sold by the warehouse division of Perry & Co London. According to Mr. Hanks, in the late 1800’s Perry & Co had a large warehouse in London where they sold a variety of items through their catalogue. Many of these items were manufactured by other companies but had the Perry & Co name inscribed or engraved on them which explains why there are a few needle cases with the Perry name.
Surprise Findings
But the drawings weren’t what caught my eye; it was what was printed next to the drawings, the cost per dozen! Although the prices were probably wholesale, this information does provide us with an idea of what these needle cases must have cost back in the time period in which they were made and originally sold. In addition, we now know what a packet of superior needles cost as well.
Roughly a year later I discovered an unusual auction on eBay. It was for an invoice to Mr. T. Moffatt of Dumfries, Scotland from W. Avery & Son, Needle and Fish Hook Manufacturers from Redditch dated 16 October 1871. Included on the invoice were several needle cases and their respective prices. A week after winning the auction, the invoice arrived in the mail and I carefully opened the envelope. It was roughly half the size of a regular piece of paper and was so thin I could barely feel it. As I gently rubbed my finger across the words printed on it I couldn’t help but think it represented two of my favorite things; my Scottish ancestors who came from Dumfriesshire and my Avery needle cases. It will remain one of my treasures forever.
Needle Cases and Their 1870’s Prices
The following table shows these Avery style needle cases with their 1870’s prices and the source of the data (p = pound, s = shilling and d = pence). Be advised that the British currency was decimalized in 1971 which means you cannot simply compare pre-1971 figures with todays pound, shilling and pence. Prior to 1971, 20 shillings or 240 pence equaled one pound whereas today 100 pence equals a pound. Hopefully some day soon we’ll be able to translate these 1870’s prices into today’s dollars. However we’ll need to do some additional research to determine what an average family earned back then in order to ascertain what percentage of their income the needle case cost represented. Only by doing this can we compare what we paid for the needle case today to what it cost a Victorian lady when it was originally purchased.
Needle Case Name |
Cost |
Source |
Britannia |
4s, 9d per dozen |
1871 Avery Invoice |
Butterfly Needle Cases |
6s per half dozen |
1871 Avery Invoice |
Eclectic Needle Case; gilt case in paper box; filled with superior bevelled-eyed needles |
11s, 6d per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Eclectic Needle Case; gilt case in paper box; filled with superior bevelled-eyed needles |
16s per dozen |
1871 Perry Catalogue |
Fan Needle Case - gilt metal sides; fitted with superior needles, assorted sizes |
8s, 3d per box of ten |
1871 Perry Catalogue |
Fir Cone Needle and Pin Cases |
11s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Florence |
2s, 4d per dozen |
1871 Avery Invoice |
Gem Needle Case – Four Divisions; each in paper box |
8s per dozen |
1871 and 1876 Perry Catalogues |
Gem Needle Case – Four Divisions; fitted with superior needles |
12s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Gem Needle Case – Six Divisions; each in paper box |
12s per dozen |
1871 and 1876 Perry Catalogues |
Gem Needle Case – Six Divisions; fitted with superior needles |
16s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Hedgehog Pin Cases |
11s, 6d per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Helen |
4s, 9d per dozen |
1871 Avery Invoice |
Peacock Needle Cases |
11s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Rose Pin Cases |
4s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Shield Needle Cases, assorted |
11s per dozen |
1876 Perry Catalogue |
Unique Needle Case |
20s per dozen |
1871 Perry Catalogue |
Price of Needle Packets in the 1870’s
Using the data from the chart above we can see that the cost of a Gem Needle Case with superior needles minus the cost of a Gem Needle Case in a paper box equals the cost of the needle packets.
Gem - Four Sections: |
12s – 8s = 4s |
Gem - Six Sections: |
16s – 12s = 4s |
The cost for 4-6 packets of superior needles was 4 shillings.
More Prices from the 1870's
In late February 2018 Jo-Ann Gloger discovered two additional documents in the Forge Mill Needle Museum archives that provide us with additional information regarding what Avery needle cases cost when they were originally manufactured. Based on a thorough review of the items listed on these documents, we believe they are from 1872 and 1876.
W. Avery & Son List of Prices of Golden Needle & Pin Cases from approximately 1872
Page 112 of the Allcock day book from approximately 1876
Transcription of the Allcock day book page 112 created in March 2018
