This is the place to come to learn about Avery style needle cases.

Butterfly Box - Diamond

Butterfly Box Diamond needle case
Needle Case


Design Representation

Design Details

Needle Case Type:

Figural (not listed on design registration as a needle case)

Patent/Registered to:

W. Avery & Son - Redditch

Patent/Design Representation #:

Ornamental Class1: Metal: #267248

Patent/Design Registration Date:

October 17, 1872

Location of Patent/Design Registration:

The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK

Reference #:

TNA Representation - BT 43/33/267248
TNA Register - BT 44/3/267248

Dimensions:

8 x 5.3 x 2.3

Material:

Brass

Name Variations:

a) W. Avery & Son - Redditch
b) Hirsch & Stern - Birmingham

Other Variations:

None

Additional Photographs

Top open and side view

Bottom left: Avery signature detail. Bottom right: Hirsch & Stern signature detail (photo courtesy of Shelby Coleman)

Hirsch & Stern top and full bottom (photos courtesy of Shelby Coleman)

Facts

The High Brown Fritillaries butterfly shown here is found throughout Europe and Asia.  It seems most likely that this is the butterfly that W. Avery & Son used as the model for their butterfly needle cases.

facts

History

Butterfly collecting was one of the most popular pastimes during the Victorian Era because the Industrial Revolution gave the middle class time for leisure activities.  Victorians loved nature and Darwin's "Origin of Species", published in 1859, revolutionized the way people thought about it.  The Speckled Wood butterfly seen here, which is also found in Northern and Central Europe, has many of the characteristic similar to the butterflies on Avery needle cases.

history

Miscellaneous

The Monarch is the best known North American butterfly.  Although rarely found in the UK, they first appeared in Australian and New Zealand in the mid-19th century.  The Monarch is renowned for its spring migration from Mexico to Canada and the U.S. and its return in the fall.

location