Golden Casket - Bent Arm with Wreath
Needle Case
UK Patent 1868-3517 drawing
Design Details
Needle Case Type: |
Quadruple |
Patent/Registered to: |
William Avery, Redditch Needle Manufacturer and Albert Fenton of the same place, Machinist |
Patent/Design Representation #: |
Mechanical Patent: #3517 |
Patent/Design Registration Date: |
November 19, 1868 |
Location of Patent/Design Registration: |
British Library - Business and Intellectual Property Centre – London |
Reference #: |
1868-3517, Figures 7-10 |
Dimensions: |
3.3 x 7 |
Material: |
Brass |
Name Variations: |
Cook - Son & Co - London |
Other Variations: |
See other Quadruples |
US Patent |
US 1870-98904 |
Additional Photographs
Detail views
Facts
A shield with a bent arm and wreath is occasionally found on a family crest or coat of arms. According to several heraldry websites a bare
arm bent at the elbow signifies an industrious and hard working person whereas the wreath symbolizes victory or triumph. The company whose
name appears on this needle case, Cook, Son & Co. may have selected the bent arm with wreath to represent their firm because they considered
themselves hard workers. The company was very successful under the leadership of the owner, Sir Francis Cook, who became a viscount and
baronet. Prior to his death in 1901, he became the third richest man in Britain and amassed a huge collection of art which was considered one
of the most important collections of its type in England at the time. One could call that triumphant.
History
A coat of arms is a shield with symbols and figures that represent a person, family, group or other organization. Although the ancient
Romans had shields with special insignia on them, it wasn’t until the Medieval Period that coats of arms became common. In the 12th century
they were used basically by feudal lords and knights as a way of identifying groups on the battlefield. However by the 13th century their use
spread to the European aristocracy where the family crest was inherited from one generation to the next. Within a few centuries the use of
coats of arms extended to civic organizations such as towns, cities, regions, universities, religious groups and the like. The Royal Coat of
Arms of the United Kingdom is pictured below.
Miscellaneous
Instituting the use of surnames was another way to identify individuals or related groups. Before record keeping began, most people had
only one name such as John, however as the population increased it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The
problem was solved by adding descriptive information based on one of the following characteristic: patronymic (named after a parent), occupational
(based on the person occupation), geographic (based on the place where the person was from) or a nickname based on a physical attribute. As a
result John became John Hunter, John Erickson, John Glasgow or John Cameron (means hook nose in Gaelic).
The English surname Cook has been around for centuries and was even recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, the first recorded survey of the
landowners of much of England and parts of Wales. It is an occupational name for a cook, seller of cooked meats, or the keeper of an eating
house. Perhaps the ancestors of the owners of Cook, Son & Co. prepared food for the nobility or other aristocrats or cooked at an inn
before their descendants became one of the largest wholesale clothing traders in Britain.
