U.K. Patent 1871-1287

This mechanical patent was registered by Joseph Welch and Charles Laight on May 12, 1871. It covers the La Facile Needle Case and the Ladies Needle Album. This patent includes drawings or descriptions of several additional needle cases that appear not to have been manufactured as no needles cases like these have been found. To review the details of this patent, select the PFD below.

PDF for patent 1871-1287

All mechanical patents were formally written and published in patent books in the year in which they were registered. Copies of these books can be found at a handful of libraries in the UK. A PDF formated copy of this mechanical patent was discovered while visiting the Business and Intellectual Property Centre of the British Library in London in April/May 2015 and was added to this webpage in June 2015.

Master List

To date 227 Avery style needle cases have been discovered. Visit these pages to see photographs of each design as well as the original design registration or patent and gain knowledge about variations within each design.

Avery Survey

In 2013 an Avery Survey was created in order to gather as much information as possible about Avery style needle cases from collectors and interested parties around the world. The Avery Survey is easy to complete and gives you a chance to contribute to this important research. Be sure and stop here to see the survey results.

About Us

Learn how the author turned a hobby cross stitching antique sampler reproductions into a passion for collecting Avery needle cases resulting in a published book, a Wikipedia article, a TCI Bulletin article and conference presentation and this website.