1880”s John James & Son Pull Out Synopticon Needle Case

Needles were introduced in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1560. By the end of the 18th century, Reddith in Worcestershire had become the sewing needle capital of the world. 400 needle makers worked there. By the 1840’s leading needle producers became extremely competitive and the containers for needles began to reflect this attempt to attract the buyer’s attention. John James & Son was one of the lesser known Redditch needle producers but it is still in business today.

This charming pullout needle case contains John James & Son needle packets and dates to the 1870’s/1880’s. It is a multiple section case called a synopticon (from synoptic – a general view or summary) that has spaces for multiple progressive sized needle packets. The outer case measures 3” x 4 ¼”. It is made of heavy purple card overlaid with a chromolitho card image of a young girl picking daisy petals from her window on one side and two girls wearing fur coats on a snowy day on the other. A brass frame surrounds the case on three sides. The needles are in a bright red pull out folder with a silk ribbon attached to the end. The folder is 2” x 4” when closed and 4” x 4” when open. There are four packets of John James & Sons sharps – a #6, #7, #8 and #9 in banded sections on one side and a red wool needle flannel on the other.

The needle case is in very good condition. The chromo cards have a bit of foxing and the edges of the purple cards have small bumps and chips. The red folder and needle packets appear to be unused, however there is a small hole in the wool flannel and underneath the flannel is an empty banded space where it appears a larger needle or bodkin may have been. Please examine the photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

While you are here, do enjoy the other sewing items I have available at this time. Thank you for visiting my shop today.