Skip to main content

A Stanhope Thimble

I found this thimble at a local car boot sale for 50p. Well, technically it was T who spotted it first. He pointed it out to me as he thought it looked wierd.


It’s made from metal, possibly brass, and has a small round hole at the top.


It's a peephole thimble, otherwise known as a Stanhope thimble. It has an inbuilt lens for viewing micro pictures. You put the top of the thimble up to your eye, tilt towards the light and you can view the little tiny picture inside.

The pictures inside could be of famous people, historic events, seaside resorts. Some could even have been a touch risqué. Basically, they are souvenirs or novelties. Unfortunately, the picture in this one has been lost so I can only guess at what it might have been.


The name Stanhope refers to the lens on the inside and is named after the 3rd Earl of Stanhope who is generally accepted as being the inventor of this style of lens. He didn’t invent it for looking at micro pictures in souvenirs though. He died in 1816 before Microphotography was even thought of.

Microphotography was invented around 1839 by John Benjamin Dancer. Although innovative, Dancer’s microphotography had a bit of a drawback. It needed a microscope to view it.

In 1859 René Dagron had a flash of inspiration. He put Stanhope’s lens and the microphotography together which made it possible for the pictures to be viewed without the need for a microscope. Simply brilliant!

Bye for now

Olly


Facebook.com/olwenwhite/
instagram.com/olwenwhitewrites/
Twitter @OlwenWhite

Comments

  1. Ollie your thimbles are beautiful!
    We can make a trade when you want. My email is clau.pol@gmail.com
    Kisses

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thimbles Silver Hallmarks

  Did you know that before the 1880’s silver thimbles did not need to be hallmarked? No? Well, although the silver used was the correct grade to be classified as sterling, the amount used per thimble was too small making the duty payable for the hallmark more than the thimble was worth. This changed in 1884 when applying for a hallmark became mandatory. Hallmarks or any other kind of marking on a thimble helps to date it. Even the little dimples can help you tell how old it is.   This thimble is hallmarked. They are a bit tricky to read sometimes as they are incredibly small and sometimes are worn, especially when the thimble has been well used like this one. I inherited this one from my mother-in-law, who probably inherited it from her mother. This hallmark gives the makers mark, CH for Charles Horner; the Lion symbol, indicating that it is sterling silver, the mark for Chester Assay office and the date letter. The date letter is for 1897. I mentioned in an earlier post that

A Passage of Time

Hi all, Time flies doesn't it? Seems like only yesterday when I last posted to this blog. Can't believe it was March 2015! I think I must have been asleep because I have no idea why it has taken so long to post. These thimbles show the passage of time. All of it a lot before mine, I hasten to add. These little ladies show the changes in fashion in the United States from 1900 through to 1947. Originally part of a collection from Avon in the1980s. The four above are from left to right, 1910, 1900, 1928 & 1927. These four are 1923, 1938, 1942 & 1947. The 1920s must have been a great decade for fashion in the US, with 3 examples from that era included in the collection. In fact the 20s were a time of great change and not just for clothes. It was the interim period between two world wars. People thought that with the end of the First World War, conflict was over and there was a new, vibrant, buzz for the future. It was the age of bobbed hair, the Char

A Thimble Trail

Hi all, Lots of places have souvenir thimbles which can be taken home as a small memento of a journey to a far away place, a visit to an historic building, a theme park, or even a popular tourist attraction.   Most of the souvenir thimbles in my collection have either been given to me by friends and relatives or purchased in charity shops or from ebay.    Rather than being a record of places that I have been they are more of a wish list - a thimble trail of places I would like to visit. One of my friends brought this back from a recent trip to Scotland. I picked the next couple up from Ebay. Both Scotland and the Lake District are places that I haven't been to yet but would like to. That isn't the only thing they have in common.  They are both a bit soggy and grey at the moment so maybe that's a trip I should save for summer months ☺. In the meantime, here are some thimbles with a nice bit of blue sky and sunshine... Bye for now Olly