Needle Manufacturer Data
The detailed data on this page was used to create the statistical information referenced on this website. Only needle
cases that contain the name of a needle manufacturer are covered on this page. All of these businesses were located in
the Redditch area according to historical directories. Additional detailed data can be found on the following pages:
Designer/Patentee Data,
Licensee/Agent Data and W. Avery & Son Data.
The data listed below is based on three main sources: 1) information received from collectors via the Avery Survey; 2) needle cases
sold on eBay or mentioned on other internet websites; and 3) data included on the Master List in Horowitz and Mann’s book entitled
Victorian Brass Needlecases.
Company names are listed below in alphabetic order based on the surname of the company. For example, W. Avery &
Son is listed under A and H. Milward & Sons is listed under M. Occasionally a company name will be listed with several
different name varieties due to changes in the business or the way in which they were recorded in historical directories. For
each company there is a total which indicates the number of designs found with that company’s name. What follows is a list of
individual needle case designs that make up that total including the year the item was designed or patented if known.
When a design is only found with one company name, the words “exclusive design” is placed next to the needle case name. Items
marked “signed per Horowitz and Mann” indicate the only source of the information is from Horowitz and Mann’s book. In addition, items
are marked to indicate the designer/patentee or contain a series of asterisks to indicate the most common designers/patentees as follows:
*= W. Avery & Son, **=Buncher & Haseler and ***= James William Lewis.
In you have or know of any other Avery style needle cases that are not listed here, please contact us.
Totals
Total Needle Manufacturers with signed needle cases = 23
Total Designs = 227 (19 are patented only, no sample needle case has been found; 19 unsigned/unknown if they are signed)
Total Signed Designs = 189
Total Signed Figural Designs = 104
Total Signed Accordion-Folding Designs = 6
Total Signed Demi-Quad Designs = 8
Total Signed Flat-Name Designs = 50
Total Signed Quadruple Designs = 21
Subtotals
W. Avery & Son
(aka William Avery & Son or W. Avery & Co) |
Total = 128 (74 exclusive designs)
Figural = 92 (54 exclusive designs)
Accordion-Folding = 0
Demi-Quads = 3 (0 exclusive designs)
Flat-Names = 27 (16 exclusive designs)
Quadruples = 6 (3 exclusive designs)
(See W. Avery & Son Data for details) |
William Bartleet & Sons
(aka William Bartleet & Sons) |
Total = 2 (2 exclusive designs)
Arts and Industry-1878 (exclusive design) (design registered to W. Bartleet & Sons)
Pavilion-1872 (exclusive design) (design registered to W. Bartleet & Sons) |
Alfd Booker & Co
(aka Alfred Booker & Co or A. Booker & Co) |
Total = 1
Louise - Folding |
J. English & Sons
(aka John English & Co or English & Sons) |
Total = 2
Louise - Folding
Scallop Shell*-1871 |
W. Hall & Co
(aka William Hall & Co) |
Total = 8 (4 exclusive designs)
Basket-1877 (exclusive design) (design registered to Charles James Carr)
Bow and Arrows on Heart-1872 (exclusive design) (design registered to Thomas Kendrick)
Bower-1877 (design registered to J. M. Farnol)
Butterfly*-1871
Louise - Folding
Organ Grinder (exclusive design)
Raised Wheat (exclusive design)
Trunk with Grain and Straps-1879 (design registered to Charles James Carr) |
Thomas Harper
(aka T. H. Harper) |
Total = 3
Butterfly* - 1871
Demi-Quad - Helen - Maltese Cross in Medallion*-1869
Quad-Golden Casket - Butterfly on Leaf*-1868 |
R. Harrison & Co, Metropolitan Works
(aka Harrison & Bartleet) |
Total = 1
La Facile - 1871 (design registered to Joseph Welch and Charles Laight) |
Hayes, Crossley & Co
|
Total = 4
Butterfly*-1871
Louise - Folding
Quad-Golden Casket - Fleur de Lis*-1868
Scallop Shell*-1871 |
T. & J. Holyoake
(aka Joseph Holyoake & Son) |
Total = 3
Butterfly* - 1871
Quad-Golden Casket - Fleur-de-Lis*-1868
Royal with Vase*-1869 |
Arthur James
|
Total = 2
Beatrice - 4 Sections***-1867
Butterfly*-1871 |
T. Johnson & Sons
|
Total = 2 (2 exclusive designs)
Kwikso (exclusive design)
La Belle (exclusive design) |
C. Laight & Sons
(aka Charles Laight & Son) |
Total = 1
La Facile-1871 (design registered to Joseph Welch and Charles Laight) |
H. Milward & Sons
(aka Henry Milward & Sons) |
Total = 18 (8 exclusive designs)
Athena Golden*-1869
Beatrice - 4 Sections***-1867
Beatrice - 6 Sections***-1867 (signed per Horowitz and Mann)
Bee Case*1872
Butterfly*-1871
Butterfly Box - Oval Tub*-1872
Demi-Quad - Helen - Maltese Cross in Medallion*-1869
Fan with Cupid Cover (front view)-1868 (exclusive design) (design registered to Milward)
Fan with Lady with Fan Cover-1868 (exclusive design) (design registered to Milward)
Fan with Rose Cover-1868 (exclusive design) (design registered to Milward)
Fan with Swan Cover-1868 (exclusive design) (design registered to Milward)
Hector-1877 (exclusive design) (design registered to Elijah Atins)
Locket-1877 (exclusive design) (design registered to unknown)
Quad-Eclectic - Bent Arm in Oval*-1868
Quad-Eclectic - Bent Arm on Shield*-1868 (exclusive design)
Scallop Shell*-1871
Unique***-1869 (signed per the Averylady)
Victoria with belt buckle-1872 (exclusive design) (design registered to Milward) |
Abel Morrall
|
Total = 3 (2 exclusive design)
Abel Morrall (exclusive design)
Hygrometer Weather House-1878 (exclusive or unsigned) (design registered to Coggins & Baxter)
Louise - Folding |
C. Rimmer
|
Total = 1
Louise Folding |
Charles Schleicher
(aka C. Schleicher & Sohn) |
Total = 8
Bee Case*-1872
Bird on a Box-1873 (design registered to Henry Jenkins & Sons)
Butterfly*-1871
Butterfly Box - Oval Tub*-1872
Butterfly-Filigree-1869
Quad-Golden Casket - Fleur-di-Lis*-1868
Revolving*-1871
Stella Golden*-1869 |
James Smith & Son
|
Total = 1 (exclusive design)
Cotton Plant-1872 (exclusive design) (design registered to Smith) |
S. Thomas & Sons
(aka Samuel James Thomas) |
Total = 4 (1 exclusive design)
Alliance*-1870
British Flag Cart-1879 (exclusive design) (design registered to Thomas)
Butterfly*-1871
Louise - Square*-1870 |
G. Townsend & Co
(aka George Townsend & Son) |
Total = 2 (1 exclusive design)
Bower-1877 (design registered to J. M. Farnol)
Prince Needle Preserver (exclusive design) |
R. Turner & Co
(aka R. Turner & Sons) |
Total = 1 (1 exclusive design)
Quad-Needle Casket - Fleur-di-Lis*1868 (exclusive design) |
C. G. Wacker & Co
|
Total = 4
Camp Kettle*-1877
Coal Scuttle*-1877
Drum*-1876
Wishing Well*-1876 |
W. Woodfield & Sons
(aka William Woodfield & Sons) |
Total = 4 (1 exclusive design)
Butterfly*-1871
Louise - Folding
Palace-1877 (exclusive design) (design registered to Woodfield)
Wheelbarrow with Holly-1874 (design registered to Buncher & Haseler) |
Richard Wyers
(aka Richard Wyres & Sons) |
Total = 1 (1 exclusive design)
Empress (exclusive design) |
*= designs registered/patented to W. Avery & Son
***= designs registered/patented to J. W. Lewis
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.
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.
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.
