Sovereign
Needle Case
A special thank you goes to James Mitchell of Mitchell’s Jewelers Ltd in Arlington Heights, Illinois for restoring this item to it originally condition. This
company has 7 generations of experience in the art of jewelry making and they also do custom work and repairs. They are located at 10 North Dunton in downtown Arlington Heights.
We highly recommend this firm for jewelry purchases or repairs to items such as Avery needle cases.
Design Representation
Design Details
Needle Case Type: |
Accordion |
Patent/Registered to: |
John Anthony Croft and Richard Newhall - Hunt End |
Patent/Design Representation #: |
Non-Ornamental: #5366 |
Patent/Design Registration Date: |
June 27, 1872 |
Location of Patent/Design Registration: |
The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK |
Reference #: |
TNA Representation - BT 43/27/5366 |
Dimensions: |
3 x 1.2 x 5 |
Material: |
Brass |
Name Variations: |
Unmarked |
Other Variations: |
None |
Additional Photographs
Interior panels
Interior panels
Interior detail with date
Sovereign Person
A sovereign is a person who has supreme power or authority such as a king or queen. Throughout most of British history monarchs have ruled
however, there was also a group of landowners who advised the monarch. As a result, Britain was basically an oligarchy with power in the hands
of royalty and wealthy landowners. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the power structure started to change due to the Industrial
Revolution and the rise of cities and the middle class. The Great Reform Bill of 1832 gave urban areas a voice in the government and by 1884
most men were allowed to vote, followed by most woman in 1918. Today Great Britain is considered a constitutional monarchy which is a form of
government in which the queen or king acts as a Head of State, a ceremonial role, and an elected Parliament is responsible for making and passing
legislation.
Queen Victoria
Sovereign Coin
Queen Victoria Sovereign from 1857
A sovereign is also a British gold coin worth a pound sterling. Although first minted in 1816 it was based on an earlier coin known as the
English sovereign, each contained a depiction of the king or queen’s head facing outward. The sovereign was continuously minted and circulated
until 1932 when Britain went off the gold standard. Although minting resumed in 1957, the later coins were no longer used in day-to-day
commerce. During the Victorian Period the sovereign was the world’s most widely distributed gold coin because of the extent of the British
Empire. At that time hundreds of millions of sovereign coins were minted in London and in the Australia cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth
because of the gold discovered there.
Queen Victoria Sovereign from 1894
Avery Sovereign
W. & T. Avery scale
William and Thomas Avery formed a partnership in 1818 and established the British company known as W. & T. Avery Ltd. Throughout the 19th
and 20th centuries W. & .T Avery manufactured a variety of weighing machines, including scales and weights. The business prospered and by
1895 was able to purchase the legendary Soho Foundry in the Birmingham area. According to their website, “At the time of the death of the last
Avery family member in 1918, it employed over 3,000 people and had businesses all over the world.” One of their scales was designed specifically
to determine if the gold coins in circulation were real. The company created their own sovereign which could be used to weigh British Sovereign
gold coins. At the time bankers and others businesses needed a way to determine if the gold coins they or their clients received were damaged
or counterfeit. Today the company operates under the name Avery Weight-Tronix, a subsidiary of Illinois Tools Works, and has created the Avery
Historical Museum which covers the history of weighing instruments from 2500 BC to present.
W. & T. Avery Sovereign
Note:There is no evidence to suggest that W. & T. Avery Ltd of Birmingham was in any way related to W. Avery & Son of
Redditch, the needle manufacturer.
