Shield with Ladies Portrait Bust

Shield with Ladies
Portrait Bust needle case
Needle Case (photograph from eBay)

Design Representation

Design Details

Needle Case Type:	Figural (although the design registration drawing reflects a stag head, the diamond registration mark on the needle case matches this design)
Patent/Registered to:	William Avery & Son - Redditch
Patent/Design Representation #:	Ornamental Class1: Metal: #274365
Patent/Design Registration Date:	July 11, 1873
Location of Patent/Design Registration:	The National Archives (TNA) - Kew, UK
Reference #:	TNA Representation - BT 43/34/274365 TNA Register - BT 44/3/274365
Dimensions:	6.6 x 1 x 9.2
Material:	Brass with fabric insert. Be advised that a number of the Shield style needle cases have been found with a small piece of thick fabric on the inside where individual needles or pins could be inserted. Many of these appear to be original as the fabrics are very similar. Additional examples can be found on the Shield with Bird and the Shield with Stag Head web pages. A special thank you goes to Robert Bleasdale of Bleadales Ltd. auctions in Warwick, UK for bringing this to our attention and sharing a photo of the Shield with Bird with the interior fabric.
Name Variations:	W. Avery & Son - Redditch
Other Variations:	a) Shield with Bird b) Shield with Rose c) Shield with Stag Head

Who is the Lady on This Needle Case

There are only seven Avery needle cases with a portrait of a woman and two of these are of the same unknown woman: Oval Tub - Ladies Portrait Bust and Shield with Ladies Portrait Bust. Of the five others, four were made for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897 and include a younger and older portrait of the Queen: Easel, Lap Desk, Oval Tub and Quadruple Casket. The fifth is a Lap Desk exactly like the one for the Queen's diamond jubilee, except this one has portraits of the Queen’s grandson, George V, second heir to the throne with his wife Mary of Teck. The portrait of the unknown lady on this needle case is not Queen Victoria since she does not resemble any of the known paintings, drawings, photographs and depictions of the Queen.

It seems most likely that the portrait on this needle case is a member of the royal family. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had five daughters: Victoria (1840-1901), Alice (1843-1878), Helena (1846-1923), Louise (1848-1939) and Beatrice (1857-1944). The only other prominent female in the royal family was Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844-1925), the wife of Prince Edward VII, first heir to the throne. There are other Avery style needle cases with the names Helen, Louise, Beatrice and Alexandra stamped on them, presumably named after the Queens’s daughters or daughter-in-law. While researching the royal family and these woman, it seems unlikely that the daughters Victoria or Alice are the unknown woman on this needle case since both married into the German branch of the royal family or German nobility and the Germans were not popular with the British people at that time. Therefore the woman on this needle case is probably Helen or Louise or Beatrice or Alexandra. Photographs, painting or drawings as well as additional information about these woman are presented on the right side panel on this page. Please contact us if you have additional thoughts about who the unknown woman is.

Additional Photographs

Open and back views (photographs courtesy of Bunny's Place)

Interior detail views (photographs courtesy of Bunny's Place)

Detail of front and back (photographs from eBay)

Helena (1840-1901)

Ladies portrait Helena

Although Helena married a German prince in 1866, unlike her older sisters who moved to Germany, Helena and her husband remained in England so she could be near the Queen who suffered immensely after the loss of her bellowed husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. Helena was a patron of various charities, a strong supporter of nurses and in 1872 the founding president of the School of Art Needlework which became the Royal School of Needlework.

Ladies portrait Helena1

Louise (1848-1939)

Ladies portrait Louise

When Louise married in 1871 she was the first daughter of a British sovereign to marry a British subject since 1515 and as a result was more popular with the British people than her sisters. Louise was not only very intelligent and inquisitive, but was considered by many to be the most artistic and beautiful of Queen Victoria’s daughters. From 1878 until 1883 she lived in Ottawa as her husband was the Governor General of Canada during those years. Lake Louise in Alberta was named after her. In the engagement photographs taken in 1871, Louise has the same full face, hairstyle, ruffled dress and two beaded necklaces as the unknown woman on this needle case. Click on the engagement photo of Louise and John Campbell below to see a larger version of it.

Beatrice (1857-1944)

Ladies portrait Beatrice

In 1871, after the last of her sisters married, 14 year old Beatrice became Queen Victoria’s devoted companion for the remainder of the Queen’s life. In 1885 she also married a German prince, however part of the marriage arrangement was that her husband had to give up his German obligations and live in England with the Queen and Beatrice. Unfortunately Beatrice’s life mirrored her mother’s in several ways as both of their husbands died young and they were both widows for over 40 years.

Ladies portrait Beatrice1

Alexandra (1844-1925)

Ladies portrait Alexandra

Alexandra Princess of Denmark, was the daughter of the heir to the Danish throne. At age 16 she was chosen by Queen Victoria to be the wife of her eldest son, Albert Edward (later known as Edward VII), the future heir apparent to the Queen. They were married in 1863. Alexandra was well-liked by the British public and her style in clothing set the standard for fashion-conscious women for fifty years. To hide a small scar on her neck from a childhood illness, she often worn dresses with high collars and a small choker necklace which became quite popular. These early portraits of Alexandra show her with a hairstyle similar to the one worn by the unknown woman on this needle case. Click on the portrait of Edward and Alexandra from 1863 below to see a larger version of it.

Here is another portrait of Edward and Alexandra from a Victorian Tartanware cotton reel box in the collection of Christina Bertrand. In this portrait Alexandra has a hairstyle and choker necklace similar to the one worn by the unknown woman on this needle case. Click on the portrait of Edward and Alexandra below to see a larger more detailed version of it. Photo courtesy of Christina Bertrand.

This paper needle packet contains another portrait of Alexandra with the same hairsytle. Click on the portrait below to see a larger more detailed version of it. Photo courtesy of Christina Bertrand.