Lovely antique 10k gold Ketcham & McDougall sewing thimble with ornate scrolls decoration, engraved "L.C.L." monogram and wonderful condition!
In the 19th century in America, you had Ketcham & McDougall, Simons, and Webster. To me, Ketcham & McDougall made the most beautiful thimble. The American thimbles are much shorter than their equivalent in the U.K. If you put a whole lot of thimbles in front of me, say 10 of each, I could pick them out and put 10 on one side and 10 on the other. The American ones are much shorter and their marks are normally up inside the apex.
In America, they marked the size of thimbles from the 1890s. Simons, Ketcham & McDougall also used a maker’s mark, S or KMD. Some just used a symbol such as a star. They would have to register it, so we can go back through the registrations and find out who registered the symbol, what they made, and when the registration took place.
American thimble factories came into existence in the 1830s. In 1832, Ketcham and McDougall was established in New York. Since thimble making was their main business, not a sideline, Zalkin refers to it as “The Thimble House.” Its thimbles, made until 1932, are noted for their superiority in workmanship and designs. This one definitely not the exception, a wonderful piece for the sewing enthusiast!
Very good to excellent condition. Some light surface scratches but no denting, perfectly round and in great shape. See pictures for measurements and weight.
