3 Vintage Needle Books, 1 Tailor's Ruler, ATC Happy Home Little Tailors Sewing

Description

3 Antique & Vintage Needle Books, and
1 Seamstress / Tailor / Hatter Ruler
Needle Books Made in Japan
ATC: Finepoint Needle Book - Very Good+ Condition. No stains, rips or crease marks. All needles appear present.
Happy Home: Rust Proof Needle Book - Good Condition. No stains, no rips. Creased corners, some needles and threader missing.
Happy Little Tailors: Needle Book - Fair Condition. No stains. Creased corners, small corner cut, some needles missing, vintage tape repair along the inner spine.
Vintage Advertising Ruler for Roberts, Cushman & Co. Hatters' Supplies (6 inches, 2 sided) - Very Good Condition, bright and colorful, mild wear.
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When manufactured needle books were introduced in the late 1800s, they were primarily utilitarian with pocket-size covers protecting needles that came in just one size. By the early 20th century, they morphed into colorful paper cases covered with fun graphics and filled with needles in multiple sizes and types. Needles and pins were expensive. It was important to keep a good selection of sharp needles ready to finish a dress or sew a hem on a pair of pants. Prior to the late 1800s, needle books were home made of wood, bone, sterling silver, pewter, and other materials. Eventually, homemade needle books were made of textiles like felt and cotton and often embroidered. By the late 19th century, however, needle books began to be sold in paper sleeves, covered with lovely Victorian graphics like ladies in their finery, peacocks, and sprites/brownies. They were often free to the ladies of the house as a promotional giveaway. If sold separately, they could be found at the local general store for less than 10 cents.
The 1920s and 1930s saw the graphics grow more elaborate, as well as the size/style of the book itself. Often a needlebook could be found shaped like a telephone or a can of paint. The ladies’ sewing circles artwork first originated during this time; it would later become the most common graphic sold. By the 1940s-1950s, needle books were at their colorful peak, retailing for 19-20 cents each or given free as an advertising promotion. The needle books of this era were at their most mid-century fantastic, covered with fun artwork that usually targeted women. Travel graphics were particularly popular – everything from motorcycles to trains to even rocket ships. By the 1960s onward, needle books of this kind lost their appeal, swapped out in favor of plastic boxes or vinyl sleeves full of needles, sans any fun graphics or ads.
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Roberts, Cushman and Company were in business in New York City since 1856. They specialized in hat trims for most of the large millinery houses all the way through the 1990s. Stetson, Bollman and any other larger hat factories rarely made their own trims. The headwear designers would make their annual trip into Midtown Manhattan and decide on the new trims and styles for the upcoming season for catalog and showroom samples.
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Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and leather clothing using bone, antler or ivory sewing-needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins. For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand. The invention of the sewing machine in the 19th century and the rise of computerization in the 20th century led to mass production and export of sewn objects, but hand sewing is still practiced around the world. Fine hand sewing is a characteristic of high-quality tailoring, haute couture fashion, and custom dressmaking, and is pursued by both textile artists and hobbyists as a means of creative expression.
Sewers working on a simple project need only a few sewing tools, such as measuring tape, needle, thread, cloth, and sewing shears. More complex projects may only need a few more simple tools to get the job done, but there are an ever-growing variety of helpful sewing aids available.
In addition to sewing shears, rotary cutters may be used for cutting fabric, usually used with a cutting mat to protect other surfaces from being damaged. Seam rippers are used to remove mistaken stitches. Special marking pens and chalk are used to mark the fabric as a guide to construction. Pressing and ironing are an essential part of many sewing projects, and require additional tools. A steam iron is used to press seams and garments, and a variety of pressing aids such as a seam roll or tailor's ham are used to aid in shaping a garment. A pressing cloth may be used to protect the fabric from damage. Sewing machines are now made for a broad range of specialised sewing purposes, such as quilting machines, heavy-duty machines for sewing thicker fabrics (such as leather), computerized machines for embroidery, and sergers for finishing raw edges of fabric. A wide variety of presser foot attachments are available for many sewing machines—feet exist to help with hemming, pintucks, attaching cording, assembling patchwork, quilting, and a variety of other functions. A thimble is a small hard tool used as a protective device for sewing.
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The first known use of the word "sewing" was in the 14th century. From the Middle Ages to the 17th century, sewing tools such as needles, pins and pincushions were included in the trousseaus of many European brides. Sewing birds or sewing clamps were used as a third hand and were popular gifts for seamstresses in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution shifted the production of textiles from the household to the mills. In the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, the machinery produced whole cloth. The world's first sewing machine was patented in 1790 by Thomas Saint. By the early 1840s, other early sewing machines began to appear. Barthélemy Thimonnier introduced a simple sewing machine in 1841 to produce military uniforms for France's army; shortly afterward, a mob of tailors broke into Thimonnier's shop and threw the machines out of the windows, believing the machines would put them out of work. By the 1850s, Isaac Singer developed the first sewing machines that could operate quickly and accurately and surpass the productivity of a seamstress or tailor sewing by hand.
While much clothing was still produced at home by female members of the family, more and more ready-made clothes for the middle classes were being produced with sewing machines. Textile sweatshops full of poorly paid sewing machine operators grew into entire business districts in large cities like London and New York City. To further support the industry, piece work was done for little money by women living in slums. Needlework was one of the few occupations considered acceptable for women, but it did not pay a living wage. Women doing remote work often worked 14-hour days to earn enough to support themselves, sometimes by renting sewing machines that they could not afford to buy. Tailors became associated with higher-end clothing during this period. In London, this status grew out of the dandy trend of the early 19th century, when new tailor shops were established around Savile Row. These shops acquired a reputation for sewing high-quality handmade clothing in the style of the latest British fashions, as well as more classic styles. The boutique culture of Carnaby Street was absorbed by Savile Row tailors during the late 20th century, ensuring the continued flourishing of Savile Row's businesses.