I've absolutely no idea where I got this from but it certainly wasn't from France!!!!
I've scanned this to show you because of the back of the card mainly. Can you see that there's a picture of how to put the bobbin on the end to wind the thread? Interesting.
One packet I bought (in English), a thousand years ago was almost the same. That one (long destroyed in the joy of a new shuttle to use) had the same picture BUT with another showing how to load the bobbin back into the shuttle. That was my eureka moment and converted me to bobbin shuttles way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Two other interesting points on this packet which may point towards it's age is the bar code (see this link and this one too) and the post code (another link). Bar codes were introduced into regular use in the UK in roughly the mid to late seventies and around the time post codes were forced upon the populace (that's what it felt like at the time) too. Translation here for Americans - post code = zip code. If you put the post code at the bottom of this packet into google maps you'll see that there is a modern building there nowadays.
Do you think we ought to designate it as a shrine for all tatters and go and worship there?!?!? Just another of the daft ideas from yours truly!!!
Do you think we ought to designate it as a shrine for all tatters and go and worship there?!?!? Just another of the daft ideas from yours truly!!!
The back of the card made me chuckle. Kind of reminds me of Oliver Hardy of Laurel and Hardy! ; )
ReplyDeleteWow! Nice find!
ReplyDeleteFox : ))
what fun, it is nice to see these things. and learn a bit of history. Thanks Jane
ReplyDeleteYou are funny, Jane, as usual. But it's so interesting... this one. I haven't quite figured how you'd could load your bobbin by sticking it through the hook. Gotta go try mine.
ReplyDeleteI also remember an aha moment when a diagram like that showed me how to wind the bobbin, using the shuttle as 'handle'. The funny thing is, there's an Australian shuttle that is the same shape as the aero, but the bobbin doesn't fit onto the shuttle! The makers have copied the aero shape without realising the point of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is so neat. I'm Canadian, so I understand postal codes. Also, seeing French on the packaging. Milward is a familiar brand. Does Milward exist anymore?
ReplyDeleteThat shuttle is a little treasure and never traveled very far!
ReplyDeleteI reackon you brought it in the mid seventies, I have one but don't use it, did not like it. But I dont have the wrapper.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to share the old things so the new tatters can see what we used to have
Margaret
Hi, Madtatter - if you go to this post you'll see more on the Milward Aero connection. http://janeeborall.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/about-aero-shuttles.html
ReplyDeleteDiane - I hadn't given it a thought until you mentioned that!!!!
Margaret - I probably bought it from ebay or somewhere quite recently (within the last ten years). If I'd bought it in the seventies I'd have had it out of the packet and used it!!!! I LOVE my Aeros.
i think its so cute... it has a bit of tatting coming off the shuttle, like someone has just used it to tat something.
ReplyDeleteThis is a real find! And the codes help to 'date' it! I also tossed out the packages my two Made in England shuttles came in (early '90s)! Never gave it a thought! I don't recall the Milward name on the package, although I do have the little black and white Milward post shuttle that I used only a short time (given to me by the gal who owned the needlework shop). Even as a new tatter I realized the value of the hook on the end of the shuttle (my 1956 Boye).
ReplyDeleteI always knew they were called "Aeros" (which name is another area of research). I thought the design was brilliant - a big improvement on the metal Boye's 'flat' hook. I love that your package shows the bobbin winder on the back. As Jane M. wrote, the present manufacturers (even of the Boye metal shuttle) lost the reason for it!
I checked out Henry Milward and Sons on the internet. It's mind-boggling to try to trace the history of needles and their manufacturers (all the buyouts!) and all the paraphernalia of the needle arts. What fascinates (and frustrates) me is that tatting shuttles are NEVER mentioned (on these internet sites) among the products made - even fishing hooks get noticed. Who in the world was the brilliant designer of the Made in England shuttle! Is there a patent on it? The saga continues!
There's an interesting 'needle museum' in Redditch which I've visited several times over the years but there's no mention or sign of tatting shuttles. Here's the url http://www.forgemill.org.uk/
ReplyDeleteThe main problem with research is that most of the people involved in this industry were small businesses in and around the area who all amalgamated.
Thanks for the reply, and I checked out the site! Fascinating! I am SO envious of youur having centuries of history within easy travel distance all over England/Ireland! My mother's family traces back to the iron workers in England in the 1670s; and other ancestors came from Ireland. I have so wanted to visit not only for family reasons, but also for history generally. I'm glad to be living in our modern times, and I find it amazing
ReplyDeletehow people lived with the barest of necessities.
It makes me nervous to even think of working in a needle factory! The elusive history of tatting shuttles just makes me want to learn more!
Oh, does that means many do not know that the bobbin is slotted onto the tail to facilitate winding of thread? I knew that and I thought everyone knew!
ReplyDelete