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THE RULE of THUMB, an ELL and a NAIL Each

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THE RULE of THUMB, an ELL and a NAIL Each ROBERT BLEASDALE_CHARLES HIND 1 28/08/2012 10:46 Page 18 its subdivision into feet and inches, this was a reaction to the wider use of feet and inches, rather than the impetus for it. In Western Europe the common unit of measurement was the Ell, the length from the elbow to the fingertip or from the shoulder to the wrist. In Holland the measuring stick was known as an ‘Ellemaat’ and they were made in different sizes – the quarter, the half and the whole. They had a turned handle, simple inlay or carving for the divisions and often incorporated the thumb as a unit (an inch). Across the world there were clearly problematic differences in the units of measurement. A degree of international uniformity occurred with the intro- duction of metric measurement in 1799, Two white wood early Tunbridge ware tape measures, one as a circular cottage and the other a turret or folly. These wonderfully decorated tapes often include details such as a rake leaning against the wall or a bird cage. Both c.1800-30. £60-£100 THE RULE OF THUMB, AN ELL AND A NAIL each. The development of the tape measure in sewing although the centimetre was not widely winders are of the coffee-grinder type, by Robert Bleasdale adopted until the end of the 19th and a suspension loop to the top century. A pressing need for standard- indicates use on a chatelaine. isation was stimulated by the develop- By the end of the 18th century ment of international trade. needlework, as opposed to sewing, The measuring stick became a was a fashionable recreation for the n earliest times, simple sewing method for a lady to carry her valu- body parts, the foot and the thumb – household item used at the door to middle class and wealthy. The range of I tools were fashioned from natural able necessities, including her essen- hence the expression ‘a rule of thumb.’ measure cloth and material purchased tools began to expand well beyond the materials such as a needle from a fish tial sewing tools. These chatelaines, In England the unit of measurement from travelling salesmen. As oppor- facility of the chatelaine. As a social bone or thorn. As civilisation developed often elaborate and made of precious was standardised in the 12th century tunities for trade and shopping devel- group activity needlework was very the materials varied but the range of materials such as gold and agate, by Henry I who decided it should be a oped it became an inconvenient tool. much a female recreation and an sewing tools remained almost static. carried cased scissors, a cased yard or 36 inches – the length of his The markings from the household stick opportunity to display skills and show By the 15th century bronze thimbles thimble, needlecase, pincushion and arm. This measurement was held at were transferred to a ribbon which off the tools and trappings that went were becoming common, but tools other essentials, but the focus of this local Guildhalls in the form of a stick could be rolled and conveniently carried. with them. such as scissors were still rare, a knife article – the tape measure – doesn’t from which others could be made; it When the ribbon wore out a new one being more common. appear on a chatelaine until the early was known as a ‘meteyard’ or ‘yard was re-marked from the stick, short and Elizabeth I had ‘a nedell case of 19th century. Why? stick’. The sticks were subdivided by long strokes representing inches and cris tall garnysshed with silver gilt, letters at lines, ‘Y’ representing the feet. As silk and other ribbons were with two thimbles in it’, but sewing The development of measurement whole yard, ‘HY’ a half yard, ‘Q’ a fragile it became common to roll the for pleasure was an activity for the The earliest recorded form of any quarter yard, ‘HQ’ half a quarter yard tape and keep it protected in a small 1 wealthy, tools for everyday work were standardised measurement was the and ‘N’ measured a nail or 2 ⁄4 inches. cylindrical container. The portable tape limited and poor. Those who had cubit which was used in primitive In England, Parliament authorised measure had come into being. wealth displayed it by keeping their construction in Egypt as early as the Imperial Standard Yard in 1855 and valuables on a chain or chatelaine 8000 BC. The cubit was the length of Early tapes suspended from the waist, sporting a forearm to a fingertip – clearly this Although inventories in the 17th cen- a dagger, watch, keys and other was a variable unit unless measured tury occasionally list tape measures ‘luxury’ goods. By the 18th century from the same arm. Other early units they were in the possession only of the chatelaine had become a common of measurement were also based on the wealthy elite. By the mid-18th century tape measures became more common, in the form of a marked A wonderful Tunbridge stick ware A Tunbridge end-grain mosaic tape Above, left to right. An English silver filigree tape, c.1780, in this case the loop at the ribbon stored in a cylindrical container combination tape measure with a waxer measure wound by the overhanging top of the dome is the winder rather than a loop for a chatelaine. £80-£120. A silver (usually of silver) and wound by a to the base and pin cushion to the top. top, c.1850. Note the printed name chatelaine tape with coffee-grinder style handle, Chester 1905. £50-£80. simple spindle projecting through the Note the original tape end. The value is ‘Nye’. Although the tape lacks its last Right. An English silver filigree combination tape measure and thimble, c.1780, enhanced by the perfect printed label top, the tape end emerging from a slit inch it still has the delicately turned note the printed tape with trailing leaves, the thimble unscrews to reveal on the base for Thomas Barton. £150- in the side. Other popular early shapes tape end – so much care over some- a glass scent bottle. £300-£600. £200. are the barrel or ball. Occasionally, thing so trivial. £50-£80. 18 19 ROBERT BLEASDALE_CHARLES HIND 1 28/08/2012 10:46 Page 20 the emery used for cleaning lightly rusted needles. Alongside these the box would often contain a matching set of six or eight reels for cottons and other tools en suite. By the 1830s the Industrial Revol- ution and the evolution of travel had taken effect. There was virtually no material that wasn’t fashioned into a tape measure container, and specialist manufacturers, as well as more indi- vidual craftsmen, sought to bring new models to the market. Souvenir tapes Two brass novelties: a lion and ball (note the tape in centimetres) and an elephant wound from the tail. Lion £40-£60; elephant £60-£100. Many tapes exist manufactured in Tunbridge ware. Tunbridge Wells had Three Mauchline ware tape measures. Note the photographic image on the centre become a fashionable spa town interest in Scotland and tartan wares small cowrie shell, the tape wound by example as opposed to transfers on the other two. Bell £60-£100; cylinder £40-£60; following the discovery of chalybeate became another perfect format for a a spindle and emerging through the churn £50-£80. waters in the 17th century. Local whole range of sewing tools; these often natural aperture of the shell or a slit craftsmen first developed plain wooden have a small gilt label identifying the cut in the surface. These must have white wares decorated with painted A bone combination double-ended name of the tartan used. been commercially produced judging pedestal pincushion surmounted by a lines and small inscriptions applied in Shells were also used to make by the numbers that exist and the tape, probably French, c.1850. £80-£120. the form of oval or circular labels. souvenir tapes. These are usually a ingenuity of their construction. More decorative wood ware emerged in the form of inlaid van dykes and cubes and then in end-grain mosaic. Pictures and patterns could be built up from different coloured square sticks and sliced off in the same way the lettering goes through a stick of rock. The stick ware and end-grain tech- niques provided a perfect format for sewing tools to be purchased as (Left to right) A cowrie shell tape measure c.1850; a vegetable ivory example with typical pierced and carved decoration, c.1860; and a boxwood drum form example with coffee-grinder handle. £60-£100; £30-£50; £20-£40. A gilt brass novelty tape measure in the form of the coronation coach, the tape emerging underneath and wound from the top. £80-£120. The evolution of the work box and ary skill for a young woman of sewing table substance. Many readers will be familiar with the By the mid-18th century sewing identifiable souvenirs of a visit, and stumpwork caskets that emerged in tables and boxes began to appear. tape measures were no exception. the 17th century. Contrary to popular Often they had a lift-out tray neatly Occasionally one can find a Tunbridge opinion these were not sewing boxes and uniformly divided, but tools, tape with the manufacturer’s name in which to store sewing tools and cottons and silks were not mass- printed at the start of the tape. work in progress, they were caskets to produced and such boxes contained a Mauchline and tartan ware were store precious possessions. While this random assortment of collected tools. equally popular.
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