New-York tribune., 1910-01-02
CURIOUS THIMB BILE
Unique Examples Collected IN
Mann Countries.

Even the women who do not like TO sew
and men, who do not have to, would surely
be interested in examining the collection
of thimbles owned bv Mrs. J. II. Smith.
of Ann Arbor, Mich. From ell parts of
the world they come. these thimbles, some
from far countries like Egypt. Japan and
Ceylon. some from shops right here in
New York.
Perhaps the prize of the lot is an ex-
Guisite thimble of gunmetal with heavy
border of colored gold, bearing the
motto There is none great but Allah
This was made in Toledo. Spain, though
the owner picked it up in Franco. Some
of the prettiest ones, showing by their
smallness that they were designed for
slender fingers, are the five or six made
in France. From Orleans comes one show
ing the lilly of France" and other SYM
bolic designs. Chartres furnishes plain
silver thimble with gold border, and a
quaint tortoise shell finger shield is a
memento of Bourges. a heavy metal
thimbe with a deep scalloped border was
purchased at Mines. From Mentone. in
Southern France, come two-one of them
a tiny thing used, no doubt. by some
French child in making her dolls
clothes The French gilt thimble with tur-
uuose setting is manifestIy of Venetian
workmanship From Belagio come two
a massive round topped one of olive wood
and a fragile bit of tortoise shell.
Probably the most ancient specimen in
the collection is bronze thumb ring,
meant for use I'm sewing, which was taken
from an old Etruscan tomb near Perugia,
italy. Very characteristic of Naples is
little gilt trifle set with corals, and equally
eloquent of Athens is one with colored
Grecian border Not pretty, but very in
teresting, is a big, rough thimble such as
Siclian women use.
The grandmother OF the collection is a
handsome thimble with a carved flower de-
sign II isn't as old as the thumb ring
taken from the Etruscan tomb. but Mrs.
Smith purchased ii in little shop in
Granada long before she thought of collect
ing thimbles. and has kept it ever since.
A heavy affair of gold and silver was
purchased In Cairo. Egypt. Florence is
represented by an odd red agate thimble,
and Rome by one bearing view of st.
Peters in colored enamel. plain little
silver thinlble is a souvenir of Mrs. Smiths
stay in San Marino, the smallest republic
in the world. Perhaps the quecrest looking
specimen of all is the one Mrs Smith bought
right off the finger of old peasant
woman in Ravenna, Italy.
Then there is big silver thimblc from
Gibraltar; a much more artistic silver one
from the island of Malta, set with a gar
land of flowers in gold and a jade orna-
ment at the top From Colombo, Ceylon,
she brought a native thinrble. a queer.
square looking affair. Then there is a
trophy from Singapore. an odd little white
bone thimble from Manila, and one OF
ivory from Hong Kong.
The only thing Mrs. Smith could find in
japan that would At into a thimble collec-
ton was thumb ring with deep perfora-
tions Heidelberg is represented by a tiny
thimble nesting in a little stein: Holland
by a beautiful specimen OF silver showing
a Dutch scene i'm Delft blue; Innsbruck and
Munich by two thimbles bearing the coats
of-arms of those cities. and Interlaken by
a most artistic one adorned with green
stones.
There are American thimbles in the COL
lection. too among them being an old one
from Salem, with three witches engraved
on IT.