Rosie's Ramblings

October 3, 1999

Hello Out There,

The first change at Rosie’s this month, is that I have finally gotten rid of the ugly guest book. I would love to hear from all visitors, but now it will have to be done through e-mail. I have added several new acquisitions. They are scattered about my site and marked "new".

Since so few needle books are dated, I often wonder about their age. One afternoon recently I did a bit of research on a few of the countries that exported needle books. Here is what I found:

Made in Occupied Japan:
Needle books marked "Occupied Japan" were exported from the end of World War II, until April 18, 1952, when the occupation ended. Since the Japanese resented the occupation, it is thought by some that many items produced during that time were not marked.

Made in Czechoslovakia:
Both Slovakia and Bohemia regained their independence in 1918 and formed the modern Czechoslovakia. The people suffered economically and spiritually during the Communist rule from after World War II until Czechoslovakia became a free republic again in 1989. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Based on this information, an item marked "Czechoslovakia" could have been exported as early as 1918, and no later than 1993.

Made in Germany:
World War II began with Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1938 and ended, in Europe, with their surrender in 1945. The defeated country was divided into four Allied Occupation Zones, but dissension between the USSR and the West, led to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1949. On October 2, 1990, the German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany and Germany became a united and sovereign state for the first time since 1945.

This information seems to indicate that needle books marked "Germany" were exported prior to World War II. According to an appraiser on "Treasures in Your Home", items marked "made in Germany" date from between the World Wars. Those marked "West Germany" are from 1949 through 1990. I have never seen one marked "East Germany".

As I said, this information was collected in a single afternoon on the Internet. If it contains any erroneous information, I would appreciate if someone would point it out to me. I want to learn.

I recently showed an "art history expert" pictures of a few needle books to see if she could possibly date them through the cover art. She looked at "Sewing Society", "Schrimpton’s", and "Household Treasures". It was her opinion that they look Victorian. Could it be that Victorian style pictures were simply used later, or do these needle books really date back that far? The earliest dated ones I have seen have been from the "teens". Another mystery...the Columbian Exposition needle books. Were they premiums during the Exposition, or were they made later? I wish I knew.

Finally, I promise to never hoard needle books. What I mean is that I will never buy a needle book to keep someone else from having it. I will only buy duplicates to up-grade. If every collector followed this practice, there would be plenty of the really special needle books to go around. If you are looking for a needle book that you see here, check with me. I just might have a duplicate that I am willing to trade.

Happy hunting,
Rosie