Housewife Question

[amazingkenneth]

Hello All,
I hope someone can help on this question for me. I am looking to buy a housewife from the site and I saw folding scissors in most of them. Were they used in the civilwar? I did a little research and found a company called MARX and they had folding scissors but the Pat. date was 1872. I found a pair last night as well on E-bay. They are the same as the ones that are on the site. Can anyone give me info on them or a location that I can research them?

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl
23rd North Carolina Infantry, Co. D
The PEE DEE Guard

[VIrginia Mescher]

Hello All,
I hope someone can help on this question for me. I am looking to buy a housewife from the site and I saw folding scissors in most of them. Were they used in the civilwar? I did a little research and found a company called MARX and they had folding scissors but the Pat. date was 1872. I found a pair last night as well on E-bay. They are the same as the ones that are on the site. Can anyone give me info on them or a location that I can research them?

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl
23rd North Carolina Infantry, Co. D
The PEE DEE Guard

I looked in a period hardware catalogue and did not find folding scissors. They did show very small embroidery or lace scissors.

I just did a quick search on the Patent office website and found the first folding scissors were patented in the US in 1861 (#31,032) and I also found the 1872 patent you mentioned (#127,207). With the 1861 folding scissors, the blades were attached to a "U" shaped spring and the spring was squeezed to perform the cutting action. The design is very similar to simple kindergarten scissors, except in the 1861 design, the blades would fold into the the spring. I do not know if or when this type of folding scissors were first produced commercially.

The 1872 patent is very similar to the folding scissors today and the patent drawing looks just like the folding scissors used today.

[markj]

Hello All,
I hope someone can help on this question for me. I am looking to buy a housewife from the site and I saw folding scissors in most of them. Were they used in the civilwar? I did a little research and found a company called MARX and they had folding scissors but the Pat. date was 1872. I found a pair last night as well on E-bay. They are the same as the ones that are on the site. Can anyone give me info on them or a location that I can research them?

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl
23rd North Carolina Infantry, Co. D
The PEE DEE Guard

Hi,

I can't add much to what Virginia has already said but, in my opinion, you should probably think long and hard before you use them. With this in mind, here is a scanned version of the November 1864 "Godey's" housewife pattern. As you will see, it does NOT show folding scissors. WARNING: This file is 1.69 megs so you might have trouble downloading it.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[markj]

Oh, by the way, I have attached color images of a housewife I "commissioned" according to the Godey pattern stated above.

Enjoy,

Mark Jaeger

[amazingkenneth]

Thanks,
I want to make sure that I am correct with everything.

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl


Oh, by the way, I have attached color images of a housewife I "commissioned" according to the Godey pattern stated above.

Enjoy,

Mark Jaeger

[amazingkenneth]

Great info. Do you know if the look is close to the 1872 style?

Thanks,
K.J. Reihl


I looked in a period hardware catalogue and did not find folding scissors. They did show very small embroidery or lace scissors.

I just did a quick search on the Patent office website and found the first folding scissors were patented in the US in 1861 (#31,032) and I also found the 1872 patent you mentioned (#127,207). With the 1861 folding scissors, the blades were attached to a "U" shaped spring and the spring was squeezed to perform the cutting action. The design is very similar to simple kindergarten scissors, except in the 1861 design, the blades would fold into the the spring. I do not know if or when this type of folding scissors were first produced commercially.

The 1872 patent is very similar to the folding scissors today and the patent drawing looks just like the folding scissors used today.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Hello All,
I hope someone can help on this question for me. I am looking to buy a housewife from the site and I saw folding scissors in most of them. Were they used in the civilwar? I did a little research and found a company called MARX and they had folding scissors but the Pat. date was 1872. I found a pair last night as well on E-bay. They are the same as the ones that are on the site. Can anyone give me info on them or a location that I can research them?

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl
23rd North Carolina Infantry, Co. D
The PEE DEE Guard


The folding scissors offered in most housewifes I have seen, are stainless steel, and unacceptable regardless. An easy way to tell stainless from "normal" steel is by sticking it with a magnet. If the magnet sticks it is steel, if it doesnt stick it is stainless.

[VIrginia Mescher]

Great info. Do you know if the look is close to the 1872 style?

Thanks,
K.J. Reihl

If you go to the patent office website and do a search on the two patent numbers, you will see the shapes. The folding scissors on ebay look very similar to the modern folding scissors, but the 1861 patent is totally different. I've seen kindergarten scissors that have the two blades attached to a "U" shaped piece of springy plastic; you squeeze the plastic handle and the blades operate. The blades of the kindergarten scissors don't fold into the "U" shaped handle.

The patent office website is easy to navigate but you will need to download the free image viewer in order to see any of the images. Patents issued before 1975 are only searchable by patent number or classification number.

Since there is no indication that the 1872 folding scissors were available before the patent date, you would be better off purchasing a pair of repro of Ginger small scissors. They are copies of early 19th century scissors and look exactly like what I've seen in period catalogues.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

I was curious are these the folding scissors contained in this months bully buy? If so has anyone thought of asking Skillet Licker about information he must have? He is well respected by many and must have some reason for including them in the housewives.

Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04

[VIrginia Mescher]

I was curious are these the folding scissors contained in this months bully buy? If so has anyone thought of asking Skillet Licker about information he must have? He is well respected by many and must have some reason for including them in the housewives.

Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04

I, too, would be interested in his documentation of the folding scissors. It could have been that they were available in Europe and imported but lacking US documentation for the CW period, I would hesitate to use them.

[Rear Rank 2]

Markj,
Please forgive my ignorance on the subject. What are the other two items in your housewife that flank the scissors?

[Richmond Depot]

I have a better source for a more correct type of period scissor. If anyone is interested contact me off line. The folding variety mentioned above are made by Singer and available from any Wal-Mart Super Center. :)

[markj]

Markj,
Please forgive my ignorance on the subject. What are the other two items in your housewife that flank the scissors?

Hi,

The item on the left of the scissors is a "bodkin." The item on the right is a fabric awl/punch. Both are antiques that I bought on eBay and appear to be made of bone. The bodkin (which has an eyelet) was used, for example, to thread draw strings in bags. The punch, of course, can be used to make holes in fabric and even thin leather. Both of these items are illustrated, along with the scissors, in the original Godey illustration.

If you would like more details about how this housewife was made, please contact me at:

markj@purdue.edu

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[JerseySkilletLicker]

All,
When Mike Anderson and I began offering his sewing kits the scissors in question were not included. Mike found these and threw them in every kit as an add on at no extra charge. Far from being perfect, they are not stainless and are a nice copy of English scissors of the 1801 period. Lords CW Collectors Encyclopedia; Volume 4; Page 154 pictures them. True, they were not patented in the US until 1872 but many sewing implements of the period before that were imported.
I own and use one of Mike's kits and replaced the scissors with an original pair I was lucky enough to purchase. For Mike and myself to find original scissors to include with the kits could be done but the cost would be substantially greater. It seemed to me that while someone was looking for an original pair, these could certainly be used in a pinch.

Joe

[VIrginia Mescher]

All,
When Mike Anderson and I began offering his sewing kits the scissors in question were not included. Mike found these and threw them in every kit as an add on at no extra charge. Far from being perfect, they are not stainless and are a nice copy of English scissors of the 1801 period. Lords CW Collectors Encyclopedia; Volume 4; Page 154 pictures them.

Joe

Thank you for your explanation about the folding scissors. I will be sure to add it to my research notes. Do you have a picture of the 1801 scissors or are the very similar to the ones from 1872?

Thank you for your time.

[VIrginia Mescher]

Thank you for your explanation about the folding scissors. I will be sure to add it to my research notes. Do you have a picture of the 1801 scissors or are the very similar to the ones from 1872?

Thank you for your time.

I was doing a search and found an advertistement in _Scientific American_ Sept. 9, 1876. "Novel Folding Scissors. Many travelers who return from abroad bring home to their friends, as a novelty, a pair of folding scissors. But travelers can no longer astonish their friends with this novelty, for Marx Brothers, of 430 Broadway, New York City, are manufacturing, under patent issued May 28, 1872, a superior quality of folding scissors, which are five inches long when in use, but fold into a length to two and a half inches for the pocket, highly finished and neatly put up in leather cases, which they offer in competition with the imported articles."

This seems to indicate that even as late as 1876 the folding scissors were a novelty and not something that was commonly available for the average person to purchase. The small scissors commonly sold in the US probably would have been included in CW housewives rather than the rarer folding ones.

[amazingkenneth]

I looked for the info on that web site. I would love to repop them. I'm looking to buy an Org. pair of the 1861 scissors. I hope I can find a pair to buy. Anyone knows where I can get a pair please let me know.

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl

[Vuhginyuh]

WOODED HAMLET In The VENDORS LINKS Has Good SCISSORS & BODKINS At A Fair Price.

[amazingkenneth]

Hello All,
Also on a different note, Some sell their housewifes with bees wax. Does anyone know if they would have wrapped it or could it stand on its own. I know this might sound like a dumb question but the dumb ones are the important ones.

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl

[VIrginia Mescher]

Hello All,
Also on a different note, Some sell their housewifes with bees wax. Does anyone know if they would have wrapped it or could it stand on its own. I know this might sound like a dumb question but the dumb ones are the important ones.

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl

Some period thread waxers came in decorative shapes but often just a ball or chunk of beeswax was used. It is stable on its own and does not require a wrapper.

[amazingkenneth]

Sir,
Thank you so much for the information. The little things count when you are tring to be correct.

your Servant,
K.J. Reihl

[markj]

Greetings,

Here's another housewife pattern taken from the June 1864 "Godey's." Once again, be warned that the Adobe pdf file is rather large.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[amazingkenneth]

I looked at the file. Yes, it was large but well worth looking at it. Thanks,

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl

[amazingkenneth]

Hello All,
I just wanted to send this out to give everyone the info that I found on the scissors. I know someone replied that they wanted to know if there was a pic on the scissors dated 1801. Attached is a pic of the 1801 scissors from England. Please note that the top pair are like the ones that come with the kits that are for sale on the site. The only difference is that I cut the loops off and file it to make it look closer to the 1801 pair. I found the photo in a book called, "Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia", By: Francis A. Lord, Vol. 4 Joe I did not want to give any problems on this issue. LOL Sorry about that. I hope this helps everyone....

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl


Hello All,
I hope someone can help on this question for me. I am looking to buy a housewife from the site and I saw folding scissors in most of them. Were they used in the civilwar? I did a little research and found a company called MARX and they had folding scissors but the Pat. date was 1872. I found a pair last night as well on E-bay. They are the same as the ones that are on the site. Can anyone give me info on them or a location that I can research them?

Your Servant,
K.J. Reihl
23rd North Carolina Infantry, Co. D
The PEE DEE Guard