Editing Thimble (section)

==History==

===Pre-17th century===

As the purpose of a thimble is to prevent discomfort while sewing by providing a barrier between fingertips and the blunt end of a needle, it is likely that the earliest thimbles were created closely following the invention of sewing.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=E. |date=1995 |title=Thimbles and Thimble Rings from the Circum-Caribbean Region, 1500-1800: Chronology and Identification |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=84–92 |doi= 10.1007/BF03374210|jstor=25616355 |s2cid=163977710 }}</ref>

According to the United Kingdom Detector Finds Database,<ref name="ukdfd.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/thimble.html|title=Thimbles - ukdfd|website=www.ukdfd.co.uk|access-date=13 January 2018}}</ref> thimbles dating to the 10th century have been found in England, and thimbles were in widespread use there by the 14th century.

Although there are isolated examples of thimbles made of precious metals—[[Elizabeth I]] is said to have given one of her ladies-in-waiting a thimble set with precious stones—the vast majority of metal thimbles were made of [[brass]]. Medieval thimbles were either cast brass or made from hammered sheet. Early centers of thimble production were those places known for brass-working, starting with Nuremberg in the 15th century, and moving to Holland by the 17th.

{{Gallery
|align=center
|File:Early cylinder.jpg|A very early hand-dimpled soldered cylinder thimble.
|File:14c Nurnberg thimble.jpg|Cast 14th century thimble.
|File:I4c brass Nurnberg thimble.jpg|Deep drawn Nürnberg thimble. 16th century.
}}

===17th century and later===
[[File:Lofting type.jpg|thumb|150px|Lofting type brass thimble]]
In 1693, a Dutch thimble manufacturer named [[John Lofting]] established a thimble manufactory in Islington, in London, England, expanding British thimble production to new heights.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmM9AQAAIAAJ&q=carbonic+oxide|title=Scientific American|date=1869-06-19|publisher=Munn & Company|pages=387|language=en}}</ref> He later moved his mill to Buckinghamshire to take advantage of water-powered production, resulting in a capacity to produce more than two million thimbles per year. By the end of the 18th century, thimble making had moved to Birmingham, and shifted to the "deep drawing" method of manufacture, which alternated hammering of sheet metals with annealing, and produced a thinner-skinned thimble with a taller shape. At the same time, cheaper sources of silver from the Americas made silver thimbles a popular item for the first time.<ref name="ukdfd.co.uk"/>

Thimbles are usually made from [[metal]], [[leather]], [[rubber]], [[wood]], and even [[glass]] or [[Porcelain|china]]. Early thimbles were sometimes made from [[whale]] [[bone]], [[horn (anatomy)|horn]], or [[ivory]]. Natural sources were also utilized such as [[Connemara marble]], [[bog oak]] or [[mother of pearl]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Marble is not exactly a common material. was this supposed to be an adornment?}}.

Advanced thimblemakers enhanced thimbles with semi-precious stones to adorn the apex or along the outer rim. Rarer works from thimble makers utilized [[diamond]]s, [[sapphire]]s, or [[rubies]]. [[Cabochon]] adornments are sometimes made of [[cinnabar]], [[agate]], [[moonstone (gemstone)|moonstone]], or [[amber]]. Thimble artists would also utilize enameling, or the [[Guilloché]] techniques advanced by [[Peter Carl Fabergé]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thimbles.zzl.org/Faberge.html |title=Fabergé Thimbles |access-date=2012-12-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225070921/http://thimbles.zzl.org/Faberge.html |archive-date=2012-12-25 |work=More about Thimbles |author1=Isbister, Magdalena |author2=Isbister, William}}</ref>