bonfieldblockprinters

Framed ‘Thimble’ (Remnant Four)

Bonfield Block-Printers

Framed ‘Thimble’ (Remnant Four)
  • £1,440.00

The tale of Beulah Dye’s lost thimble, block-printed in our Dorset workshop on a laundered and darned C19th hemp sack, with recessed, peasant-inspired patches. The work is beautifully floated within a handmade, glazed frame; the moulding, slip and mount are sprayed in fine layers of ‘Salon Drab Dead Flat’. Accompanying the work is its backstory; conceived by Cameron, typed on paper and enveloped. It reads:

We all know thimbles are worn on the fingertip to protect the flesh from a needle wound. However, in and around the 19th Century, they were occasionally worn on the finger for a different purpose. 

An ornamental thimble such as Beulah’s - one decorated with flowers, foliage or scrolls, and made in silver or, from time to time, gold - was often presented by a young man to his sweetheart, as a love token. Occasionally, it was given prior to a marriage proposal. In poorer families, when a couple wed, the rim of the thimble was cut off and used as the most sacred of things, the wedding ring itself.

So, given her feelings of sorrow and regret, it is possible that Beulah may not have lost just a thimble. It could well have been a romantic token or, even more poignant, her intended wedding band.

If this was the case, to lose the thing that was to tie her in holy matrimony would have been inauspicious. For a girl whose name means ‘bride’ or ‘married’, losing a humble thimble could indeed make the heart bleed.
Dimensions - Width: 85cm Height: 104cm
Artist: Janet Tristram | Stitcher: Janet Tristram | Writer: Cameron Short
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