Nanny Brooches

Greg Hamilton, our Librarian, for our April Meeting volunteered to bring his collection of “Nanny Brooches” to show us and to tell us about the origins of these small objects. 

Nanny Brooches were given to nannies in the latter part of the 19th Century and the early part of the 20th Century. They were usually made of brass and were adorned with a cheap artificial stone on the centre. 

They were in fact an emergency sewing kit for sewing on the odd loose button or mending a tear in a dress for example. The body of the brooch was usually a hollow cylinder with one end which unscrewed to reveal a container for pins, needles and cotton. 

A jeweller named Frederick Sydney Banks took out a patent for these brooches in 1886 but it is debatable as to whether or not they were his invention. 

Among Greg’s collection was one with a difference, instead of a sewing kit, the brooch hid a pencil. Although these items were cheap 100 years ago, they are certainly not cheap now and quite a bit of challenging bidding goes on when trying to purchase one. 

Greg has a wish list of at least 8 brooches so if any of you has one hidden away in a bottom draw, I’m sure he’d like to hear from you. 

Thank you Greg for introducing us to items which many of us had never heard of and thank you for bringing your collection to show us.