Royal Crown Derby Thimbles - Thimbleselect Catalogue

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Royal Crown Derby Thimbles

There were no thimbles produced by Royal Crown Derby [RCD] during the 20th century until around 1983. They were taken over and owned by the Royal Doulton Group [of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire] from 1985. The Doulton stable thru mergers included Minton, John Beswick, Caithness Glass, Royal Crown Derby and Royal Albert. From 2000 Royal Crown Derby is once again an independent company.This is the same company that took over the Samson-Hancock factory in 1935, which had been operational since 1848.
Well that opening statement was true when I first composed this page on RCD, but two recent treasures have turned up with thimbles with a 1936 and a 1940 date. The latter is an intriguing date as England was in the heart of World War II. Have you ever encountered another RCD with a date earlier than 1983? The Thimble Society of London in their spring 1985 issue, mentions an Imari patterned thimble that dates to 1920s-1930, but these two finds bear the modern red date maker's marks for Royal Crown Derby.
In 1981 when the Franklin Mint thimbles set of Porcelain Houses of the World was commissioned, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert thimbles were included in the set of 25, but no thimble by RCD. By 1985 when the Thimble Collectors Club commissioned the Hallmarked Thimbles of the World's Great Porcelain Houses, Minton, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and Royal Crown Derby thimbles were included in the set of 50.
In 1986, RCD began production of sets of fine bone china thimbles that reflect the patterns from the old Derby Porcelain pattern books of their dinnerware range.
Most of their thimbles are marked inside with a Roman numeral and this helps collectors identify matching sets. Or does it? A puzzle has arisen as some identical thimbles have a different Roman number. In 1937 Royal Crown Derby introduced a dating system for their products. In 1937 items were marked with the Roman numeral I and so on for each year. So if an item is marked L [=50], add this to 1937 and the date of manufacture is 1987. This is a really unique feature, as one can now tell exactly when our thimbles were made - ie that it was part of the original issue or not.
In 2000 RCD changed their policy to one using the actual Roman numeral to correspond with the year of manufacture eg. MM for 2000.

L = 1987

MM = 2000
The first series of 6 was produced in 1986 and continued in manufacture until 1993, which explains the differing Roman numerals in identically patterned thimbles. The set was named The Derby Collection. This launch was so successful amongst thimble collectors, that another larger set was commissioned Lawleys by Post, the commercial arm of Royal Doulton, who promoted the second series of 15, produced in 1986. The collection is named The Historical Thimble Collection. A booklet written by Betty Bailey A collection of thimbles accompanied this set. The book lists the thimbles with the name assigned and a brief description of the origins of the patterns. I have included the dates that Derby first introduced the original pattern. No pattern names are in the thimbles, so the names can only be found in Bailey's booklet or in the original advertisements from Lawleys by Post. Once separated, the naming becomes impossible. I have recorded them here for posterity.
It was lovely to be alerted by collectors to the The Chatsworth Collection by RCD. This is a set of 12 thimbles - in more pastel shades than the earlier series. They were produced for Lawleys by Post in 1995 and designed by the RCD artist, Sue Rowe. They all have names but these names are again not marked inside the thimbles. Nor are they marked with a Roman numeral as are most of the other Royal Crown Derby thimbles, but they do have a second backstamp for Chatsworth House in the same colour as the RCD stamp. In addition the word 'Chatsworth' appears under the RCD backstamp. These designs are all based on a flower and the motifs come from the interior of the mansion of the Duke and Duchess of Devon who own Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
Then there is a The Curator's Collection of 6 thimbles. This set was issued in 1999, bearing the Roman numerals LXII.
The shape of the RCD thimbles conforms to the later thimbles made by Royal Doulton. These are squatter than the original Doulton thimbles produced in the early 1980s. These RCD thimbles are richly gilded with 22-carat gold and the colours reflect the rich colours one has come to associate with RCD merchandise. The apexes have gilding of the indentations, making them quite distinctive. There is a slight variation between the first and subsequent sets, in the apex gilding. If you have several RCD thimbles, it will be worth your while to compare this gold-dotted apexes - they are different enough to be an identifying "tool" for you. If you have a photo of the apexes of other sets, please share.
The patterning goes around the thimble, usually repeating the design. Where this is not the case, I have shown the other side.
Does anyone know whether RCD are currently producing thimbles? We know from thimbles using the RCD dating system they were still producing thimbles in 2002 [MMII].
Aren't these Royal Crown Derby thimbles some of the 'richest' looking thimbles you have encountered, in all their deep jewel colours? In the collectables market, Royal Crown Derby are premierly associated with their range of animal paperweights in their rich colours and some of this uniqueness is reflected in their range of thimbles.
These thimbles are arranged in date order of their initial release

Early 20th Century - 1983 - The Derby Collection - The Historical Thimble Collection
The Chatsworth Collection - The Curator's Collection - Others

Early 20th Century thimbles
1937 - 1982
At this stage only two pre-1983 thimbles have emerged
with the distinctive red RCD backstamp with date lettering

1936
1940
handpainted
1940 apex

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1983
XLVI
This thimble marks the earliest of the modern era thimbles

XLVI [1983]
Is this a Christmas thimble?

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The Derby Collection
1986 - 1993
XLIX - LVI

Ambassador
Asian Rose
Bali

Blue Aves
Brittany
Derby Panel Green

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The Historical Thimble Collection
1985 - 1993
XLVIII - LVI
The booklet that accompanied this set of 15, was printed in 1986, but I have found thimbles in this set with an earlier date 1985 [The Moth]. The set was commissioned and marketed by Lawleys by Post in England.
Each boxed thimble is supplied with an explanatory leaflet about the design. Quaintly, the name of each design is prefixed by 'The'!
The dates included with each photo are those of the date Derby first introduced that pattern to their range of fine dinnerware.
This covers 250 years of patterns.

The Art Deco
1900
The Art Nouveau
1890
The Billingsley Roses
1790

The Chinois
1765
The Diamond
The Flower Sprig
1752

The Golden Flower
1795
The Imari Scroll
1880
The Moses Webster
1825

The Moth
1760
The Old Imari
1880
The Purple Scroll
1947

The Spiral Stripe
1890
The Traditional Imari
1889
The Victorian Persian
1888

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The Chatsworth Collection
1995
with no Roman numeral

American Cowslip
Anemone
Azalea

Camellia
Crocus
Daffodil

Honeysuckle
Michaelmas Daisies
Orchid

Pansy
Water Lily
Weymouth Pine

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The Curator's Collection
1999 - 2002
LXII - MMII

Acanthus
Derby Garden
Derby Old Japan

Pardoe
Rich Japan
Tree of Life
this exists with LXI date

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others
1985 - 2000
XLIII - MM

Thimble Collectors Club
Hallmarked Thimbles of the World's Great Porcelain Houses
1985 [with no Roman numeral]
Learn more about
Hallmarked Thimbles of the World's Great Porcelain Houses

Thimble Collectors Club
XLIX [1986]
Learn more about
Thimble Collectors Club thimbles

Pair commemorating Marriage
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
the centre view is on the verso of both thimbles
1986 [with no Roman numeral]
Learn more about
British Royalty on thimbles

the pair's box

Pair
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Queen Victoria accession 20th June 1837
Prince Albert Consort to Queen Victoria 1840-1861
with gold George crosses on apex
limited to 5000 sets
L [1987]

Posies
LIV - LVII [1991-1994]
Where does this one fit in?

With RCD thimbles coming from one stable
which includes Minton and Royal Doulton thimbles
this thimble is incorrectly marked - poor quality control!!
the design of the thimble is the Qinquefolium one of Minton's Pugin set
it has the RCD backstamp and it is dated LVIII [1995]
does this make it a 2nd?

Fern
Tree Peony
Pair
Commissioned by Times Past
LIX [1996]

Pair
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Wedding Anniversary
1947 1997
limited to 950 sets
LX [1997]
Learn more about
British Royalty on thimbles

MM [2000]
Yorkshire Rose
Commissioned by Peter Jones China of Yorkshire to commemorate the Millennium
a similar design to the Old Imari design but the Yorkshire Rose replaces the red solid rose in the earlier set from 1985

christmas 1979 with holly
Can this be a correct date?

Where does this thimble fit in?
It has a modern red RCD backstamp

this is a very interesting - gorgeous - find
there is a puce backstamp with crossed swords
the gold lettering is Derby
Feb. 20th 1928
it's not a Royal Crown Derby but what a treasure!
an example of a Derby Steven Hancock thimble
from 19th century

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DO YOU KNOW ANY MORE DETAILS ABOUT ROYAL CROWN DERBY THIMBLES?
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER RCD THIMBLES NOT MENTIONED?
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER RCD THIMBLES NOT PICTURED OR CLEARER PHOTOS?
EMAIL thimbleselect@bigpond.com TO SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

Contributors

References
Betty Bailey A collection of thimbles. 1986
Crown Derby thimbles The Thimble Society of London vol 2 issue 2 spring 1985
Royal Crown Derby website

This listing of Royal Crown Derby thimbles does not purport to be complete or accurate in all aspects. Rather it invites comment and contribution to add to our knowledge. My thanks to the contributors.

Enjoy!

Any questions or comments?
thimbleselect@bigpond.com
I do not offer any type of valuation or advice on prices.

Last updated 29 January 2012
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