Scottish Brooches Sparked Victorian Interest

The interest of the Victorians in Scottish jewelry was stimulated by Queen Victoria's interest in Balmoral Castle in Scotland as a holiday home. One form this interest took was in the wearing of Scottish pebble brooches.

These items of fashion were an offshoot of the large circle pins, made of heavy silver, that early clansmen had used as shoulder brooches to fasten their plaids in the proper folds. The original brooches did double duty, serving also as good luck charms, to ward off disease and ill fortune.

These pins of Victorian times were about four to five inches in diameter, with an open center and a hinged pin. Made of heavy silver, they were set with stones of moss agate, carnelian, bloodstone and cairngorm (a Scottish quartz.) Occasionally, amethyst would be used. The stones were flatcut, with beveled edges, and set with solid backs.

Adaptations of the Scottish pebble brooches were pins of white heather, with flowers of seed pearls and gold, and with enamel stems and branches.

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Friendship Card Offered Greeting

A “token of affection” was a small card offered to someone as a gesture of friendship or remembrance. These cards were popular from the 1830s to the 1870s.

They differed from the usual visiting or calling card in that they carried poems or sentimental messages. Some even had entire songs inscribed in their small space.

Their use was not limited to any one time of the year, but a card could be presented whenever the occasion seemed appropriate. In this respect, the token of affection was a forerunner of today’s greeting card.

The earliest ones were on a glazed card stock, slightly smaller than the standard-sized calling card.

Some of the designs were engraved, with a space left for the name of the sender. Others had hand-drawn and tinted pictures.

Those who could afford it had name stencils made of thin brass or tin, with their name cut out. This was placed on the card and brushed with a light coat of color or ink. These stencil plates usually had embellishments, such as fancy lines around the name. If a person did not have a name stencil, he simply signed with a pen or pencil.

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If You Know The Name, You Know The Size

The Effanbee Doll Co. often made the same doll in several sizes. It adopted middle names to distinguish these sizes for a given doll. Therefore, we have Patsy (14”,) Patsy Joan (16”,) Patsy Ann (19”,) Patsy Lu (22”,) Patsy Ruth (26”,) and Patsy Mae (30”.)

This practice was also used with the Dydee Baby doll. Dydee Ellen is 11 inches long; Dydee Jane measures 15 inches; and Dydee Lu is a long 20 inches.

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