Period scissors

[Kykeydet12]

Pards:
well I'm back and everything and I have a few new questions for all you guys It's on period scissors . our family was taking photo's for christmas and while mum and dad where getting them detailed , i wandered on over to johann fabrics . there I looked around for just plain material to make a poke sack with or the such . I came across a pair of very nice looking scissors I looked at them more closely and noticed that they had a type of crane or other bird on the handle and it looked like it might be period if i can find a picture of it I'll put it on here . just wondering

[Spinster]

Re: Period scissors

Alas, the ubiquitous "stork scissors" are not, to my understanding, a period design. One sees them quite often in embrodiery shops, mainstream sutlers, and reenactor sewing baskets--and they seem to be just as much a "reenactorism" as women and children on the company street.

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Period scissors

I'll go bath through some sewing item references, but the crane/stork design may not be out of period, actually. There are several "fanciful" designs that might legitimately be used.

However, if one is standing in front of the stork/crane scissor display, look slightly to the right or left--there will likely be a simple version of small scissors, with a light scrolly ornament at the base of the finger holes. That one works very nicely in any small needlework kit.

Small scissors of this nature are for small tasks. These are not scissors for cutting out items! Rather, they are for trimming threads, snipping at embroidery work, etc.

One other caveat: those really rough "pruning shear" kind of black iron scissors sold at many events are not what you want--they're incredibly low quality. A good pair of standard Gingher shears will be nearly identical to the dressmaking shear of the time; tailor's shears are positively huge, and make large cuts at one swath.

A well-fitted sewing box will have cutting shears, small scissors for trimming, and possibly even small specialty scissors, if one is a needlework devotee.

[Kykeydet12]

Re: Period scissors

pards:

well I just wanted to ask.

[Pelikan]

Re: Period scissors

Digging up an old thread here with a related question.

What about paper scissors? I can find references to various forms of sewing/tailor scissors, but not the scissors a clerk (military or civilian) might have. It would be awkward for a clerk to use pruning shears or those little storks to cut-and-paste into an order book, for example.

I've had no luck in my researches for period correct scissors. Thoughts, references, documentation, etc.?

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Period scissors

There were many sizes of scissors between thread snips and tailor's shears.
I have a friend with a reproduction of a hardware catalog from the late 1860s (Big, thorough book that is monstrously expensive) and there was a whole page of scissors. Maybe someone else has that book and can show us the scissors page... please. :-)

[Pelikan]

Re: Period scissors

Looked through a friend's copy of a similar catalog last night.

The listing for "paper scissors" didn't have a drawing. However, the drawing of a pair of "pocket scissors" looked remarkably like those small, cheap, all-metal, round-tipped safety scissors we all used in elementary school.

May tuck a pair of those in my box for an upcoming event until further research turns up more definitive answers.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Period scissors

https://books.google.com/books?id=MTMGAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:qXfmPATsMCoC&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WuTtVPnlN4meNrG4hJAB&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=scissors&f=false

Okay, tracing backwards to 1874... we get the above. Scissors are on page 97.

I'm still trying to find a stationery catalog posted to the Scrivener's Mess yahoo group...
In short, scissors would have been sold at fancy goods stores, general stores, stationery stores... and wholesale catalogs may have illustrative drawings. I'll keep looking. :-)