One possibility that has not yet been mentioned is that England had a number of its men in the Indian subcontinent at some point (the Raj). It is not inconcevable that some of these men had ivory and exotic wood bobbins made for gifts to sweethearts and family back in England. Certainly, a lot of the workboxes and their fittings came from India.
Might not sailors and whalers carve bobbins out of narwhal, whale and walrus? They would be quite rare, but they should exist ... As well, since some dip pens and other small cylindrical pieces (of bone, wood and ivory) were re-used after a bit of modification as bobbins, that too might be a source of exotic bobbins. If Victorian men were producing bodkins, needle cases and other needle work implements in whatever material was at hand, could ivory not also be a possibility? Lucie DuFresne Ottawa Canada - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
