Small Brass Tube

[Breezie]

Hey Gang,
I was able to get out for an hour or so this afternoon and found a few goodies. Is this a flatten pill container or sewing needle tube or ? It's made of brass, but looks too short for sewing needles. I found it in the same area with a complete Civil War era iron horse harness buckle as well as a full horse shoe. The horse probably stepped on it! Of course, my curiosity got the best of me, so I had to work-off the cap. There was nothing on the inside but some very fine/powdered dirt. As always, any ideas and thoughts are appreciated. Breezie

 

[taz42o]

Maybe match safe.

 

[creskol]

looks like a pen nib case, Neat find

 

[James from TN]

Possibly a lipstick case. The slot in the side was used for raising and lowering the lipstick. Seems small but I have found similar ones with the old hard lipstick still intact. James

 

[mojjax]

Maybe a lighter case

 

[Lucas]

Sewing needle case. The brass ones I have seen were made flat like that.

 

[Breezie]

We certainly have a variety of ideas on this one. I'll try to elaborate on each one to see if we can't 'pin the tail on the donkey.'


This case doesn't 'round-out' enough to hold a pin nib, lipstick, matches or lighter, which is why I think Lucas ( )might be right as far as it being a sewing needle case. After taking off the lid, I used a knife to open the edges, then used the eraser end of a pencil to try to round it out, and there is not al ot of room for rounding. At first, I thought it was a round tube that had been stepped-on, but it was basically flat originally with just a wee bit of room on the inside. Hopefully we can find some pics to confirm. Thanks so much for all of the ideas and help. Breezie

 

[creskol]

We certainly have a variety of ideas on this one. I'll try to elaborate on each one to see if we can't 'pin the tail on the donkey.'


This case doesn't 'round-out' enough to hold a pin nib, lipstick, matches or lighter, which is why I think Lucas ( )might be right as far as it being a sewing needle case. After taking off the lid, I used a knife to open the edges, then used the eraser end of a pencil to try to round it out, and there is not al ot of room for rounding. At first, I thought it was a round tube that had been stepped-on, but it was basically flat originally with just a wee bit of room on the inside. Hopefully we can find some pics to confirm. Thanks so much for all of the ideas and help. Breezie

Interesting .. Thanks Breezie! .. I wonder what sort of case was used to hold the leads for mechanical pencils?

 

[artyfacts]

Roughly 3/4 x 2 inches. My guess is also a needle case. Arty

 

[Breezie]

I'm leaning towards sewing needle case, but a mechanical pencil lead holder is a possibility. Maybe someone can find some pics of both. Breezie

 

[artyfacts]

Breezie, The lead containers or tubes pictured are from the 19th century early and late, both have round tubular containers. I could not find an example of the containers from the 18th century. Arty