Antique Silk Strawberry with Velvet Hull and Stern Bros. Thimble, Sterling Silver with Gold Band

Measures:  1.5” long

This beautiful cream silk strawberry emery has a pink velvet hull with a pink silk loop attached at the top.  There are no holes or pulls, there are a couple of small areas of discoloration as shown in the photos.  The thimble was made by Stern Bros & Co.  I believe the strawberry dates to the same era.

Stern Bros. & Co., New York, NY was founded in 1868 by Nathan Stern in Philadelphia, PA.  Within a few years they expanded and moved operations to New York.  From the period 1908-1912, the company used an “S” as its trademark with a “B” in the upper curve and a “C” in lower curve of the “S”.  Therefore, we can accurately date this thimble to that time period as this mark appears in the apex of the thimble along with the size 8 and the word “sterling”.  The company ceased operating in 1933 due to the stock market crash of 1929.  This thimble is not out of round and there are no punctures.  There is a seam that I believe is where the thimble is held together, it is not a split. The gold band has 10 panels, every other one being decorated with fanciful little circles.  One of the panels has initials engraved, they may be “JC” but I’m not 100% sure of that!