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Description
An antique cotton reel holder, dating from around the 1870s, produced by Clark & Co. of Anchor Mills, Paisley.
It measures 10cm in diameter and 6.5cm in height.
It has a transfer printed decorative poem to the top of the lid ("Remembrance") and the Clark's label to the inside of the lid.
Around the sides are printed various "dispositions". You spin the box, which rotates on an axis, and read off the relevant disposition when it stops at the marked place. Men's dispositions are in bold font and the ladies' in italics.
You might be: "Gay but discreet", "Gallant to a degree", "A regular flirt", "Peevish and discontented", or "Hasty but very forgiving" etc etc.
Good overall condition. There is a split to the base. A nibble to the inner rim of the lid looks as though it has been made purposely to assist the thread exiting from the box. It spins free and well.
An interesting piece of collectable social history....
