Many of the following books are still currently available from bookshops or online; ask at your library too - the ISBN numbers listed below will help. Older books (such as the one pictured to the left) are included here for research and interest.
Nerylla Taunton
Antique Needlework Tools and Embroideries (1997)
Antique Collectors Club Ltd
Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK
ISBN 1851492534
Genevieve Cummins and Nerylla Taunton (1994)
Chatelaines: Utility to Glorious Extravagance (1994)
Antique Collectors Club Ltd
Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK
ISBN 1851492062
Rita Heath
Cotton Reel Stands (1999)
Published by the Dorset Thimble Society
Mary Andere
Old Needlework Boxes and Tools
David & Charles Ltd, Newton Abbott, UK
ISBN 0715352601
Sylvia Groves
The History of Needlework Tools And Accessories (1966; 1973)
Hamlyn Publishing, London
ISBN 0715359134
Molly Proctor
Needlework Tools and Accessories, A Collectors Guide. (1990)
Batsford Ltd, London
ISBN 071345895X
Gay Ann Rogers
An Illustrated History of Needlework Tools (1983)
John Murray, London
ISBN 0719540216
Bridget McConnel
The Story of Antique Needlework Tools (1999)
Schiffer Publishing Ltd, USA
ISBN 076430710X
Bridget McConnel
The Collector's Guide to Thimbles (1996)
Random House UK Ltd
ISBN 858912415
Estelle Zalkin
Thimbles & Sewing Implements (1988)
Chilton Book Co. USA (paperback version)
ISBN 0870697633
Susan Jean Gowan
Thimbles of Australia (1998)
Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd
ISBN 0864179494
(and since 2010, to use in conjunction with the book, a CD of 1500 photos and new finds)
Frederique Crestin-Billet
La Folie des Ciseaux (2003)
Flammarion
ISBN 2082008886
Eleanor Johnson
Needlework and Embroidery Tools. 2nd ed (1999)
ISBN 0747803994
Gertrude Whiting
Old-time Tools & Toys of Needlework (1971 reprint of 1928 original)
Dover Publications Inc, New York.
ISBN 0486225178
Averil Colby
Pincushions (1975; paperback 1988)
B T Batsford, London
ISBN 0713430303 (hardcover)
ISBN 0713458801
Massimiliano Mandel
Scissors (1990)
ISBN 1854221825
Elaine Gaussen
Miller's Sewing Accessories: a Collectors Guide (2001)
Octopus Publishing Group, London
ISBN 1840003537
Helen Lester Thompson
Sewing Tools & Trinkets (1997)
Collector Books, KY
ISBN 0891457364
Helen Lester Thompson
Sewing Tools & Trinkets Volume 2 (2002)
Collector Books, KY
ISBN 1574322877
Estelle Horowitz & Ruth Mann
Victorian Brass Needlecases (1992)
ISBN 0962585327
Sylvie Collett
Palais Royal Needlework Tools (2009)
Privately published
Sheila Williams
The History of Knitting Pin Gauges (2006)
ISBN 1905226756
Susan Webster, with Joyce Poynter and Sheila Williams
Knitting Needle Gauges - New Finds (2017)
Dorset Thimble Society, UK
Niccola Kissane
Needlework Treasures of Tasmania (2017)
ISBN 978-0-646-98216-8
Clare Muzzatti
Anglo Indian Sewing Boxes (2021) - NEW Edition 2023
8.0MB pdf format for download here
Dawn Cook Ronningen
Antique American Needlework Tools (2018)
Also available from Australian Booksellers
Norma Spicer
Nanny Brooches (2001)
Privately published
Diane Pelham Burn
Thread Winders: a Collector's Guide (2001)
Privately published
Genevieve Cummins
Antique Boxes - Inside and Out (2006)
Antique Collectors' Club
Woodbridge, Surrey, UK.
ISBN 1851495029
(two chapters on needlework boxes)
Antigone Clarke & Joseph O'Kelly
Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies & Society - 1700-1880
Schiffer Books, USA
ISBN 0764316885
(chapter on sewing boxes plus others of interest)
http://www.hygra.com/sewing.htm (a single chapter is online)
Edwin E. Holmes
A History of Thimbles (1985)
Cornwall Books
ISBN-10: 0845347616
ISBN-13: 9780845347614
Kay Sullivan
Needlework Tools and Accessories - A Dutch Tradition. (2004)
Antique Collectors' Club Ltd
Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK.
ISBN 1851494715