Total delight finding this one, purchased from a seller in Arizona, whose mother was an avid antique collector. I've been keeping an eagle eye out for early beaded needle books since finding a marvelous one with a house and the phrase "remember me" on it months ago -- these types of examples, hand-beaded with tiny tiny glass seed beads, date to the first half of the 19th century and are scarce--but now this is the third I've turned up. And what a charmer--rose bud on one side, colorful sprig of flowers on the other, and then, surprise, another full beaded design shimmering away inside with diamond pattern at the center. With several colorful woolen pages for holding needles, and best of all to me, stick pins spelling out HOPE on one side, 1839 on another, and what I take for a name or monogram on a third, looking now like JSSS but I may be reading it the wrong way up, and certainly a few pins have been lost along the way. Spelling out words and names in pins is something one sometimes sees on early pin cushions, another marvelous thing to watch for!
2 1/2" x 2" x 1/2" when closed. Very good condition for being nearly 200 years old, a miraculous survivor. Some losses to the wool pages and a bit of bead loss here and there, but overall very good condition, sound and stable and not fragile to handle.