The Philadelphia Thimble Society meets two times a year, on the third Saturday of April and October.  We meet at the Marple Library in Broomall, PA (near Philadelphia) at 10 a.m.  Meetings usually last until about 2 p.m., with everyone bringing a bag lunch.  Desserts are provided by various members.

     The drawing area for the membership of the Philadelphia Thimble Society is Eastern Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. There are currently 50+ members of the Philadelphia Thimble Society.

The upcoming meeting 4/18/15 will have a new location due to construction at the Marple Library, details to come on a new location.

Thimble Collectors International

www.thimblecollectors.com

Thimble Collectors International (TCI) is one of the premier collector groups when it comes to providing information about thimble and needlework tool collecting. Our members receive our quarterly publication, TCI Bulletin. Our biennial convention features advanced learning opportunities from internationally acclaimed experts. Conventions are held in even years in different cities around the USA. We additionally promote  research  and  scholarship,  publishing  specialized  booklets  on  thimbles  and related needlework tools. We continue to strive towards a better understanding of the history of thimbles and needlework tools, the makers, the hallmarks and so much more. When you join TCI, you gain access to our Members Only portion of this site. You will be able to research a hallmark, view hundreds of high quality photographs of thimbles and needlework tools as well as find resources for advanced study. The enormous file devoted to fakes and reproductions will help you to avoid an expensive mistake.

	TCI encourages friendship and service among members who have formed or belong to regional and international thimble groups. We invite you to browse through our site and hope you will consider becoming part of our global membership. Meet collectors from around the world who have a similar interest.

The Founding of the Philadelphia Thimble Society

On February 12 1979, nine thimble collectors who had become acquainted through one another met to discuss the idea of starting a thimble group. It was a beautiful but cold winter day. Everyone was excited to see each other and talk thimbles, but especially at the prospect of forming a "thimble society" that would attract other collectors.

It was decided that the official name would be the Philadelphia Thimble Society.  Everyone was so involved in this exciting new venture that no one noticed the day had turned snowy with three to five inches of snow, on the ground when it was time to leave.  In remembrance of this day, the snowflake became the symbol of the Philadelphia Thimble Society.  On the Society's tenth anniversary a thimble with applied snowflakes around the band designed to commemorate that first meeting day, was commissioned of  Simons Brothers.

Early meetings were held in members' homes and as anticipated, many new collectors joined. It wasn't long before everyone realized the group had outgrown meeting in homes. After a trial period at  Marple Public Library in Broomall, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia), all agreed and this became the permanent meeting place of the Philadelphia Thimble Society.

In August 1984, the Philadelphia Thimble Society hosted the Thimble Collectors International Convention.  It was the first TCI convention where the group host planned and executed all phases of the convention.  Another noteworthy project was the researching and publishing of a booklet on Henry Muhr & Sons, a Philadelphia thimble manufacturer.