Hi,
I hope someone can help. A friend of mine recently came back from clearing an elderly lady’s house with these two items. She’s tried google without any luck. They feel like they are made of bone or ivory. With the arc in it, it sits in my hand comfortably, with my index finger on it. They’re about 15cm long and 2cm wide.
They look like they could be bone folders for making sharp creases in paper. I have a modern plastic one that’s about the same size. 
It could be. It feels like only the narrow end has been used for pressing or folding.
Corset bones?! Often made from whale bone apparently.
Maybe? It is probably whale bone. They feel like they’ve were used for pressing something. Paper or seems on clothes?
My vote would be for creasing paper - did the lady do bookbinding?
I’m not sure @HelenCliffordArt I’ll have to find out x
My money would be on bone folders for creasing paper too.
I think they are stiffeners for the old fashioned Victorian men’s shirts. You then button a collar onto them.
Covered Victorian fashion in a course years ago and they have these on display in the V & A
Are they bone creasers for card making/boxes etc etc…I bought a couple last year and they are similar…did she do paper crafting?
Oh…never thought of those and if they are from an elderly lady it does sound more likely.
Thanks Caroline, I’ll mention that to my friend.
Yes that’s what I thought !
I suspect they may be.
Thanks for your help everyone xx
I am sure I remember seeing something like this when I was little and I would side with the idea that they are something to do with sewing or corsets as I think they were in my Mum’s sewing box
I agree with Caroline that they are what we’re fitted into collars
Thanks Brenda, they were found with the old lady’s sewing things. My friend and I were wondering if they were like a seem presser, what we would use an iron for now?
It could be Karen. They do feel like they were used by female hands. They just sit too well in my hand, like the bone pressers people mentioned previously.
When I saw them, I thought straight away that they were collar stiffeners.
