Nerylla Taunton

Initially a collector, before owning a successful antique business in Sydney, Australia, Nerylla was acknowledged as a world class expert in the field of antique needlework implements, ladies’ fashion accessories, lace and embroidery.

For many years Nerylla wrote and lectured throughout the world on needlework topics. A guest lecturer for conventions held by the Dorset Thimble Society in England, Thimble Collectors International in the USA, as well as the Australian Needlework Tools Collectors Society.

‘Antique Needlework Tools and Embroideries’ is the culmination of a lifetime of learnings, and is considered the ‘bible’ and an indispensable reference on the subject. This book answers the many questions posed by collectors and enthusiasts of antique needlework tools, and is of equal interest to social historians and those in the trade.

Published in 1997. ISBN = 1-85149-253-4

Needlework tools have been a necessity ever since early humans first fashioned primitive garments. With over twenty years of first hand experience Nerylla’s book comprehensively examines the development of these tools from the seventeenth century until the Edwardian era.

Nerylla was a regular contributor to various specialist journals and is the co-author of ‘Chatelaines - Utility to Glorious Extravagance’, also published by the Antique Collectors Club, UK.

Nerylla died in 1998, and is much missed.