A mutton bone lace bobbin made as a souvenir commemorating the hanging of a murderer.
William Bull was executed in 1871 in Bedford for the drunken murder of an old lady called Sally Marshall to which he had admitted. He was 21.
The bobbin is drilled and coloured in a dark red with the letters spelling out-
'William Bull Hung 1871'
It is one of a small group of hanging bobbins known to exist.
NB. Lace making was a cottage industry using domestic animal bone and local soft woods not ivory.
Stock no. KY29