This unusual W. Crowley & Sons Thyra crochet hook was later branded as Roma by Abel Morrall after Abel Morrall acquired W. Crowley and its patents.
Crochet needles and hooks were first made in England around Redditch about 1850 by individuals and families as part of a small cottage industry. There were a lot of companies and brands and they changed rapidly as generations changed, family and companies joined through marriage, etc. Over time, sole proprietorships and small companies consolidated into larger and larger companies. Brands with good name recognition were often used by acquiring companies to keep up sales. Knowing a company name, its dates of operation and its brands can help date a crochet hook, but the task of keeping the names and brands sorted is daunting. I’ve made a start at sorting it out by making tables for Company Family Tree for Redditch Crochet Hook Makers and Independent Crochet Hook Makers in Redditch Area. Please use the information as approximate data only the quality of the documentation varies. Some information is reliable being taken from sources like legal documents. Other data is from much less reliable records like family genealogies.
