This afternoon I came across a footnote in an 1857 speech about the
invention of the steel needle.  I've not heard the following before
and have a two part question.

"The Nedro and the Needle.  It in not generally known that for the
orgin of the needle manufacture we are indebted to the negro.  the
earliest record of needle making in England is in the year 1545, in
the reign of Henry VIII, and it is supposed that this useful brand of
industry, was introduced BY A MOOR from Spain.  The historian Stowe
tells us that needles were sold in Cheapside and other busy streets in
London in the reign of Queen Mary, and were at the time made by a
Spanish negro, who refused to discover the secret of his art.  Another
authority states that the art of making steel needles was lost at the
negro's death, but was afterwards revived by a German in 1566. 
Probably these facts may account for the crest of the needle makers'
coat of arms being the head of a negro. - American Paper.

My two questions are:

1.  Can you supply another reference to this claim that a Moor
invented or made steel needles?  (I'm assuming this was a needle like
our sewing needle, but this is only an assumption!)

2.  Is there such a thing as a needle makers' coat of arms?  Is there
an image of one online?

Thanks!

Several online sources say that the first steel needles were brought
to England from Spain during the reign of King Henry VIII (whose first
wife, Catherine of Aragon, was Spanish). Spain, and specifically Moors
from Spain, are often mentioned in connection with the introduction of
steel needles to England. Below I've gathered excerpts from several
online articles on the subject. You may want to read these articles in
their entirety; they should be of interest to anyone with an interest
in the history of sewing implements.

"Until Tudor times at least, the bronze needles used in England were
made by individual craftsmen, 'needlers', in various parts of the
country, and needle-making was one of the industries practised in
English monasteries before the Reformation. It is unlikely that they
ever made steel needles, or even knew of them; those made were from
lengths of bronze wire...

The steel needle originated in China some centuries BC, and the
manufacture of needles from steel spread to the Near East. From
Damascus, long famous for its work in steel, this knowledge was
carried by the Moors into Spain, where during the Middle Ages Cordoba
became a great needle-making centre. From there it passed slowly to
the rest of Europe. During the 16th century steel needles, known as
'Spanish needles', were introduced into England. Katherine of Aragon,
who arrived here with her train in the opening years of the 16th
century and was renowned for her interest in needlework, no doubt
brought with her a supply of steel needles from her native land."

Sealed Knot Knowledge Base: Pins and Needles
http://www.sealedknot.org/knowbase/docs/0010_PinsNeedles.htm

"In the early Middle Ages steel needles were introduced into Europe by
the Moors. Steel needles were first produced in England in 1545. The
cases in which these needles were kept usually hung from the girdle by
a cord."

The Millinery by Michelle: Pins, Needles, and Thimbles
http://www.bymichelle.com/HistoricalNotes.html#Pins%20Needles

"Needles of steel were first made in Spain, perhaps by the cunning
artificers who forged the famed Toledo blades. These Spanish
needle-makers supplied Europe and Western Asia, and introduced their
wares into England during the reign of 'good Queen Bess'; but the wily
Spaniards kept the art a secret until 1650. About this time
Christopher Greening of Buckinghamshire, England, discovered the
process, and established the manufacture of needles in his native
land, where it has been an important industry for more than 200 years;
and all the stitching of the world might, even at the present day,
have been done with English hand-sewing needles, had not that Yankee
genius Elias Howe evolved from his teeming brain the mechanical
combination known as the sewing machine."

International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society: The Art of Needle
Making
http://www.ismacs.net/articles/needle.shtml

"The Making Of Needles 
 From The Encyclopaedia Britiannica, circa 1797 
Needles were first made in England by a native of India, but the art
was lost at his death; it was, however, recovered by Christopher
Greening in 1560."

Wooded Hamlet Designs: The Making of Needles
http://www.woodedhamlet.com/howto_advice/needle_making.htm

"I have here before me The Century Book of Facts, Standard Edition,
copyright 1906, collated and edited by Henry W. Ruoff, M.A., D.C.L...
Flipping through its pages, I will take the liberty of sharing a few
random discoveries...

The making of Spanish needles was first taught in England by Elias
Crowse, a German, about the eighth year of Queen Elizabeth, and in
Queen Mary's time there was a negro who made fine Spanish needles in
Cheapside, London. At his death the secret of fabrication was lost,
and not recovered again till 1566."

Everything2: Old Encyclopedias
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=Old%20encyclopedias

"In the Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, there is a blurb about a
needlemaker in the cheapside who would take no apprentices in order to
have no competition.  He made needles in spanishe style, and he was
also a black man."

Florilegium: Blacks in medieval Europe
http://www.florilegium.org/files/CULTURES/blacks-msg.text

The book mentioned in the Florilegium quote above is available here:

Quite Specific Media: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S WARDROBE UNLOCK'D
http://www.quitespecificmedia.com/costume_and_fashion/queen_elizabeth_wardrobe.html

Regarding the matter of the needlemakers' coat of arms, the profile of
a Moor's head with a pearl earring is part of the crest of "The
Worshipful Company of Needlemakers." Unfortunately, I could not locate
an online image of the crest, but here you will find a description of
it, along with an image of the Needlemakers' coat of arms:

"THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF NEEDLEMAKERS 

 Arms: 
Vert three Needles in fess Argent each ducally crowned Or 

Crest: 
[Upon a Helm on a Wreath of the Colours] A Moor's Head couped at the
shoulders in profile proper wreathed about the temples Argent and
Gules vested round the shoulders Argent in his ear a Pearl also proper

Supporters: 
On the dexter side a Man and on the sinister side a Woman both proper
each wreathed round the waist with leaves of the last in the woman's
hand a Needle Argent

Motto: 
They Sewed Fig Leaves Together And Made Themselves Aprons"  

Heraldic Media: THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF NEEDLEMAKERS 
http://www.heraldicmedia.com/site/info/livery/livcomps/comp065a.html

Search terms used:

"needlemaker" "moor" OR "moorish" OR "spanish" OR "spain"
"needlemakers" "moor" OR "moorish" OR "spanish" OR "spain"
"needle maker" "moor" OR "moorish" OR "spanish" OR "spain"
"needle makers" "moor" OR "moorish" OR "spanish" OR "spain"
"needlemakers" "coat of arms"
"needlemakers" "crest"
"steel sewing needle" "history"
"steel needle" "history"

Thanks for asking a question that was truly fascinating to research!
If anything is unclear, or if a link does not function, please request
clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before you
rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

Thank you!  What wonderful sources.  I appreciate your complete response.

I'd like to bet that the Chinese got there first.

Otherwise how would they have performed acupuncture?

Thank you very much for the five-star rating and the tip! For someone
like me who finds 16th century England to be endlessly intriguing,
this was a really interesting search. My only problem is that now I
have an insatiable desire for the book "Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe
Unlock'd," which is quite expensive. ;-)

~pinkfreud