Ermine Hand Warmer with Cream Lining

Description

Measuring 18cm x 20cm this fur hand warmer or muff is made from Ermine, also known as European Stoat.  In Australia the closest we have to an ermine is a ferret.  Ermine are endemic to most parts of Western & Eastern Europe.  They are brown in colour with the tip of their tail being black.  In Winter their brown coats turn white, so they blend in with the snow.  Only the tip of their tail remains black.  Because there are only a few months per year that they are this pure white colour, white ermine are much harder to find, making this hand warmer a harder to come by vintage fashion item.  Especially since it is made from nine ermine.  It has been lined with a cream coloured silk or silk like fabric.  The note that will come with this hand warmer written on a card embossed with the letter C reads “All oddments should have notes!  This muff is coated with ermine.  I carried it on my wedding day February 16th, 1963.  It was a cold day – snow was melting.”  One can assume that the wedding took place in Europe 60 years ago.