Tomasli is a surname. Lande is a Village in Norway. It could have been the person who made it, or even the person who owned it. I am not aware if it is a brand name. Be careful buying used wheels for use. Often bits and pieces are missing on them, and would be difficult to replace and unless you purchase it from someone who actually spins, they may not be very up on what they're supposed to look like. Newer wheels in consignment shops are pretty common in Europe.......where there's sheep, there is wool. ;-)

To Terry69:

I have a spinning wheel made in Norway by V. Tomasli in approximately 1968 to 1970. It was only used briefly in a spinning class about that time so is just like new - one of the crafts I decided not to pursue. I cannot remember what I paid for it and am trying to find out what it is worth. If you like I can post a photo.

Sorry to dredge up an old thread but I too have got a wheel with V. Tomasli. Lande in the underside of the table. The name of my is "Norwegian Princess" so you might like to Google that and see if that is the same as your wheels. I haven't got much info on them or V. Tomasli sadly. I take it he was the maker though.

Knowing this is an ancient conversation, it is the only one I find on this subject as of yet.

Georgie, there seems to be some confusion here on this wheel by Tomasli.

I am unclear where you get the name, "Norwegian Princess" from here.

The wheel my wife has is a "Castle" wheel, not a "Norwegian" wheel. I am trying to track down information for my wife in regards to spare parts and the Norwegian wheel is a table wheel with the wheel and bobbin assembly in a horizontal configuration, while in the Castle style wheel, the orientation is vertical.

Can you provide pictures of the wheel and where the name is located?

If your intent is to present her with a spinning wheel to do actual spinning, make sure all the pasts are there. I've seen a number of spinning wheels that were suitable for decoration only because parts were missing.

Link: Upright-Castle-Princess?

This is my spinning wheel. She is an upright or Castle style wheel with inbuilt lazy kate from Norway.

Sold by Frank Herring and Sons in the UK. They would import these wheels on a very ad hoc basis from just one man named Tomasli in Norway; send him some money and six months later they would have a delivery of wheels. This was because he only made them in the winter when the fjords would close because of the snow, so he would spend his winters making spinning wheels. Unfortunately the gentleman passed in the 1980s and they were not carried since then obviously. And evidently he also sent shipments to the US where they dubbed the wheel the Norwegian Princess, whereas Frank Herring sold them as a Norwegian Upright. In 1970 when mine was bought, it was sold for £21 + £1 carriage (its written on the bottom of my wheel). In 1989 they were going for £199.

They are made of pine, but he had a knack for choosing the timber and constructing the wheels in such a way that when/if the pine warped, the whole wheel did at the same time at the same rate so they will always run true. She is a superb little wheel with only two ratios in the whorl, double drive, and I have spun everything from lace to aran on her so she is really very versatile.

I just bought one of these! Could you please tell me how to take the flyer off so i can replace the bobbin?

Hopefully you’ve already found your info, but if not: Viktor Tomasli crafted these castle wheels and they were sold under the name ”Norwegian Princess Wheel” in the US. He only made these wheels in the winter when the fjords closed due to snow. They were primarily sold in Norway and the UK (by Frank Herring and Sons who sold them under the name of Norwegian Upright). They were made out if pine (not typical due to warping), and crafted so that the different parts would warp collectively thus keeping the wheel true. There will most likely be a number underneath/between the two pieces that support the mother-of-all. This is speculated to be order of build and most likely differs in the UK and the US, as there have been the same numbers recorded in these locations, but never yet in the same. The maker passed in the 1980s.