Full text of "History of lace"

ade Brussels

Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke

Henry AVrothesley, Third Earl of Southampton

Monument of I'lincess Sophia

., ., ,, Mary

Marv, Comitess of Pembroke .. .. ..

Elizabeth. Princess Palatine

Falling Collar of the 17th Century

Boots, Cuffs

English Needle-made Lace

•Fames HARRiNciTON

•Tames, the Old Pretender, and His Sister, Princess

Louisa
•ToHN La>v, the Paris Banker
Ripon

llvGLisH, Buckinghamshire, Bobbin Lace
lluekinghamshire Trolly
,. Point

Plate LXXIV

.. Fig. 117

.. ., 118

.. „ 119

Plate XXV

.. Fig. 120

Plate LXXVI

„ LXXVII

.. Fig. 121

Plate LXXVIII

.. Fig. 122

Figs. 123, 124

Plate LXXIX

„ LXXX

. . Fig. 125

.. „ 126

.. „ 127

Plate LXXXI

.. Fig. 128

Figs. 129, 130

.. Fig. 131
Plate LXXXIT

English. Northamptonshire, Bobbin Lace

Old Flemish

Old Brussels

•• Run " Lace. Newport Pagnell
English Point. Northampton ..
•• Baby '" Lace, Northampton ..

„ Reds

,. ' ,, Bucks ..
Wire Ground, Northampton ..
Valenciennes ,,

Regency Point, Bedford
Insertion,
Plaited Lace,
Raised Plait, ,,

English, Suffolk. Bobbin Lack
Englisli Needle-made Lace
HoNiTON ^VITH the Vrai Reseau ..
Bone Lace from Cap, Devonshire
^lonument of Bishop Stafford, Exeter Cathedral
Monument of Lad\- Doddridge ,,
Honiton. sewn on plain pillow ground

Plate LXXXIII

„ LXXXI V

.. Fig. 132

. . Plate LXXXV
.. Fig. 133
.. „ 134
.. ., 135
Plate LXXXVI
.. Fig. 136
.. „ 137
.. „ 138
.. „ 139

140

.. „ 141
„ 142
.. „ 143
.. „ 144
.. „ 145
.. „ 146
.. „ 147

, 148

Plate LXXXVII
.. Fig. 149
Plate LXXXVIII
.. Fig. 150
.. Fig. 151
.. „ 152
.. „ 158

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XVI

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Exeter

( )1(1 Devonshire

Honiton Guipure

Honeysuckle, Sprig of Modern Honiton

( )ld Devonshire Point . .

Lappet made by the late Mrs. Treadwin of

Venetian Relief in Point

English. — Devonshire. Fan made at J5eer for thj

Exhibition, 1900 .
Sir Alexander Gibson .
Scotch, Hamilton
Irish, Youghal
Irish,' Carriokmacross
Irish, Limerick Lace
Irish, Crochet Lace

Arms of the Framework Knitters' Company
The Lagetta, or Lace -bark Tree
Metre P. Quinty
Pattern Book, A^igsbuvg
Augsburg
Le Pompe, 1559
Manner of Pricking Pattern
Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1605
Monogram
"Bavari." from " Ornamento nobile " of Lucretia lloniim

I'AGE

Fig. 154 408

155 410

156 411

157 412

158 412

159 414
Paris

Plate LXXXIX 416

.. Fig. 160 424

.. „ 161 431

Plate XC 436

„ XCI 442

„ XCII 442

„ XCIII 446

.. Fig. 162 447

.. „ 163 456

Figs, 164, 165 460

.. 166, 167 462

168 463

169 473

170 486

171 492

172 492

173 498

HISTOEY OF LACE

oJS=>oo-

CHAPTER I.

NEEDLEWORK.

"As ladies v/ont
To finger the fine needle and nyse thread." — Faerie Qiiccne.

The art of lace-making has from tlie earliest times been
so interwoven with the art of needlework that it would be
impossible to enter on the subject of the present work with-
out P'ivino; some mention of the latter.

With the Egyptians the art of eml»roidery was general,
and at Bcni Hassan figures are represented making a sort of
net — " they that work in flax, and they that weave net-
work." ^ Examples of elaborate netting have been found in
Egyptian tombs, and mummy wrappings are ornamented
with drawn-work, cut-work, and other open ornamentation.
The outer tunics of the robes of state of important personages
appear to be fashioned of netw^ork darned round the hem
with gold and silver and coloured silks. Aniasis, King of
Egypt, according to Herodotus,^ sent to Athene of Lindus a
corslet with figures interwoven with gold and cotton, and to
judge from a passage of Ezekiel, the Egyptians even em-
broidered the sails of their galleys which they exported to
Tyre.'

' Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, Chilmad were thy merchants. These

vol. iii., p. 134. (See Illustration.) were thy merchants in all sorts of

- Herodotus, ii. 182 ; iii. 47. things, in blue cloths and broidered

^ Ezekiel, who takes up the cvy of works, and in chests of rich apparel."

lamentation for " Tyrus, situate at the Another part of the same chapter

entry of the sea," a merchant of the mentions galley sails of tine linen

people for manj- isles, exclaims, " The " with broidered work from Egypt." —

merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Ezekiel xxvii.

.2 HISTORY OF LACE

The Jewish enil )roiderei'.s, even in early times, seem to
have carried their art to a high standard of execution.
The curtains of the Tabernacle were of "fine twined linen
wrought with needlework, and blue, and purple, and scarlet,
with cherubims of cunning work." * Again, the robe of the
■ephod was of gold and blue and purple and scarlet, and fine
twined linen, and in Isaiah we have mention of women's
cauls and nets of checker-work. Aholiab is specially recorded
as a cunning workman, and chief embroiderer in blue, and
in purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen, ^ and the description
of the virtuous woman in the Proverbs, who " layeth her
hands to the spindle " and clotheth herself in tapestry, and
that of the king-'s dauo;hter in the Psalms, who shall be
" brought unto the king in a raiment of needlework," all
plainly show how much the art was appreciated amongst
the Jews.*^ Finally Josephus, in his Wars of the Jews,
mentions the veil presented to the Temple by Herod (b.c. 19),
a Babylonian curtain fifty cubits high, and sixteen broad,
emljroidered in blue and red, " of marvellous texture, repre-
sentino- the universe, the stars, and the elements."

bi the English Bible, lace is frequently mentioned, but
its meaning must be qualified by the reserve due to the use
of such a word in James I.'s time. It is pretty evident that
the translators used it to indicate a small cord, since lace for
•decoration would be more commonly known at that time as
purls, 'points, or cut-icorksJ

" Of lace amongst the Greeks we seem to have no evidence.
Upon the well-known red and black vases are all kinds ol
.figures clad in costumes which are bordered with ornamental
patterns, but these were painted upon, woven into, or em-
l)roidered upon the fabric. They were not lace. Many
•centuries elapsed before a marked and elaborately ornamental
•character infused itself into twisted, plaited, or lo(^ped thread-
work. During such a period the fashion of ornamenting
borders of costumes and hangings existed, and underw^ent a
few phases, as, for instance, in the Elgin marbles, where crimped

* Exodus xxvi. ; xxvii. ; xxxiv. 2 ; prey of divers colours of needlework,

Isaiah iii. 18 ; 1 Kin(=;s vii. 17. _, of divers colours of needlework on

■' Exodus xxxviii. 23. * both sides."— Judges v. 30.

^ Again, in the song of Deborah, the ' Cantor Lectures on the Art of

mother of Sisera says, " Have they not Lace-making. A. S. Cole (London,

•divided the prey? ... to Sisera a 1881).

NEEDLEWORK

edges appear along the flowing (Irecian dresses." Embroidered
garments^ cloaks, veils and cauls, and networks of gold are
frequently mentioned in Homer and other early authors.^

The countries of the Euphrates were renowned in classical
times for the beauty of their embroidered and painted stuffs
which they manufactured.^ Nothing has come down to us of
these Babylonian times, of which Greek and Latin writers
extolled the mao'nificence ; but we mav form some idea, from
the statues and fioures enoraved on cylinders, of what the
weavers and embroiderers of this ancient time were capable.^"
A fine stone in the British Museum is engraved with the
figure of a Babylonian king, Merodach-Idin-Abkey, in em-
l)roidered robes, w^hich speak of the art as practised eleven
hundred years B.C." Josephus writes that the veils given by
Herod for the Temple were of Babylonian work (TreTiXo?
^a.^vko)vio%) — the women excelling, according to Apollonius,
in executino; desio-ns of varied colours.

The Sidonian vromen brought by Paris to Troy embroidered
veils of such rich work that Hecuba deemed them worthy of
being offered to Athene ; and Lucan speaks of the Sidonian
veil worn by Cleopatra at a feast in her Alexandrine palace,
in honour of Csesar.^-

Phrygia was also renowned for its needlework, and from
the shores of Phrygia Asiatic and Babylonian embroideries
were shipped to Greece and Italy. The toga picta, worked
with Phrygian embroidery, was worn by Roman generals at
their triumphs and by the consuls when they celeljrated the
games : hence embroidery itself is styled " Phrygian," ^^

- At Athens the maidens who took
part in the procession of the Pana-
thenaea embroidered the veil or jjeplos
upon which the deeds of the goddess
were embroidered. The sacred peplos
borne on the mast of a ship rolled on
wheels in the Panathenaic festival
'• was destined for the sacred wooden
idol, Athene Polias, which stood on
the Erechtheus. This peplos was a
woven mantle renewed every five
years. On the gi-ound, which is
described as dark violet, and also as
saffron-coloured, was inwoven the battle
of the gods and the giants." (See
page 47, -Brtfis/i Museum Catalogue to
the Scul_ptures of the Parthenon.)

■' Plmy, Hist. Nat., viii. 74. '• Col-
ores divei'sos picturae iutexere Babylon
maxime celebravit et nomen im-
posuit."

^" Maspero, The Da am of Civilisa-
tion In Egypt and Chaldaea (ed. Prof.
Sayce) .

'^ Lefebiu'e, Enihrolderij and Lace
(trans. A. S. Cole).

'- Lucan, Pliarsalla, Book X.

'^ The Romans denominated such
embroideries ^/i;7/^io?)ay', and the em-
broiderer phryglo. Golden embroid-
eries were specified as aurlpthrijglum.
This word is the root of the French
oifroi (oi-freys).

B 2

4 HISTORY OF LACE

and tlie Romans knew it under no other name {opus-
Phryjjianum).^^

Gold needles and other working implements have been
discovered in Scandinavian tumuli. In the London Chronicle
of 1767 will be found a curious account of the opening of a
Scandinavian barrow near Wareham, in Dorsetshire. Within
the hollow trunk of an oak were discovered many l^ones
wrapped in a covering of deerskins neatly sewn together.
There were also the remains of a piece of gold lace, four
inches long and two and a half broad. This lace was black
and much decayed, of the old lozenge pattern/^ that most
ancient and universal of all designs, again found depicted on
the coats of ancient Danes, where the borders are edged with
an open or net-work of the same pattern.

Fig. 1.

CtOld Lack Found in a Bakkow.

Passing to the first ages of the Christian era, we find the
pontifical ornaments, the altar and liturgical cloths, and the
draperies then in common use for hanging between the colon-
nades and porches of churches all worked with holy images
and histories from the Holy AYrit. Rich men chose sacred
subjects to be embroidered on their dress, and one senator
wore 600 figures worked upon his robes of state. Asterius,
Bi.shop of Amasus, thunders against those Christians " who
wore the Gospels upon their backs instead of in their
hearts." ^^

In the Middle Ages spinning and needlework were the
occupation of women of all degrees. As early as the sixth

'■* Mi^. Palliser quotes an extract
from the author of Letters from Italy,
who, speaking of the cabinet at
Portici, mentions an elegant marble
statue of Diana " dressed after the
purple gowns worn by the Eoman
ladies ; the garment is edged with a

lace exactly resembHng point ; it is an
inch and a half broad, and has been
painted purple." By an English-
woman (Mrs. Millar) in the Aears
1770 and 1771 (London, 1777). ^ .

'■' Strutt.

'" Lefebure, Evihroidcry and Lace.

NEEDLEWORK 5

century the nuns in the diocese of St. ('esaire, Bishop of
Aries, were forbidden to embroider robes enriched with
paintings, flowers, and precious stones. This prohibition,
however, was not general. Near Ely, an Anglo-Saxon lady
brouc^ht tooether a number of maidens to work for the
monastery, and in the seventh century an Abbess of Bourges,
St. Eustadiole, made vestments and enriched the altar with
the work of her nuns. At the beginning of the ninth
century St. Viborade, of St. Gall, worked coverings for the
sacred books of the monastery, for it was the custom then
to wrap in silk and carry in a linen cloth the Gospels used
for the offices of the Church. ^^ Judith of Bavaria, mother of
C^harles the Bold, stood sponsor for the Queen of Harold,
King of Denmark, who came to Ingelheim to be baptised
with all his family, and gave her a robe she had worked with
her own hands and studded with precious stones.

" Berthe aux grands pieds," the mother of Charlemagne,
was celebrated for her skill in needlework, ^^

" a ouvrer si com je vous dirai
N'avoit meillov oiiAinere de Tours jusqn'a Cambrai ; "

while Charlemasfne ^^ —

" Ses filles fist bien doctriner,
Et aprendre keudre et filer."

Queen Adelhais, wife of Hugh Capet (987-996), presented to
the Church of St. Martin at Tours a cope, on the back of
which she had embroidered the Deity, surrounded by
seraphim and cherubim, the front being worked with an
Adoration of the Lamb of God.''°

Long before the Conquest, Anglo-Saxon women were
skilled with the needle, and ooro-eous are the accounts of the
gold-starred and scarlet-embroidered tunics and violet sacks
worked by the nuns. St. Dunstan himself designed the
ornaments of a stole worked by the hands of a noble Anglo-
Saxon lady, Ethelwynne, and sat daily in her bower with
her maidens, directing the work. The four daughters of

" Mrs. Bury Palliser, '• Embroid- manner of needlework (Lefebm-e, £;/<.-

ery," Encyclopcedia Britannica. broidery and Lace).

'^ St. Giselle, Berthe's sister, foun- '■' Chronique Bimec, by Philippe

ded many convents in Aquitaine and Mouskes.

Provence, and taught the nuns all -" Lefebnre, Einhroider ij and Lace.

6 HISTORY OF LACE

Edward tlie Elder are all praised for tlieir needle's skill.
Their father, sa}'s William of Malmesbuiy, had caused them
in childhood " to give their whole attention to letters, and
afterwards employed them in the Ial>ours of the distaff and
the needle." In 800 Denbert, Bishop of Durham, granted
the lease of a farm of 200 acres for life to an embroideress
named Eanswitha for the charge of scouring, repairing, and
renewing the vestments of the priests of his diocese.^^ The
Anglo-Saxon Godric, Sheriff of Buckingham, granted to
Alcuid half a hide of land as long as he should be sheriff on
condition she taught his daughter the art of embroidery. In
the tenth century iElfleda, a high-born Saxon lady, offered to
the church at Ely a curtain on w^hich she had wrought the
deeds of her husband, Brithnoth, slain by the Danes ; and
Edgitha, Queen of Edward the Confessor, was "perfect
mistress of her needle."

The famous Bayeux Tapestry or embroidery, said to
have been worked l>y Matilda, wife of William the Con-
queror, is of great historical interest. ^^ It is, according to the
chroniclers, " Une tente tres longue et estroite de telle a
broderies de ymages et escriptaux faisant representation du
Conquest de I'Angleterre " ; a needle-wrought epic of the
Norman Conquest, worked on a narrow band of stout linen
over 200 feet long, and containing 1,255 figures worked on
worsted threads.-' Mr. Fowke gives the Abbe Eue's doubts
as to the accepted period of the Bayeux tapestry, w^hich he
assigns to the Empress Matilda. Mr. Colling wood Bruce is
of opinion that the work is coeval with the events it records,
as the primitive furniture, buildings, etc., are all of the
eleventh century. That the tapestry is not found in any
catalogue before 1369 is only a piece of presumptive evidence
against the earlier date, and must be weighed with the
internal evidence in its favour.

After the Battle of Hastings AVilliam of Normandy, on

-' Mrs. Palliser, " Embroidery." En- of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (Lefebure) •

cyclojKiidia Britannica. ^^ Mr. Fowke states that the tradi-

-^ It has been suggested that the eui- tion which would make the tapestry
broidery was done by William's grand- the handiwork of Queen Matilda can-
daughter, the Empress Matilda, widow not be traced further back than 1803,
in 1125 of Henry V., Emperor of Ger- when the tapestry was sent to Paris
many, and wife, by her second marriage, for exhibition.

NEEDLEWORK y

liis first appearance in public, clad himself in a richly-wrought
cloak of Anglo-Saxon embroidery, and his secretary,.
William of Poictiers, states that " the English women are
eminently skilful with the needle and in weaving."

The excellence of the English work was maintained as
time went on, and a proof of this is found in an anecdote
preserved by Matthew of Paris.'* " xVbout this time (1246)
the Lord Pope (Innocent IV.) having observed the
ecclesiastical ornaments of some Englishmen, such as
choristers' copes and mitres, were embroidered in gold
thread after a very desirable fashion, asked where these
works were made, and received in answer, in England.
' Then,' said the Pope, ' England is surely a garden of
delights for us. It is truly a never-failing spring, and there,,
where many things abound, much may be extracted.'
Accordingly, the same Lord Pope sent sacred and sealed
briefs to nearly all the abbots of the Cistercian order
established in England, requesting them to have forthwith
forwarded to him those embroideries in gold which he preferred
to all others, and with which he wished to adorn his chasuble
and choral cope, as if these objects cost them nothing," an
order which, adds the chronicler, " was sufficiently pleasing
to the merchants, but the cause of many persons detesting
him for his covetousness."

Perhaps the finest examples of the opus anglicanum extant
are the cope and maniple of St. Cuthbert, taken from his
coffin in the Cathedral of Durham, and now preserved in
the Chapter library. One side of the maniple is of gold lace
stitched on, worked apparently on a parchment pattern.
The Syon Monastery cope, in the Victoria and Albert
Museum, is an invaluable example of English needlework of
the thirteenth century. " The greater portion of its design is
worked in a chain-stitch (modern tambour or crochet),
especially in the faces of the figures, where the stitch
begins in the centre, say, of a cheek, and is then worked in
a spiral, thus forming a series of circular lines. The texture-
so obtained is then, by means of 'a hot, small and round-
knobbed iron, pressed into indentations at the centre of each
spiral, and an effect of relief imparted to it. The general

Matt. Par., Hist. AvgL, p. 473, Edit. Parit:, 1644.

•8

HISTORY OF LACE

practice was to work the draperies in feather-stitch {Qpns
plumainum).'' -^

In the tenth century the art of pictorial embroidery
had become universally spread. The inventory of the Holy
See (in 1293) mentions the embroideries of Florence,
Milan, Lucca, France, England, Germany, and Spain, and
throughout the Middle i\,ges embroidery was treated as a
•fine art, a serious branch of painting.^® In France the
fashion continued, as in England, of j^roducing groups,
figures and portraits, but a new development was given to
floral and elaborate araljesque ornament. '"^^

It v/as the custom in feudal times ^^ for knightly families
to send their daughters to the castles of their suzerain lords,
there to be trained to spin, weave and embroider under the
eye of the lady chatelaine, a custom which, in the more
primitive countries, continued even to the French Revolution.
In the French romances these young ladies are termed
" chambrieres," in our English, simply " the maidens." Great
ladies prided themselves upon the number of their
attendants, and passed their mornings at work, their
labours beguiled by singing the " chansons a toile," as
the ballads written for those occasions were termed.^'"'

-'' Mrs. Palliser, " Embroidery," jB«-
c7jcIop(fdia Britannica.

^^ At Verona an artist took t%\'enty-
six years to execute in needlework the
life of St. John, after the designs of
Pollajuolo.

^" " Gaston, Duke of Orleans, es-
tablished hot-houses and botanical
gardens, which he filled with rare
exotics to supply the needle with
new forms and richer tints " (Lefe-
bure) .

^* We read, for instance, that Gabri-
elle de Bourbon, wife of Louis de la
Tremouille, " jamais n'estoit oyseuse,
mais s'employoit une partie de la
journee en broderies et autres menus
ouvrages appartenant a telles dances,
et y occupoit ses demoyselles dont
avoit bonne quantite, et de grosses,
riches, et illustres maisons." — Pane-
gyric (le Lays dc la Trniioille par
Jean Boucliet.

Again Vecellio dedicates his
*' Corona" to Signora Nanni, not only
-on account of the pleasure she takes

in works of the needle, but for " il
diletto che prende in fame essercitar
le donne de casa sua, ricetto delle
pin virtuose giovani che hoggidi vivono
in questa citta."

" It is usual here," writes a ladj'
from Madrid in 1679, " for good families
to put their daughters to ladies, by
whom they are employed to embroider
in gold and silver, or various colours,
or in silk, about the shift, neck, and
hands."

29 u J JQj, gg^ gg chambre sonpere,
Une estole et i amict pere,
De soie et d'or molt soutilment,
Si i fait ententivement
Mainte croisette et mainte estoile,
Et dist ceste chancon a toile."

— Roman cle la Violette.
" One day, seated in her father's
room, she was skilfully working a
stole and amict in silk and gold, and
she was making in it, with great care,
many a little cross and many a little
star, singing all the wliile this chanson
a toile."

NEEDLEWORK 9

In the wardrobe accounts of our kings appear constant
entries of working materials purchased for the royal ladies. ■'"
There is preserved in the cathedral at Prague an altar-cloth
of embroidery and cut-work worked by Anne of Bohemia,
(^ueen of Richard II.

Durino- the Wars of the Roses, when a duke of the
blood royal is related to have begged alms in the streets
of the rich F'lemish towns, ladies of rank, more fortunate
in their education, gained, like the French emigrants of
more modern days, their subsistence b}'' the products of their
needle. ^^

AVithout wishing to detract from the industry of
media3val ladies, it must be owned that the swampy state
of the country, the absence of all roads, save those to be
traversed in the fine season by pack-horses, and the de-
ficiency of all suitable outdoor amusement but that of
hawkino;, caused them to while away their time within
doors the best way they could. Not twenty years since,
in the more remote provinces of France, a lady who
quitted her house daily would be remarked on. " EUe sort
beaucoup," folks would say, as though she were guilty of
dissipation.

So queens and great ladies sewed on. We hear much of
works of adornment, more still of piety, when Katharine of
Aragon appears on the scene. She had learned much in her
youth from her mother. Queen Isabella, and had probably

^'- In one of Edward I. we find a
cliarge of eight shillings for silk bought
for the embroidery work of iMargaret,
the King's daughter, and another for
four ounces of silk, two hundred ounces
of gold thread, a spindle, etc. — Liher
de Oarderoba, 23 Edw. I., Public
Eecord Office.

In one of Edward III. the sum of
^2 7s. 2d. is expended in the piu'chase
of gold thread, silk, etc., for his second
daughter .Toanna. — Liber Garderobae,
12-16 Edw. III.. Public Record Office,

Elizabeth of York worked much at
her needle. In the account of her
household, preserved in the Public
Piecord Office, every page of which is
signed by Queen Elizabeth herself, we
find—

" To Evan Petreson joiner, for the

stuff and making of 4 working stools
for the Queen ; price of the stool 16
pence — 5s. Ad.

" To Thomas Fissch, for an elne of
linen cloth for a saniplar for tlie
queen, 8c?."

In the Inventory 4 Edward VI.,
1552 (Harl. MSS. No. 1419), are entries
of—

" Item, XII. samplars " (p. 419).

" Item, one samplar of Normandie
canvas, wrought with green and black
silk" (p. 524).

" A book of parchment containing
diverges patternes " (p. 474), probably
purchases for his sisters.

^' See, for instance, the interesting
accoinit of the Countess of Oxford,
given by Miss Strickland in her Life
of Queen Elizabeth of Yoi-k.

lo HISTORY OF LACE

assisted ^it those "trials" of needlework '" established hy
that virtuous queen among the Spanish ladies : —

" Her days did pass
In working with the needle curiously." ^^

It is recorded how, when Wolsey, with the papal legate
Campeggio, going to Bridewell, begged an audience of Queen
Katharine, on the subject of her divorce, they found her at
work, like Penelope of old, with her maids, and she came to
them with a skein of red silk about her neck.^"^

(^ueen Mary Tudor is supposed, by her admirers, to have
followed the example of her illustrious mother, though all we
find among the entries is a charge " to working materials for
Jane the Fole, one shilling."

No one would suspect Queen Elizabeth of solacing herself
with the needle. Every woman, however, had to make one
shirt in her lifetime, and the " Lady Elizabeth's grace," on
the second anniversary of Prince Edward's birth, when only
six years of age, presented her brother with a cambric smock
wrought by her own hands.

The works of Scotland's Mary, who early studied all
female accomplishmepts under her governess, Lady Fleming,

^'- These are alluded to in the dia- Queen Elizabeth, 3 & 4, Public liecord

logvie between industria and Ignavia, Office, we have "sixteen yards of Spanish

as given in 8ibmacher's " Modelbuch," work for ruffs."

1601 (French translation) : "Lavieille "Twelve tooth cloths, with the

dame raconte I'histoire des concours Spanish stitch, edged witli gold and

de travail a I'aiguille chez les anciens silver bone lace." — Ihuh Eliz. 5 & 6.
Espagnols ; comme Isabelle, femme de The Spanish stitch appears in France

Ferdinand, a hautement estime les tra- with Henry II., 1557. •" Pour la facon

vaux de I'aiguille." d'ung gaban avec ung grant collet

The " Spanish stitch," so often men- chamarrez al'Espaignolledepassement

tioned, was brought in by Katharine, blanc," etc. — Comjjtes de V Argent icr

on her marriage with Prince Arthur, da. Boy. Archives Nat. K. K. 106.
in 1501. We have constantly in her ■" Taylor, the Water Poet, KafJia-

wardrobe accounts sheets and pillow- rine of Aragon.

beres, " wrought with Spanish work of ^* The industry of Henry's last queen

black silk at the edge." was as great as that of his first. Speci-

In the Inventory of Lord Monteagle, mens still exist at Sizergh Castle,

1528 (Public Eecord Office, are " eight Westmoreland, of Katharine Parr's

partlets, three garnished with gold, the needlework — a counterpane and a toilet

rest witli Spanish work." cover. An astrologer, who cast her

In 1556, among the New Year's gifts nativity, foretold she would be a queen ;

presented to Queen Mary Tudor, most so when a child, on her mother requir-

of the smocks are ' ' wrought with black ing her to work, she would exclaim , ' ' My

silk, Spanish fashion." hands are ordained to touch crowns

In the Great Wardrobe Accounts of and sceptres, not needles and spindles."

NEEDLEWORK

1 1

are too well known to require notice. In her letters are
constant demands for silk and other working materials
wherewith to solace her long captivity. She had also studied
under Catherine de ]\le'dicis, herself an unrivalled needle-
w^oman. who had l)rouo;ht over in her train from Florence
the designer for embroidery, Frederick Vinciolo. xA,ssembling
her daughters, Claude, Elizabeth and ]\Iargaret, with Mary
Stuart, and her Guise cousins. " elle passoit," says Brantome^
" fort son temps les apres-disnees a besogner apres ses
ouvrages de soye, oil elle estoit tant parfaicte cju'il estoit
possible." '^"^ The ability of Eeine M argot '^"^ is sung by Eonsard,
who exalts her as imitating Pallas in the art.^^

Many of the great houses in England are storehouses of
old needlework. Hatfield, Penshurst, and Knole are all filled
with the handiwork of their ladies. The Countess of Shrews-
bury, better known as " Building Bess," Bess of Hardwick^
found time to emljroider furniture for her palaces, and her
samplar patterns hang to this day on their walls.

Needlework was the daily employment of the convent.
As early as the fourteenth century ^"^ it was termed " nun's
work " ; and even now, in secluded parts of the kingdom,
ancient lace is styled by that name.^''

Nor does the occupation appear to have been solely

^^ Dames Illustrcs.
^® The " Eeine des Marguerites," the
learned sister of Francis I., was not
less accomplished with her needle, and
entries for working materials appear
in her accounts up to the year of her
death, 1549.

" Trois marcs d'or et d'argent fournis
par Jehan Danes, pour servu" aux
ouvraiges de ladicte dame." — Livre de
(lepenses dc Marguerite d'A»gouleme,
par le Comte de la Ferriere-Percy.
Paris. 1862.

^^ " Elle addonoit son courage
A faire maint bel ouvrage
Dessus la toile, et encor
A joinch-e la soye et I'or.
Vous d'un pareil exercise
Mariez par artiiice
Dessus la toile en maint trait
L'or et la soie en pourtrait."
— Ode a la Royne de Navarre, liv. ii.,
od. A'ii.

^* 1380. " (Euvrede nonnain." — I)i'
ventaire de Charles V.

3SI a ]\/[y grandmother, who had other
lace, called this" (some needlepoint)
•' nvin's work." — Extract from a letter
from the Isle of Man, 1862.

" A butcher's wife showed Miss

O a piece of Alencon point, which

she called ' nun's work.' " — Extract
from a letter from Scotland, 1863.

1698, May. In the London Ga-
zette, in the advertisement of a sale
by auction, among other " rich goods,"
we find '• mm's work," but the term
here probably applies to netting, for in
the Protestant Post Boy of March
15th, 1692, is advertised as lost "' A
nun's work piu'se wrought with gold
thread."

1763. In the Edinhurgh Adver-
tiser appears, " Imported from the
Grand Canaries, into Scotland, nun's
work."

HISTORY OF LACE

confined to women. We find monks commended for their
skill in embroidery/" and in the frontispieces of some of the
early pattern books of the sixteenth century, men are
represented working at frames, and these books are stated
to have been written " for the profit of men as well as of
women/^ Many were composed by monks, ^'' and in the
lil^rary ^^ of St. Genevieve at Paris, are several works of this
class, inherited from the monastery of that name. As these
books contain little or no letterpress, they could scarcely have
been collected by the monks unless with a view to using them.

At the dissolution of the monasteries, the ladies of the
Q-reat Roman Catholic families came to the rescue. Of the
widow of the ill-fated Earl of Arundel it is recorded : " Her
Q-entle women and chambermaids she ever busied in works
ordained for the service of the Church. She permitted none
to be idle at any time." ^*

Instructions in the art of embroidery were now at a
premium. The old nuns had died out, and there were none
to replace them.

Mrs. Hutchinson, in her Memoirs, enumerates, among the
eight tutors she had at seven years of age, one for needlework,
while Hannah Senior, about the same period, entered the
service of the Earl of Thomond, to teach his daughters the
use of their needle, with the salary of £200 a year. The
money, however, was never paid ; so she petitions the Privy
Council for leave to sue him.^^

AVhen, in 1614, the King of Siam applied to King James
for an English wife, a gentleman of " honourable parentage "
offers his daughter, whom he describes of excellent parts for
" music, her needle, and good discourse." ^'^ And these are the
sole accomplishments he mentions. The bishops, however,

^" As, for instance, '• the imbrother-
ing " of the monks of the monastery of
Wolstrope, in Lincolnshire.

*' Livre de Lingerie. Dom. de Sera,
1581. " Donne, donzelle, con gU huo-
mini." — Taglienti, 1530. Patterns
which " les Seigneurs, Dames, et Da-
moiselles ont eu pour agreables." —
Vinciolo, 1587.

^^ Jehan Mayol, carine de Lyon ; Fra
Hieronimo, dell' Ordine dei Servi ; Pere
Dominique, religieux carme,and others.

*^ One in the Bibliotheque Imperiale
is from the " Monasterio St. Germani
a Pratis."

" He died in 1595. Lives of the
Earl and Countess of Arundel, from
the original MS. by the Duke of Nor-
folk. London, 1857.

*^ P. R. 0. Calendar of State Papers.
Domestic. Charles I. Vol. clxix. 12.

*^ P. R. O. Calendar of State Papers.
Colonial. No. 789.

Plate I.

Aegentan. — Showing buttonhole stitched
reseau and "brides bouclees."

Circular Bobbin Reseau. — Varietj'
of Mechlin.

pr^^^l^^Fj

Venetian Needle-point.
Portions of lace verv much enlarged to show details of stitches.

Til face pacte 12.

NEEDLEWORK 13.

shocked at the proceeding, interfered, and 2:)ut an end to the
projected alliance.

No ecclesiastical objection, however, was made to the
epitaph of Catherine Sloper — she sleeps in the cloisters of
"Westminster Abbey, 1620 : —

" Exquisite at her needle."

Till a very late date, we have ample record of the esteem
in which this art was held.

In the days of the Commonwealth, Mrs. Walker is
described to have been as well skilled in needlework "as if
she had been brought up in a convent." She kept, however,
a gentlewoman for teaching her daughters.

Evelyn, again, praises the talent of his daughter, Mrs.
Draper. " She had," writes he, " an extraordinary genius
for whatever hands could do with a needle."

The queen of Charles I. and the wives of the younger
Stuarts seem to have changed the simple habits of their royal
predecessors, for wdien Queen Mary, in her Dutch simplicity,
sat for hours at the knotted fringe, her fiivourite employment,
Bishop Burnet, her biographer, adds, " It was a strange thing
to see a queen work for so many hours a day," and her homely
hal)its formed a never-ending sul)ject of ridicule for the wit
of Sir Charles Sedlcy.*'

From the middle of the last century, or rather apparently
from the French Revolution, the more artistic style of needle-
work and embroidery fell into decadence. The simplicity of
male costume rendered it a less necessar}^ adjunct to female
or, indeed, male education. However, two of the greatest
generals of the Republic, Hoche and Moreau, followed the
employment of embroidering satin waistcoats long after they
had entered the military service. We may look upon the art
now as almost at an end.

*" See his epigram, "The lioyal " Who, when she rides in coach abroad
Knotter," about the queen. Is ah\ays knotting threads."

14 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER II.

CUT-WORK.

■•These workes belong chietly to geutlewoiuen to passe awa^- tlieir time in
vertiious exercises."

'• Et lors, sous vos lacis il uiille fenestrages
Eaiseuls et poinct eouppes et tous vos clairs onvvages."

— Ji'a]i (iodard, l;3cS,S.

It is from that open-work embroidery which in the sixteenth
century came into such universal use that we must derive
the origin of lace, and, in order to work out the subject, trace
it throuofh all its o-radations.

This embroidery, though comprising a wide variety of
decoration, went by the general name of cut-work.

The fashion of adorning linen has prevailed from the
earliest times. Either the edges were worked with close
embroidery — the threads drawn and fashioned with a needle
in various forms — or the ends of the cloth unravelled and
plaited with geometric precision.

To judge from the description of the linen grave-clothes
of St. Cuthbert,^ as given Ijy an eye-witness to his disinter-
ment in the twelfth century, they were ornamented in <a
manner similar to that we have described. '" There had
been," says the chronicler, " put over him a sheet . . . this
sheet had a fringe of linen thread of a finger's length ; upon
its sides and ends were woven a border of projecting
workmanship fabricated of the thread itself, bearing the
figures of birds and beasts so arranged that between e^"ery
two pairs there were interwoven among them the representa-
tion of a branching tree which divides the figures. This
tree, so tastefully depicted, appears to be putting forth its

^ Translated from the LihcUnK tic of Reginald, monk of J )urluiin, by liev.
Admirandis beati CutJihcrti M'nacnlia J. Rain. Durham, 1855.

Plate II.

Italian Bobbin JIkseau.

Six-pointed Star-meshed Bobbin Reseau.
— Variety of Valenciennes.

Brussels Bobbin Reseau.

Fond chant op Chantilly
AND Point de Paris.

Valenciennes. Lille.

Petails of Bobbin Rkseau and Toile.

Toile.

Alen^on reseau.

Details of Needle Reseau and Buttonhole Stitches.

Portions of lace very much enlarged to show details of stitches.

Til fare jKiiji- 14.

CUT- WORK 15

leaves/' etc. There can be no doubt that this sheet, for
many centuries preserved in the cathedral church of Durham,
was a specimen of cut-work, which, though later it came into
general use, was, at an early period of our history, alone
used for ecclesiastical purposes, and an art which w^s, till the
dissolution of monasteries, looked upon as a church secret.

Though cut-work is mentioned in Hardyng's Clironicle,'
when descri])ino^ the luxurv in Kino- Richard II. 's reign, he
says : —

" Cut werke was greate both in court and townes.
Both in nienes hoddis and also in their gownes,"

yet this oft-quoted passage, no more than that of C*haucer,
in which he again accuses the priests of wearing gowns of
scarlet and green colours ornamented with cut-work, can
scarcely be received as evidence of this mode of decoration
l)eing in general use. The royal wardrobe accounts of that
day contain no entries on the subject. It applies rather to
the fi\shion of cutting out ^ pieces of velvet or other materials,
and sewing them down to the garment with a braid like
ladies' work of the present time. Such garments were in
general use, as the inventories of mediaeval times fully attest.

The linen shirt or smock was the special object of adorn-
ment, and on the decoration of the collar and sleeves much
time and ingenuity were expended.

In the ancient ballad of " Lord Thomas," ^ the fair
Annette cries : —

" My maids, gae to my dressing-room,
And dress me in my smock ;
The one half is o' the Holland line,
The other o' needlework."

Chaucer, too, does not disdain to describe the embroidery
of a lady's smock —

" White was her sniocke, embrouded all before
And eke behynde, on her colar aboute.
Of cole blacke sylke, within and e]\e without."

The sums expended on the decoration of tliis most
necessary article of dress sadly excited the wTatli of

- Chronidc of .John Harclyng, circ. holes, so much dragging (zigzagging) of

1-170. sheers," etc. — Good Parson, Chaucer.

^ Temj-). Kich. II. In their garments * Percy, Bdiques of Ancient Poc-

" so niucli pouncing of chesell to make try, vol. iii.

HISTORY OF LACE

Stubhes, who thus vents hisin cligiiatioii : " These shirtes
(sometymes it happeneth) are wrought throughout with
needlework of silke, and such like, and curiously stitched
Avith open searne, and many other knackes besides, more than
1 can describe ; in so much, I have heard of shirtes that
have cost some ten shillynges, some twenty, some forty,
some five pounds, some twenty nobles, and (whi(^h is horrible
to heare) some ten pound a j)ece."^

Up to the time of Henry VIII. the shirt was " pynched "
or plaited —

" Come nere with j'our shirtes bordered and displayed,
In foarme of surplois.""

These, ^ with handkerchiefs,^ sheets, and pillow-beres,*
(pillow-cases), were embroidered with silks of various

•"' Anatomic of Abuses, by PhiHp
Stnbbes, 1583.

" The Shijp of Foh/s of the
Worhle, translated out of Latin by
Alex. Barclay, 1508.

' The inventories of all nations
abound in mention of these costly
articles. The " smocks " of Katharine
of Aragon " for to lay in," were
wrought about the collar with gold
and silk. Lord Monteagle, 1523, had
" two fine smocks of cambric wrought
with gold." (Inv. P. E. O.) Among
the New Year's Gifts offered to Queen
Mary Tudor by the Duchess of Somer-
set (1556), we find a smock wrought
over with silk, and collar and rufftes
of damask, gold purl, and silver. Again,
in the household expenses of Mar- .
guerite de France, 1545, we find a
charge of " 4 livres 12 sols, pour une
garniture de chemise ouvre de soye
cramoisie pour madicte dame." — (Bib,
Imp. MSB. Fonds Francois, 10,394.)
About the same date (G. W. A. Eliz. 1
& 2. 1558-59) appear charges for
lengthening one smocke of drawne
work, 20s. Six white smockes edged
witli white needlework lace, 10.s. To
()\ercasting and edging 4 smockes of
drawn work with ruffs, wristbands, and
collars, three of them with black work,
and three of them with red, etc. At
the funeral of Henrj' II. of France,
1559, the effigy was described as attired

in " une chemise de toile de Hollande,
bordee au col etaux manchesd'ouvraige
fort excellent." — Godefroy, Le Cere-
•monial de France, 1610.

* See France.

•' The pillow-bere has always been
an object of luxury, a custom not yet
extinct in France, where the " tales
d'oreiller, brodees aux armes," and
trimmed with a rich point, form an
important feature in a modei'n trous-
seau. In the inventory of Margaret
of Austria, the gentle governess of the
Low Countries, are noted —

" Quatre toyes d'oraillers o\i\Tees
d'or et de soye crainoysie et de verde.

"Autres quatres toyes d'oraillers
faites et ouvrees d'or et de soj'e bleu
a losanges qui ont -estees donnees a
Madame par dom Diego de Cabrera."
— Corr. de V Emfercur Maximilien I.
et de Marguerite d'Autriche, par M.
Leglay. Paris, 1839,

Edward VI. has (Harl. MSS. 1419)
" 18 pillow-beres of hollande with brode
seams of silk of sundry coloured needle-
work." And again, " One pillow-bere
of fine lioUande wrought with a brode
seam of Venice gold and silver, and
silk nedlework."

And Lady Zouche presents Queen
Elizabeth, as a New Year's gift, with
" One pair of pillow-beares of Holland
work, \\rouglit witli black silk drawne
work." — Nichol's Ji'nifal Progresses,

cur- WORK 17

colours, until the fashiou gradually gave place to (-ut-vvork,
which, in its turn, was superseded by lace.

The description of the widow of John Whitcomb, a
wealthy clothier of Newbury, in Henry VIII. 's reign, w^hen
she laid aside her weeds, is the first notice we have of cut-
work being in general use. " She came," says tl^e writer,
"out of the kitchen in a fair train gown stuck full of silver
pins, having a white cap upon her head, with cuts of curious
needlework, the same an apron, white as the driven snow."

We are now arrived at the Renaissance, a period when
so close a union existed between the fine arts and
manufactures ; when the most trifling object of luxury,
instead of being consigned to the vulgar taste of the
mechanic, received from artists their most graceful inspira-
tions. Eml^roidery profited by the general impulse, and
books of designs were composed for that species which, under
the general name of cut- work, formed the great employment
for the women of the day. The volume most generally
circulated, especially among the ladies of the French court,
for whose use it was designed, is that of the Venetian Vinciolo,
■ to whom some say, we know not on what authority, Catherine
de Medicis granted, in 1585, the exclusive privilege of
making and selling the collerettes gaudronnees ^° she had
herself introduced. This work, which passed through many
editions, dating from 1587 to 1623, is entitled, " Les
singuliers et nouveaux pourtraicts et ouvrages de Lingerie.
Servans de patrons a faire toutes sortes de poincts, couppe,
Lacis & autres. Dedie a la Royne. Nouvellement
inventez, au proffit et coutentement des nobles Dames et
Demoiselles & autres gentils esprits, amateurs d'un tel art.
Par le Seigneur Federic de Vinciolo Venitien. A Paris.
Par Jean le Clerc le jeune, etc., 1587."

Two little figures, representing ladies in the costume of
the period, with working-frames in their hands, decorate the
title-page."

The work is in two books : the first of Point Coupe,* or

'" Goderonne — goudronne, incor- 1588. II avait une fraise empesee et

rectly derived fi-om pitch (goudron), godronnee a gros godrons, au bout de

has no relation to stiffness or starch, laquelle il y avoit de belie et grande

but is used to designate the fluted dentelle, les ruanchettes estoient gou-

pattern so much in vogue in the six- dronnees de mesme.

teen th century— the" gadrooned" edge "They are introduced into the

of silversmiths. Title page of this work.

HISTORY OF LACE

rich geometric patterns, printed in white upon a Hack ground
(Fig. 2) ; the second of Lacis, or subjects in squares (Fig. 3),
with counted stitches, like the patterns for worsted-work of
the present day — the designs, the seven planets, Neptune,
and various squares, borders, etc.

Vinciolo dedicates his book to Louise de Vaudemont,
the neglected Queen of Henry III., whose portrait, with that
of the king, is added to the later editions.

Various other pattern-books had already been published.

Ficr. 2.

Point Coupe.— (Vinciolo.)

The earliest bearing a date is one printed at Cologne in
1527.''

These books are scarce ; being designed for patterns, and
traced with a metal style, or pricked through, many perished
in the using. They are much sought after by the collector
as among the early specimens of wood-block printing. We
give therefore in the Appendix a list of those we find recorded,
or of which we have seen copies, observing that the
greater numl)er, though generally composed for one particular
art, may be applied indifferently to any kind of ornamental
work.

Cut-work was made in several manners. The first

'^ See Appendix.

Platk III.

Altar or Table Cloth of tine linen embroidered with gold tliread.'laid, and in satin stitches
on both sides. The cut out spaces are filled with white thread needle-point lace. The edging-
is alternated of white and gold thread needle-point lace. Probably Italian.
Late sixteenth century. — Victoria and AUiert Museum.

To face page IS.

CUT- WORK

consisted in arranging a network of threads upon a small
frame, crossing and interlacing them into various complicated
patterns. Beneath this network was gummed a piece of fine
cloth, called quintain,^^ from the town in Brittany where

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Ce Pelican contieiit en longueur 70 mailles et en hauteur 65.

it was made. Then, with a needle, the network was sewn to
the quintain by edging round those parts of the pattern
that were to remain thick. The last operation was to cut
away the superfluous cloth ; hence the name of cut-work.
The author of the Consolations aux Dames, 1620, in

'^ " Quintain, quintin, French

lawne." Randle Cotgrave. Diction-

arie of the French and English
tongues. 1611.

" 26 virges de Kanting pro sudariis
pro ille 47/8."— G. W. A. Charles II.,
1683-4.

C 2

HISTORY OF LACE

4iddi'essing the ladies, thus specially alludes to the custom
•of woi'king on quintain : —

" Vous n'eniployiez les soirs et les matins
A faconner vos grotesques quaintains,
O foils erreur — O despence excessive."

Again, the pattern was made without any linen at all ;
threads, radiating at equal distances from one common
•centre, served as a framework to others which were united to
them in squares, triangles, rosettes, and other geometric
forms, worked over with l)utton-hole stitch {point noiie),
forming in some parts open-work, in others a heavy
■compact embroidery. In this class may be placed the old
•conventual cut-w^ork of Italy, generally termed Greek lace,
and that of extraordinarv fineness and beauty which is
assigned to Venice. Distinct from all these geometric
•combinations was the lacis ^* of the sixteenth century, done
on a network ground [rheau), identical with the opus
■araneum or spider- work of continental writers, the " darned
netting " or modern Jilet brode a reprises of the French
•embroiderers.

The ground consisted of a network of square meshes,
-on which was worked the pattern, sometimes cut out of
linen and applique,''^ but more usually darned with stitches
like tapestry. This darning-work was easy of execution, and
the stitches being regulated by counting the meshes,^"
•effective geometric patterns could be produced. Altar-cloths,
baptismal napkins, as well as bed coverlets and table-cloths,
were decorated with these squares of net embroidery. In the
Victoria and Albert Museum there are several gracefully-

'* Lacis, espece d'ouvrage de fil ou
•<le sole fait en forme de filet ou de
veseuil dont les brins etaient entre-
lacez les uns dans les autres. — Diet.
<VAnt. Furefiere, 1684.

'^' Bele Prerie contenant differentes
sortes de lettres, etc., pour appliquer
sur le reseuil ou lassis. Paris, 1601.
See Appendix.

'° So, in the Epistle to the Reader,
in a Pattern-book for Cut-works (Lon-
don, J. Wolfe & Edward White, 1591),
the author writes of his designs : —

"All which devises are soe framed
in due proportion as taking them in
•order the one is formed or made by

the other, and soe proceedeth forward ;
whereby with more ease they may be
sewed and wrought in cloth, and keep-
ing true accompt of the threads, main-
taine the bewtey of the worke. And
more, who desyreth to bring the work
into a lesser forme, let them make tlie
squares lesse. And if gi-eater, then
inlarge them, and so may you worke
in divers sortes, either by stitch, pounc-
ing or pouldering upon the same as
you please. Alsoe it is to be understood
that these squares serve not only for
cut-workes, but alsoe for all other
manner of seweing or stitching." — (See
Appendix, No. 72).

CUT- WORK

•n

desigued borders to silk table-covers in this work, made both
of white and coloured threads, and of silk of various shades.
The ground, as we learn from a poem on lacis, affixed to the
pattern-book of " Milour Mignerak," ^' was made by beginning
a single stitch, and increasing a stitch on each side until the
required size was obtained. If a strip or long border was to^
be made, the netting was continued to its prescribed lengthy
and then finished off by reducing a stitch on each side till it
was decreased to one, as garden nets are made at the present-
day.

This plain netted ground was calkd reseau, rezel, rezeuil,^'^
and was much used for bed-curtains, vallances, etc.

In the inventory of Mary Stuart, made at Fotheringay,''"
we find, " Le lict d'ouvrage a rezel " ; and again, under the
care of Jane Kennethee, the " Furniture of a bedd of network
and Holland intermixed, not yet finished."

When the reseau was decorated with a pattern, it was
termed lacis, or darned netting, the ItaHan punfo ricauiato a
niaijl'ia quadra, and, comlnned with point-coupe, was much used
for bed -furniture. It appears to have been much employed
for church-work,^° for the sacred eml>lems. The Lamb and
the Pelican are frequently represented.^^

'■^ Pratique de V aiguille industrieuse
dii tres excellent Milour Matthias
MigneraJc, etc. Paris, 1605. See
Appendix.

"* The inventories of Charles de
Bourbon, ob. 1613, with that of his
wife, the Countess of Soissons, made
after her death, 1644 (Bib. Nat. MSS.
F. Fr. 11,426), alone prove how much
this rcseuil was in vogue for furniture
dTU'ing the seventeenth century.

" Item un pavilion de thoille de lin a
bende de reseuil blang et noir faict par
carel prise, vi. 1. t. (livres tournois).

" Item quatre pentes de ciel de
cotton blanc a carreaux.

" Item trois pentes de ciel de thoille
de lin a carreaux et raiseuil reconvert
avec le dossier pareil estoffe, et petit
carreau a point couppe garny de leur
frange, le fonds du ciel de thoille de
lin, trois custodes et une bonne grace et
vm dray) pareille thoille de lin a bandes
de reseuil recouvert . . . prise xviii.
1. 1." — Inv, de Charles de Boui-bon.

" Item une autre tapisserie de rezeuil
de thoile blanche en huit pieces con-

tenant ensemble Aingt aulnes on en-
viron sur deux aulnes trois quarts de
haute.

" Item une autre tenture de tapisserie
de rezeau tout de leine (lin) appliquee
sur de la toille blanche en sept pieces
contenant dix-huit aulnes de cours sur
trois aulnes de haute.

" Item trois pantes, fonds de dossier,
les deux fourreaux de piliers, la con-
verture de parade, le tout en point
couppe et toille.

" Item, une garniture de lict blanc,
faict par carre d'ouvrage de poinct
couppe, le tout garny avec la couverte
de pai'ade, prise la somme de soixante
livres tournois." — Inv. de la Comtessr
de Soissons.

'■' Dated 20 Feb., 1587. Now in the
Record Office, Edinburgh.

•-" 1781. " Dix-huit Pales de differ-
entes grandeurs, tons de toile garnis
tant de petite dentelle que de filet
brode." — Inv. de VEglise de S. Gervais.
Arch. Nat. L.L. 654.

2' Point and Pillow Lace, by A. M. S.
(London, 1899).

22 HISTORY OF LACE

In the inventory of iSir Jolm Foskewe (modern Fortescue),
Knight, time of Henry VII I., we find in the hall, "A
hanging of green saye, bordered with darning."

Queen Mary Stuart, previous to the l)irth of James I.
(1560), made a will, which still exists,^^ with annotations in
her own handwriting. After disposing of her jewels and
objects of value, she concludes by bequeathing " tons mes
ouvrages masches et collets aux 4 Maries, a Jean Stuart,
et Marie Sunderland, et toutes les filles " ; — " masches," ^^
with punti a maglia, l)eing among the numerous terms
applied to this species of work.

These " ouvrao^es masches " were doubtless the work of
Queen Mary and her ladies. She had learned the art at the
French court, where her sister-in-law, Reine Margot, herself
also a prisoner for many life-long years, appears to have
occupied herself in the same manner, for we find in her
accounts,^* " Pour des moulles et esguilles pourfaire rezeuil la
somme de iiii. L. tourn." And again, " Pour avoir monte
une fraize neufve de reseul la somme de X. sols tourn."

Catherine de Me'dicis had a bed draped with squares of
reseuil or lacis, and it is recorded that " the girls and
servants of her household consumed much time in makina;
squares of reseuil." The inventory of her property and
goods includes a coffer containing three hundred and eighty-
one of such squares unmounted, whilst in another were found
five hundred and thirty-eight squares, some worked with
rosettes or with blossoms, and others with nosegays.'^*

Though the work of Milour Mignerak, already quoted, is
dedicated to the Tres-Chrestienne Peine de France et de
Navarre, Marie de Me'dicis, and bears her cipher and arms,
yet in the decorated frontispiece is a cushion with a piece of
lacis in progress, the pattern a daisy looking at the sun, the
favourite impresa of her predecessor, the divorced Mar-
guerite, now, by royal ordinance, "Marguerite Reine,
Duchesse de Valois." (Fig. 4.)

These pattern-books being high in price and difficult to
procure, teachers of the art soon caused the various patterns

^^ In the Record Office, Edinbui'sli. ^^ Covq^fcs rZ^ la. Ernie de Navarre,

23 " Mache, the Masches (meshes) 1577. Arch. Nat. K.K. 162.

or holes of a net between the thread '^^ Inventory of Catherine de Medicis,

and thread (Cotgrave). Bonaffe.

Fig. 5.

Uiiiiiiu:i:||^^:!]|i^

lll-l^liliES!p-^iE3lS!P0:iiii:PlHI

mSMMMMMMMmmMMM

-.•^^i\--wi

mmm^^

H!ii3.a[^^t^i^:^Hiffli

Elizabethan Sampler.

To face page 22.

CUT- WORK

to be reproduced in " Scxmelotlis," -" as samplars were then
termed, and young ladies worked at them diligently as a
proof of their competency in the arts of cut- work, lacis and
re'seuil, much as a dame-school child did her A B C in the
country Adllages some years ago. Proud mothers caused
these cliefs-d oeuvre of their children to be framed and
glazed ; hence many have come down to us hoarded up in
old families uninjured at the present time, (Fig. 5.)

A most important specimen of lacis was exhibited at the
Art International Exhibition of 1874, by Mrs. Hailstone, o
Walton Hall, an altar frontal 14 feet by 4 feet, executed in
point conte, representing eight scenes from the Passion of

Fm. 4.

IMPRESA OP Queen Margaret of Navarre in Lacis.— (Migneiak.)

Christ, in all fifty-six figures, surrounded by Latin inscrip-
tions. It is assumed to be of English workmanship.

Some curious pieces of ancient lacis were also exhibited
(circ. 1866) at the Museum of South Kensington by Dr. Bock,
of Bonn. Among others, two specimens of coloured silk
network, the one ornamented with small embroidered shields
and crosses (Fig. 6), the other w^ith the mediaeval gammadion
pattern (Fig. 7). In the same collection was a towel or
altar-cloth of ancient German work — a coarse net ground,
worked over with the lozenge pattern."'

^^ Randle Holme, in The School
Mistris Terms of Art for all her Ways
of Sewing, hsis "A Samcloth, vulgarly,
a Samplar."

^^ In the Bock collection, part of
which has since been bought for the
Victoria and Albert Museum, are
specimens of " rezeuil d'or," or network
with patterns worked in with gold
thread and coloured silks. Such were

the richly-WTOught " serviettes sur
filez d'or " of Margaret of Austria.

" Autre servyette de Cabes (Cadiz)
ouvree d'or, d'argent sur fillez et
bordee d'or et de gris.

" Autre serviette a Cabes de soye
grise et verde a ouvrage de fillez bordee
d'une tresse de verd et gris." — Inven-
tory already- quoted.

24 HISTORY OF LACE

But most artistic of all was a large ecclesiastical piece,
some three yards in length. The design portrays the
Apostles, with angels and saints. These two last-mentioned
objects are of the sixteenth century.

When used for altar-cloths, bed-curtains, or coverlets, to
produce a greater effect it was the custom to alternate the
lacis with squares of plain linen.

" An apron set with man}- a dice
Of needlework sae rare,
Wove by nae hand, as j-e may guess, .
Save that of Fairly fair."

Ballad of Hardyknute.

This work formed the great delight of provincial ladies in

Fig. 6.

Fig. 7.

'Sl'lDKKWORK," THIRTEKNTH CENTURY.— (Bock

Coll. South Kensington Museum).

• SlTDKKWORK," FOURTEENTH CENTURY.— (Bui-k

Coll. South Kensington Museum.)

France. Jean Godard, in his poem on the Glove,^** alluding
to this occupation, says : —

" Une fennne gantee ceuvre en tapisseric
En raizeaux deliez et toute lingerie
EUe file — elle coud et fait passement
De toutes les fassons . . . ."

The armorial shield of the family, coronets, monograms,
the beasts of the Apocalypse, with fleurs-de-lys, sacres coeurs,
for the most part adorned those pieces destined for the use of
the Church. If, on the other hand, intended for a pall,
death's-heads, cross-bones and tears, with the sacramental
cup, left no doubt of the destination of the article.

28 ((

Le Gan," de Jean Godard, Parisien, 1588.

Plate IV.

Fan made at Bueano and presented to Queen Elena of Italy on her Marriage, 189G.

Photo by the Buraiio School.

Plate V.

■K' IK »:-:i >K' (K' •**-•■. *'•*" *K> >:•:> •:>:•:■:

»r:i ••.:« »:•:« »:•:» «K

!» - y

'^-/^^

»v^^-^.-K ••.M^K*:- ?!l

£•4

kM«

i«

'K' iKi ixi .K» >:-:» iK» IK' •«< •:•: ■ 'Ki «:•:• iK'- «:•:' •:-■:• I'-i' »-•:• '•••' '••:" »••■'£: y

Italian. Punto Reale.— Modem reproduction by the Society Emilia Ars, Bologiia.

Photo bv the Society.

To face page 24.

CUT- WORK 25

As late as 1850, a splendid cut-work pall still covered the
coffins of the fishers when borne in procession through the
streets of Dieppe. It is said to have been a votive offering
worked by the hands of some lady saved from shipwreck,
and presented as a memorial of her gratitude.

In 1866, when present at a peasant's wedding in the
church of St. Lo (Dep. Manche), the author observed that
the " toile d'honneur," which is always held extended over
the heads of the married pair while the priest pronounces the
blessino- was of the finest cut-work, trimmed with lace.

Both in the north and south of Europe the art still
lingers on. Swedish housewives pierce and stitch the holiday
collars of their husbands and sons, and careful ladies,
drawino; the threads of the fine linen sheets destined for the
" guest-chamber," produce an ornament of geometric design.

Scarce fifty years since, an expiring relic of this art
might be sometimes seen on the white smock-frock t)f the
English labourer, which, independent of elaborate stitching,
was enriched with an insertion of cut-work, running from the
collar to the shoulder crossways, like that we see decorating
the surplices of the sixteenth century.

Drawn-thread embroidery is another cognate work. The
material in old drawn-work is usually loosely-woven linen.
Certain threads were drawn out from the linen ground, and
others left, upon and between which needlework was made.
Its employment in the East dates from very early times, and
withdrawing threads from a fabric is perhaps referred to in
Lucan's Pharsalia: — ^^

" Candida Sidonio perluceut pectora filo,
Quod Nilotis acus compressura pectine Seriuu
Solvit, et extenso laxavit stamina velo."

" Her white breasts shine througrh the Sidonian fabric,
which pressed down with the comb (or sley) of the Seres, the
needle of the Nile workman has separated, and has loosened
the warp by stretching out (or withdrawing) the weft."

-■' Descriptive Catalogue of the in the South Kensington Museum
Collections of Tapestry and Embroidery (p. 5).

26 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER III.

LACE.

" Je demandai de la dentelle :
Voici le tulle de Bruxelles,
La blonde, le point d'Alencon,
Et la Maline, si legere ;
L'application d'Angleterre
(Qui se fait a Paris, dit-on) ;
Voici la guipure indigene,
Et voici la Valenciennes,
Le point d'esprit, et le point de Paris ;
Bref les dentelles
Les plus nouvelles
Que produisent tons les pays."

Le Palais des Dentelles (Rothomago).

Lace ^ is defined as a plain or ornamental network, wrought
of fine threads of gold, silver, silk, flax, or cotton, inter-
woven, to which may be added " poil de chevre," and also
the fibre of the aloe, employed by the peasants of Italy and
Spain. The term lacez rendered in the English translation
of the Statutes" as "laces," implying braids, such as were
used for uniting the different parts of the dress, appears
long before lace, properly so called, came into use. The
earlier laces, such as they were, were defined by the word
" passament " ^ — a general term for gimps and braids, as
well as for lace. Modern industry has separated these two
classes of work, but their being formerly so confounded
renders it difficult in historic researches to separate one
from the other.

The same confusion occurs in France, where the first lace
was called iiaasement, because it was applied to the same

' Lace. French, dentelle ; German, ^ Statute 3 Edw. IV. c. iii.

Sfitzen ; Italian, tnerletto, trina ; ^ " Passeuient, a lace or lacing." —

Genoa, pizzo ; Spanish, encaje ; Cotgrave.
Dutch, Tianten.

LA CE 27

use, to braid or lay flat over tlie coats and other garments.
The lace trade was entirely in the hands of the " passe-
mentiers " of Paris, who were allowed to make all sorts of
" passements de dentelle sur I'oreiller aux fuseaux, aux
epingles, et a la main, d'or, d'argent, tant fin que faux, de
soye^ de fil Wane, et de couleur," etc. They therefore
applied the same terms to their different products, whatever
the material.

The word passement continued to be in use till the
middle of the seventeenth century, it being specified as
"passements aux fuseaux," "passements a laiguille"; only
it was more specifically applied to lace without an edge.

The term dentelle is also of modern date, nor will it
be found in the earlier French dictionaries.'* It was not till
fashion caused the passament to be made with a toothed
edge that the expression of "passement dentele" first
appears.

In the accounts of Henry II. of France, and his queen,
we have frequent notices of " passement jaulne dantelle des
deux costez," ^ " passement de soye incarnat dentelle d'un
coste,"® etc., etc., but no mention of the word "dentelle."
It does, however, occur in an inventory of an earlier date,
that of Marguerite de France, sister of Francis I., who, in
1545, paid the sum of vi. livres "pour soixante aulnes, fine
dantelle de Florance pour mettre a des colletz." ^

After a lapse of twenty years and more, among the
articles furnished to Mary Stuart in 1567, is " Une pacque
de petite dentelle " ; ^ and this is the sole mention of the
word in all her accounts.

1 * Not in those of Rob. Estienne, 1549; "^ Defenses de la maison de Madame

Frere de I'Aval, 1549 ; or Nicot, 1606. Marguerite de France, saeur die Eoi. —

Cotgi-ave has, " Dentelle, small edging Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 10,394, fol. 62.

(and indented), bone-lace, or needle- * " Plus de delivre une pacque de

work." In Diet de I'Academie, 1694, petite dentelle qui est estez cousu en-

we find, " Dentelle, sorte de passement semble pour mettre sur les coutures

a jour et a mailles tres fines ainsi des rideaux des ditz litz conteuant

nomme parceque les premieres qu'on 80 amies." — Rec. Off., Edin. This

fit etoient dentelees." custom of trimming the seams of bed-

^ Comjytes de VArgenHer du Boi, curtains with a lace indented on both

1557. — Arch. Nat. K. K. 106. " Passe- sides was common throughout Europe,

ment de fine soie noire dentelle d'un In the Chartley Inv. of ]\Iary Stuart,

coste." "Passement blanc," " grise," 1586, one of the Yasquines (jackets) is

also occur. described, " Autre de satin noir des-

® Argenfcric do la Btine, 1556. — couppee a descouppemie denteles."
Arch. Nat. K. K. 118.

HISTORY OF LACE

We] find like entries in tlie accounts of Henry IV. 's first
queen,®

Gradually the passement dentele subsided into the
modern dentelle.

Fisr. 8.

(iKANDE DANTKLLE AU I'Ol.NT DEN'ANT L'AIGUILLK.— (Mont lu'liard, 1598.)

It is in a pattern l)ook, published at Montbeliard in
1598,'" we first find designs for "dantelles." It contains

" ir)77. " Pour deux aulnes de passe- faire deux cornettes pour servir a la

luent d'argent a hautte dantelle pour dictedame,quatrelivres." — Cptes.dcla

inettreaungrenvers,auprisdesoixantc Bcinc dr Navnrrr. Arcli. Nat. K. K.

solz I'aulne. 162.

" Pour une aulne de dentelle pour '" See Appendix.

LACE

twenty patterns, of all sizes, " bicn petites, petites " (Figs, i),
10, 11, 12), " moyennes, et grosses " (Fig. 8).

The word dentelle seems now in general use ; but
Vecellio, in his Corona, 1592, has " opere a mazette," pillow
lace, and Mignerak first gives the novelty of " passements

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

PKTITK ilANTKLl.K.— (159^.)

PETiTi; UAMKLLE.— (1598.)

au fuzeau," pillow lace (Fig. 13), for which Vinciolo, in his
edition of 1623, also furnishes patterns (Figs. 14 and 15) ;
and Parasoli, 1616, gives designs for " merli a piombini "
(Fig. 16).

In the inventory of Henrietta Maria, dated 1619,^^

Fig. 11.

Fig. 12.

Petite Dantelle.— (1598.)

Petite Danielle.— (1598.)

appear a variety of laces, all qualified under the name of
" passement " ; and in that of the Mart^chal La Motte, 1 627,
we find the term applied to every description of lace.

^^ " Petits et grands passements ;
id. a I'esguille ; id. faict au mestier ; id.
de Flandres il poinctes ; id. orange a
jour; id. de Flandres satine ; " with
" reseuil, dantelles, grandes et petites,
or, argent," etc. — Inv.de Mad avie,soeur
du Eoi. Arch. Nat. K. K. 234.

So late as 1645, in the inventory of
the church of St. ]\Iedard at Paris

(Arch de I'Emp. L. L. 858), the word
is used. We find, " Quatre tours de
chaire de thoille baptiste, ung beau
surplis pour le predicateur, six autres,
cinq coiporaul.x," all "a grand passe-
ment." Also, " deux petits corporaulx
il petit passement," and " trois tovurs
de chaire garnyz de grand passement
a dentelle."

HISTORY OF LACE

" Item, quatre paires de manchettes garnyes de passement,
tant de Venise, Gennes, et de Malines." ^'-

Lace consists of two parts, the ground and the pattern.

The plain ground is styled in French eiitoila<ie, on
account of its containing the flower or ornament, which is
called toiU, from the flat close texture resembling linen,
and also from its being often made of that material or of
muslin.

The honeycomb network or ground, in French fond,

Ficr. 13.

Fi". 14.

\JiMi\

Passement au FDSEAU.-(Mi',Miei-ak, 1605.) Passement au Fuseau.— (Vinciolo, Edition 1623.)

champ,^^ reseau, trellle, is of various kinds : wire ground,
Brussels ground, trolly ground, etc., fond clair, fond double,
etc.

'^ Inv. apres le cleces de Mgr. le
Marechal de La Motte. — Bib. Nat.
MSS. F. Fr. 11,426.

'* The French terms are more com-
prehensive : —

Champ, fond travaille a jour.

Toile, fleurs entierement remplies,
formant un tissu sans jour.

Grille, grillage, plein. Also flowers

— but distinguished from toile by
having little square spaces between
the thread {grille, grating), the work
not being so compact.

" On appelle couleuvre, une blond
dont le toile continue serpente entre
deux rangs de grillage." — Roland d.e la
P^rt^iere (theGirondin). Art. Dentelle,
E)icyclo;pedieMetJwdiqioc. Paris, 1780.

LACE

Some laces, points and guipures are not worked upon a
ground ; the flowers are connected by irregular threads
overcast (buttonhole stitch), and sometimes worked over
with pearl loops (picot). Such are the points of Venice and
Spain and most of the guipures. To these uniting^ threads,
called by our lace-makers " pearl ties " — old Eandle Holme ^*
styles them " coxcombs " — the Italians give the name of
" leors," the French that of "brides." ^^

The flower, or ornamental pattern, is either made together
with the ground, as in Valenciennes or Mechlin, or separately,

Ficr. 15.

Fig. IG.

Passement au Fdseau.— (Vinciolo, Edition 1623.) MERLtTTi a I'iombi.m.— (Parasole, 1616.)

and then either worked in or sewn on (applique), as in
Brussels.

The open-work stitches introduced into the pattern are
called modes, jours ; l)y our Devonshire workers, "fillings."

All lace is terminated, by two edges, the pearl, picot,^'' or
couronne — a row of little points at equal distances, and the
footing ov engrelure — a narrow lace, which serves to keep the
stitches of the ground firm, and to sew the lace to the
garment upon which it is to be worn.

'* storehouse of Armory and Blason.
1688.

'® "Brides — petits tissus de fil qui
servent a joindre les fleiirs les imes
avec les autres dans I'espece de dentelle
qu'on appelle Point de France, de

Venise, de Malines." — Diet de VAca-
demie.

^® " Une robe et tablier, garnis d'une
dentelle d'Angleterre a picot." — Inv.
de dcces de la Ditchesse de Bourbon.
Arch. Nat. X. 10,064.

HISTORY OF LACE

Lace is divided into point and pillow (or more correctly
bobbin) lace. The term pillow gives rise to misconceptions,
as it is impossible to define the distinction between the
" cushion " used for some needle-laces and the " pillow " of
bobbin-lace. The first is made by the needle on a parch-
ment pattern, and termed needle-point, ^wm^ a I'aiguille,
punto in aco.

The word is sometimes incorrectly applied to pillow-lace,
as point de Malines, point de Valenciennes, etc.

Point also means a particular kind of stitch, as point de
Paris, ^^ point de neige, point d'esprit," point a la Peine, point
a earreaux, a chainette, etc.

" Get homme est bien en points," was a term used to
denote a person who wore rich laces.''

The mention of point de neige recalls the quarrel of Gros
Rene and Marinette, in the Depit Amoureux ^^ of Molierc : —

i"Ton beau galant de neige,*' avec ta nonpareille,
II n'aura plus I'honneur d'etre sur mon oreille."

Gros Rene evidently returns to his mistress his point de
neige nightcap.

The manner of making bobbin lace on a pillow ^^ need
hardly be described. The " pillow "^^ is a round or oval
board, stuffed so as to form a cushion, and placed upon
the knees of the workwoman. On this pillow a stiff piece
of parchment is fixed, with small holes pricked through to
mark the pattern. Through these holes pins are stuck into
the cushion. The threads with which the lace is formed
are wound upon " bobbins," formerly bones,^* now small
round pieces of wood, about the size of a pencil, having

'^ " Une chenaisette de toile d'hol-
lande garnye de point de Paris. — Inv.
fVAnnc (VEscouhleau, Barowie de
Sourdis, veuve de Francois de Simiane.
1681. Arch. Nat. M. M. 802.

'" " Cette derniere sorte de point se
fait aux fuseaux." — Diet, du F. Bichc-
let. Lyon. 1759.

''■' Diet. d'Ant. Furetiere. Augments
par M. Basnage. La Haye, 1727.

2' 1656.

^' 1651. " Huit aulnes de toile com-
mune garnies de neige." — Inv. des
emuhles de la Sacristie de VOratoirc

de Jesus, a Paris. Bib. Nat. MSS.
F. Fr. 8621.

" Neuf autres petites nappes ; les
deux premieres de toile unie ; la
troisieme a dentelle quallifie de neige."
^Ibid.

^^ French, dentelledfuseaux ; Italian,
nierli a piomhini ; Dutch, gespelde-
■werTite leant ; Old Flemish, spcUr
ivcrk.

^* French, carreau, cousi)i, oreiller ;
Italian, tomholo ; Venice, ballon ;
Spanish, mundillo.

" See Chapter XXIV.

Plate VI.

Italian. — Modern reproduction at Burano of Point de Venise a la feuille et la rose, of

seventeenth century.

Width, 8 in. Photo by the Burano School.

Plate VII.

Heraldic (carnival lace), was made in Italy. This appears to be a specimen, though the archaic
pattern points to a German origin. The reseau is twisted and knotted. Circ. 1700.

The Arms are those of a Bishop.

Photo by A. Dryden from private collection.

I'll /(((■!• jittye 32.

LACE 33.

round their upper ends a deep groove, so formed as to
reduce the bobbin to a thin neck, on which the thread is
wound, a separate bobbin being used for each thread. By
the twisting and crossing of these threads the ground of
the hice is formed. The pattern or figure, technically called
" gimp," is made by interweaving a thread much thicker
than that forming the groundwork, according to the design
pricked out on the parchment.^^ Such has been the pillow
ami the method of using it, with but slight variation, lor
more than three centuries.

To avoid repetition, we propose giving a separate history
of the manufacture in each country ; but in order to furnish
some general notion of the relative ages of lace, it may be as
well to enumerate the kinds most in use when Colbert, by his
establishment of the Points de France, in 1(365, caused a
general development of the lace manufacture throughout
Europe.

The laces known at that period were : —

1. Point. — Principally made at Venice, Genoa, Brussels,,
and in Spain.

2. Bisette. — A narrow, coarse thread pillow lace of three
qualities, made in the environs of Paris ^" by the peasant
women, principally for their own use. Though proverbially
of little value — " ce n'est que de la bisette "^^ — it formed an
article of traffic with the mercers and lingeres of the clay.

-■^. Gueuse. — A thread lace, which owed to its simplicity

-■' The number of bobbins is gene- " Six aubaes bizette de soie noire

rally equal to 50 to each square inch. pour niettre sur une robbe, Iv. s.." in

If the lace be one inch Avide, it will the Accounts of Madame Marguerite

have 625 meshes in each square inch, de France. (Bib. Nat.)
or 22,500 in a yard. The work, there- " 1557. Bizette de soye incarnatte et

fore, goes on very slowly, though jaulne pour chamarrer ung pourpoint

generally performed with the greatest de satin I'ouge " of Henry II. — Cj)tes.

dexterity. de VArgentier die Boi. Arch. Nat.

-'^ At Gisors, Saint-Denis, Montmo- K. K. 106.
rency, and Villiers-le-Bel. — Savary, " 1579. Petite bizette d'or fin den-

(irdiul Diet, du Commerce, 1720. tellez des deux costez pom servir a des

Cotgrave gives, " Bisette, a plate manches de satin cramoisy " of Cathe-

(of gold, silver, or copper) wherewith rine de Medicis. — Tresorerie de la

some kinds of stuffes are stripped." royne mere du roy. Arch. Nat. K. K.

< )udin, " Feuille ou paillette d'or ou 115.

d'argent." In these significations it In the Chartley Inv. 1586, of Mary

frequently occurs. We find with nu- Stuart, is mentioned, " Un plotton de

niei'ous others : bisette noire."

" 1545. 55 sols pour une once bizette -" Diet, de V Academic.

d'argent pour mectre a des coUetz."

.34

HISTORY OF LACE

the name it bore. The ground was network, the flowers a
loose, thick thread, worked in on the pillow. Gueuse was
formerly an article of extensive consumption in France, but,
from the beginning of the last century, little used save \^y
the lower classes. Many old persons may still remember the
term, " beo-o-ars' lace."

4. Campane."** — A white, narrow, fine, thread pillow
edging, used to sew upon other laces, either to widen them,
■or to replace a worn-out picot or pearl.

Campane lace was also made of gold, and of coloured
silks, for trimming mantles, scarfs, etc. We find, in the
Great Wardrobe Accounts of George I., 1714,-^ an entry of
■" Gold Campagne buttons."

Evelyn, in his "Fop's Dictionary," 1690, gives, "Cam-
pane, a kind of narrow, pricked lace ; " and in the " Ladies'
Dictionary," 1694, it is described as " a kind of narrow lace,
picked or scalloped." ^"

In the Great Wardrobe Account of William III., 1688-9,
we have " le poynt eampanie t^nias."

5. Mignonette.^^ — A light, fine, pillow lace, called blonde
de fil,^' also point de tulle, from the ground resemliling that

^^ Campane, from sonnette, clo-
chette, meine grelot. " Les soiinettes
dont on charge les habits pour orne-
ment. Les festons qu'on met aux
etoffes et aux dentelles." — Oudin.

-■' Public Eecord Office.

^'' In the last century it was much
the fashion to trim the scalloped
edges of a broader lace with a
narrower, which was called to " cam-
paner."

1720. " Une garniture de teste a
trois pieces de dentelle d'Angleterre
a raiseau, garni autour d'lnie campane
a dents." — Tnv. <lc la DucJu'ssc de
Bnit/rhon.

1741. "Une paire de manches a
trois rangs de Malines k raizeau cam-
panee." — Inv. de deeds de Madenwisclle
Marie Anne de Bourbon, de Clermont.
Arch. Nat. X. 11,071. (Daughter
of Mademoiselle de Nantes and Louis
Duke de Bourbon.)

" Une coeffure de Malines a raizeau
il deux pieces campanee." — Ibid.

In the lace bills of Madame du Barry,
preserved in the Bib. Nat., are various

entries of Angleterre et pointal'aiguille,
" campanee des deux cotes " for ruffles,
camisoles, etc.

^^ 1759. " Huit palatines tant points
que mignonettes." — Inv. de deces de
Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Coiitij,
Princesse du Sang, Duchesse de Or-
leans. Arch. Nat. X. 10,077.

" Trente-vingt paires de manchettes,
quatre coeffures, le tout tant de differ-
ents points qu'Angleterre, mignonettes
que tulles." — Ibid.

^^ 1758. " Une paire de manchettes
a trois rangs de blonde de til sur entoil-
age." — Inv. de Mademoiselle Louise
Anne de Bourbon Conde de Cliarollais
(sister of Mademoiselle de Clermont).
Arch. Nat. X. 10,076.

1761
blonde de fil sur entoilage."^ — Inv. de
Charlotte Aglae d'Orleans, Princesse
du Sang, Duchesse de Mod en e {d&ughtev
of the Regent).

1789. Ruffles of blonde de fil appear
also in tlie Inv. de deces de Monseigneur
le Due de Duras. Bib. Nat. MSS. F.
Fr. 11,440.

Fichus garnis a trois rangs de

LACE

fiibric. It was made of Lille thread, bleached at Antwerp,
of different widths, never exceeding two to three inches.
The localities where it was manufactured were the environs
of Paris, Lorraine, Auvergne, and Normandy. ^^ It was also
fabricated at Lille, Arras, and in Switzerland. This lace was
article of considerable export, and at times in high favour,
from its lightness and clear ground, for headdresses ^^ and
other trimmings. It frequently appears in the advertisements
of the last century. In the Scottisk Advertiser, 1769, we
find enumerated among the stock-in-trade, " Mennuet and
blonde lace."

6. Point double, also called point de Paris and point des

Fig. 17.

Old Mechlin.

champs : point double, because it required double the number
of threads used in the single ground ; des champs, from its
being made in the country.

7. Valenciennes. — See Chapter XV.

8. Mechlin. — All the laces of Flanders, with the exception
of those of Brussels and the point double, were known in
commerce at this period under the general name of Mechlin.
(Fig. 17.)

9. Gold lace.

10. Guipure.

■'-' Mostly at Bayenx.

^* " On employe aussi pour les coef-
fures de la mignonette, et on a tellement
perfectionne cette dentelle, que estant
peu de chose dans son commencement

est devenue de consequence et nieme
tres chere, j'entends, la plus line qu'on
fait sur de beaux patrons." — Lc Mcr-
ciirc GaJant, 1699.

D 2

HISTORY OF LACE

GUIPURE.

Guipure, says Savary, is a kind of lace or passement made-
of " car tisane " and twisted silk.

Cartisane is a little strip of thin parchment or vellum,
wliicli was covered over with silk, gold, or silver thread, and
formed the raised pattern.

The silk twisted round a thick thread or cord was called
guipure,^^ hence the whole work derived its name.^'^

Guipure was made either with the needle or on the pillow
like other lace, in various patterns, shades and colours, of
different qualities and several widths.

The narrowest guipures were called " Tetes de More." ^'

The less cartisane in the guipure, the more it was esteemed,
for cartisane was not durable, being only vellum covered over
with silk. It was easily affected by the damp, shrivelled,
would not wash, ami the pattern was destroyed. Later, the
parchment was replaced by a cotton material called canetille.

Savary says that most of the guipures were made in the
environs of Paris ; ^^ that formerly, he writes in 1720, great
(quantities were consumed in the kingdom ; but since the
fashion had passed away, they were mostly exported to
Spain, Portugal, Germany, and the Spanish Indies, where
they were much worn.^^

Guipure was made of silk, gold and silver ; from its
costliness, therefore, it was only worn by the rich.

At the coronation of Henry II. the front of the high

^■"' " Guiper. Tordre les fils pendans
d'une frange par le nioyen de I'instvu-
inent qu'on nomine guipoir, fer crochu
d'un cote, et charge de I'autre d'un petit
morceau de plomb poi;r liii donner dti
poids." — Savary.

^ " Guipure. A grosse black thread
covered or whipped about with silk." —
Cotgrave.

"Guipure. Maniere de dentelle de
soie ou il y a des figures de rose ou
d'autres fleurs, et qui sert a parer les
jupes des dames. ... Sa jupe est
pleine de guipure." — Diet, dn P.
IHchelet. 1759.

^" Eoland. We cannot help thinlving
this a mistake. In the statutes of
the Passementiers, we find mention of
buttons " 4 tetes de mort." or would

it rather be " tete de moire," from the-
black moire hoods (t^tes) worn by the
Italian women, which were often edged
with a narrow guipure ?

^^ Les lieux en France ou il se fait le
plus de guipures, sont Saint-Denis-en-
France, Yilliers-le-Bel, Ecouen, Ar-
celles, Saint-Brice, Groslait, Montmo-
rency, Tremblay, Villepinte, etc.

^^ The sale of Guipures belonged to
the master mercers, the workmanship
to the passementiers boutonniers. We
find in the Livre Commode ou les
Ad r esses de la Ville de Paris for 1692,
that " Guipures et galons de soye se
vendent sur le Petit Pont et rue aux
Feb^Tes, on Ton vend aussi des galons
de livrees."

Pr.ATK VIIT.

Italian, Venetian, Flat Needle-point Lace. " Punto in Aria." — The design is held

together by plain "brides." Date, circ. 1645. Width, 11| in.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

Plate IX.

Portion op a Band of Needle-point Lace representing the Story of Judith and
Holofernes. — The work is believed to be Italian, made for a Portuguese, the inscription
being in Portuguese. Date, circ. 1590. Width, 8 in. The property of ]Mr. Arthur Blackborne.

Photo by A. Dryden.

2'u face paje 30.

LACE

■altar is described as of crimson velvet, enriched with
" cuipure d'or " ; and the ornaments, chasuble, and cor-
poraliers of another altar as adorned with a " riche broderie
•de cuipure.' ^"

On the occasion of Henry's entry into Paris, the king-
wore over his armour a surcoat of cloth of silver ornamented
with his ciphers and devices, and trimmed with " guippures

d'argent

?; 41

In the reign of Henry HI. the casaques of the pages were
covered with guipures and passements, composed of as many
^colours as entered into the armorial bearings of their masters ;
and these silk guipures, of varied hues, added much to the
brilliancy of their liveries/^

Guipure seems to have been much worn by Mary Stuart.
When the Queen was at Lochleven, Sir Robert Melville is
related to have delivered to her a pair of white satin sleeves,
■edged with a double border of silver guipure ; and, in the
inventory of her clothes taken at the Abbey of Lillebourg,^^
1561-2, we find numerous velvet and satin gowns trimmed
with " gumpeures " of gold and silver.^*

It is singular that the word guipure is not to be found
in our English inventories or wardrobe accounts, a circum-
stance which leads us to infer, though in opposition to higher
authorities, that guipure was in England termed " parchment
lace" — a not unnatural conclusion, since we know it was
sometimes called " dentelle a cartisane," ^^ from the slips of
parchment of which it was partly composed. Though Queen
Mary would use the French term, it does not seem to have
been adopted in England, whereas " parchment lace " is of
frequent occurrence.

From the Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary,''^ we
find she gives to Lady Calthorpe a pair of sleeves of " gold,

*" Godefroy. Le Ceremonial de
France, 1610. Sacrr du Boy Henry
IL, 1547.

" In 1549. Ibid.

*^ Traite des Marqioes Nationales,
dar M. Beneton de Morange de Pey-
rins. Paris, 1739.

*'' In the Record Office, Edin-
burgh.

^* Une robe de velours vert couverte
de Broderies, ginipeures, et cordons
d'or et d'argent, et bordee d'uu passe-
ment de meme.

Une robe veluat cramoisi bandee de
broderie de guinipeure d'argent.

Une robe de satin blanc chaniarree
de broderie faite de guinipeure d'or.

Id. de satin jaune toute couverte de
broderye gumpeure, etc.

Robe de weloux noyr seniee de geyn-
peiufs d'or.

*^ Dictionnalre de V Academic.

*« 1586-44. Sir Fred. Madden.

2 payr of sleeves whereof one of gold
w** p'chemene lace, etc.

2 prs. of sieves w'' pchmyn lase, 8y 6.

38 HISTORY OF LACE

trmimed with parchment lace," a favourite donation of hers^
it would appear, by the anecdote of Lady Jane Grey.

"A great man's daughter," relates Strype^^ "(the Duke
of Suffolk's daughter Jane), receiving from Lady Mary,
l)efore she was Queen, goodly apparel of tinsel, cloth of
gold, and velvet, laid on with parchment lace of gold, when
she saw it, said, ' What shall I do with it ? ' Mary said,
' Gentlewoman, wear it.' ' Nay,' quoth she, ' that were a
shame to follow my Lady Mary against God's w^ord, and
leave my Lady Elizabeth, which followeth God's word.' "

In the list of the Protestant refugees in England, 1563
to 1571,'*^ among their trades, it is stated "some live by
making matches of hempe stalks, and parchment lace."

Ao^ain, Sir Robert Bowes, " once ambassador to Scotland,"
in his inventory, 1553, has "One cassock of wrought velvet
with p'chment lace of gold." ^^

" Parchment lace ^" of watchett and syllver at Is. 8d. the
ounce," appears also among the laces of Queen Elizabeth.''^

King Charles L has his carpet bag trimmed with " broad
parchment gold lace," ^^ his satin nightcaps with gold and
silver parchment laces, ^^ and even the bag and comb case " for
his Majesty's barber " is decorated with "silver purle and
parchment lace." ^*

Again, C^harles IL ornaments the seats on both sides
the throne with silver parchment lace.^' In many of the
inventories circ. 1590, " sylke parchment lace" is noted
down, and "red" and "green parchment lace," again, appear
among the wares found " in y*^ Shoppes." ^^

But to return to the word guipure.

In an inventory of the Church of the Oratoire, at Paris,
of the seventeenth century, are veils for the host : one, " de

*'^ Ecclesiastical Memoirs, iii. 2, and silver parchment lace, 41. 9. 9.

167. ** Roll. 1630.

" State Papers, vol. 82, P. E-0. ^^ " Eideni pro noveradecem virg et

*^ Surtees' Society, Durham, " Wills dim am-ese et argenteai pergamen la-

"- U^'^t^ne, in his Delate he- --- pondent sexdecim nnc | |venet..

tioeen Pride and Loivlixess, describes , . . pro consnat ad ornand duas sedes

a coat " layd upon with parchment utroqne latere thronae in domo Parlia-

lace withoute." ment." — Gt. Ward. Ace. Car. II. xxx.

« B. M. Add. MSS. No. 5751. and xxxi. = 1678-9.

■'■'- Roll. 1607. P. R. O. In 1672-73 is an entry for " 2 virgis

"■^ Ibid. 1626. 11 nightcaps of teniae pergamen."

coloured satin, laid on thick, with gold ■'^ Surtees' "Inventories."

LACE

39'

taffetas blanc garny dune guipure " ; the other, '' de satin
blanc a lieurs, avec une den telle de guipure." "

These guipures will have also been of silk. When the
term was first transferred to the thread passements which
arc now called guipure, it is dijiicult to say, for we can find
no trace of it so applied.

Be that as it may, the thread guipures are of old date ;.
many of the patterns bear the character of the rich orna-

Fis. IS.

Gliplke.— (Louis XlVj

mentation and capricious interlaciugs of the Renaissance ;
others, again, are "pur Louis Quatorze " (Fig. 18). The
finest thread guipures were the produce of Flanders and
Italy. They are most varied in their style. In some the
bold flowing patterns are united by In-ides ; in others by a
coarse re'seau, often circular, and called " round ground."

In that class called by the lace-makers '* tape guipure,"
the outline of the flowers is formed by a pillow or hand-
i^.iade braid about the eighth of an inch in width (Fig, 19).

5' Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. B621.

HISTORY OF LACE

The term guipure is now so extensively applied it is
difficult to give a limit to its meaning. AVe can only define
it as lace where the flowers are either joined by " brides." or
laroe coarse stitches, or lace that has no oround at all. The

Fip-. IP.

Tape Guii'ure, Bdbbin-jiade.— (Genoa.)

modern Honiton and Maltese are guipures, so is the Venetian
point.

Most of these laces are enumerated in ixjeu cCesprit, entitled
" La Revoke des Passemens," published at Paris in 1661/'

•'■''' 111 the Rccueil <le pieces Irs ^^Zws The poem is dedicated to ]\Iade-

■agr/'dblcs da cc trmps, comj)Osecs par moiselle de la Tronsse, cousin of

fiivers aiitheiirs. Paris, chez Charles Madame de Sevigne, and was probably

:Sercy, MDCLXI." written by one of lier coterie.

LACE 41

In consequence of a sumptuary edict against luxury in
apparel, Mesdames les Brocleries —

" Les Poinctes, Dentelles, Passeiiiens
Qui, par une vaiiie despence,
Euinoient aujourd'huy la France " —

meet, and concert measures for their common safety. Point
de Genes, with Point de Eaguse, first address the company ;
next. Point de Venise, who seems to look on Eaguse with a
jealous eye, exclaims —

" Encore pour voias, Poinct de Raguse,
II est bon, crainte d'attentat,
D'en vouloir perger un estat.
Les gens aussy fins que vous estes
Ne sont bons que, conime vous faites,
Pour ruiner tous les estats.
Et vous, Aurillac ou Venise,
Si nous plions notre valise,"

what will be our fate ?

The other laces speak, in their turn, most despondently,
till a " vieille broderie dor," consoling them, talks of the
vanity of this world : — " Who knows it better than I, who
have dwelt in kings' houses ? " One " orande dentelle
d'Angleterre " now proposes they should all retire to a
convent. To this the " Dentelles de Flandres " object ; they
would sooner be sewn at once to the bottom of a petticoat.

Mesdames les Broderies resign themselves to become
" ameublement ; " the more devout of the party to appear
as " devants d'autel ; " those who feel too young to renounce
the world and its vanities will seek refuge in the masquerade
shops.

'' Dentelle noire d'Angleterre " lets herself out cheap to
a fowler, as a net to catch woodcocks, for which she felt
" assez propre " in her present predicament.

The Points all resolve to retire to their own countries,
save Aurillac, who fears she may be turned into a strainer
" pour passer les fromages d'Auvergne," a smell insupportable
to one who had revelled in civet and oranoe-tlower.

All were startino- —

" Chacun, dissimulant sa rage,
Doucenient ploit son bagage,
Resolu d'obeir au sort,"

when

" Une pauvre malheitreuse,
Qu'on apelle, dit on, la Gueuse,"

42 HISTORY OF LACE

arrives, in a great rage, from a village in the environs of
Paris. " She is not of high birth, but has her feelings all
the same. She will never submit. She has no refuge —
not even a place in the hospital. Let them follow her advice
and " elle engageoit sa chainette,' she will replace them all in
their former position."

Next morn, the Points assemble. " Une grande Cravate •''*
fanfaron " exclaims : —

" II nous faut venger cet affront,
Eevoltons-nous, noble assemblee."

A council of war ensues : —

" La dessus, le Poinct d'Alencon
Ayant bien appris sa lecon
Fit une fort belle harangue."

Flanders now boasts how she had made two campaigns under
Monsieur, as a cravat ; another had learned the art of war
under Turenne ; a third was torn at the siege of Dunkirk.

" Eacontant des combats qu'ils ne virent jamais,"

one and all had figured at some siege or battle.

" Qu'avons nous a redouter?"

cries Dentelle d'Angleterre. No so, thinks Point de Genes^
" qui avoit le corps un pen gros."
They all swear^ — ■

" Foy de Passement,
Foy de Poincts et de Broderie,
De Guipure et d'Orfevrerie,
De Gueuse de toute facon,"

to declare open war, and to l)anish the Parliament.

The Laces assemble at the fair of St. Germain, there to
be reviewed by General Luxe.

The muster-roll is called over by Colonel Sotte Depeuse.
Dentelles de Moresse, Escadrons de Neige, Dentelles de
Havre, Escrues, Soies noires, and Points d'Espagne, etc.,,
march forth in warlike array, to conquer or to die. At the
first approach of the artillery they all take to their heels^
and are condemned by a council of war — the Points to be
made into tinder, for the sole use of the King's Mousque-
taires ; the Laces to be converted into paper ; the Dentelles,

^ ' The Cravates or Creates soldiers charm to protect them from sabre-cuts,
had a band of stufl: round tlieir throats What began in superstition ended in
to support an amulet they wore as a fashion.

LACE 45

Escrues, Gueuses, Passemens, and Silk Lace to Ije made into
cordage and sent to the galleys ; the Gold and Silver Laces,
the original authors of the sedition, to be " burned alive."
Finally, through the intercession of Love —

" Le petit dieu plein de finesse,"

they are again pardoned and restored to court iavour.

The poem is curious, as giving an account of the various
kinds of lace, and as a specimen of the taste of the time, but
the "ton precieux " of the Hotel Rambouillet pervades
throughout.

The lace trade, up to this period, was entirely in the
hands of pedlars, who carried their wares to the principal
towns and large country-houses,

" One Madame La Boord," says Evelyn, " a French
peddling- woman, served Queen Katherine with petticoats,
fans, and foreign laces." These hawkers attended the great
fairs ^^ of Europe, where all purchases were made."

Even as early as King Henry HL'^" we have a notice " to
purchase robes at the fair of St. Ives, for the use of Richard
our brother" ; and in the dramas of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries, we tind constant allusion to these provincial

markets:—''^ "Seven

Pedlars' shops, nay all Sturbridge fair,'^^ will
Scarce furnish her." "^

"'^ These were, in France. Guibraj-, " sleeve laces," etc.

Beaucaire, and Bordeaux ; in Ger- On opening the box of the murdered

man}-, Frankfort; in Italj', Novi. pedlar {Fool of Quality, 1766), "they

"^ All articles of luxury were to be found therein silk, linen, laces," etc.

naet with at the provincial fairs. When, ^* Defoe describes Stui-bridge fair as

in 1671, Catherine of Braganza, the the greatest of all Europe. " Nor,"

Duchess of Eichniond, and the Duke says he, " are the fairs of Leipsig in

of Buckingham, visited Saffron Walden Saxony, the Mart at Frankfort-on-the-

fair, the Queen asked for a pair of Maine, or the fair of Nuremburg or

yellow stockings, and Sir Bernard Augsburg, any way comparable to this

Gascoyne, for a pair of gloves stitched fair of Sturbridge."

with h\\\e. In 1423, the citizens of London and

^^ 10 Hen. III., Devon's Issues of the suburbs being accused of sending

the ExcJtequer. works of " embroidery of gold, or silver,

63 14 j^Q lace-woman," says Ben Jon- of Cipre, or of gold of Luk, togedre

son, "that brings French masks and with Spanish Laton of insuffisant stuff

cut-works." That lace was sold by to the fayres of Sturesbrugg, Ely,

pedlars m the time of Henr^' VIII., Oxenford, and Salisbury " — in fact, of

we find from a play, " The Four P's," palming off inferior goods for country

written in 1544, by John Heywood. use — "all such are forfeited." — Bat.

Among the contents of a pedlar's box Pari., 2 Hen. VI., nu. 49.

are given " lasses knotted," " laces ''•' " Lingua, or the Combat of the

round and flat for women's heads," Tongue." A Comedy. 1607.

HISTORY OF LACE

The custom of carrying lace from house to house still
^exists in Belgium, where at Spa and other places, col-
porteurs,^'^ with packs similar to those borne by our pedlars,
])ring round to the visitors laces of great value, which they
sell at cheaper rates than those exposed in the shops. '^^

Many travellers, too, through the counties of Buckingham
■and Bedford, or the more southern regions of Devon, will
still call to mind the inevitable lace box handed round for
purchase by the waiter at the conclusion of the inn dinner ;
•as well as the girls who, awaiting the arrival of each travel-
ling carriage or postchaise, climbed up to the windows of the
vehicle, rarely allowing the occupants to go their way until
they had purchased some article of the wares so pertinaciously
■offered to their inspection.

In Paris, the lace trade was the exclusive privilege of the
passemen tiers. ^*

"^ This system of colporteurs dates " " She came to the house under

irom the early Greeks. They are the pretence of offering some lace,
termed both in Greek and Hebrew, holland, and fine tea, remarkably
■" des- voyagem-s." cheap." — Female Spectator. 1757.

"^ The centres of the lace manufacture before 1665 were : —
Belgium . Brussels, Mechlin, Antwerp, Liege, Louvain, Binche, Bruges,

Ghent, Ypres, Courtray, etc.
Fraxce . (Spread over more than ten Provinces) —
Artois .... Arras (Pas-de-Calais).
French Flanders . Lille, Valenciennes, Bailleul (Nord).
. Dieppe, Le Havre (Seine-Inferieure).
. Paris and its environs.
. Aurillac (Cantal).
. Le Puy (Haute-Loii'e).
. Mirecoui-t (Vosges).
. Dijon (C6te-d"or).
. Charleville, Sedan (Ardennes).
. Lyon (Khone).
. Loudun (Vienne).
. Muret (Haute-Garonne).
Italy . . Genoa, Venice, Milan, Eagusa, etc.
Spain . . La Mancha, and in Catalonia especially.

■Germany . Saxony, Boiiemia, Himgary, Denmark, and Principality of Gotha.
England . Counties of Bedford, Bucks, Dorset, and Devon.

Normandy .

He de France

Auvergne

Velay .

Lorraine

Burgundy

Champagne

Lyonnais

Poitou .

Languedoc

Plate X.

Italian. Point de Venise a la rose. Modern reproduction at Burano of seventeenth

century lace. Width, 17 in.

Photo by the Burano SchooL

Tu face jinijf 44.

CHAPTER IV.

ITALY.

" It grazed on my shoulder, lakes me away six parts of an Italian cut -work
band I wore, cost me three pounds in the Exchange but three days before." —
Ben Jonson — Every Man Out of His Humour, 1599.

" Ruffles well wrought and fine falling bands of Italian cut-work." — Fair
Maid of the Exchange, 1627.

The Italians claim the invention of point, or needle-made
lace.

It lias been ^ggested they derived the art of fine
needlework from the Greeks who took refuge in Italy from
the troubles of the Lower Empire ; and what further
confirms its Byzantine origin is, that those very places
which kept up the closest intercourse with the Greek Empire-
are the cities where point lace was earliest made and flourished
to the greatest extent.^

A modern Italian author," on the other hand, asserts
that the Italians learned embroidery from the Saracens of
Sicily, as the Spaniards acquired the art from the Moors of
Granada or Seville, and brings forward, as proof of his
theory, that the word to embroider, both in Italian and
Spanish,^ is derived from the Arabic, and no similar word
exists in any other European language.* This theory may
apply to embroidery, but certainly not to lace ; for with the
exception of the Turkish crochet " oyah," and some darned
nettino; and drawn-work which occur in Persian and Chinese
tissues, there is nothing approaching to lace to be found on
any article of oriental manufacture.

^ Industrial Arts of the Nineteenth * The traditions of the Low Countries

Centtiry, Digby Wyatt. also point to an Eastern origin, assign-

- Francesco Nardi. SulV Originc ing the introduction of lace-making to

delV Arte del Eicamo. Padova, 1839. the Crusaders, on their return from the

* Bicamare. Eecamar. Holy Land.

HISTORY OF LACE

We proceed to show that evidences of the lace-fabric
appear in Italy as early as the fifteenth century.

In 1476, the Venetian Senate decreed that no Punto in
Aria whatever, executed either in flax with a needle, or in
silver or gold thread, should be used on the curtains or bed-
linen in the city or provinces. Among the State archives
of the ducal family of Este, which reigned in Ferrara for so
many centuries. Count Gandini found mentioned in a Regis-
ter of the Wardrobe, dated 1476 (A. C. 87), an order given
for a felt hat " alia Borgognona," trimmed with a silver and
silk gimp made with bobbins. Besides this, in the same
document is noted (A. C. 96) a velvet seat with a canopy
trimmed at the sides with a frill of gold and silver, made in
squares, with bobbins.

The Cavaliere Antonio Merli. in his interesting pamphlet
on Italian lace,^ mentions an account preserved in the Muni-
cipal Archives of Ferrara, dated 1469, as probably referring
to lace ; ^ but he more especially brings forward a document
of the Sforza family, dated ' 1493, in wlfirh the word trina
(under its ancient form "'tarnete") constantly occurs,^ to-
gether with bone and bobbin lace.

° Origine ed Uso delle Trine a fiJo
(11 refe (thread), 1864. Privately
printed.

'^ 1469.— lo, Battista de Xicollo
il'Andrea da Ferrara, debio avere per
mia nianifatura et reve per cnxere et
candelle per inzirare. ... It. per
desgramitare e refilare e inzirare e
ripezare e reapicare le gramite a caniixi
quatordece per li signori calonexi, et
per li, niansonarij le qual gramite
staxea nialissimamente, p. che alcnne
persone le a guaste, Lire 1 10. It.
per reve et p. candelle, L. 5.

1469.— I, Baptist de Nicollo of An-
drea da Ferrara, having owing to nie
for my making, and thread to sew,
and candles to wax. . . . Item, for un-
trimming and re-weaving and waxing
and refixing and rejoining the trim-
mings of fourteen albs for the canons
and attendants of the church, the wliich
trimmings were in a very bad state,
because some persons had spoiled
them, L. 1 10. It. for thread and
wax, L. 5.

These trimmings (gramite), Cav.
^lerli thinks, were probably "trine."

"At Chicago was exhibited the first
kind of net iised in Italy as lace on
garments. It is made of a very line
linen or silk mesh, stiffened with wax
and embroidered in silk thread. It A\as
in use during the fourteenth century,
and part of the fifteenth ' ' {Guide to Kciu
and Old. Lace in Italy, C. di Brazza,
1893). This is probably the gramite,
or trimmings of the albs, mentioned
in the account book formerly belong-
ing to the Cathedral of Ferrara, and
now preserved in the Municipal Ar-
chives of that city.

■^ See Milan.

^ Trina, like our word lace, is used
in a general sense for braid or passe-
ment. Florio, in Iiis Dictionary (.1
Worlde of Words, John Florio, Lon-
don, 1598), gives Trine — cuts, snips,
pincke worke on garments ; and Trinci
— gardings, fringings, lacings, etc., or
other ornaments of garments.

Merlo, nicrlctto, are the more modern
terms for lace. We find tlie first as
early as the poet Firenzuola (see
Florence). It does not occur in any
pattern book of an older date than the

Platk XI.

Italian. Point Plat de Venise. Needle-point. — Seventeenth century. Length, 25 in. ;

width, 16 in. Victoria and Alhert Museum.

y'«( face fiiKje 40.

ITAL V 47

Again, the Florentine poet, Firenzuolu, who wrote from
1520-30, composed an elegy upon a collar of raised point,
made by the hand of his mistress.

Cavaliere Merli cites, as the earliest known painting in
which lace occurs, a majolica disc, after the style of the iJella
Kobbia family, in which, surrounded by a wreath of fruit, is
represented the half figure of a lady, dressed in a rich
l)rocade, with a collar of white lace. The costume is of the
fifteenth century ; l)ut as Luca della Robrjia's descendants
worked to a later period, the precise date of the work cannot
be fixed.

Evidences of white lace, or passement, are said to appear
in the pictures of Carpaccio, in the gallery at Venice, and in
another by the Gentile Bellini, where the dress of one of the
ladies is trimmed round the neck with a white lace.'"* The
•date of this last painting is 1500.

Lace w^as made throughout Italy mostly by the nuns,^''
and expressly for the service of the Church. Venice was
•celebrated for her points, while Genoa produced almost
exclusively pillow-lace.

The laces best known in the commercial world in the
earlier periods were those of Venice, Milan, and Genoa.

VENICE.

Mrs. Termagant : " I'll spoil your point de Venise for you." — ShaclweU,
Squire of Ahatia.

" Elle n'avoit point de mouchoir,
Mais Tin riche et tres beau peignoir
Des plus chers de point de Venise
En negligeance elle avoit mise."

Les Combats, etc., 1663.

The Venetian galleys, at an early period, bore to England
" apes, sweet wines," and other articles of luxury. They
T)rought also the gold-work (;f '• Luk," Florence, "Jeane."

" Fiori da Pdcami " of Pasini, and the the Lambeccari Gallery, executed in

two works of Francesco de' Franceschi, the sixteenth century, prove that white

all printed in 1.591. lace was in general use in the Italian

•' The laces, both white and gold, Courts at that epoch,

depicted in the celebrated picture of ■" At present, if you show an Italian

the Visit of the Queen of Sheba to a piece of old lace, he will exclaim,

.Solomon, by Lavinia Fontana, now in " Opera di monache ; roba di ehiesa."

HISTORY OF LACE

and Venice." In our early parliamentary records are many
statutes on tlie subject. The Italians were in the habit of
giving short lengths, gold thread of bad quality, and were
guilty of sundry other peccadilloes, which greatly excited the

wrath of the nation.

The balance was not in Eno-land's favour.

" Thei bare the gold out of this land
And sowkethe the thrifte out of our hande
As the waspe sowkethe the honey of the be."

It was these cheating Venetians who first Ijrought over
their points into England.

In Venice itself, extravagance in lace was restrained in
1542, by a sumptuary law, forbidding the metal laces
embroidered in silk to be wider than due dita {i.e., about
two inches). This interference is highly Venetian, and was
intended to protect the nobles and citizens from injuring
themselves and setting a bad example.

At the coronation of Eichard III., "fringes of Venice,"
and " mantil laces of white silk and Venysgold" appear, and
twenty years later Elizabeth of York disburses sundry sums
for " gold of Venice " and " other necessaries." ^^ The queen's
accounts are less explicit than those of her royal predecessor ;
and though a lace is ordered for the king's mantle of the
Garter, for which she paid sixteen shillings, the article may
have been of home manufacture.

From this time downwards appear occasional mention of
partlets,^^ knit caul fashion, of Venice gold, and of white
thread,^* of billament lace of Venice, in silver and black silk.^^
It is not, however, till the reign of Elizabeth '^^ that Italian
cut-works and Venice lace came into general use. These points
found their w^ay into France about the same period, though
we hear little of them.

" statute 2, Henry VI., 1423. The
first great treaty between the Venetians
and Henry VII. was in 1507.

'- Privy Purse Exjienses of Elizabeth
of York, 1502. P. R. 0. ' Also pub-
lished by Sir H. Nicolas.

'« Inv. Henry VIII.

^* Gremio, when suing for Bianca,
enumerates among his wealth in ivory
coffers stuffed, " Turkey cushions
bossed with pearl ; valance of Venice
gold in needlework." — Taming of the
Shrew.

'"' " One jerkyn of cloth of silver

with long cuts down righte, bound
with a billament lace of Venice silver
and black silk." — Robes of the late
King (Edward VI.).

'•^ " A smock of cambrik wrouglit
about the collar and sleeves witli
black silke ; the rutfe wrought with
Venice gold and edged with a small
bone lace of Venice gold." — Christmas-
Presents to the Queen, by Sir G.
Carew. "7 ounces of Venice ' laquei
bone ' of gold and black silk ; lace ruft"
edged with Venice gold lace," etc.
G. W. A. Eliz., passim, P. R. O.

Plate XII.

>i^ -iiJ^ >^ >CJ-

l^ "-iT-

*'>^*^>- V3^>■■•■^^< ■i'^^/-*/-^ **''•■■ ^^-f^i ■->%*•■■ v-'''*^^:^---:---^^? ^••:.: -^ ;vfV; ■ %\\s. iit.'^' ;^ x^

•••".•■■ • ij>:.i»iiv'. ■•••. V

Italian. Point dk Venise a RiiSEAU. — The upper ones are of yellow silk ; a chalice veil, with

dove and olive branch, and possil)ly an altar horder. Probably late seventeenth century. The

lower is thread, early eighteenth century. Width, 2 in. In private collections.

Photos by A. Dryden.

Til t'lirr jinrfo 48.

VENICE 49

Of '•point couppt' " there is mentioi], and euougb, in
handkerchiefs for Madame Gabrielle, shirts for the king, and
fraizes for La Reine Margot ; but whether thev be of Venice
or worked in France, we are uneulightened. The works of
Vinciolo'' and others had already been widely circulated, and
laces and point couppe' now formed the favourite occupation
of the ladies. Perhaps one of the earliest records of point de
Venise will be found in a ridiculous historiette of Tallemant
des Re'aux, who, gossiping of a certain Madame de Puissieux,^**
writes : " On m'assuroit quelle mangeoit du point coupe.
Alors les points de Genes, de Eaguse, ni d'Aurillac ni de
Venise n'etoient point connus et on dit <|u'au sermon elle
mangea tout le derriere du collet d'un homme qui etoit assis
devant elle." On what strange events hanor the connecting

O O O

threads of history !

By 1626 foreign "dentelles et passements au fuseau " were
declared contraband. France paying large sums of money to
other countries for lace, the Government, by this ordinance,
determined to remedy the evil. It was at this period that
the points of Venice were in full use.^^

" To know the age and pedigrees
Of points of Flanders and Venise " ^"

would, in the latter case, have been more difficult, had it not
been for the pattern-books so often quoted.

The earliest points, as we al}:eady know, soon passed from
the stiff formality of the " Gotico " into the flowing lines of
the Renaissance, and into that fine patternless guipure which
is, jjar excellence, called Point de Venise,"^

In the islands of the Lao;une there still ling-ers a tale of
the first origin of this most charming production.

A sailor youth, bound for the Southern Seas, brought
home to his betrothed a bunch of that pretty coralline
(Fig. 20) known to the unlearned as the mermaid's lace."
The girl, a worker in points, struck by the graceful nature of
the seaweed, with its small white knots united, as it were, by

1^87. '-1 Italy we believe to have furnished

Madame de Puissieux died in her own thread. "Fine white or

1677, at the age of eighty. nun's thread is made by the Augustine

\ enice points are not mentioned nuns of Crema, twisted after the same

by name till the ordinance of 1654. manner as the silk of Bolonia," writes

See Greek Islands. Skippin, 1651.

'" Hndibras. 22 Halimedia opuntia, Linn.

50 HISTORY OF LACE

a " bride," imitated it with her needle, and after several
unsuccessful trials produced that delicate guipure which
before long became the taste of all Europe.

It would be difficult to enumerate the various kinds of
lace produced by Venice in her palmy days.

The Cavaliere Merli has endeavoured to classify them
according to the names in the pattern-books with which
Venice supplied the world, as well as with her points. Out

Fi". 20.

JiEU.MAii/s Lace.

of some sixty of these works, whose names have l)een
collected, above one-third were published in Venice."^^

1, Punto a reticella."^ — Made either by drawing the
threads of the cloth, as in the samplar already given (Fig. 5),
or by working the lace on a parchment pattern in button-
hole stitch (punto smerlo). (Fig. 21.) This point is identical
with what is commonly called " Greek " lace.

Under this head comes punto reale (the opposite of reti
cella), where the linen ground is left and the design cut out
Punto di cartella or cordella (card-work) is similar in effect
to reticella, but the button-holing is done entirely over a
foundation made by sewing coarse thread and bits of parchment
on to the desi2;n and covering; them with l)utton-hole stitch.

^^ That most frequently met with the pattern-books till Vecellio, 1592 ;

is the Corona of Vecellio. See Ap- but Taglienti (1530) gives " su la rete,"

PENDix. and "II specchio di Pensieri " (1548),

'^* First mentioned in the Sforza In- "punto in rede."

ventory, 1493 (see Milan) ; not in * Plate V.

■<
►J

To fori- page 50,

VENICE 5 1

2. Punto tagliato.'' — Cut-work, already described.
3 Punto di Venezia.

4. Punto in aria."" — Worked on a parchment pattern, the
fiowers connected by brides : in modern parlance. Guipure.

5. Punto tagliato a fogliami.'^' — The richest and most
complicated of all points, executed like the former, only with
this difference, that all the outlines are in relief, formed bv
means of cottons placed inside to raise them. Sometimes
they are in double and triple relief ; an infinity of beautiful
stitches are introduced into the flowers, which are surrounded
by a pearl of geometric regularity, the pearls sometimes in
scallops or " campane'," as the French term it."^ This is our
Rose (raised) Venice point, the Gros Point de Venise, the
Punto a relievo, so highly prized and so extensively used for
albs, collerettes, berthes, and costly decoration. We give an
example (Fig. 23) from a collar, preserved in the Musee de
Cluny, once the property of a Venetian nobleman, worn only
on state occasions.

Two elaborate specimens were in the possession of Mr.
Webb ; one is a long narrow piece fringed at both ends,
which may have served as a maniple (Fig. 26) ; the other,
a " pale " ~^ for the communion, he has given to the Victoria
and Albert Museum.

These two last are made of silk of the natural cream
colour. Both silk and thread unbleached appear to have
been greatly in favour. At Paris much lace of this colour
has been disposed of by its owners since the revolutions in
Italy.^^

Other varieties of so-called rose point are punto neve
(point de neige), with its ground of starred threads resembling
snowflakes, and the coral point, a small irregular pattern
supposed to have been copied from coral.

^^ First given in the Honesto Esem- ^^ The whole furniture of a room

pio. 1550 and imssim. taken from a palace at Naples, com-

■■"^ Mentioned by Taglienti (1530), prising curtains, and vallance of a bed,

and afterwards in the Trionfo (1555), window curtains, toilet, etc., of straw-

and passim. coloured laces, reticella, embroidered

'' Given in II Monte, circ. 1550, but netting, etc. ; the price asked was

described by Firenzuola earlier. See 18,000 francs = £'720. There was also

Florence. much of the rose point, and a hand-

-- See Chap. III., notes 28 and 30. kerchief bordered with beautiful fiat

-' " Toiledela Pale." — A pasteboard Venetian point of the same colour,

about eight inches square, enclosed in forming part of a trousseau. 700 francs

cambric or lace, used to cover the =£28.
paten when laid over the cup.

E 2

HISTORY OF LACE

6. Punto a gropo, or gropari.^^ — Groppo, or gruppo,
signifies a knot, or tie, and in this lace the threads are
knotted together, like the fringes of the Genoese macrame.^^
After this manner is made the trimming to the linen scarfs
or cloths which the Roman peasants wear folded square over
the head, and hanging down the back. (Fig. 22.)

Fio. 22.

Punto a Gropo (Knotted Point).

7. Punto a niaglia quadra. — Lacis ; square nctting,^^ the
modano of the Tuscans. (Fig. 24.)

This Tuscan sort was not generally embroidered ; the
pattern consists in knitting the meshes together in different

^' Taglienti (1530) has <7ro2323'i,'?»orf- "^ See Genoa.

schi, and arabeschi ; and II S^pccchio ^s Taglienti (1530) gives a magliatq,

(1548), 'ponti gropjjosi. See also the Parasole (1600) lavori di maglia.
Sforza Inventory, 1493.

^ cS

o „
^ to

<1>

£^

> I.

Z
O

To face page 52.

VENICE

5J.

shapes. It was much used for hangings of beds, and those'
curtains phiced across the windows, called stores by the--
French, and by the Italians, stuora.^^

8. Burato. — The word means a stiff cloth or canvas
[toille clere of Taglienti, 1527), on which the pattern is
embroidered, reducing it to a kind of rude lace. One of the

Fig. 24.

PUNTO A Maglia (Lacis)

pattern-books ^' is devoted exclusively to the teaching of this
point.

- The needle-made laces fabricated at Burano will be
noticed later.

9. Punto tirato — Drawn work.^" Fig. 25 is a lace ground

^* Panti a stuora occur in II Spec-
cJiio (15^8), I FrictH (1564), and in the
VeraPerfettione (1591) the word stuora
(modern, stuoja) means also a mat of
plaited rushes, which some of these
interlaced patterns may be intended

to imitate.

^' Bitrato. See Appendix.

^^ There are many patterns for this
work in Le Pomps di Minerva, 1642.
Taglienti (1530) has desfilato among
his piuifi.

HISTORY OF LACE

made by drawing the threads of muslin {fdl tirati).^' The
present specimen is simple in design, but some are very
complicated and beautiful.

The ordinance of Colbert must have inflicted a serious
injury on the Venice lace trade, which, says Daru, " occupoit
la population de la capitale." In Britannia Languens, a
discourse upon trade, London, 1680,^'^ it is said that the laces
commonly called Points de Venise now come mostly from
France, and amount to a vast sum yearly.

Savary, speaking of the thread laces termed Venice point
in the early part of the eighteenth century ,^'^ says, " The

Fig. 25.

^Su-k^ii

ip??r?i

PUNTO TiRATO (Drawn Lace).

French no longer purchase these articles, having estab-
lished themselves manufactures which rival those of the
Adriatic."

Still the greater number of travellers ^" make a provision
of points in their passage through Venice, and are usually
cheated, writes a traveller about this period.'*^ He recom-

^^ Many other points are enumerated
in the patteni-books, of which we know
nothing, such as gasii (I Frutti, 1564),
trezola {Ibid), rimessi {Vera Perfet-
tione, 1.591), opere a mazzctte (Vecelho,
1591, and Lucretia Komana. n.d.).

^* Tracts on Trade of the Seven-
teenth Centurij, pubhshed by MacCul-
loch, at the expense of Lord Mont-

eagle. 1856.

^*' Venice point forms a considerable
item in the expenses of Charles II. and
his brother James.

*" Venice noted " for needlework
laces, called points." — Travels Thro'
Italy and France, by J. Bay. 1738. .

^' Misson, F. M., Noiiveau Voyage
d'ltalic, 4me edition. La Haye, 1702.

Fig. 26.

Point de Venise a Briues Picotees.— Early 18th ceutuiy.

To face page 34.

VENICE

mends his friend, Mr. Claude Somebody, a French dealer,
who probably paid him in ruffles for the advertisement.

Our porte-bouquets and lace-trimmed nosegays are
nothing new. On the occasion of the annual visit of the
Do^e to the Convent delle Vergini, the lady abbess with
the novices received him in the parlour, and presented
him with a nosegay of flowers placed in a handle of gold,
and trimmed round with the finest lace that Venice could
produce.^"

Fis. 27.

Venice Point.

Fynes Moryson "^^ is the earliest known traveller who
alludes to the products of Venice. " Venetian ladies in
general," he says, " wear a standing collar and rufl's close up
to the chin ; the unmarried tie their hair with gold and
silver lace." Evidently the collars styled " bavari," for
which Vecellio ** gives patterns " all' usanza Veneziana," were

^- Origi)ic dcUc Fcstc Veneziane, merland, Switzerland, NctJicrland,

da Giustina E. Michiel. Milano,
1829.

*^ An Itiiirrary, containing liis Ten.
Yeeres Travel tlirougli Germany, Boli-

Denmark, Poland, Italy, TnrJccy,
France, England, Scotland, and Ire-
land. Lond., 1617.
" 1591.

HISTORY OF LACE

not yet in general vogue/' The Medici collars were sup-
ported by fine metal bars called " verghetti," which were so
much in demand that the inhabitants of a whole cjuarter of

Fi". 28.

Gros Point de Venise.— (First half of 17th century.)

Venice were engaged in their production, and the name which
it still bears was given to it in consequence.

*® See, in Appendix, designs for bavari by Lucrezia.

Fig. 29.

Point de Venise.— End of 17th century.
Fig. 30.

Point Plat ve Venise. — Middle of 17th century.

To J act page 56.

VENICE

Fifty years later, Evelyn speaks of the veils of glittering
taffetas, worn by the Venetian ladies, to the corners of which
hang broad but curious tassels of point laces.

According to Zedler, an author who wrote about lace in
1742, the price of Venice point in high relief varied from
one to nine ducats per Italian ell.

The Venetians, unlike the Spaniards, thought much of
their fine linen and the decorations pertaining to it. " La
camicia preme assai piii del giubbone," ran the proverb —
" La chemise avant le pourpoint." Young nobles were not
allowed to wear lace on their garments until they put on the
robe, which they usually did at the age of five-and-twenty,
on being admitted to the council.*'^

Towards 1770, the Venice ladies themselves commenced
to forsake the fabrics of their native islands ; for on the
marriage of the Doge's son, in that year, we read that,
although the altar was decorated with the richest Venice
point, the bride and her ladies wore their sleeves covered up
to the shoulders with falls of the finest Brussels lace, and a
tucker of the same material.*^

During the carnival, however, the people, both male and
female, wore a camail, or hood of black lace, covering the chin
up to the mouth, called a " bauta." ^^ It was one of these old
black lace hoods that Walpole describes Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu as wearing at Florence, 1762, in place of a cap.

Point de Venise a reseau is chiefly distinguished by the
conventional treatment of the flowers and ornament, and a
o;eneral flat look of the work. The outlininoj thread or
cordonnet is stitched to the edge of the pattern and worked
in flatly. A minute border to the cordonnet of small meshes
intervenes between it and the reseau, which is of square

■"* The entry of the Venetian ambas-
sador, Mocenigo, is described in the
Mercure Galanf, 1709 : —

" II avoit un rabat de point de
Venise. ... Sa robe de damas noir
avec des grandes manches qui pen-
doient par derriere. Cette robe etoit
garnie de dentelle noir."

" Letters from Italy. So, in a play
of Goldoni, who wrote in the middle
of the last century, the lady has a
Brussels (Angleterre) head-dress.

Don Flaminio : " Mi par bellisima
cotesto pizzo Barbara : E un punto

d'Inghilterra che ha qualche merito."
— Gli Amori di Zelinda c Lindoro.

In Goldoni's plays all the ladies
make lace on the pillow {ballon), so
the art of making the needle Venice
point was probably at an end.

■'^ "La plus belie dentelle noire fait
I'espece de camail qui, sous un chapeau
noir emplume, couvre leurs epaviles et
leur tete." — Madame du Boccage, 1735.
Lettres sur Vltalie.

" Quella specie de lungo capuocio di
finissimo merlo pur nero, chiamato
bauta."— Michiel.

58 HISTORY OF LACE

meshes and always very fine. Whether the lace was derived
from the Alencon, and was the result of an attempt to win
back the custom the French manufacturers were taking away
from Venice, or whether it was Alencon that imitated the
Venetian reseau, is a moot point, but certain it is that the
Venetian product surpassed in fineness both Alencon and
Brussels. Its very delicacy has been its destruction, so that
very few specimens of this lace survive. Plate XII.

Mezzo Piinto, or mixed Venetian guipure, was a mixed
point lace, of which the scrolls and flowers were outlined in
pillow-lace, or by a tape, and the designs filled in with needle
fillings, and connected by pearled brides on a coarse needle-
made reseau. This variety of lace was sometimes made of
silk. In point de Venise, flat or raised, the pattern is always
connected by an irregular network of pearled brides. Real
brides connecting the Howers here and there hardly ever
occur ; and the number of picots attached to one single
branch of the bride network never exceeds two. The elabo-
rately ornamental detached l)rides and a multiplicity of picots
are characteristic of " Spanish point " and early point de
France.

The old Burano laces were a coarser outcome of the point
de Venise a reseau, and alone of all Venetian needle laces
survived the dark days of the close of the eighteenth century.
Some fine specimens of these were shown by M. Dupont
d'Auberville in the International Exhibition, and Marini
quotes from a document of the seventeenth century, in which,
speaking of merletti, it is said that " these laces, styled
' punti in aria,' or di Burano, because the greater part of them
were made in the country so called, are considered .by Lannoni
as more noble and of greater whiteness, and for excellency of
design and perfect workmanship equal to those of Flanders,
and in solidity superior,"

A new departure has been taken in modern times, in
the makino; of hand-made laces at the island of Burano,
near Venice, where a large number of girls were employed
in the eighteenth century, both in the town and the
convents, in making a point closely resembling that of
Alencon. Here the art lingered on as late as 1845, when
a superannuated nun of ninety, with whom Mrs. Dennis-
toun, of Dennistoun, conversed on the subject, said how
in her younger days she and her companions employed

CO
si

•a

F>5
I

To /ace ^rrge 58.

VENICE

their time in the fabric of " punto di Buraiio " ; '*^ how it was
ordered long beforehand for great marriages, and even then
cost very dear. She showed specimens still tacked on paper :
the ground is made rioht across the thread of the lace.

Burano point had not the extreme delicacy of the
Venetian point a rc^seau or of Alencon, and the late Alen9on
patterns were copied. Though needle-made, it was worked
on a pillow arranged with a cylinder for convenience of
working. The unevenness of the thread gives the reseau
a cloudy appearance, and the cordonnet is, like the Brussels
needlepoint, of thread stitched round the outline instead of
the Alencon button-hole stitch over horse-hair. The mesh
of the reseau is square, as in Alencon,

Fig. 32 is copied from a specimen purchased at Burano
by the Cav. Merli, of the maker, an old woman known by
the name of Cencia Scarpariola. In 1866, the industry
was extinct, and the *' Contrada del Pizzo," once the head-
quarters of the lace-makers, was a mvsterv to the natives,
who could no longer account for the denomination. In the
church is preserved a splendid series of altar-cloths of so-
called Burano point in relief, and a fine storiato piece,
representing the mysteries of the Passion. " Venice point
is now no more," writes Mrs. Palliser ; " the sole relic of
this far-famed trade is the coarse torchon lace, of the old
lozenge pattern, offered by the peasant women of Palestrina
to strangers on their arrival at hotels," the same fabric men-
tioned by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, when she speaks
of " peddling women that come on pretext of selling
pennyworths of lace."

The formation of the school recently established there,^°
and the revival of the art of lace-making in Burano, arose
out of the o-reat distress which in 1872 overtook the island.
The extraordinary severity of the winter that year rendered
it impossible for the poor fishermen, who form the population

*'' " L'ile de Burano oii Ton fabrique
les dentelles." — Quadri, Huit Jours a
Venise.

" Technical History of Venetian
Laces, Urbani de Gheltof. ' Translated
by Lady Layard. Venice, 1882.

Origines de la Dentelle de Venise
<:t VEcole de Burano. Venice, 1897.

Traditions of lace-making were kept

alive in Venice, Cantu and Liguria
during the first half of the nineteenth
century by the nianufactiu'e of an
inferior quality of blonde, once exten-
sively made at Venice, which has since
died out, owing to the revival in the
production of thread-lace and guipures
at Palestrina.

HISTORY OF LACE

of the island, to follow their calling. So

great

was

the

distress at that time, while the lagoons were frozen, that the
fishermen and their families were reduced to a state bordering

on starvation, and for their
by all classes in Italy,

includino;

relief contributions were
the Pope and the

made
King.

Fig.

32.

BURANO Point.— (Late 18th uentuiy.)

This charitable movement resulted in the collection of a fund
of money, which sufficed to relieve the immediate distress
and leave a surplus for the establishment of a local industry
to increase the resources of the Burano population.

Unfortunately, the industry at first fixed upon, namely,

Plate XIII.

'I'll Ulri- /jK'Jc 01.

VENICE 6 1

tlmt of making fishermen's nets, gave no practical result, the
fishermen being too poor to buy the nets. It was then that
a suggestion was made by Signor Fambri that an effort
should be made to revive the ancient industry of lace-
making, and Princess Chigi-Giovanelli and the Countess
Andriana Marcello were asked to interest themselves in, and
to patronise, a school for this purpose.

To this application these ladies yielded a ready assent,
and at a late period Queen Margherita graciously consented
to become the president of the institution.

When Countess Marcello, who from that time was the
life and soul of the undertaking, began to occupy herself
with the foundation of the school, she found an old woman
in Burano, Cencia Scarpariola. who preserved the traditions
of the art of lace-making, and continued, despite her
seventy years and upwards, to make Burano point. As she,
however, did not understand the method of teaching her
art, the assistance was secured of Madame Anne Bellorio
d'Este, a very skilful and intelligent woman, for some time
mistress of the girls' school at Burano, who in her leisure
hours took lessons in lace-making of Cencia Scarpariola, and
imparted her knowledge to eight pupils, who, in considera-
tion of a small payment, w^ere induced to learn to make
lace.

As the number of scholars increased, Madame Bellorio
occupied herself exclusively in teaching lace-making, which
she has continued to do with surprising results. Under
Madame Bellorio's tuition, the school, which in 1872 con-
sisted of eight pupils (who received a daily payment to
induce them to attend), now, in 1897, numbers four hundred
workers, paid, not by the day, but according to the work
each performs.

In Burano everything is extremely cheap, and a humble
abode capable of accommodating a small family may be had
for from six hundred to one thousand Italian lire. It is
not a rare occurrence to find a young lace-worker saving her
earnings in order to purchase her little dwelling, that she
may take it as a dower to her husband. Nearly all the
young men of Burano seek their wives from among the
lace- women. The school's diploma of honour speaks of the
economical importance of the lace- work '" to the poor place
of Burano," and " the benefit which the gentle industry

62 HISTORY OF LACE

brings to the inhabitants of the interesting island, whose
welfare, having passed through a series of undeserved trials,
is due exclusively to the revival of it practised on a large
scale."

The lace made in the school is no lonsfer confined, as in
the origin it was, to Burano point, but laces of almost any
design or model are now undertaken — point de Burano, point
d'Alencon, point de Bruxelles, point d'Angleterre, point
d'Argentan, rose point de Venise, Italian punto in aria,
and Italian punto tagliato a fogliami. The school has been
enriched by gifts of antique lace, and Queen Margherita gave
the school permission to co^^y two magnificent specimens of
Ecclesiastical lace — now Crown property — that had formerly
belonged to Cardinal de Retz, and Pope Clement VII.
(Rezzonico).

In order the better to carry out the character of the
different laces, the more apt and intelligent of these pupils,
whose task it is to trace out in thread the design to be
worked, have the advantage of being taught by professional
artists.

The four hundred lace-workers now employed are divided
into seven sections, in order that each may continue in the
same sort of work and, as much as possible, in the same class
of lace. By this method each one becomes thoroughly pro-
ficient in her own special department, executes it with greater
facility, and consequently earns more, and the school gets
its work done better and cheaper.

While Countess Marcello was working to re-establish the
making of needle-point at Burano, Cav. Michelangelo Jesurum
was re-organising the bobbin-lace industry at Pellestrina, a
small fishing-town on the Lido. In 1864 the lace of Pelles-
trina might have been described as an inextricable labvrinth
of threads with vaguely distinguishable lines and occasional
holes. The lace was so imperfect, and made in such small
quantities, that two women who went about selling it in
A enice and the country round sufficed to dispose of all that
was made. The pricked papers were prepared l)y an old
peasant woman, who made them more and more imperfect
at each repetition, losing gradually all trace of the original
design. Cav. Jesurum, by a careful copying of the old
designs, obtained valuable results, and founded a lace-school
and a flourishing industry. About 1875 polychrome lace

Plate XIY.

Italian. — .Modern reproduction at Burano of the tiounce now belonging to the Crown of
Italy, formerly to Pope Clement XIII., Rezzonico, 1()98-1769. Height, 24 in.

Photo by tlie Burano School.

'I'll facr prdfr <!'2.

MILAN 63

was introduced in Venice — bobbin-lace worked in colours
with designs of Howers, fruits, leaves, arabesques, and
animals, with the various tints and shading required. The
women who make bobbin -lace now in Venice and in the
islands amount to 3,000, but it is difticult to give an exact
estimate of their numbers, as many of them are bone-workers,
wives and daughters of fishermen, wdio combine the lace-
making with their household duties, with mending of nets,
and with field-work.

MILAN ("MiLANO LA Grande").

" Margaret : I saw the Duchess of Milan's gown that they praise so.
" Hero : O that exceeds, thej' say.

" Margaret : By iny troth, it's but a night-gown in respect of yours ; cloth
o' gold and cuts, and laced with silver." — Much Ado about Nothing, iv. 1.

One of the earliest records of Italian lace belongs to Milan,
and occurs in an instrument of partition between the sisters
Angela and Ippolita Sforza Visconti, dated 1493 (see Venice).

This document is of the highest interest as giving the
inventory of an Italian wardrobe of the fifteenth 'century.
In it, amidst a number of curious entries, are veils of good
network, with cambric pillow-cases, linen sheets, mosquito
curtains and various articles, worked a reticella and a groppi,
with the needle, bobbins, bones, and other different ways ^^
mentioned in the pattern-books of the following century.

Among other items we find, " Half of a bundle coataining
patterns for ladies' work."^^

Though the fabric of these fine points dates back for so
many centuries, there is little notice of them elsewhere.

^^ " Velleto (veil) uno d'oro filato. " Pecto uno d'oro facto a grupi.

" Payro uno fodrete (pillow-case) di " Lavoro uno de rechamo facto a

canibria lavorate a gugia (a I'aiguille). grupi dove era suso le pere de Madona

" Lenzuolo (sheet) uno di revo di tele Biancha.

(linen thread), cinque lavorato a punto. " Binda una lavorata a poncto de

" Peza una de tarnete (trina) doii fuxi (two bobbins) per uno len-

d'argento facte a stelle. zolo." — Insti-umento di divizione ire

" Lenzolo uno de tele, quatro lavo- le sorelle Angela cd Ippolita Sforza

rato a radexelo (reticello). Visconti, di Milano, 1493, Giorno di

" Peze quatro de radexela per met- Giovedi, 12 Settenibre.

tere ad uno nioscheto (zanzariere, °^ " La niita de uno fagotto quale

mosquito curtain). aveva dentro certi dissegni da lavorare

" Tarneta una d'oro et seda negi"a le donne."
facta da ossi (bones).

64 HISTORY OF LACE

Henry VIII. is mentioned as wearing one short pair of hose
of purple silk of Venice gold, woven like a caul, edged
with a passamaine lace of purple silk and gold, worked
at Milan. ^^

In a wardrobe account of Lord Hay, gentleman of his
Majesty's robes, 1606,^* is noted down to James I., " One
suit with cannons thereunto of silver lace, shadowed with
silk Milan lace."

Again, among the articles furnished against the " Queen's
lying down," 1606, in the bills of the Lady Audrye Walsing-
ham,^^ is an entry of " Lace, Milan fashion, for child's
waistcoat."

A French edict, dated March, 1613, against superfluity
in dress, prohibiting the wearing of gold and silver em-
broidery, specially forbids the use of all " passement de
Milan, ou facon de Milan " under a penalty of one thousand
livres.^" The expression "a point de Milan" occurs in the
statutes of the passemen tiers of Paris."

" Les galons, passements et broderies, en or et en argent
de Milan," says Savary,^" were once celebrated.

Lalande, who writes some years later, adds, the laces
formerly were an object of commerce to the city, now they
only fabricate those of an inferior quality. ^^

Much was consumed by the Lombard peasants, the better
sorts serving for ruffles of moderate price. *^° So opulent are
the citizens, says a writer of the same epoch, that the lowest
mechanics, blacksmiths and shoemakers, appear in gold stuff
coats with ruffles of the finest point. "^^

And when, in 1767, the Auvergne lace-makers petition
for an exemption from the export duty on their fabrics, they
state as a ground that the duty prevents them from com-
peting abroad, especially at Cadiz, with the lace-makers of
Piedmont, the Milanais, and Lnperial Flanders. Milan must,
therefore, have made lace extensively to a late period.

'•" Harl. MS. No. 1419. ^* Grand Dictionnaire Univmsel du

'^ Eoll. P. E. 0. Commerce. 1723.

^'^ P. E. O. '^ Voyage en Italie. 1765.

^ De la Mare, Traite de la Police. ^^ Peuchet, J., Dictionnaire TJniver-

^"^ " Statuts, Ordonnances et Eegle- sel de la GeograjMe Commergante.

mens de la Communaute des Maistres Paris, An vii. = 1799.

Passementiers, etc., de Paris, confirmez "' Letters from Italy, by a lady,

sur les anciens Statuts du 23 mars 1770.
1558." Paris, 1719.

I'LATK XV

:;;

•~J

-^^

^^ <i

y Ph

V'l/ I'lli-r /iiii/r CA.

MILAN

Fig. :33 is <i specimen of what lias l)eeii termed old Milan
point, from the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in that
city. It is more (if ten known as Greek lace.

The so-called punti di Milano — points de Mihin — were
all bobljin-laces, which orioinated in Milan, and, thouoh
imitated 1)}' Genoa and Naples, remained unapproached in

Fio. .33.

Eeticella from Milan.

design and workmanshijo. After first making passements,
Milan imitated the Venetian points, " a fogliami," in which
the pattern has the appearance of woven linen, with a jonrs
occasionally introduced to lighten portions of it. The design
was at first connected with bars, but later, meshes (in the
seventeenth century large meshes, and, still later, smaller

HISTORY OF LACE

meshes) filled the ground. This reseau varies, but most
frequently it has four plaited sides to a mesh, as in
Valenciennes.

Like other Italian laces, Milanese lace frequently has
coats-of-arms or family badges woven in it, such as the
Doge's horn, the baldachino (a special distinction accorded
to Koman princes), the dogs of the Carrara family, and so on,
Co commemorate a marriage or some other important event
in the family. This sort of lace was known as Carnival
lace when made of Venetian point.

Milan lace is now represented l)y Cantu, near Lake Como,
where the making of white and black pillow-lace gives
employment to many thousands of women. The torchon
lace of the country is original, and in much request with
the peasantry.

In the underground chapel of San Carlo Borrom.eo, in
Milan Cathedral, are preserved twenty-six " camicie,"
trimmed with flounces of the richest point, all more or less
splendid, and worked in the convents of the city, but many
of the contents of this sumptuous wardrobe have rotted away
from the efiects of the damp atmosphere.

FLORENCE.

Of Florence and its products we know but little, though
the Elegy of Agnolo Firenzuola proves that ladies made
raised point at an early period. ^^ His expression " scolpi,"
carved, sculptured in basso rilievo, leaves no doubt upon the
matter.

" This collar was sculptured by my lady
In bas reliefs such as Arachne
And she who conquered her could ne'er excel.
Look on that lovely foliage, like an Acanthus,

®- " Questo collar scolpi la donna mia
De basso rilevar, eh' Aracne mai,
E chi la vinse nol faria piu bello.
Mira quel bel foglianie, ch' un acanto
Sembra, che sopra un niur vada car-

poni.
Mira quel fior, ch' un candido ne cade
Vicino al seme, apr' or la bocia I'altro.
Quel cordiglin, che'l legan d'ognitorno,
Come rilevan ben ! mostrando ch' ella
E' la vera maestra di quest' arte,

Com ben compartiti son quel punti I '
Ve' come son ugual quel bottoncelli.
Come s' alzano in guisa d'un bel colle
L'un come 1' altro ! . . .
Questi merli da man, questi trafori
Fece pur ella, et questo punto a spina,
Che mette in mezzo questo cordoncello,
Ella il fe pure, ella lo fece."

• — Elegia sojyra un Collaretfo,
Firenzuola (circ. 1520).

Plate XVI.

PlATK XVII.

.2P

-i-^

-1-^

-u

_ ^

.2f

• 7-1

■53

pL.

^ -i

o
+^
o

Til flier [lafio fi'i

FLORENCE 67

Which o'ev a wall its graceful branches trails.

Look on those lovely flowers of purest white,

Whicli, near the pods that open, hang in harmony.

That little cord which binds each one about,

How it projects ! proving that she who wrought it

Is very mistress of this art.

How well distributed are all these points !

See the equality of all those little bnds

Which rise like many fair proportioned hills.

One like the other. . . .

This hand-made lace, this open-work,

Is all produced by her, this herring-bone,

Which in the midst holds down a little cord.

Was also made by her ; all wrought by her."

Henry VIIL granted to two Florentines the privilege of
importing for three years' time all " manner of fringys and
passements wrought with gold and silver or otherwise," ^^ an
account of which will be found in the notice of that monarch's
reign.

Beyond this, and the statute already mentioned, passed
at the " Sute of the Browderers " on account of the
" deceyptful waight of the gold of Luk, Florence, Jeane,
and Venice," '^^ there is no allusion to the lace of Florence in
our English records.

In France, as early as 1545, the sister of Francis I. pur-
chases " soixante aulnes fine dan telle de Florence " ^'^ for her
own use, and some years afterwards, 1582, the Queen of
Navarre pays 17 ecus 30 sols for 10 aulnes et demye of the
same passement " faict a I'esguille a haulte dantelle pour
mettre a des fraizes." "^^ On the marriao;e of Elizabeth de
France with Philip II. in 1559, purchases were made of
" passements et de bisette, en fil blanc de Florence."

Seeing the early date of these French accounts, it may
be inferred that Catherine de Medicis first introduced, on her
arrival as a bride, the Italian points of her own native city.*^^

In Florence, in the fifteenth century, Savonarola, in his
sermons (1484-1491), reproached the nuns with " devoting
their time to the vain fabrication of o-old laces with which to
adorn the houses and persons of the rich,"

Ray mentions that people of quality sent their daughters

«3 Eymer's Fcedera (38 Hen. VIII. Sceur du Boi.^Bih. Nat. MSS. F. Fr.

= 1546). 10,394.

" 4 Hen. VII. = 1488-89. "« Comptes de la Reine de Navarre.

^^ Comxite des depenses de la maison — Arch. Nat., K. K. 170.

.de Madame Marguerite de France, '^' In 1535.

F 2

68 HIS TORY OF LACE

at eioht vears old to the Florentine nunneries to 1 >e instructed
in all manner of women's work.

Lace was also fabricated at Sienna, but it appears to have
been the lacoro di riuKjlta or lacis, called by the Tuscans
niodano r/'camato — embroidered network.

Early in the last century two Genoese nuns, of the
Convent Sta. Maria degli Angeli in Sienna, executed pillow
laces and gold and silver embroidery of such surpassing
beauty, that they are still carefully preserved and publicly
exhil)ited on fete-days. One Francesca Bulgarini also
instructed the schools in the making of lace of every kind^
especially the Venetian reticella.*^^

THE ABRUZZI.

In the Abruzzi, and also the Province of the Marche, coarse
laces are made. These are worked without any drawing, the
rude design Ijeing made by skipping the pin-holes on a geo-
metrically perforated card. The pattern is surrounded by a
heavy thread, and composed of a close stitch worked between
the meshes of a coarse net ground. This lace somewhat
resembles Dalecarlian lace. In the eighteenth century fine
pillow lace was also made in these provinces. The celel irated
industrv of ( )tiida in the Marche has sunk into artistic
deoradation.

EOMAGNA.

Lace was made in many parts of Komagna. Besides the
knotted lace already alluded to,*^" which is still made and
worn l)y the peasants, the peasant women wore on their
collerettes much lace of that large-flowered -pattern and
fancy ground, found alike in Flanders and on the head-
dresses of the Neapolitan and Calabrian peasants.

Specimens of the lace of the province of LTrbino resemble
in pattern and texture the line close lace on the collar of
Christian IV., figured in our notice of Denmark. The Avork-
manship is of great beauty.

Reticella is made at Bologna, and was revived in January,
1900, by the Aemilia-Ars Co-operative Society. The designs
are for the most part taken from old pattern-l)ooks, such a&
Parasole.

"' She died in 1862. "' See Venice, 1.

ROjIIAGNA

Fig. ;U represents a fragment of a piece of lace of great
interest, communicated by the Countess Gigliucci. It is
worked with the needle upon muslin, and only a few inches
of the lace are finished. This incompleteness makes it the
more valuable, as it enables us to trace the manner of its
execution, all the threads being left hanging to its several parts.
The (Jountess states that she found the work at a villa be-
longing to Count Gigliucci, near Fermo on the Adriatic, and

Fig. 34.

Unfinished Uhawn-Work.

it is supposed to have been executed by the Count's great-
grandmother above 160 years ago — an ex(|uisite specimen of
" the needle's excellency."

Though the riches of our Lady of Loreto fill a volume in
themselves,'" and her image was fresh clad every day of the
year, the account of her jewels and plate so overpower any
mention of her laces, which were doubtless in accordance with

■" Invcntaire du Trcsor de N. D. dc Lorette. — Bib. Xat. MHH.

HISTORY OF LACE

the rest of the wardrobe, that there is nothing to tell on
the subject.

The laces of the Vatican and the holy Conclave, mostly
presents from crowned heads, are magnificent beyond all de-
scription. They are, how^ever, constantly in the market, sold
at the death of a Cardinal by his heirs, and often repurchased
l)y some newly-elected prelate, each of whom on attaining a
high ecclesiastical dignit}' is compelled to furnish himself
with several sets.

A lady'' describing the ceremony of washing the feet by
the Pope, writes, in 1771, " One of his cardinals brought him
an apron'^ of old point with a broad l)order of Mechlin lace,
and tied it with a white ribbon round his holiness's waist."
In this guise protected, he performed the ceremony.

Clement IX. was in the habit of making presents of Italian
lace, at that period still prized in France, to Monsieur de Sor-
biere, with whom he had lived on terms of intimacy previous
to his elevation. " He sends ruffles," cries the irritated Gaul,
who looked for something more tangible, " to a man who
never has a shirt." '^

NAPLES.

When Davies, Barber Surgeon of London,'* visited Naples
in 1597, he writes, " Among the traffic of this city is lace of
all sorts and garters."

Fynes Moryson, his contemporary, declares " the Italians
care not for foreign apparel, they have ruffles of Flanders linen
wrought with Italian cut-work so much in use with us. They
wear no lace in gold and silver, l)ut l)lack" ; while Lassels
says, all they care for is to keep a coach ; their point de
Yenise and oold lace are all turned into horses and liveries.''^

"'^ Letters from Italy.

"- The grn)iial, or apron, placed on
the lap of the Roman Catholic bishops
when performing sacred functions in a
sitting posture. — Pugin's Glossary of
Ecclesiastical Ornament.

''^ This reminds one of the lines of
Goldsmith, in his poem, " The Haunch
of Venison," the giving of venison to
hungry poets who were in want of
mutton ; he says :

" Such dainties to send them their
health it would hurt ;

It's like sending them ruffles when
wanting a shirt."

'* A true Brlation of the Travailes.
and most miscrahlr Caftivitie of W.
Davies. Loud., 1614.

''° An Italian Voyage, or a Conq^lcte
Jotirney throngli Italy, by Eich.
Lassels, Gent. 2nd edit., Lond., 1698.
A reprint, with additions by another
hand, of the original edition. Paris,
1670. Lowndes' Bihliograjihcr'' s
Mannal, Bohn's new edit.

Platk XVIII.

Cushion made at tiik School. — These coloured silk laces are reproductions
of the sixteenth century. Size, 20 x 12 in.

Plate XIX.

Italy. — Group of workers of the Brazza School, Torreauo di Martignacco, Friuli, showing
the different kinds of lacework done and pillows in use.

Photos by Contessa di Brazza.

To face paye 10.

NAPLES

Of this lace we find but scanty mention. In the tailor's
bill of Sir Timothy Hutton, 1615, when a scholar at Cam-
bridge, a charge is made for " four oz. and a half quarter and
dram of Naples lace." And in the accounts of laces furnished
for the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth to the Elector Pala-
tine, 1612. is noted "narrow black Naples lace, purled on
both sides."

The principal fabric of lace was in the Island of Ischia.
Vecellio, in 1590, mentions the ladies' sleeves being trimmed
with very fine thread lace.'*^ Ischia lace may still be met
with, and serves for trimming toilets, table-covers, curtains,
etc., consisting generally of a square netting ground, with
the pattern embroidered. Black silk lace also used to be
made in Ischia.

Much torchon lace, of well-designed patterns, was also
made, similar in style to that given in Fig. 40.

Though no longer fabricated in the island, the women at
Naples still make a coarse lace, which they sell about the
streets."

The punto di Napoli is a bobbin lace, resembling the
punto di Milano, but distinguished from it by its much
rounder mesh and coarser make.

Towards the middle of the last century, many of the
Italian sculptors adopted an atrocious system, only to be
rivalled in bad taste l)y those of the Lower Empire, that of
dressing the individuals they modelled in the costume of the
period, the colours of the dress represented in varied marbles.
In the villa of Prince Valguarnera, near Palermo, were some
years since many of these strange productions with rich laces
of coffee-coloured point, admirably chiselled, it must be
owned, in giallo antico, the Ions Howino- ruffles and head-
tires of the ladies Ijeing reproduced in white alal)aster."

76 4 4 Portano alcune vesti di tela di
lino sottile, lunghe tino in terra, con
nianiche larghe assai, attorno alle quali
sono attaccati alcuni nierletti lavorati
di refe sottilissinio." — Habiti di donna
deir Isola d' Ischia. Begli Hahiti
Aniichi e Moderni di Diverse Parti
del Mondo di Ccsare Vecellio. Ve-
nezia, 1590.

" We have among the points given

by Taglieuti (1530), " pugliese." Lace
is still made in Puglia and the other
southern provinces of Naples and in
Sicily.

The Contessa di Brazza says that
Punto Pugliese resembled Russian and
Roumanian embroiderj-.

'- Brydone, Toio' through Sicily.
1773.

HISTORY OF LACE

GENOA {." Genova la Superba ").

" Lost, — A licli needle work called Poynt Jean, a yard and a half long and
half quarter broad." — The Infelligencer, Feb. 29, 1663."

" Genoa, for points." — Grand Tour. 1756.

The art of making gold thread, already known to the
Etruscans, took a singular development in Italy during the
fourteenth century.

Genoa '^ first imitated the gold threads of Cyprus. Lucca
followed in her wake, while Venice and ]\lilan appear nmcli
later in the field. Gold of Jeane formed, as alread}' men-
tioned, an item in our early statutes. The merchants
mingled the pure gold with Spanish '' laton," producing a
sort of "faux galon," such as is used for theatrical purposes
in the present day. They made also silver and gold lace
out of drawn wire, after the fashion of those discovered,
not long since, at Herculaneum.

When Skippin visited Turin, in 1651, he described the
manner of preparing the metal wire. The art maintained
itself latest at Milan, l)ut died out towards the end of the
seventeenth century.

Our earliest mention of Genoa lace is,*^" as usual, to be
found in the Great AVardrobe Accounts of Queen Elizabeth,
where laces of Jeane of black " serico satten," of colours, ^^
and billement lace of Jeane silk, are noted down. Thev
were, however, all of silk.

It is not till after a lapse of nigh seventy years that
first Point de Genes appears mentioned in an ordinance,^- and
in the wardrobe of Mary de Medicis is enumerated, among
other articles, a " mouchoir de point de Gennes frise." '^^

"''■^ From the tax-books preserved in
the Archives of S. George, it appears
that a tax upon gold thread of four
danari upon every lira in value of the
worked material was levied, which be-
tween 1411 and 1420 amoinited to L.
73,387. From which period tliis in-
dustry rapidly declined, and the workers
emigrated. — Merli.

*" Signore Tessada, the great lace
fabricant of Genoa, carries back the

manufacture of Italian lace as early as
the year 1400, and forwarded to the
author specimens which he declares to
be of that date.

"' " Laqueo serico Jeano de colori-
bus, ad 5.S. per doz. G. W. A. Eliz' —
16 & 17 and 19 & 20. P. II. 0.

^- Dated 1639.

'^ Garderobedc feus Madame. 1646.
Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 11,426.

GENOA 73

Moryson, who visited the Republic in 1589, declares
*' the Genoese wear no lace or gardes."

As late as 1597, writes Vulson de la Colombiere,'^^ " ni
les points de Gennes, ni de Flandre n'etoient en usage."

It was not before the middle of the seventeenth century
that the points of Genoa were in general use throughout
Europe. Handkerchiefs, aprons, collars,^^ seem rather to have
found favour with the public than lace made by the yard.

No better customer was found for these luxurious articles
of adornment than the fair Madame de Puissieux, alreadv
cited for her singular taste in cut-work.

" Elle etoit magnilique et ruina elle et ses enfans. On
portoit en ce temps-la," writes St. Simon ; " force points de
Genes qui etoient extremement chers ; c'etoit la grande parure
— et la parure de tout age : elle en mangea pour 100,000
ecus (£20,000) en une aunee, a ronger entre ses dents celle
quelle avoit autour de sa tete et de ses bras." ^"^

" The Genoese utter a w^orld of points of needlework,"
writes Lassels, at the end of the century, and throughout
the eighteenth we hear constantly of the gold, silver and
thread lace, as well as of the points of Genoa, being held in
high estimation.

Gold and silver lace was prohibited to be worn wdthin
the w^alls of the city, but they wear, writes Lady Mary
Wortley Montagu, exceeding fine lace and linen. ^' Indeed,
by the sumjDtuary laws of the Republic, the richest costume
allowed to the ladies was black velvet trimmed with their
home-made point.

The femmes bourgeoises still edge their aprons with
point lace, and some of the elder women wear square linen
veils trimmed with coarse lace.*^

^^ Le Vray Theatre d'Honneur et de collet de point de Genes." — The

Chevalerie. Paris, 1648. Chevalier cVAlbret.

*'' Queen Christina is described by " Linge, bijoux et points de Genes."

the Grande Mademoiselle, on the occa- — Loret, Muse Historique. 1650.

sion of her visit, as wearing " au cou, " Item, ung autre mouchoir de point

un mouchoir de point de Genes, none de Genes." — Inv. clu Marechal de La

avec un ruban couleur de feu." — Mim. Motte. 1657.

de Mademoiselle de Montpensier. ^'^ Man., t. xiv., p. 286.

" Item, ung peignoir, tablier et *" Signore Tessada has in his posses-

cornette de toile baptiste garnie de sion a pair of gold lappets of very

point de Genes." — 1644. Inv, de la beautiful design, made at Genoa about

Comtesse de Soissons. the year 1700.

" Un petit manteau brode et son ** Letters from Italy. 1770.

74 HISTORY OF LACE

" That decayed city, Genoa, makes much lace, but inferior
to that of Flanders," states Anderson in his Origin of
Commerce^ 1764.

The Genoese wisely encouraged their own native manufac-
ture, but it was now, however, chiefly for home consumption.

Savary, speaking of the Genoa fabric, says : As regards
France, these points have had the same lot as those of Venice
— ruined by the act of prohibition.

In 1840, there were only six lace-sellers in the city of
Genoa. The women work in their own houses, receiving
materials and patterns from the merchant who pays for their
labour.*''

Lace, in Genoa, is called jrizzo. Piinti in aco were not
made in this city. The points of Genoa, so prized in the
seventeenth century, were all the work of the pillow, a
piomhini,^" or a ma-zzetta, as the Italians term it, of fine
handspun thread brought from Lombardy. Silk was procured
from Naples. Of this Lombardy thread were the magnificent
collars of which we give an example (Fig. 35), and the fine
guipures a reseau which were fashioned into aprons and
fichus. The old Genoa point still finds favour in the eyes of
the clergy, and on fete days, either at Genoa or Savona,
may be seen splendid lace decorating the camicie of the
ecclesiastics.

The Ligurian or Genoese guipures have four entirely
distinctive characters. The Hispano-Moresque (or Greek)
point de Genes frise, the Vermicelli from Rapallo and Santa
Margherita, a lace resembling Milanese lace with "brides,"
and a fourth kind, entirely different from these varieties,
called f'ugio (I fly), as it is very soft and airy. It is an
adaptation of guipure-like ribbons of weaving, with open-
work variations, held together by a very few bars. In all
these laces, as in Neapolitan and Milanese lace, a crochet
needle is used to join the bars and design by drawing one
thread through a pin-hole in the lace and passing a free
bol)bin through the loop to draw the knot tight.

'" Cavasco. Statistiquc de Genes. tory gives fl f/ow/^a^t, " two bobbins,"

1840. then a ossi, " of bone," and, lastly,

■'" The bobbuas appear to have been a piombini ; and it is very certain that

made in Italy of various materials. We lead was used for bobbins in Italy,

have Merletti a fnsi,, in which case See Parasole (1600).
they are of wood. The Sforza inven-

Pig, 35.

Genoa Point, Bobbin-.madk. From a collar in the possession of the Author.
invariably consJstoTf*our?Ss. '' ''"'^' '^ ""'"^^ Ws^-Italian merletti a piombiui. The plaits alniost

To face page 7^,

GENOA

The lace manufacture extends along the coast from
Albissola, on tlie Western Riviera, to Santa Marglierita on
the eastern. Santa Margherita and Rapallo are called by
Luxada^^ the emporium of the lace industry of Genoa,
and are still the greatest producers of pillow-lace on the
coast. The workers are mostly the wives and daughters of
the coral-fishers who support themselves by this occupation
during the long and perilous voyages of their husbands. In
the archives of the parochial church of Santa Margherita is
preserved a book of accounts, in which mention is made, in
the year 1592, of gifts to the church, old nets from the coral
fishery, together ^\\X\ pisetti (jnzzi), the one a votive offering
of some successful fishermen, the other the work of their
wives or daughters, given in gratitude for the safe return of
their relatives. There was also found an old worn parch-
ment pattern for a kind of tape guipure (Fig. 36).°^ The
manufacture, therefore, has existed in the province of
Chiavari for many centuries. Much of this description of
lace is assigned to Genoa. In these tape guipures the tape
or braid was first made, and the ground worked in on the
parchment either by the needle or on the pillow. The laces
consist of white thread of A^arious qualities, either for wear,
church decoration, or for exportation to America.

Later, this art gave place to the making of black blonde,
in imitation of Chantilly, of which the centres in Italy are
now Genoa and Cantu. In the year 1850 the lace-workers
began to make guipures for France, and these now form their
chief produce. The exportation is very great, and lace-
making is the daily occupation, not only of the women, but

'•"■ Memorie Storichc di Santa Mar- needlework stitches." The C. ili

glierita. Genoese pillow-laces are not
made with the resean, but joined by
bars. Of Milan lace it is said, " It
resembles Genoese pillow-lace in
having the same scrolls and tlowers
formed by a ribbon in close stitch,
with a mesh or tulle ground, whereas
the Genoese lace is held together by
bars." — C. di Brazza, Old and New
Lace in Italy (1893).

•'- Lefebure writes, " A version of
these Milanese laces has been pro-
duced by using tape for the scroll
forms and flowers, and tilling in the
open portions between the tapes by

Brazza calls similar lace Punto di
Bapallo ovLiguria, a lace formed b^- a
ribbon or braid of close lace following"
the outline of the design with fancy
gauze stitches made by knotting ^^■ith
a crochet needle. The special cha-
racteristic of this lace is that the braid
is constantly thrown o^■er what has
gone before. The design is connected
by brides. A modification, where the
braid is very fine and narrow, and the
tiu'nings extremely- complicated, and
enriched by no fancy stitches between,
is Punto a Vermicelli. — Old and New
Lace in Italy.

HISTORY OF LACE

of tlie ladies of the commune.^^ In 1862 Santa Maroherita
had 2,210 lace-workers : Kapallo, 1,494. The maestri, or

Fig. 36.

'^^ ^ (m)

Lace Pattekn found in the Church at Santa Margheiuta (ciic. 1592).

overseers, receive all orders from the trade, and find hands to
execute them. The silk and thread required for the lace is

•'^ Communicated by Sig. Gio. Tessada, Junr., of Genoa.

Plate XX.

Italian. Bobbin Tapl with Needle-made Rkseau.
Width, 8 in.

Photo bv A. Drvden.

Plate XXT.

Italian, Genoese. Scalloped Border of Unbleached Thread.s, 'J'wisted and
Plaited. — Sixteenth or seventeenth century. Width, 5 in.

Victoria and Albert ]\Iuseuni.

Tu face iM(je 76.

GENOA

weighed out and given to the lace-makers, and the work
when completed is re- weighed to see that it corresponds with
that of the material given. The ntaeMrl contrive to realise
large fortunes, and become in time signori ; not so the poor
lace-makers, whose hardest day's gain seldom exceeds a franc
and a half ^^ Embroidered lace is also made at Genoa. On
a band of tulle are embroidered in darning-stitch flowers or
small detached springs, and the ground is sometimes seme
with little embroidered dots. A coarse thread outlines the
embroidery.

The laces of Albissola,^^ near Savona, of Idack and white
thread, or silk of diti'erent colours, were once an article of

[Parchment Pattehn used to cover a Book, bearisg the DateIist:. (Keduced.);

considerable exportation to the principal cities of Spain,
Cadiz, Madrid and Seville. This industry was of early date.
In many of the parochial churches of Albissola are specimens
of the native fabric dating from 1600, the work of devout
ladies ; and parchment patterns drawn and pricked for pillow-
lace, bearing the earlier date of 1577, have been found
covering old law books, the property of a notary of Albissola.
The designs (Fig. 37) are flowing, but poor, and have
probably served for some shawl or apron, for it was a custom
long handed down for the daughters of great nobles, previous

■'* Gandolfi, Considerazioni Agrario. drive from Savona. on the road leading
•'■^ A small borgo, about an hour's to Genoa.

yZ HISTORY OF LACE

to their marriage, to select veils and shawls of this fabric,
and, in the memory of an aged workwoman (1864), the last
of these bridal veils was made for a lady of the Gentili
family. Princes and lords of different provinces in Italy sent
commissions to Albissola for these articles in the palmy days
of the fal)ric, and four women would be emploved at one
pillow, with sixty dozen bobbins at a time.^'^ The makins;
of this lace formed an occupation by which women in
moderate circumstances were willing to increase their
incomes. Each of these ladies, called a maestra, had a
number of workers under her, either at home or out. She
supplied the patterns, pricked them herself, and paid her
workwomen at the end of the week, each day's work being
notched on a tally. ^^ The women would earn ^from ten
soldi to two lire a day. The last fine laces made at
Albissola were bought up l)y the lace-merchants of Milan
on the occasion of the coronation of Napoleon I. in
that city."""

Among the Alencon laces is illustrated a beautiful lappet
sent from Genoa, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.''^
The pattern is of the Louis Quinze period, and the lovely
diapered ground recalls the mayfiower of the Dresden and
the oeil-de-perdrix of the Sevres china of that time. It was
supposed to be of Italian workmanship, though the very fine
ground introduced in i\\Q modes of the riband pattern is the
true Alencon reseau stitch. M. Dupont Aul)erville claimed
it for Alencon, asserting he had met with the same ground
on point undoubtedly of that manufacture. He named it
reseau rosace.

A considerable quantity of lace was formerly made from

"^ Cav. Merli. tella," and supposed to be of Genoese

^"^ In the Albert Museum of Exeter workmanship. " Formerly much of it

are several of these tallies marked with was to be met with in the curiosity

the names of their owners — Bianca, shops of that citv, but now it is of

Maria Crocera, and others. rare occm-rence. The Duchess of Genoa

08 "Many skilful lace-makers in Italy possesses a splendid flounce of the

have for some time imitated the old same lace, with the Doria eagle intro-

laces and sold them as such to duced into the pattern. It formerly

travellers. A Venetian lace-worker, belonged to the Marchesa Barbaretta

now residing at Ferrara. can copy any Saule " (Mrs. Palliser, History of Lace,

old lace known " (Mrs. Palliser, 1864). 1864). Contessa di Brazza suggests

"^ This lappet, 3.57-68, in the Victoria that Argentella was the Italian for

and Albert Museum collection, was Argentan.
■described by Mrs. Palliser as " Argen-

GENOA 79

the fibre of the aloe (filo d'erba spada)^"" l)y the peasants of
Albissola, either of its natural cream colour or dyed black.
This lace, however, like that fabricated in the neighbourhood
of Barcelona, would not stand washing/"^

There exists a beautiful and inoenious work tausfht in
the schools and convents along the Riviera. It is carried to
a great perfection at Chiavari and also at the x4.1bergo
de' Poveri at Genoa. You see it in every stage. It is
almost the first employment of the fingers which the poor
children of either sex learn. This art is principally applied
to the ornamentino; of towels, termed Macrame,^""^ a Ions;
fringe of thread being left at each end for the purpose of
being knotted together in geometrical designs (Fig. 38).
Macrame at the Albergo de' Poveri were formerly made with
a plain plaited fringe, till in 1843, the Baroness A. d' Asti
brought one from Rome, richly ornamented, which she left
as a pattern. Marie Picchetti, a young girl, had the patience
to unpick the fringe and discover the way it was made. A
variety of designs are now executed, the more experienced
inventing fresh patterns as they work. Some are applied
to church purposes. Specimens of elaborate workmanship
were in the Paris Exhibition of 1867. These richly-
trimmed macrame form an item in the wedding trousseau
of a Genoese lady, w^hile the commoner sorts find a ready
sale in the country, and are also exported to South
America and California."^

"" Called by the people of the the earliest times common, and is still
Hiviera,, filo del baccald cli CasfcUaro. occasionally met with both in the
Aloe fibre was formerly used for thread north and south of Europe. "At
(Letter of Sig. C. G. Schiappapietra). Bayonne they make the finest of linen,
It is also styled filo di freta in the some of which is made open like net-
Venetian sumptuary ordinances. work, and the thread is finer than

"" The Author has to express her h&,ir'' (Ingenious and Diverting Letters

grateful thanks to Signore Don Tom- of a Lady's Travels in Spain, hondon,

maso Torteroli, librarian to the city of 1679).

Savona, and the author of an interest- There is a painting of the " Last

ing pamphlet [Storia dei Merletti di Supper" at Hampton Court Palace,

Genova lavorati in Albissola, Siniga- by Sebastian Eicci, in which the table-

glia, 1863), for specimens of the ancient cloth is edged with cut- work; and

laces of Albissola, and many other in the great picture in the Louvre,

valuable communications. by Paul Veronese, of the supper at

"'^ A word of Arabic derivation, used the house of Simon the Canaanite,

for denoting a fringe for trimming, the ends of the tablecloth are like-

whether cotton, thread, or silk. wise fringed and braided like the

103 This custom of ornamenting the macrame.
ends of the threads of linen was from

HISTORY OF LACE

CANTU.

Cantu, a small town near Lake Como, is one of the greatest
lace-producing centres in Italy. The lace industry was planted
there in the sixteenth century by the nuns of the Benedictine
order, and until fifty years ago was confined to simple and
rude desions. Durino- the latter half of the nineteenth
century, however, the industry has been revived and the
designs improved. Thousands of women throughout the

Fig. 38.

FiiiNGED Macrajie.— (Genoa.)

province work at it and dispose of their lace independently
to travelling merchants, or work under the direction of the
C^antuese lace-merchants. The laces are all made with
Ijobbins with both thread and silk.

SICILY.

Sicily was celebrated in olden times for its gold and metal
laces, but this fal>ric has nearly died out. An attempt,
however, is now beiuo made to oroanise a revival of the

Plate XXII.

-H^

P*pi

Plate XXI II.

>i-*»-=*i*i*ir~ V-

Italian. Old Peasant Laces, Bobbin made. — Actual size.

Plate XXIV.

Italian. Modern Peasant Bobbin Lace. — Made at the School at Asolo near Bassauo,

founded bv Browning. Width about 4 iiL

Photo by A. Drydeii,

iTu face pa (je S(i.

SICIL V

lace industry as a means of support for the women of
Palermo and other populous centres. At Messina, em-
Ijroidered net (lacis) was made, and l)obbin-laces and the
antique Sicilian drawn-work are now copied in the women's
prison there. Torchon, a lace which is also made in Sicily.
has no design worked upon the parchment. The peasant
follows the dictates of her fancy, and forms coml^inations of
webs and nets by skipping the holes pricked at regulai-
intervals over the strip of parchment sewed upon the
cushion or ballon}^^

There are other variations of old Italian laces and em-
broideries which have not been mentioned here on account
of space ; either they are not often met with — certainly not
outside Italy — or in some cases they appear to l)e only local
names for the well-known sorts.

'"* Lace Schools in Italy. — At
Coccolia, near Ravenna, Countess Pa-
solini founded a school on her propertj^
to teach and employ the peasant
women and copy antique designs.
Anotlier more recently established
school near Udine, in the province of
Friuli, is under the direction of the
Contessa di Brazza. Among chari-
table institutions which interest them-
selves in the lace industry are the
Indiistrial School of SS. Ecce Homo
at Naples, and San Ramiri at Pisa,
whicli was originally founded by the
(xrand Dukes of Tuscany in the middle

of the eighteenth centur\- to teach
weaving. This industry-, and that of
straw-plaiting, met with no success,
and the school gradually developed
into an industrial school in the modern
sense. There are many schools on the
same system in Florence, and one
(San Pelegrino) at Bologna. At Sas-
sari, in Sardinia, the deaf and dumb
children in the great institution of the
" Figlie di ]\Iaria " are taught to make
net lace. Torchon and Brussels pil-
low lace is worked imder tlie direction
of the Sisters of Providence in the
women's prison at Perugia.

82 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER V.

GREECE.

" Eucor pour vous poinets de Raguse
U est bon, crainte cV attentat,
D'en vouloir purger un Estat ;
Les gens aussi fins que vous estes
Ne sont bons que coninie vous faites
Pour ruiner les Estats."— La- Bevolte des Passemeiis.

We have already spoken of Greece as the cradle of embroidery,
and in those islands which escaped the domination of the Turks,
the art still lingered on. Cyprus, to which in after times
Venice gave a queen, was renowned for its gold, its stuffs,
and its needlework. As early as 1393, in an inventory of
the Dukes of Burgundy, we lind noted " un petit pourpoint
de satin noir, et est la gorgerette de maille d'argent de
Chippre " — a collar of silver network.' The peasants now
make a coarse thread lace, and some fine specimens have
recently been made in white silk, which were exhibited in
the Cyprus Court of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of
1886, and are now in the possession of the Victoria and
Albert Museum.

In our own country, in 1423, we have a statute touching
the deceitful works of the embroiderers of orold and of silver
of Cipre, which shall be forfeited to the king.^ But the secret
of these cunning works became, after a time, known through-
out Europe. Of cut- works or laces from Cyprus ^ and the
islands of the Grecian seas, there is no mention ; but we hear
much of a certain point known to the commerce of the
seventeenth century as that of Ragusa, which, after an
ephemeral existence, disappears from the scene. Of Ragusa,

' Laborde, Glossaire. Paris, 1853. ^ Taglienti (1530) among his pimli

- Statute 2 Hen. VI., c. x., 1423. gives Cij)rioto (an embroidery stitch).

GREECE 83

8ays Ander.son, " her citizens, though a Popish state, are
manufacturers to a man."

Ragusa, comparatively near tlie Montenegrin sea-bonrtl,
and north-western coast of Greece, was, in the fifteenth and
early sixteenth centuries, one of the principal Adriatic ports
belonging to the Venetian Republic. Certain it is that tliis
little republic, closely allied with the Italian branches of the
House of Austria, served them with its navy, and in return
received from them protection. The commerce of Ragusa
consisted in bearing the products of the Greek islands and
Turkey to Venice, Ancona, and the kingdom of Naples ; *
hence it might be inferred that the fine productions of
the Greek convents were first introduced into Italy by the
merchants of Dalmatia, and received on that account the
denomination of points de Raguse. When Venice had her-
self learned the art, these cut- works and laces Avere no longer
in demand ; but the fixbric still continued, and found favour
in its native isles, chiefiy for ecclesiastical purposes, the dress
of the islanders, and for grave-clothes.

In our English statutes we have no allusion to the point
de Raguse ; in those of France '' it appears twice. " Tallemant
des Reaux " "^ and the " Revolte des Passemens " ' both oive it
honourable notice. Judging from the lines addressed to it
in the last-named j/Vw d' esprit, point de Raguse was of a more
costly character, " faite pour miner les estats," ^ than any of
those other points present. If, however, from this period it
did still form an article of commerce, we may infer that
it appeared under the general appellation of point de Venise.
Ragusa had afii'onted Louis Quatorze by its attachment to
the Austro-Italian princes ; he kicked out her ambassadors,''
and if the name of the point was unpleasant, we may feel
assured it was no longer permitted to ofi'end the royal ears.
Though no manufacture of thread lace is known at Ragusa,

*^ Description dc Raguse (lUb. Nat. August, 1665, establiahes the points

MSS., F.Fr. 10,772). de France, "en la maniere des points

Points de liaguse — tirst mentioned qui se font a Venise, Genes, Raguse,

in an Edict of January, 1654, by which et autres pavs etrangers," recited in

the king raises for liis own profit one the Arret of Oct. i2th, 1666.— Pe

quarter of the vakie of the " passems, Lamare, Traite dc la Police.

dentelles, points coupez de Flaudres, ^ See Venice.

pointinars, points de Venise, de liaguse, '' In 1661.

de Gene?," etc. (Eecueil des Lois * See head of cluipter.

Francaises). Again, the Ordinance of ^ In 1667.

(; 2

HISTORY OF LACE

yet much gold and silver lace is made for ornamenting the
bodices of the peasants. They still also fabricate a kind of
silk lace or gimp, made of twisted threads of cotton covered

Fig. :-!9.

Silk Oimp Lack.

with metal, which is sewn down the seams of the coats and
the bodices of the peasantry. The specimen, illustrated in
Fig. 39, may possibly be the old, long-lost point de Raguse.
Its resemblance, with its looped edges, to the pattern given

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GREECE

from Le Pompe,''" publislied at Venice in 1557, is verv
remarkable. We have seen specimens from Italy and
Turkey.

The conventionally termed Greek lace is really the Italian
reficella. " The designs of the earliest Greek laces were all
geometrical, the oldest being simple outlines worked over
ends or threads left after others had been drawn or cut.
Next in date come the patterns which had the outlines
further ornamented with half circles, triangles, or wheels.
Later, open-work with thick stitches was produced."

Fi.tr. 40.

KETioKi.LA, nil Greek Lace.— (Zante.)

The principal seats of the manufacture were the Ionian
Isles, Zante, Corfu, Venice, Naples, Rome, Florence and
Milan. The Ionian Islands for many years belonged to
Venice, which accounts for the similarity in the manufacture.
Fig. 40 is from a specimen purchased in the Island of Zante.
This lace was much in vogue in Naples for curtains, bed-
hangings, and coverlets, and even formed a substitute for

'" Hee Appendix.

S6 HIS TORY OF LACE

tape.stry. A room hung with bands of Greek lace, alternated
with crimson or amber silk, has a most effective appearance.

The church lace of the Ionian Isles was not appreciated
by the natives, who were only too glad to dispose of it
to the Enolish offi(;ers in garrison at Corfu. " Much is
still found in (ycphalonia : the natives bring it on board
the steamers for sale, black with age, and unpleasant to
the senses. This is not to be W(Hulered at when we con-
sider that it is taken from the tombs, where for centuries
it lias adorned the grave-clothes of some defunct Ionian.
This hunting the catacombs has now become a reo-ular trade.
It is said that much coarse lace of the same kind is still
made in the islands, steeped either in coffee or some drug,
and, when thus discoloured, sold as from the tombs " (18G9).

The Greek islands now fabricate lace from the fibre of
the aloe, and a black lace similar to the Maltese. In Athens,
and other parts of Greece proper, a white silk lace is made,
mostly consumed by the Jewish Church.

CEETE.

Pillow-lace makiiif; in Crete would seem to have arisen in
consequence of Venetian intercourse with the island. " The
Cretan laces ^^ were chieffy of silk, which seems to point to a
cultivation of silk in the island, as well as to its importation
from the neighbouring districts of Asia Minor, when laces
were made there, at least one hundred years ago." In 1875,
the South Kensington Museum acquired a collection of
Cretan laces and embroideries, some of which (the white
thread laces) bear distinct traces of Venetian inffuence, as, for
example, those in which costumed figures are introduced.
" As a rule, the motives of Cretan lace patterns are traceable
to orderly arrangement and balance of simple gecmietric and
symmetrical details, such as diamonds, triangles and quaint
polygonal figures, which are displayed upon groundworks of
small meshes. The workmanship is somewhat remarkable,
especially that displayed in the making of the meshes for the
grounds. Here we have an evidence of aljility to twist and

^' A Descrijptive Catalogue of the Vmvy I'alliser. Third edition, revised
Collections of Lace in the Victoria and <nilaro:ed by A. S. Cole.
and Albert Mtiscmn, by the Late Mrs.

31 ALT A ^7

plait threads as marked, almost as that sliowu by the lace-
makers of Brussels and Mechlin. Whether the twisting and
plaiting of threads to lorm the meshes in this Cretan lace
was done with the help of pins or fine-pointed bones, may be
a question difficult to solve."

The patterns in the majority of the specimens are out-
lined with one, two, or three bright-coloured silken threads,
which may have been worked in with the other threads as
the cordonnet in Mechlin. The numerous interlacements
which this cordonnet makes with the lace point also to the
outline having perhaps been run in with a needle.

TUEKEY.

" The Turks wear no lace or cut stuff," vvrites Moryson
(1589), winding up with " neither do the women wear lace or
cut-work on their shirts " ; but a hundred and fifty years
later fashions are changed in the East. The Grand Turk now
issues sumptuary laws against the wearing gold lace " on
clothes and elsewhere." ^^

A fine white silk guipure is now made in modern Turkey
at Smyrna and Rhodes, oriental in its style ; this lace is
formed with the needle or tambour hook. J^ace or passe-
menterie of similar workmanship, called " oyah " is also
executed in colours representing flowers, fruits and foliage,
standino; out in high relief from the ground. Numerous
specimens w^ere in the International Exhibition of 1867.

The point lace manufactured in the harems is little
known and costly in price. It is said to be the only silk
guipure made with the needle. Edgings of it resemble in
workmanship Figs. 121 and 122.

MALTA.

The lace once made in Malta, indigenous to the island,
was a coarse kind of Mechlin or Valenciennes of one
arabesque pattern." In 1833, Lady Hamilton Chichester

'- Edinburgh Advertiser, 1764. ter adapted tlie designs and evolved

'^ There is no corroboration of Mrs. what is now known as Maltese lace

Palliser's statement above that lace by the aid of workers imported from

was ever made in Malta ; if so, it would Genoa. The Maltese cross has been

have been of the Genoese geometrical introduced into the designs as a dis-

kind. of which Lady Hamilton Chiches- tinguishing mark.

■ss

///STORY OF LACE

induced a woman named Ciglia to copy in white the lace of
an old Greek coverlet. The Ciglia family from that time
commenced the manufacture of the black and white silk
guipures, so generally known under the name of Maltese
lace. Much Maltese is made in the orphanage in the little
adjacent island of Gozo. Malta has certainly the first claim
to the invention of these fine guipures, which have since
made the fortune of Auvergne, where they have been exten-
.sively manufactured at Le Puy, as well as by our own lace-
makers of Bedfordshire and in the Irish schools. The black
is made of Barcelona silk, the same used in Catalonia for
the fal)rication of the black blonde mantillas of the Spanish

Fig. 41.

L<ii BKix DK Vekdalk.— (From tliu cast of his Tomb, Musee <le Versailles.)

ladies. Fig. 41 represents the lace round the ecclesiastical
robe of Hugues Loul)eux de Verdale, Cardinal and Grand
Master of the Knights of Malta, who died in 1595, and
is buried in the church of St. John, where a magnificent
tomlj is erected to his memory.

Pillow-laces made by women in Ceylon and Travancore,
as well as elsew^here in India,'* seem to owe more to the
instruction of the Portuguese than to the Dutch or English.
We mention it in this place because the specimens of thread
pillow-lace from Point de Galle and Candy bear a striking

'* •' A lace of similar character (Mal-
tese) has also been made successfully

in the missionary schools at Madras "
(Mrs. Palliser).

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iTo face page 88,

MALTA

resemblance to the Maltese. Tlie specimens of Indian pillow-
laces, wrought with white and black threads, in the India
Museum, are apparently made in single pieces, and not as in
Honiton laces, by separate flowers, which are subsequently
placed together for the ground to be worked in between
them.^^ " A missionary taught a few Chinese women to make
silk lace from the wild silk of this part of China," reports
Consul Bullock from Chefoo (at the request of the Notting-
ham Chamber of Commerce), but the small quantity of lace
so produced is sold to Europeans only. The Chinese do not

Fig. 42.

Bobbin-Lace. —(Ceylon. )

care to buy it. Acting Consul Trotnian also reported from
Hangkow, that a large quantity of hand-made lace is made
in the Roman Catholic orphanages there, but this was entirely
for European consumption. White lace in China is not woven
by the natives, for white and blue being the national
mourning colours, and severe simplicity of dress being de
rigueur on these occasions, lace of these colours has no sale.^^

'•'' Letebure, Kmhroulcry and Lace. natives work Manilla grass into a sort
'^ In, the Philippine Islands the of drawn thread-work or tatting.

90 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER VI.

SPAIN.

'• Of Point d'Espague a rich coi'iiet,
Two night rails and a scarf beset,
AVitli a large lace and collaret."

— Evelyn, T'oyfl/yr /<> Mdrriihiiid .

" Hat laced with gold Point d'Espagne." '

^Wardrobe of a Pretty Fellow, Eodcrich liatidum.

" The Count : ' Voglio una punta di Sx^agna, larga, niassiccia, ben lavorata.
Del disegno, della ricchezza, ma niente di luccicante.'' — Goldoni, UAvaro
fastoso.

Spanish point, in its day, lias been as celebrated as that
of Flanders and Italy. Tradition declares Spain to have
learned the art from Italy, whence she connnunicated it to
Flanders, who, in return, tciught Spain how to make pillow-
lace. Though the dress of the Court, guided not l)y the
impulse of fashion, but by sumptuary laws, gave little en-
couragement to the fabric, on the other hand, the numberless
images of our Lady and other patron saints, dressed and re-
dressed daily in the richest vestments, together with the albs
of the priests and the decorations of the altars, caused an
immense consumption of lace for ecclesiastical purposes. " Of
so great value," says Beckford, " were the laces of these
favoured Madonnas, that in 1787 the Marchioness of Cogal-
hudo, wife of the eldest son of the semi-royal race of Medino
Coeli, was appointed Mistress of the Robes to our Lady of
La Solidad, at Madrid, a much-coveted office."

Point d'Espagne, in the usual sense of the word, signifies
that gold or silver lace, sometimes embroidered in colours,
so largely consumed in France during the earlier years of
Louis XIV.'s reign. (Jrnaments made of plaited and twisted

1756. Point d'Esjiagne hats. — Connoisseur.

1 17

SPAIN

gold and silver threads were produced in Spain during the
seventeenth century, and mention of them is to be found in the
ordinances of that time. Towards the end of the century,
Narciso Felin, author of a work published in Barcelona,
quoted by M. Aubry, writes that, " edgings of all sorts of
wld, silver, silk thread and aloe fibres are made at Barcelona

Fig. 43.

The \yoKiv-lluOM. — (.Fruin an engraving of the Sixteenth Centniy after ijtrailan.)

with greater perfection than in Flanders." In the sixteenth
century, Flanders was part of the Spanish dominions, and
from Flanders Spain imported artistic goods, linen and lace
included. Mr. A. S. Cole concludes from this that the Barce-
lona lace-making was more or less an imitation of that which
had previously existed in Spanish Flanders.

HISTORY OF LACE

Apart frcjiii this, the gold and silver lace of Cyprus, Venice,
Lucca and Genoa preceded that from Flanders, and it appears
that Spain was later in the field of artistic lace-making than
either Italy, Flanders or France. Even the celebrity of the
gold point d'Espagne is probably due more to the use of gold
lace by Spanish grandees," than to the production in Spain
of gold lace. The name point d'Espagne was, I think,
a commercial one, given to gold lace by French makers.^

Dominique de Sera, in his Livre de Lingerie, published
in 1584, especially mentions that many of the patterns of
point couppe and passement given were collected by him
during his travels in Spain ; and in this he is probably correct,
for as earlv as 1562, in the Great Wardrobe Account of
Queen Elizabeth, we have noted down sixteen yards of black
Spanish laquei (lace) for rufis, price 5s.

The early pattern- books contain designs to be worked in
2;old and silver,* a manufacture said to have been carried on
chiefly by the Jews,^ as indeed it is in many parts of Europe
at the present time ; an idea wdiich strengthens on finding
that two years after the expulsion of that persecuted tribe
from the country, in 1492, the most Catholic kings found it
necessary to pass a law prohibiting the importation of gold
lace from Lucca and Florence, except such as was necessary
for ecclesiastical purposes. Mrs. Palliser was of opinion that
thread lace was manufactured in Spain at this epoch, for,
" in the cathedral of Granada is preserved a lace alb presented
to the church by F'erdinand and Isal)ella, one of the few relics
of ecclesiastical grandeur still extant in the country." The
late Cardinal Wiseman stated to Mrs. Palliser that he had
himself officiated in this vestment, which was valued at 10,000

^ Beckmaim, in ]iis Hisionj of In-
ventions, says that " It was a fashion
to give the name of Spanish to all
kinds of novelties, such as Spanish
flies, Spanish wax, Spanish green,
Spanish grass, Spanish seed, and
others.

* A. S. Cole. ■' Cantor Lectures on
the Art of Lace-Making."

* Livre Nouveau dc Patrons and
Flenrs des Patrons give various stitches
to be executed " en lil d'or, d'argent,
de soie, et d'autres." Both printed at
LyonB. The first has no date ; the

second, 1549. Le Pompe, Venezia,
1559, has " diversi sorti di mostre per
poter far, d' oro, di sete, di filo," etc.

^ "Not many years since, a family
at Cadiz, of Jewish extraction, still
enjoyed the monopoly of manufacturing
gold and silver lace." — Letter from
Spain, 1863. Mcrlctto Polichrome, or
parti-coloured lace, was also invented
and perfected by the Jews, and was
made in silk of various colours, repre-
senting fruit and flowers. This industry
has been revived in Venice, and carried
to great perfection.

SPAIN 93

crowns. But the following passage from Senor Riauo greatly
affects the value of what would otherwise V)e a fact of impor-
tance adduced by Mrs. Palliser. " Notwithstanding the
opinion of so competent an authority as Mrs. Palliser. I doubt
the statement, finding no evidence to support it, that thread
lace of a very fine or artistic kind was ever made in Spain,
or exported as an article of commerce during early times.
The lace alb which Mrs. Palliser mentions to prove this as
existing at Granada, a gift of Ferdinand and Isabella in the
fifteenth century, is Flemish lace of the seventeenth." "^

The sumptuous " Spanish point," the white thread heavy
arabesque lace, was an Italian production originally. It was
imported for the Spanish churches and then imitated in the
convents by the nuns, l)ut was little known to the commercial
world of Europe until the dissolution of the Spanish monas-
teries '^ in 1830, when the most splendid specimens of nun's
work came suddenly into the market ; not only the heavy
lace generally designated as " Spanish point," but pieces of
the very finest description (like point de Venise), so exqui-
site as to have been the work only of those whose '' time was
not money," and whose devotion to the Church and to their
favourite saints rendered this work a lal)our of love, when
in plying their needles they called to mind its destination.
Among the illustrations are some photographs received from
Rome of some curious relics of old Spanish conv^entual work,
parchment patterns with the lace in progress. They were
found in the Convent of Jesil Bambino, and belonged to
some Spanish nuns who, in bygone ages, taught the art to
the novices. None of the present inmates can give further
information respecting them. The work, like all point, was
executed in separate pieces given out to the different nuns
and then joined together by a more skilful hand. In Fig.
44 we see the pattern traced out b}^ two threads fixed in their
places by small stitches made at intervals by a needle and
aloe ^ thread working from underneath. The reseau ground is
alone worked in. We see the thread left as by Sister Felice
Vittoria when she last plied her task.

° Senor J. F. Riano. The Industrial Townsend, J., Journey Through Spain

Arts in Spaiyi. — " Lace." in the Years 1786 and 1787.

' " Spain has 8,932 convents, con- * The aloe thread is now used in

taining 94,000 nuns and monks." — Florence for sewing the straw-plait.

HISTORY OF LACE

Fig. 45 has the pearled ground, the pattern traced as i)i
the other. Loops of a coarser thread are placed at the
corners, either to fasten the parchment to a light frame, like

Fig. 44.

rNFIXIfclllEli \\'o1;K (IK A .Sl'AXiyil ^L'.N.

a school])oy's slate, or to attach it to a cushion. In Fig. 4(i
the pattern is just worked.

A possible reference to lace is found in Father Fr, Marcos

X
y.

■f.

c/j

^ o
5 -<

To face -paov U4.

SPAIN

Antonio cle Campos,'' in his book, Microscosmia y gohlerno
Universal del lloinbre Crestlano, when he writes, " I will not
be silent, and fail to mention the time lost these last years in
the manufacture of cadenetas, a work of thread combined with
gold and silver ; this extravagance and excess reached such
a point that hundreds and thousands of ducats were spent in
this work, in which, besides destroying the eyesight, wasting
away the lives, and rendering consumptive the women who
worked it, and preventing them from spending their time
with more ad\'^ntage to their souls, a few ounces of thread

Fig. 45.

Unkinishkd Work of a Spanish JSun.

and years of time were wasted with so unsatisfactory a
result. I ask myself, after the fancy has passed away, will
the lady or gentleman find that the chemises that cost them
fifty ducats, or the basquina (petticoats) that cost them three
hundred, are worth half their price ? "

" The most important of Spanish ordinances " relating to
Spanish art and industry are those which appeared in the

•' Bai'celona, 1892, page 225, quoted '" A. S. Cole, Ancieni Ncc/llc-polnl

by Signor J. F. Eiano. Date of book and Pilloiv-Lace.
1592.

HISTORY OF LACE

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Tolechi and Seville, both
remarkable centres for all kinds of artistic productions. In
neither of these, nor in the sixteenth and seventeenth century

Fig. 46.

Unfinished Work uf a Spanish Nun.

ordinances relating to Granada — another art-centre — is there
any mention of lace.

" In the laws which were passed by Ferdinand and Isabella
at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth
centuries, no mention is made of lace, though numerous

SPAIN

details of costumes are named. It will be seen from these
remarks on Spanish lace that we give to Italy the credit of
producing the artistic and valuable point lace, which un-
expectedly came out of Spain after the dissolution of the
monasteries."

The ordinance of Philip III, against the wearing of lace,
dated 1623, which enjoined "simples rabats, sans aucune
invention de point couppe ou passement " for the men, with
fraises and manchettes in like trim for the ladies, both too
without starch, " and which extended to gold and silver lace,
was suspended during the matrimonial visit of Prince
Charles ; ^^ indeed, the Queen of Spain herself sent him, on
his arrival at Madrid, ten trunks of richly-laced linen. The
Prince had travelled incognito, and was supposed to be ill-
provided. Whether the surmises of her Majesty were correct,
we cannot presume to affirm ; we only know that, on the
occasion of the Spanish voyage, a charge of two dozen and a
half laced shirts, at twelve shillings each, for the Prince's
eight footmen, appears in the wardrobe accounts.'^

The best account of Spanish manners of the seventeenth
century will be found in the already-mentioned Letters of a
Lady 8 Travels in S])ain. " Under the vertingale of black
taffety," she writes, "they wear a dozen or more petticoats,
one finer than the other, of rich stuffs trimmed with lace of
gold and silver, to the girdle. They wear at all times a white
garment called sahenqua ; it is made of the finest English
lace, and four ells in compass. I have seen some worth five
or six hundred crowns ; ... so great is their vanity, they
would rather have one of these lace sabenquas than a dozen
coarse ones ; ^^ and either lie in bed till it is washed, or
dress themselves without any, which they fre(|uently enough
do." A number of portraits exist in the Spanish galleries.

" This ordinance even extended to
foreign courts. We read in the Mer-
cure Galant, 1679, of the Spanish am-
bassadress, " Elle etoit vestue de drap
noir avec de la dentelle de soye ; elle
n'avait ni dentelle ni linge autour de
sa gorge."

'- Mercurc Francois.

'^ They have also provided —

" 14 rufts & 14 pairs of
Cliffs laced, at 20s. . . ^814

For lacing 8 hats for the
footmen with sih-er
parchment lace, at 3s.. .£1 4s."
Extraordinanj Expenses of his High-
ness to Spain, 1623. P. E". O.

" Doctor Moncada, in 1660, and
Osorio, in 1686, reckoned more than
three millions of Spaniards who, though
well dressed, wore no shirts. — Town-
send's Spain.

98 HISTORY OF LACE

especially by Velasquez and Carreno, in which these ex-
travagant costumes are fully portrayed, but in very few
Spanish portraits of the seventeenth century does thread
lace of the kind known to us as point d'Espagne, or de
Venise ever appear. Describing her visit to the Princess of
Monteleon, the author continues : " Her bed is of gold and
green damask, lined with silver brocade, and trimmed with
point de Spain.'"' Her sheets were laced round with an
English lace, half an ell deep. The young Princess bade
her maids bring in her wedding clothes. They brought in
thirty silver baskets, s(3 heavy, four women could carry only
one basket ; fhe linen and lace were not inferior to the rest."
The writer continues to enumerate the garters, mantle, and
even the curtains of the Princess's carriage, as trimmed with
fine English thread, black and bone lace.^'^

Judging from this account, Spain at that period received
her " dentelles d'Angleterre " from the Low Countries. Spain
was early celel)rated for its silk,^' which with its coloured
embroidered laces, and its gold and silver points, have always
enjoyed a certain reputation. Of the latter, during the
seventeenth century, we have constant mention in the ward-
robe accounts and books of fashion of the French court. The
description of the celebrated gold bed at Versailles, the interior
lacings of the carriages, the velvet and brocade coats and
dresses, " chamarres de point d'Espagne," the laces of gold
and coloured silk, would alone fill a volume to themselves.'"

'^■' Speakiiig of the apartment of de randas," signifying works of laeis

Madame d'Aranda, Beckford writes: or reseuil — " ouvrage de lacis on

" Her bed was of the richest blue velvet, reseuil." — Oudin, Tresor des Dciix

trimmed witli point lace." Langucs Fr. ct Es-p. (1660).

"^ Our English translation of Don ^' As early as the Great Wardrobe

Quixote has led some authors into Account of Queen Elizabeth, 1587,

adducing a passage as an evidence P. E. O., we have a charge for bobbin

that the art of making bone lace lace of Spanish silk, " cum uh tag,"

was already known in Cervantes' day. for the mantle. 10s. Sd.
" Sanchica," writes Theresa Panca to In a letter from Prestwick Eaton to

her husband, the newly-appointed Geo. Willingham, 1631, the writer

Governor of Baratava, "makes bone sends 1000 reals (^25), and in return

lace, and gets eight maravedis a day, desires him to send, together with a

which she drops into a tin box to help mastiff dog, some black satin lace for

towards household stuff. But now a Spanish suit. — State Papers, Do-

that she is a governor's daughter, you mestic, Car. I., P. 11. O.
will give her a fortune, and she will ^'^ 1697. Marriage of Mademoiselle

not have to work for it." In referring and tlie King of Spain. The Queen, says

to the original Spanish we find the the -Mcty-hvt, wore "une mantede point

words rendered bone lace are " puntas d'Espagne d'or, neuf amies de long."

SPAIN

()

Narciiso Felin, writing in the seventeenth centur\'/' sa}'s that
at that time " edgings of all sorts of gold,-" silver, silk, thread,
and aloe, are made there with greater perfection than in
Flanders." Campany, another old author, carries the number
f lace-makers to 12,000. The Spaniards are said, neverthe-
less, jn 1634. to have derived a great part of their laces from
the He de France, while the French, on their part, preferred
those of Flanders.'^ That the lace import was considered
excessive is evident hy the tariff of 1667 ; the import duty
of twenty-five reals per pound on lace was augmented to two
hundred and fifty reals. Much point was introduced into
Spain at this time by way of Antwerj^ to CVidiz, under the
name of "puntos de mosquito e de transillas."

Madame des Ursins, 1707, in a letter to Madame de Main-
tenon, ordering the layette of the Queen of Spain from Paris,
writes : "If I were not afraid of oftendinc; those concerned
in the purchase, in ray avarice for the King of Sjmin's monev,
I would beg them to send a low-priced lace for the linen."

1698. Fete at Versailles on the
marriage of the Due de Boiirgogne.
"La Dvichesse de Bourgogne ponrtoit
un petit tablier de point d'Espagne de
inille pistoles." — GaUric de Vanciennc
Co7(r, ou Mem. des Regnes dc Louis
XIV. ct Louis XV., 1788.

1722. Ball at the Tuileries. " Tons
les seigneurs etaient en habits de
drap d'or ou d'argent garnis de points
d'Espagne, avec des noeuds d'epaule, et
tout I'ajustenient a proportion. Les
uioindres etaient de velours, avec des
points d'Espagne d'or et d'argent." —
Journal de Barbier, 1718-62.

1722. " J'ai vu en menie temps le
carosse que le roi fait faire pour entrer
dans Reims, il sera aussi d'lme gi-ande
magnificence. Le dedans est tout
garni d'vui velours a ramage de points
d'Espagne d'or." — Ibid.

1731. Speaking of her wedding-dress,
Wilhelmina of Bayreuth, the witty
sister of Frederick the Great, writes :
"Ma robe etoit d'une etoffe d'or fort
riche, avec un point d'Espagne d'or,
et ma queue etoit de douze amies de
long." — Memoires.

1751. Fete at Versailles on the birth
of the Due de Bourgogne. The coats
of the " gens de cour, en etoffes d'or de

grand prix ou en velours de tout cou-
leurs, brodes d'or, ou garnis de point
d'Espagne d'or." — Journal dc Barbier.

"• Feiiix de Catalufia, comjjciidio
desus Antiguas Grandezas y Medio
para Benovarlas," Barcelona, 1683,
p. 75.

-" In the reign of William and Marj-,
we find, in a lace-man's bill of the
Queen, a charge for forty-scA^en yards
of ricli, broad, scalloped, embossed
point de Spain ; and her shoes are
trimmed with gold and silver lace. —
B. M., Add. MSS. ; No. 5751.

At the entry of Lord Stair into Paris,
1719, his servants' liats are described
as laced with Spanish point, their
sleeves laced with picked silver lace,
and dented at the edge with lace. —
Edinburgli Conrant.

In 1740, the Countess of I'omfret.
speaking of the Princess Mary's wedding
clothes, writes : " That for the wedding
night is silver tissue, faced at the bot-
tom before with pink-coloured satiii,
trimmed with silver point d'Espagne."
— Letters of the Countess of Hartford
to the Countess of Pom fret, 1740.'

"' Marquis de la Gombardiere, 1634,
Notiveau Beglement General des
Finances, etc.

H -1

100 HISTORY OF LACE

This gold point d'Espagne was much fabricated for home
consumption. The oldest banner of the Inquisition — that
of Valladolid — is described as bordered with real point
d'Espagne, of a curious Gothic (geometric) design. At the
Auto-da-fe, the grandees of Spain and officers of the Holy
Office marched attired in cloaks, with black and white
crosses, edged with this gold lace. Silver point d'Espagne
was also worn on the uniform of the Maestranza, a body of
nobility formed into an order of chivalry at Seville, Ronda,
Valencia and Granada. Even the saints were rigged out,
especially St. Anthony, at Valencia, whose laced costume,
periwig and ruffles are described as " glorious."

Point d'Espagne was likewise made in France, introduced

Fi". 47.

Old Spanish Pillow-Lace.

by one Simon C-hatelain, a Huguenot, about 159G, in return
for which good services he received more protection than his
advanced opinions warranted. Colbert, becoming minister
in 1662, guaranteed to Simon his safety — a boon already
refused to many by the intolerant spirit of the times. He
died in 1675, having amassed a large fortune." That the
fabric prospered, the following entry in the wardrol)e
accounts of the Duke de Ponthievre, 1732, gives proof :-^
" Un bord de Point d'Espagne d'or de Paris, a fonds de

'^'^ " Eighty cliildren and grandchil- testantr, par M. ]\I. Haag. Paris,

<lren attended his funeral in defiance 1846-59.

of the Edict of 19th Sept., 1664, and -3 Garderobe de S. A. S. Mgr. le Due

were heavily fined." — La France Fro- de PeuthievTe. Arch. Nat. K. K. 390-1.

Plate XXXI.

Portrait of tiik Duchesse de IMontpensier, Infanta of Spain, siiowinc; :\Iantilla.
iMiddle of nineteenth centmv. "SI. de Versailles,

To fact' 2>aijc 100.

SPAIN loi

reseau." " France," writes Anderson, " exports much lace
into Spain."

"The sumptuary hiw of 1723 has taken away," whites
the author of two thick books on Spanish commerce, " all
pretence for importing all sorts of- point and lace of white
and black silk wliich are not the manufactures of our king-
dom. The Spaniaixls acted on Lord Verulam's policy — that
foreign superfluities should be prohilnted "^ — for by so doing
you either banish them or gain the manufacture." But
towards the middle of the eighteenth century there are
notices of constant seizures of vessels bound from St. Malo
to Cadiz, freighted with gold and silver lace. The Eaale,
French vessel,"taken by Captain Carr, in 1745, bore cases to
the value of £150,000.'' In 1789 we also read that the
exports of lace from the port of Marseilles alone to Cadiz
exceeded £500,000,-"' and the author of the Ape ad ice a la
Educaclon Fojndar-' states that "all the five qualities (of
lace) come from foreign lands, and the greater varieties of
coarser ones."

Gold and silver lace were made at Barcelona, Talavera
de la Reyna, Valencia and Seville. In 1808 that of Seville
was flourishing. The gold is badly prepared, having a red
cast. The manufacture of blonde is almost entirely confined
to Catalonia, where it is made in many of the villages along
the sea-coast, and especially in the city of Barcelona. In
1809 it gave employment to 12,000 persons, a number
which in 1869 was augmented to 34,000.

There are no large manufactories, and the trade is in
the hands of w^omen and children, who make it on their
own account, and as they please."*' Swinburne, who visited
Spain in 1775, writes: "The women of the hamlets were
busy wdth their bobbins making black lace, some of
which, of the coarser kind, is spun out of the leaf of
the aloe. It is curious, but of little use, for it grows
mucilaginous with washing." He adds: "At Barcelona
there is a great trade in thread lace.""^ Larruga, in his

2* Lord Verulam on the treat>- of ^* Itinemire de VEspagnc, Comte

commerce with the Emperor Maxi- Alph. de Laborde, t. v.

milian. -' Penchet (Dictionnaire Universcl

^= Gentleman's Magazine, 1745. de la Geograjjhie Commereanfe, An..

^"^ Peyron, 1789. vii. = 1799), speaking of Barcelona, says

2" Madrid, 1775. their laces are " facon de France,"

I02

HISTORY OF LACE

MemoriLU^^ mentions a manufacture of gold and silver lace
which had been set up lately in Madrid, and in another
place he"^^ mentions lace made at La Mancha,^" where ''the
industry of lace has existed at Almacrro from time imme-
morial." Don Manuel Fernandez and Donna Rita Lambert,
his wife, natives of Madrid, established in this town in
1766 a manufacture of silk and thread lace. This industry
also existed at Granatula, Manzanares and other villao-es
in La Mancha. At Zamora " lace and blonde w^ere made
in private houses." Li Senipere Historia del Xz^y'c^^ we find
that in the ordinance issued in 1723 the " introduction of
every sort of edgings or foreign laces was prohibited ; the
only kinds allowed were those made in the country." Caban-
illas WTites^^ that at Novelda a third part of the inhabitants
made lace, and that " more than 2,000 among women and
children worked at this industry, and the natives themselves
hawked their wares about the country."^''

The laces of New Castile were exported to America, to
which colonies, in 1723, the sumptuary laws were extended,
as more necessary than in Spain,' " many families having
been ruined," says Ustariz, " by the great quantities of fine
lace and gold stufis they purchased of foreign manufacture,
by which means Spanish America is drained of many millions
of dollars."^'' A Spanish lace-maker does not earn on an
average two reals {bd.) a day.^^

The national mantilla is, of course, the principal piece
manufactured. Of the three kinds which, de rigueur, form
the toilette of the Spanish lady, the first is composed of
white blonde, a most unbecomino" contrast to their sallow,
olive complexion ; this is only used on state occasions — birth-
days, bull-fights, and Easter Mondays. The second is black

but inferior in beauty and (^nalitj-.
The fa;bncation is considerable, em-
ploying 2,000 women in the towns and
villages east of Barcelona. They are
sold in Castile, Andalusia, and princi-
pally in the Indies.

*'■ Madrid, 1788. Vol. ii, p. 149.

«i Ihld. Vol. xvii., p. 294.

•^- " The nianufactiu'e of silk lace or
blonde in Almagro occupies from 12,000
to 13,000 people " (Mrs. Palliser, 1869).
Modern torchon laces are still made at
Almagro to a very large extent (1901).

33 Madrid, 1788.

3* Madrid, 1797.

^'' Senor -Juan F. Kiano, The In-
dustrial Arts in Sjxiin, " Lace "'
(London, 1879).

3'' Theory of Co7»)iierce, from the
Spanish of Don. Ger. de Ustariz
(Lond., 1751).

3^ When the holidays of the Roman
Catholic church are deducted, the
work-days of the people amount only
to 260 in the course of the year — fifty
less than in a Protestant country.

SPAIN 103

])londe, trimmed with a deep lace. The third, " mantilhi de
tiro," for ordinary wear, is made of black silk, trimmed with
velvet. A Spanish woman's mantilla is held sacred by law,
and cannot be seized for debt.^^ The silk employed for the
lace is of a superior quality. Near Barcelona is a silk-
spinning manufactory, whose products are specially used for
the blondes of the country, Spanish silk laces do not
equal in workmanship those of Bayeux and Chantilly, either
in the firmness of the ground or regularity of the pattern.
The annual produce of this industry scarcely amounts to
£80,000.'^

Specimens of Barcelona white lace have been forwarded
to us from Spain, bearing the dates of 1810, 1820, 1830 and
1840. Some have much resemblance to the fabric of Lille —
clear hexagonal ground, with the pattern worked in one coarse
thread ; others are of a double ground, the designs flowers,
bearino evidence of a Flemish orisfin.*"

Spain sent to the International Exhil)itions, together
with her black and white mantillas, fanciful laces gaily
embroidered in coloured silks and gold thread — an ancient
fabric lately revived, but constantly mentioned in the inven-
tories of the French Court of the seventeenth century, and
also by the lady whose letters we have already quoted.
When describino; a visit to Donna Teresa de Toledo, who
received her in bed, she writes : " She had several little
pillows tied with ribbons and trimmed with broad fine lace.
She had ' lasses ' all of flowers of point de Spain in silk and
gold, which looked very pretty.""

The finest specimen of Spanish work exhibited in 1862

^^ Fovd, Handbook of Sjmin. yard, the pins have to be taken out

^^ 1869. when you get to the bottom of the

*o " Now there are only two kinds pillow, and the work removed to the

of lace made in Spain ; ' encaje de top and continued. The mantillas,

blonda,' mantillas, scarves, lace-ties, etc., are worked by pieces ; that is to

etc., in white and black ; these are say, the border, flowers, and large

manufactured in Barcelona, on long designs, and are afterwards joined by

pillows stuffed with long straw quite the veil stitch.

hard, covered with yellow or light blue "The second is ' encaje de Almagro '

linen. The lace is worked on a card- — little children of six and seven years

board pattern, and with ' fuseaux ' old are taught to make it." — Letter

like the French torchon lace, the only from Spain, 1901.

difference being that the pillow is long *' "On met de la dentelle brodee

and narrow and without the revolving de couleur de points d'Espagne aux

cylinder in the centre, so that when jnpes " — Merciirc Galant.
making a long piece, or lace_ by the

I04 HISTORY OF LACE

was a mantilla of wliite blonde, the ground a light guipure,
the pattern, wreaths of flowers supported by Cupids. In
the official report on Lace and Embroidery at the Interna-
tional Exhil)ition of that year, we read that " the manufacture
of black and white Spanish lace shows considerable progress
since 1851, both in respect of design and fabrication. The
black mantillas vary in value from £4 to £50, and up-
wards of 20,000 persons are said to be employed in their
manufacture,"'

Before concluding our account of Spanish lace, we must
allude to the " dentelles de Moresse," supposed by M. Fran-
cisque Michel ^'^ to be of Iberian origin, fabricated by the
descendants of the Moors who remained in Spain and
embraced Christianity. These points are named in the
above-mentioned " Revolte des Passemens," where the author
thus announces their arrival at the fair of St. Germain : —

"II en vint que, le plus souvent,
On disoit venir du Levant ;
II en vint des bords de I'lbere,
II en vint d'aniver n'agueres
Des pays septentrionaux."

What these points were it would be difficult to state. In
the inventory of Henry VIII. is marked down, " a purle of
morisco work."

One of the pattern -books gives on its title-page — •

" Dantique et Koboesque
En comprenant aussi Moresque."

•

A second speaks of " Moreschi et arabesche." *^ A third is
entitled, " Un livre de moresque."** A fourth, " Un livre
de feuillages entrelatz et ouvrages moresques." *^ All we
can say on the subject is, that the making cloths of chequered
lace formed for a time the favourite employment of Moorish
maidens, and they are still to be purchased, yellow with age,
in the African cities of Tangier and Tetuan. They may be
distinguished from those worked by C-hristian fingers from

''^ HccJierchcH sur Ic Commerce, la *^ Taglienti. Venice, 1530.

Fabrication et V Usage des Etoffes ** Paris, 1546.

de Sole, etc., pendant le Moyen Age. ^•"' Pelegrin de Florence, Paris, 1530.
Paris, 1839.

Plate XXXII.

Jewish. — Made in Syria. The pattern is only

modern Torchon, but the knotting stitch is their

peculiar tradition. Same size.

Plate XXXIIT.

Spanish. — The upper one is a copy of Italian lace clumsily made. The lower is probably
a " dentelle de Moresse." Widths about 3J in.

Photo by A. Dryden from Salviati & Co.'s Collection.

Tu face page 104.

PORTUGAL 105

the al)seDce of all animals in the pattern, the representation
of living creatures, either in painting, sculpture, or em-
broider\', being stricth' forl)idclen bv Mahommedan law.

PORTUGAL.

Point lace was held in high estimation in Portugal.
There was no regular manufacture ; it formed the amusement
of the nuns and a few women who worked at their own
houses. The sumptuary law of 1749 put an end to all
luxury among the laity. Even those who exposed such
wares as laces in the streets were ordered to quit the town.""'

In 1729/' when Barbara, sister of eToseph, King of
Portugal, at seventeen years of age, married Ferdinand,
Prince of Spain, l)efore (juitting Lisbon, she repaired to the
church of the Madre de Dios, on the Tagus, and there
solemnly offered to the Virgin the jewels and a dress of the
richest Portuguese point she had worn on the day of her
espousals. This lace is described as most magnificent, and
was for near a century exhil)ited under a glass case to
admiring eyes, till, at the French occupation of the Peninsula,
the Duchesse d'Abrantes, or one of the Imperial generals, is
supposed to have made off with it.^^ When Lisbon arose from
her ashes after the terrible earthquake of 1755, the Marquis
de Pombal founded large manufactures of lace, which were
carried on under his auspices. Wraxall, in his Memoirs,
mentions having visited them.

The fine points in relief of Italy and Spain were the
result of such time and labour as to render them too costly
for moderate means. Hence they were extensively counter-
feited. The principal scroll of the pattern was formed by
means of tape or linen cut out and sewn on, and the reliefs
were produced by cords fixed and overcast after the work
was finished, thus substituting linen and cords for parts of

*« Magazin de Londres, 1749. *^ It was probably a variety of point

*' Mademoiselle Dumont, foundress de Venise. A few years ago a speci-

of the point de France fabric, in the men of point plat was exhibited in

Rue St. Denis, quitted Paris after London with a Portuguese inscription

some years and retired to Portugal : and designs of figures in costumes of

whether she there introduced her art circ. 1600.

is more than the author can aftirm. See Plate IX.

io6

HISTORY OF LACE

the needlework. These counterfeit points were in France
the occasion in 1669 of an ordinance.

The modern laces of Portugal and Madeira closely
resemble those of Spain ; the wider for flounces are of silk ;
much narrow lace is made after the fashion of Mechlin.
Both Spain and Portugal enjoy a certain reputation for their
imitation white Chantilly hice. A consideral)le (juantity of
coarse white lace, very effective in pattern, was formerly

Fig. 48.

Bobbin-Lace.— (Madtira.)

made in Lisbon and tlie environs ; ^^ this was chiefly exported,
md Cadiz, to South America. Both black and white are

■*'■' The bobbins from Peniche, one
of the few places in Portugal where
pillow-lace is still made, are remark-
ably pretty. They are of ivory, agree-
ably mellowed by time and constant
handling, and their slender tapering
shafts and bnlbons ends are decorated
simply but tastefully with soft-tinted
staining. In size they are small,
measuring from three and a quarter
to three and a lialf inches lonK. and

these proportions are extremely good.
Another variety of Peniche bobbin is
made of dark brown, boldly-grained
wood. The lace-makers work on a
long cylindrical cusliion — the ahno-
fada — fastened to a high, basket-work
stand, light enoiigh to be easily moved
from place to place. — R. E. Head,
" Some Notes on Lace-Bobbins," The
Tirliqiiari]. July. 1900.

PORTUGAL

107

extensively made in the peninsula of Peniche, north <jf
Lisbon (Estremadura Province), and employ the whole
female population. Children at four years of age are sent
to the lace school, and are seated at ahnofada-'^ (pillows)
proportioned to their height, on which they soon learn to
manage the bobbins, sometimes sixty dozen or more, with
ofreat dexteritv.''" The nuns of Odivales were, till the dis-
solution of the monasteries, famed for their lace fabricated
of the fibres of the aloe.

Pillow-lace was made at Madeira at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. The coarse kind, a species of dentelle
torchon, served for trimming pillow-cases and sheets —
•' seaming lace," as it was called (Fig. 49). Sometimes the

Fi" 49.

Bobbix-Lace.— (Brazil.)

threads of the linen were drawn out after the manner of
cut-work ; but the manufacture had entirelv ceased until
1850 (circ. , when it was re-established by Mrs. Bayman.''^

*» The Queen, August, 1872.

" The places in Poiirugal where the
lace industry is chiefly exercised are
Peniche, Vianna do Castello. Setubal.
a village in Algarv-e called Faro, and
at the present time Lisbon, where,
imder the help and patronage of H.M.
the Queen, a lace depot has been in-
stituted, in which I have worked for
ten years, seeking to raise the Portu-
guese lace industry to an art. The
designs being entirely my own original
ones, I am trying to give them a
character in unison ^\-ith the general

idea of the architecture throughout
the coimtr\-. I obtained gold medals
for my work at the Exhibitions of 1894
at .\ntwei-p and 1900 at Paris, besides
others at Lisbon." — Letter from Dona
Maria Bordallo Pinheiro, head of the
Lace Industry Department at Lisbon,
1901.

''' " There are now seven families
employed in the fabrication of Maltese
lace, which is made almost entirely
by men; the women occupy them-
selves in the open-work embroideiy
of muslin " (1869).

io8 HISTORY OF LACE

Brazil makes a coarse narrow pillow-lace for home
consumption.

The Republics of Central and South America show indi-
cations of lace-making, consistino- chiefly of darned netting
and drawn-work, the general characteristic of the lace of
these countries. The lace-bordered handkerchiefs of Brazil,
and the productions of Venezuela, with the borders of the
linen trousers of the oruachos, and the Creva lace of the
blacks of the Province of Minas Geraes, are the finest
specimens of drawn -work. The lace of Chili is of the old
lozenge pattern, and men also appear to be employed on the
work. In Paraguay there are two sorts of work — Nanduti
or " toile d'arraignee," made in silk or thread by a needle on
a cardboard pattern by the copper-coloured natives as an
industry ; also embroidery and drawn thread-work on linen,
of which there are specimens in the Victoria and Albert
Museum — all traditions of the European missionaries and
traders who first colonised the countrv.

Plate XXXIV.

Spanish. — Pillow made nineteenth centurj-. Eeseau of two threads twisted

and crossed. Slightly reduced.

Plate XXXV.

Paraguay. " Nanduti."— End of nineteenth century. Eeduced rather over half.
Photos by A. Dryden from private collections.

To/acc paje 108.

109

CHAPTER VII.

FLANDERS.

" Foi- lace, let Flanders bear away the belle."

— Sir C. Hanbury Williams.

" In French embroidery and in Flanders lace
I'll spend the income of a treasurer's place."

— Tlie Man of Taste, Rev. W. Bramstone.

Flanders and Italy together dispute the invention of lace.
In many towns of the Low Countries are pictures of the
fifteenth century, in which are portrayed personages adorned
with lace/ and Baron Reiffenberg, a Belgian writer, asserts
that lace cornettes, or caps, were worn in that country as
early as the fourteenth century. As evidence for the early
origin of pillow-lace in the Low Countries, Baron Reiftenberg
mentions an altar-piece, attributed to (,)uentin Matsys (in a
side chapel of the choir of St. Peter's, at Louvain), in which a
girl is represented making lace with bobbins on a pillow with
a drawer, similar to that now in use.-^ There exists a series of
engravings after Martin de Vos (1580-85), giving the occu-
pations of the seven ages of life : in the third,^ assigned to
age mm% is seen a girl, sitting with a pillow on her knees,
making lace (Fig. 50). The occupation must have been
then common, or the artist would scarcely have chosen it to
characterise the habits of his country.

Of the two paintings attributed to Matsys — that in St.
Peter's, at Louvain, and that in Lierre, only the former is
now assigned to the artist. Both pictures are said to be of
the end of the fifteenth century or beginning of the sixteenth.

' Those in the collegiate church - Baron Reiffenberg, in Mcmoircs

of St. Peter's, at Louvain, and in cle VAcademie de Bruxelles. 1820.

the church of St. Gomar, at Lierre '' Engraved by Collaert. Bib. Nat.

(Antwerp Prov.). — Aubry. Grav.

I lO

HISTORY OF LACE

Tlie tri]3ty^^ ^^ Louvaiii is reproduced and described in
detail by Van Even in his work, Luacaui dans le ixisse et
dans le 'present ; ^ it consists of five panels, the centre panel
representing " La famille de Sainte Anne " ; but among all

Fig. GO.

J.ACE-ilAKINti. --(After Mai-tin ile Vcjs.)

the figures none, however, appear to be engaged in making
lace or, indeed, in any form of needlework.

* Louvain dans le passe et dans le grapJiie, institutions, inoniuncnts.
present formation de la ville, evcne- wnvres d'arf, page 380, by Ed-ward
inents, niemorables, territoire topo- van Even, published 1895.

Plate XXXVI.

Flemish. Poktion of Bed Cover, Bobbin-made. — First half of seventeenth century.

This is said to have belouged to Philip IV. of Spain. Above the Austrian eagle and

crown is the collar of the Golden Fleece. The workmanship is of great skill.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

To face page 110.

FLANDERS

1 1 1

It has been suo-crested that the " Lace-maker makino' lace
with bobbins on a pillow with a drawer " (alluded to by
Baron Reiffenberg) in the triptych is taken from the above-
mentioned engi'avings l^y Nicholas de Bruyel and Assuerus
van Londonzeel, after the drawings of ]\Iar^in de Vos.

The historian of the Duke of Burgundy '' declares Charles
the Bold to have lost his dentelles at the battle of Granson,
1476 ; he does not state his authority. Prol)ably they were
irold or silver, for no other exist amons his relics.

In Vecellio's Corona of 1593 and 1596 are two desio;ns of
geometrical lace — '" ponto fiamengho " and " Manegetti di
ponto Fiamengo," point de Flandre.

In 1651, flacob v. Eyck, a Flemish poet, sang the praises
of lace-making in Latin verse. " Of many arts one surpasses
all : the threads woven by the strange power of the hand,
threads which the dropping spider would in vain attempt to
imitate, and which Pallas would confess she had never
known ; " and a deal more in the same style."

The lace-manufacture of the Netherlands, as Baron
Reiffenberg w^rites, has a glorious past. After exciting the
jealousy of other European nations, in the sixteenth century,
when every industrial art fled from the horrors of religious
persecution, the lace fabric alone upheld itself, and by its
prosperity saved Flanders from utter ruin. Every country
of Northern Europe,' Germany, and England, has learned
the art of lace-making from Flanders. After the establish-
ment of the Points de France by Colbert, Flanders was
alarmed at the number of lace-makers who emiofrated, and
passed an act, dated Brussels, December 26th, 1698,

' M. de Barante.

* It goes on : " For the maiden,
seated at her work, plies her fingers
rapidly, and flashes the smooth balls
and thousand threads into the circle.
( )ften she fastens with her hand the
innmnerable needles, to bring out the
various figures of the pattern ; often,
again, she unfastens them ; and in
this her amusement makes as much
profit as the man earns by the sweat
of his brow ; and no maiden ever
complains at even of the length of the
day. The issue is a fine web, open to
the air with many an aperture, which
feeds the pride of the whole globe ;

which encircles witli its fine border
cloaks and tuckers, and shows grandly'
round the throats and hands of kings ;
and, what is more surj^rising, this web
is of the lightness of a feather, whicli
in its price is too heavy for our purses.
Go, ye men, inflamed with the desire
of the Golden Fleece, endure so many
dangers by land, so many at sea,
whilst the woman, remaining in her
Brabantine home, prepares Phrygian
fleeces by peaceful assiduity." — Jacohi
Eychii Antwcrpicnsis XJrhium Bel-
gicarum Cent-nria. Antw. 1651. 1
vol., 4to. Bib. Eoyale, Brussels.
"' Alencon excepted.

112

HISTORY OF LACE

threatening with punishment any who should suborn her
workpeople.

Lace-making forms an abundant source of national wealth
to Belgium, and enables the people of its superannuated cities
to support themselves, as it were, on female industry/
One-fourth of the whole population (150,000 women) were
said to be thus engaged, in 1861. But a small number

Fi-. :a.

Cap ok the Emi'iuhii; chaui.k.s \".--(.Mu.sOc dc- cimi}.)
This engraving is not accurately drawn. Tlie s;)afe3 contain l)irils ami cmt^.scs, and not si)rigs.

assemble in the ateliers ; the maioritv work at home. The
trade now flourishes as in the most palm}' days of the
Netherlands.

Lace forms a part of female edu('ation in Belgium.

" It is said to destroy the eyesight. ^IcPherson, '"that they were generally
" I was told by a gentleman well almost blind before thirty years of
acquainted with Flanders," says age." — Hisiorii of ('(yDimcrcc, 1785.

Fig. 52.

Isabella Clara Eugknia, Daughter of Philip II., Archduchess of Austria, Governess of thi

Netheklands.— Died 1633,

To face page 112.

FLANDERS

ii^

C'liarles V. coninfAuded it to ])e taught in the schools and
convents'.* Examples of the manufactures of his period may
be «en in the cap said to he worn by him under his crown,
and in the contemporary portrait of his sister Mary, Qiiieen
of Hungary. This cap, long preserved in the treasury of the
bishop-princes of Basle, lias now passed into the Musee
de Cluny (Fig. 51). It is of fine linen; the imperial arms are
embroidered in relief, alternate with designs in lacis of
exquisite workmanship.'' •

Queen Mary's cutts (Fig. 53) are of the geometric
pattern of the age, and we may presume, of Flanders make,
as she was Governess of the Low Countries from 1530 till
her death. The grand-daughter of Charles V., the Infanta
Isabella, who brought the Low (^mntries as her d,ower."'

Mary, Quekn of Hungary, Govkuxe.ss ok thk Low C'.olntiui;s. +155s.— (From her purimit, Mn^-eo

de Versailles.)

appears in her portraits (Fig. 52) most resplendent in lace,
and her ruff rivals in size those of our Queen Elizabeth,
or Reine Mareot.

But to return to our subject. Uf the lace schools there
were nearly 900 in 1875, either in the convents or founded
by private charity. At the age of five small girls commence

'■' Together with the cap is preserxed
a parchment with this inscription :
•' Gorro que perteneccio a Carlos
Quinto, emperad. Guarda lo, hijo niio.
es memoria de Juhan de Garnica."
C' Cap which belonged to the Emperor
Charles V. Keep it, my son, in remem-
brance of John de Garnica "). J. de
Garnica was treasm-er to Philip II.

Seguin, however, is of opinion that
this cap belonged to one of Cliarles
V.'s successors: —

•• Ce bonnet ... a du apparteuir
tres^certainement a im de ses sncces-
senrs (of Charles V.), a cause que ce
bonnetjse trouve coupe et encadre par
mi petit entre-deux de guipure au
fuseau, facon point de Genes, qui
ne pouvait pas avoir ete fait du
temps de Charles Quint." — Seguin, La
Drntelle.

'" :\rarried, 1599, Albert, Archduke
of Austria.

114

HISTORY OF LACE

their appreuticeship ; by ten tlicy earn tiieir maintenance ;
and it is a pretty sight, an " ecole dentelliere," the children
seated before their pillows, twisting their bobbins with
wonderful dexterity. (Fig. 54.)

In a tract of the seventeenth century entitled, England's
Improvement hy Sea and Land, to outdo the Dutch without
Fighting, ^^ we have an amusing account of one of these
establishments. " Joining to this spinning school is one for
maids w^eaving bone lace, and in all towns there are schools
according to the bigness and multitude of the children. I
will shov/ you how they are governed. First, there is a

Fis. 54.

A Belgian Lace ■Schchh,.

large room, and in the middle thereof a little box like a
pulpit. Second, there are benches built about the room as
they are in our playhouses. And in the l)ox in the middle
of the room the grand mistress, with a long white wand in
her hand. If she observes any of them idle, she reaches
them a taj), and if that will not do, she rings a bell, which, b}'
a little cord, is attached to the ])0x. She points out the
offender, and she is taken into another room and chastised.

" By Andrew Yarrautou, Gent.
Ijondon, 1677. A proposal to erect
.schools for teaching and improving the
linen manufacture as they do " in
Flanders and Holland, wliere little
girls from six years old upwards learn
to employ their fingers." Hadrianus

Junius, a most learned writer, in his
description of the Netherlands, higlily
extols the fine needlework and linen
called cambric of the Belgian nuns,
which in whiteness rivals the snow, in
tex-ture satin, and in price the sea-silk
— Byssus, or beard of tlie Pinna.

To face page 114.

FLANDERS

115

And I believe this way of ordering the young women in
Germany (Flanders) is one great cause that the German
women have so little twit-twat/'^ and I am sure it will be as
Avell were it so in England. There the children emulate the
father— here they beggar him. Child," he winds up, '"I
charge you tell this to thy wyfe in bed, and it may be that
she, "understanding the benefit it will be to her and her
children, will turn Dutchwoman and endeavour to save

Fi". 56.

OLU Fle.misu (Trolle Xaiit).
'I lie ])ieue of lace from which this woodcut is taken has five or six (.lifferent desijin^ all joined
toi;etliei' ; probably patterns sent lound for orders.

moneys." Notwithstanding this good advice, in 1768
England received from Flanders lace-work £250,000 to !her
disadvantage, as compared to her exports.

The old Flemish laces are of great beauty, some of
varied grounds. Fig. 56 represents a description of lace
called in the country " Trolle kant," a name which has been
transterred to our own lace counties, where lace of a peculiar

^" An old term, still used in Scotland, for gossip, cliatter.

I 2

ii6 HISTORY OF LACE

make is styled Trolly, with a heavy cordonnet which is
called gimp or Trolly. Kant in Flemish is " lace."

At one period mucli lace was smuggled into France from
Belgium by means of dogs trained for the purpose. A dog
was caressed and petted at home, fed on the fat of the laud,
then after a season sent across the frontier, where he was
tied up, half-starved and ill-treated. The skin of a bigger
dog was then fitted to his body, and the intervening space
filled with lace. The dog was then allowed to escape and
make his way home, where he was kindly welcomed wdth his
contraband charge. These journeys were repeated till the
French Custom House, getting scent, l)y degrees put an end
to the trattic. Between 1820 and 1836 40,278 dogs were
destroyed, a reward of three francs being given for each.^^

According to some authorities the earliest lace made iu
Flanders was of the kind known as Pillow Guipure. The
pattern is made as of tape, in flowing Kenaissance style,
sometimes connected by brides, and sometimes altogether
without brides, when the points of the pattern touch each
other. In the specimens of this type of lace in the Victoria
and Albert Museum there is apparently little in the laces
by which the country of their origin may be identified.
Sometimes they have been considered French, sometimes
Flemish, and sometimes Italian. [See the specimens of tape-
lace in the Catalogue of the lace in the Victoria and Albert
Museum, p. 49, by A. S. Cole.] (Plate XXXVIII.)

P.RUSSELS (BRABANT).

" More subtile web Arachne cannot spin." — Spenser.

" From Lisle I came to Brussels, where most of the fine laces are made you
see worn in England." Lord Chesterfield, 1741.

At what period the manufacture of Brussels lace commenced
we are ignorant ; but, judging from the earlier patterns, it
may be placed at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
The ancient churches of Brabant possess, it is said, many
precious specimens, the gifts of munificent princes who have
at all periods shown a predilection for Brussels lace, and in
every w^ay promoted its manufac^ture. In usage it is termed

'^ These dogs were of large size, and Thej' also conveyed tobacco. Tlie
iible to carry from 22 to 26 lbs. Swiss dogs smuggle watches.

Plate XXXVII.

Brussels. Point d'Angleterre a Brides. Crown op a Cap.— Last half of seventeenth century.

The property of Mr. Arthur Blackborne.

Plate XXXVIII.

•Ji

y-ynvm

,|^^->^!v«

r>?-.

:>^

Flemish. Tape Lace, Bobbin-made. ^Seventeenth century.
Photos by A. Dryden.

To /ace page 116.

BKl/SSELS 117

Point d'Angleterre, an error explained to us by history. In
1662 the English Parliament, alarmed at the sums of money
expended on foreign point, and desirous to protect the
English bone-lace manufacture, passed an Act prohibiting
the importation of all foreign lace. The English lace-
merchants, at a loss how to supply the Brussels point
required at the court of Charles II., invited Flemish lace-
makers to settle in England and there establish the manu-
facture. The scheme, however, was unsuccessful. England
did not produce the necessary Hax, and the lace made w^as of
an inferior quality. The merchants therefore adopted a
more simple expedient. Possessed of large capital, they
bought up the choicest laces of the Brussels market, and then
smucslinjx tliem over to Eno-land, sold them under the name
of point d'Angleterre, or " English Point. ^*

This fact is, curiously enough, corroborated in a second
memorandum given by the Venetian ambassador to the
English Court in 1695, already mentioned by an informant
in London, who states that Venetian point is no longer in
fashion, but " that called English point, which, you know, is
not made here, but in Flanders, and only l^ears the name
of English to distinguish it from the others." " Questo
chiamato punto d' Inghilterra, si sappia che uon si fa qui,
ma in Fiandra, et porta solamente questo nome d' Inghilterra
per distintione dagli altri."

The account of the seizure made by the Marquis de
Nesmond of a vessel laden with Flanders lace, bound for
England, in 1678^* will afford some idea of the extent to
which this smuggling was carried on. The cargo comprised
744,95-') ells of lace, without enumerating handkerchiefs,
collars, fichus, aprons, petticoats, fans, gloves, etc., all of
the same material. From this period " point de Bruxelles "
became more and more unknown, and was at last effaced by
" point d'Angleterre," ^^ a name it still retains.''

On consulting, however, the English Royal Inventories of

'^ Black lace was also imported at hordes d'une blanche et legere deiitelle,

this period from the Low Countries. sortie a coup siu- des lueilleures manu-

Among the articles advertised as lost, factures d'Angleterre."

in the Newsman of May 26th. 1664. '^ We have, however, one entry in

is, ■' A black lute-string gown with the Wardrobe Accounts of the Due de

a black Flanders lace." Penthievre : "1738. Onze amies d'An-

Mer cure Gala nt. 1678. gleterre de Flandre."

^^ " Le corsage et les manches etaient

j-i-'

ii8

HISTORY OF LACE

the time, we fiDcl no mention of " English point." In
France, on the other hand, the fashion books of the day ^^
I'ommend to the notice of the reader, " Corsets chamarres de
point d'Angleterre," with vests, gloves, and cravats trimmed
with the same material. Among the effects of Madame de
iSimiane, dated 1681, were many articles of English point : ^''
and ]\[onseigneur the Archbishop of Bourges, who died some

few vears later, had two cambric toilettes trimmed with the

•'II
same.

The finest Brussels lace can only be made in the city
itself. Antwerp, Ghent, and other localities have in vain
tried to compete with the capital. The little town of Binche,
long of lace-making celebrity, has been the most successful.
Binche, however, now only makes pillow flowers (point plat),
and those of an inferior quality.

When, in 1756, Mrs. Calderwood visited the Beguinage at
l^russels, she wTote to a friend describing the lace-making.
•• A part of their work is grounding lace ; the manufacture
is very curious. One person works the flowers. They are
<dl sold separate, and you will see a very pretty sprig, for
which the worker only gets twelve sous. The masters who
have all these people employed give them the thread to
make them ; this they do according to a pattern, and give
them out to be grounded ; after this they give them to a
tliird hand, who ' hearts ' all the flowers with the open
woi'k. That is what makes this lace so much dearer than the
Mechlin, which is wrought all at once." '^

The thread used in Brussels lace is of extraordinary
fineness. It is made of flax grown in Brabant, at Hal and
Rebec'Cj^-Eognon.^'^ The finest quality is spun in dark under-
ground rooms, for contact with the dry air causes the thread

'« Meicurc Galant. 1678.

'" " Deux paires de manchettes et
uue cravatte de point d'Angleterre." —
Inventairc (VAime tVEscoublcatt, Ba-
ronne de Sourdis, veiive de Francois
cir Siiiiiane. Arch. Nat. M. M. 802.

-' Inv. aprcs le dcces dc Mgr. Mich.
Philippine de la VHlliere, Fatriarche,
Arcjieveque de Bo2i7'gcs, 1694. Kib.
Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 11,426.

" Une toilette et sa touaille avec un
peignoir de point d'Angleterre." — Inv.
de deces de Mademoiselle de Charollais.

1758. Arch. Nat.

^' Mrs. Calderwood'' s Jotuiui/
through Holland and Belgium. 17;'>6.
Printed by the Maitland Club.

^^ Flax is also cultivated solely for
lace and cambric thread at St. Nicholas,
Tournay, and Coiu'trai. The process
of steeping (rouissagc) principally takes
place at Ccurtrai, the clearness of the
waters of the Lys rendering them
peculiarly fitted for the purpose. Sa-
vary states that fine thread was first
spun at Mechlin.

L^
O

(5'

To face page 118.

BRUSSELS 119

to break, so line is it ;is almost to escape the sight. The
feel of the thread as it passes through the fingers is the
surest guide. The thread-spinner closely examines every
inch drawn from her distatf, and when any inequality occurs
stops her wheel to repair the mischief. Every artificial
help is given to the eye. A background of dark paper is
placed to throw out the thread, and the room so arranged as
to admit one single ray of light upon the work. The life of
a Flemish thread-spinner is unhealthy, and her work re(|uires
the greatest skill; her wages are therefore proportionably high.
It is the fineness of the thread which renders the real
Brussels ground (rrai reseau, called in Flanders, '' droschel ' )
so costly.-^ The difficulty of procuring this fine thread
at any cost prevented the art being estal)lished in other
countries. AVe all know how, during the last fifty years
of the bygone century, a mania existed in the United
Kingdom for improving all sorts of manufactures. The
Anti-Gailican Society gave prizes in London ; Dublin and
Edinburgh vied with their sister capital in patriotism.
Every man would establish something to keep our native
cold from crossino; the water. Foreign travellers had their
eyes open, and Lord (lard en, a Scotch Lord of Session, who
visited Brussels in 1787, thus writes to a countryman on the
subject : '' This day I bought you ruffles and some beautiful
Brussels lace, the most light and costly of all manufactures.
I had entertained, as I now suspect, a vain ambition to
attempt the introduction of it into my humble parish in
Scotland, but on inquiry I was discouraged. The thread is
of so exquisite a fineness they cannot make it m this country.
It is brought from Cambrai and Valenciennes in French
Flanders, and five or six different artists are employed to
form the nice part of this fabric, so that it is a complicated

-3 It is often sold at i240 per lb., 1862, the finest Lille was 800 leas (a
and in the Report of the French Ex- technical tenn for a reel of 300 yards),
hibition of 1859 it is mentioned as high the Brussels 600, the Manchester 700 ;
as JE500 (25,000fr. the kilogramme). whereas in Westphalia and Belgixnii
No wonder that so much tlu'ead is hand-spun threads as fine as 800 to
made by machinery, and that Scotch 1000 are spim for costly laces. The
cotton thread is so generally used, writer has seen specimens, in the
except for the choicest laces. But IMuseum at Lille, equal to 1200 of ma-
machine-made thread has never at- chinery ; but this industry is so poorly
tained the fineness of that made by remunerated, tliat the numbei- of skilful
hand. Of those in the Kxliibition of hand-spinners is fast diminishing.

120

HISTORY OF LACE

art wliicli cannot l>e transplanted without a passion as strong
as mine for manufactures, and a purse much stronger. At
Brussels, from one pound of flax alone they can manufacture
to the value of £700 sterlincr."

There were two kinds of ground used in Brussels lace, the
Ijride and the reseau. The bride was first employed, but, even
a century back,'"* had been discontinued, and was then only
made to order. Nine ells of " Angleterre a i bride " appear
in the bills of Madame du Barry. -^ The lace so made was
generally of most exquisite workmanship, as many magnifi-
cent specimens of " bas d'aube,' "^' now converted into flounces,
attest. Sometimes bride and reseau were mixed."' In the
inventories the description of ground is always minutely speci-
tied.'^^ (See Plates XXXVII.^ XLYIL, XLVIIL, XLIX., LI.)

The reseau was made in two ways,-'' by hand (a I'aiguille),
and on the pillow (au fuseau). The needleground is worked
from one flower to another, as in Fig. 44. The pillow is
made in small strips of an inch in width, and from seven to
forty-five inches long, joined together by a stitch long known
to the lace-makers of Brussels and Bayeux only,^" called
"point de raccroc " — in English, "fine joining" — and

-* Dictioniiairc du Citoycn. 1761.

-° Comj)fcs dc Madame du, Barry.
Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 8157 and 8.

20 11 Ti'ois aubes de batiste garnies
de grande dentelle de gros point d' An-
gleterre." — Inv. des Menhirs, etc., de
Louis. Due d'Orleans, decede 4 fcv.
1752. (Son of the Regent.) Arch.
Xat. X. 10,075.

" Deux aubes de point d' Angleterre
servant a Messieurs les curez.

" Une autre aube a dentelle de gros
point servant aussy a M. le cure."-
Invcntaire et Description dc VArgcii-
terie, Vermeil Dore, Ornemens, Linge,
etc., a^ipartcnant a VCEmirc ct Fah-
riqve dc Vcglise Saint-Mcrr^/ a Paris.
1714. Arch. Nat. L.L. 859.'

-" " Une coeffure A une piece d'An-
gleterre bride et reseau." — Comptes dc
Madame du Barry.

" 1 aune et quai't d' Angleterre mele."
—Ibid.

-" Mrs. Delany writes ("Corr.," vol.
•2) : The laces " I have pitclied on for you
are charming ; it is grounded Brussels."

" Deux tours de gorge a raiseau, un
tour de camisolle a bride." — 1720.

lav. de la Duclussc de Bourbon. Arch.
Nat. X. 10,062-4.

" Six peignoirs de toille fine garnis
par en haut d'une vielle dentelle d'An-
gleterre a raiseau." — Inv. de deeds de
Monsieur FliiUpj)^' i^f^*^ .fils de France,
Due d'Oi'lcaiis, licgent du Boyaume.
deeedc 2 dccembre, 1723. Arch. Nat.
X. 10,067.

Tlie "fond ecaille " often occurs.

"Une coeffure a une. piece de point
i\ FecaUle ;

" Une paire de manchettes de cour
de point a raizeau, et deux devants de
corps de point a brides ii ecailles." —
1761. I)iv. de la Di(dicssc de Modcne.
Arch. Nat. X. 10,082.

" Deux barbes, rayon, et fond
d' Angleterre superfin fond ecaille."
— Compites de Madame du Barry.
See her Angleterre, Chap. XI. note 26.

'-■' To which machinery has added a
third, the tulle or Brussels net.

•'" Tlie needleground is tlaree times
as expensive as the pillow, because the
needle is passed four times into eacli
mesh, whereas in the pillow it is not
passed at all.

Fig.

Brussels Needle-Point.

To face "page 120.

Fig. 58a.

Brussels. Point a l'aiguille.— Formerly belonged to H.M. Queen Charlotte.

To face page 120.

BRUSSELS 121

consistino; of a fresh stitch formed with a needle between the
two pieces to be united. It requires the greatest nicety to
join the segments of shawls and other large piei-es. Since
machine-made net has come into use the " vrai reseau " is
rarely made, save for royal trousseaux (Figs. 57 and 58).

There are two kinds of flowers : those made with the
needle are called "point a I'aiguille " ; those on the pillow,
'■ point plat."^^ The best flowers are made in Brussels itself,
where they have attained a perfection in the relief (point
brode) unequalled by those made in the surrounding villages
and in Hainaalt. The last have one great fault. Coming
soiled from the hands of the lace-makers, they have a reddish-
vellow cast. In order to obviate this evil the workwoman,
previous to sewing the flowers on the ground, places them in
a packet of white lead and beats them with the hand, an
operation injurious to the health of the lace-cleaner. It also
causes the lace to turn black when laid in trunks or ward-
robes in contact with flannel or other woollen tissues bleached
with sulphur, which discolours the white lead. Bottles con-
taining scent, the sea air, or a heated room, will produce the
same disagreeable change, and the colour is with difflculty
restored. This custom of powdering yellow lace is of old
date. We read in 1782 ^■^: " On tolere en mOme temps les
dentelles jaunes et fort sales, poudrez-les a blanc pour cacher
leur vetuste, dut la fraude paroitre, n'importe, vous avez des
dentelles vous etes bien dispense de la proprete mais non du
luxe." Mrs. Delany writes in 1734 : "Your head and ruflles
are being made up, but Brussels always look yellow : " and
she was right, for flax thread soon returns to its natural
" cremee " hue. Yet,

" How curled her hair, how clean her Brussels lace ! "

exclaims the poet.^^ Later, the taste for discoloured lace
became general. The " Isabelle " or cream-coloured tint was
found to be more becomino; than a dazzlino; white, and our
coquettish grandmothers, who prided themselves upon the
colour of their point, when not satisfied with the richness of
its hue, had their lace dipped in coft'ee.

SI .. Trois oreillers, I'un de toille ^- Tableau de Paris, par tS. Mercier.

blanche picquee garnis autour de Amsterdam, 1782.
chacun d'un point plat." — Inv. de la ^° •• Fashion." J. Warton.

Dii ell esse de Modene.

122 HISTORY OF LACE

111 the old laces the plat flowers were worked in together
with the ground. (Fig. 59.) Application lace was unknown
to our ancestors.^^ The making of Brussels lace is so com-
plicated that each process is, as before mentioned, assigned
to a different hand, who works only at her special department.
The first, termed —

1. Drocheleuse (Flemish, drocheles), makes the vrai
reseau.

2. Denteliere (kantwerkes), the footing.

3. Poiiiteuse (needlewerkes), the point a I'aiguille Mowers.

4. Platteuse (platwerkes), makes the plat liowers.

5. Fonneuse (grondwerkes), is charged with the open
work (jours) in the plat.

6. Jointeuse, or attacheuse (lashwerkes), unites the
different sections of the 2;round tooether.

7. Stri'jueuse, or appliqueuse (strikes), is charged with
the sewing (application) of the Howers upon the ground.

The pattern is designed by the head of the fabric,
who, having cut the parchment into pieces, hands it out
ready pricked. The worker has no reflections to make,
no combinations to study. The whole responsibility rests
with the master, who selects the ground, chooses the thread,
and alone knows the effect to be produced by the whole.

The pattern of Brussels lace has always followed the
fashion of the day. The most ancient is in the Gothic style
{Gothigue pur), its architectural ornaments resembling a
pattern cut out in paper. This style was replaced by the
Howing lines which prevailed till the end of the last
century. (Fig. 60.)

In its turn succeeded the yenre jleuri of the First Empire,
an assemblage of flowers, sprigs, columns, wreaths, and
petits sicmes, such as spots, crosses, stars, etc. In flowers,
the palm and pyramidal forms predominated. Under the
Restoration the flowery style remained in fashion, but the
palms and pyramids became more rare. Since 1830 great
changes have taken place in the patterns, which every year
become more elegant and more artistic.

^* Brussels lace-makers divide the in which small interstices appear,

plat into three parts, the "mat," the French (jrille, and the jo^trs, or open

close pari; answering to the French work.
toils (Chapter III.) ; cfuze au fuseau,

cr.

To face page 122,

BRC/SSELS 123

The lace industry of Brussels is now divided into two
branches, the making of detached sprigs, either point or
pillow, for application upon the net ground, and the modern
point a Vaujaille gazu'e, also called point de Venise, a needle-
work lace in which the flowers are made simultaneously with the
ground, by means of the same thread, as in the old Brussels.
It is made in small pieces, the joining concealed by small
sprigs or leaves, after the manner of the old point, the same
lace-worker executing the whole strip from beginning to end.
Point gaze is now l^rought to the highest perfection, and
the specimens in the Paris Exhibition of 1867 were remark-
able for the precision of the work, the variety and richness
of the "jours," and the clearness of the ground.'

Brussels point a Caiguille^ point de gaze, is the most filmy
and delicate of all point lace. Its forms are not accentuated
by a raised outline of button-hole stitching, as in point
d'Alengon and point d'Argentan, but are simply outlined by
a thread. The execution is more open and slight than in
early lace, and part of the toile in made is close, part in open
stitch, to give an appearance of shading. The style of the
designs is naturalistic. (Plate LIL)

" Point Duchesse " is a bobbin lace of fine quality, in
which the sprigs resemble Honiton lace united by "brides."
Duchesse is a modern name. The work less resembles the
old Brussels laces than the " Guipure de Flandre," made at
Bruges in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which
was much used for cravats, being; exceedino;lv rich and
soft in effect. Bobbin lace is sometimes named point Plat ;
the word point in this case signifies the fine quality of the
lace, and has nothing to do with the needle-point. Point
Plat applique is the name given to Belgian bobbin-made
sprigs which are afterwards applied to machine-made net.
Bobbin lace is not now made in Brussels itself.

Brussels was a favoured lace at the court of the First
Empire. ^^ "When Napoleon and the Empress Marie Louise
made their first public entry into the Belgian capital, they

^° The veil presented by the city of it trained on the ground. The texture

Brussels to the Empress Josephine was of the reseau was exquisitely line. In

sold in 1816 by Eugene ]5eauharnais to each corner was the imperial crown

Lady Jane Hamilton. It is described and cypher, encircled with wreaths of

to have been of such ample dimensions flowers. This c/ie/tZ'ccMtJiT passed into

that, when placed on Lady Jane's head the possession of Lady Jane's daughter,

— wlio was upwards of six feet high — the Duchesse de Coigny.

124 HISTORY OF LACE

gave large orders for albs of the richest point, destined as a
present for the Pope. The city, on its part, offered to the
Empress a collection of its finest lace, on vrai reseau, of
marvellous beauty ; also a curtain of Brussels point, emble-
matic of the birth of the King of Rome, with Cupids
supporting the drapery of the cradle. After the battle of
Waterloo, Monsieur Troyaux, a manufacturer at Brussels,
stopped his lace fabric, and, having turned it into a hospital
for forty English soldiers, furnished them with linen, as well
as other necessaries, and the attendance of trained nurses.
His humane conduct did not go unrewarded ; he received a
decoration from his sovereign, while his shop was daily
crowded with English ladies, who then, and for years after,
made a point of purchasing their laces at his establishment
when passing through Brussels. Monsieur Troyaux made a
large fortune and retired from l)usiness.^''

MECHLIN.

'" And if disputes of empire rise between
Mechlin, the Queen of Lace, and Colberteen,
'Tis doubt, 'tis darkness ! till suspended Fate
Assumes her nod to close the grand debate."

— Young, Ijovc of Faiiif.

" Now to another scene give place ;
Enter the Folks with silk and lace,
Fresh matter for a world of chat
Right Indian this, right Macklin that."

— Swift, Journal of a Modern Lddi/.

" Mechlin, the finest lace of all ! "

— Anderson, Origin, of Coiniiicn-c.

■•Jvose: Pray, what may this lace be worth a yard?
••]'>alance: Right Mechlin, by this light!"

— Farquhar. Tlic Bfcriiitiii;/ (\1fcir.

Mechlin is the prettiest of laces, fine, transparent, and
effective. It is made in one piece, on the pillow, with

■■" To afford an idea of the intrinsic Fr.

value of Brussels lace, we give an esti- Ground (?'esca/M '2,782

mate of the expense of a fine flounce Footing {engrelarr) 1-27

(volant), of vrai rcseait melange (point

and plat), 12 metres long by 35 eenti- Total . . . 10,859-02

metres wide (ISJ vards by 14 inches) —

Fi-. ' = MM 7 6

Cost of the plat . . 1,885-75 Equals Jiotj 'df>. VW. the metre, and

Needle-point 5,000 the selling price would be about

Open-work, yott?'s (fonnage) . 390 £50 16s., which would make the

Applique (sfrlragr) 800 flounces amount to £609 12.v.

'lo face [jocje 124,

MECHLIN

125

various faucy stitches introduced. Its distinguishing fea-
ture is the cordonnet oi- flat silky thread which outlines the
pattern, and gives to this lace the character of embroidery
(hence it is sometimes called Broderie de Malines^'); and
secondly, the hexagonal mesh of the reseau, " This is
made of two threads twisted twice on four sides, and four
threads plaited three times on the two other sides. Thus
the plait is shorter and the mesh consequently smaller
than that of Brussels lace." Mechlin was sometimes
grounded with an ornamental reseau called Fond de
iieige, or (Ell de perdrix, and also with the six-pointed
Fond Chant ; but these varieties are not common. The
earliest Mechlin has the points d'esprit, and is very rare.
It was made at Mechlin, Antwerp, Lierre and Turnhout.
but the manufacture has long been on the decline. In
1834 there were but eight houses where it was fabricated,
but at a later date it appears to have partially revived.
There was a fine collection of Mechlin lace in the Paris Exhi-
bition of 1867 from Turnhout (Prov. Antwerp), and some
other localities. Very little is now manufactured. It is
difficult to trace the real point de Malines. I'revious to
1665, as elsewhere stated, all Flanders laces, with some
exceptions, were known to the French commercial world as
"Malines."- According to f^avary, the laces of Ypres,
Bruges, Dunkirk and Courtrai passed at Paris under that
name — hence we have in the inventories of the time, " ^la-
lines a bride," ^^ as well as " Malines a rezeau. ' ^^

The statute of Charles II. having placed a bar to
the introduction of Flanders lace into England, Mechlin
neither appears in the advertisements nor inventories of
the time.

We find mention of this fabric in France as early as
Anne of Austria, who is described in the memoirs of Marion

^' *• Une paii'e de iiianchettes ile
(leiitelle de Malines brodee."

•• Quatre bonnets de nuit garnis de
^lalines brodee." — Inv. dc deces de
y[ademoiselle de CharoUais. 1758.

'■"* Inv. de la DiicJiesse de Boiirhou.
1720.

•• 1704. Deux fichus gai-nis de
dentelle de Malines a bride ou rezeau.

" Une cravatte avec les manchettes

de point de Malines a bride.

" Deux autres cravattes de dentelle
<le Malines a rezeau et trois paires de
manchettes de pareille dentelle." —
I71V. de Franc. Phelypeaiix Loisel.
Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 11,459.

^^ l-jiv. de deces dc Madame Anne.
Palatine de Baviere, Princcsse dr
Conde. 1723. Arch, de Nat. X.
10,065.

126 HISTORY OF LACE

de rOrme as wearing a veil " en frizette de Malines." *"
Again, the Maredial de la Motte, who died in 1657, has,
noted in his inventory," a pair of Mechlin ruffles.

Regnard, who visited Flanders in 1681, writes from this
city : " The common people here, as throughout all Flan-
ders, occupy themselves in making the white lace known
as Malines, and the Beguinage, the most considerable in the
country, is supported by the work of the Beguines, in which
they excel greatly,"*^

When, in 1699, the English prohibition was removed,
Mechlin lace became the ofrand fashion, and continued so
during the succeeding century. Queen Mary anticipated
the repeal by some years, for, in 1694, she purchased two
yards of knotted fringe for her Mechlin ruffles,''^ which leads
us to hope she had brought the lace with her from Holland ;
though, as early as 1699, we have advertised in the London
Gazette, August 17th to 21st : " Lost from Barker's coach
a deal box containing," among other articles, " a waistcoat
and Holland shirt, both laced with Mecklin lace." Queen
Anne purchased it largely; at least, she paid in 1713**
£247 ^s. 9(i. for eighty-three yards, either to one Margaret
Jolly or one Francis Dobson, " Millenario Regali " — the
Royal Milliner, as he styles himself. George I. indulges in
a " Macklin " cravat."'

" It is impossible," says Savary about this time, " to
imagine how much Mechlin lace is annually purchased by
France and Holland, and in England it has alwavs held the
hio-hest favour."

( )f the beau of 1727 it is said :

"Right Macklin must twist round his bosom and wiiwts."

AVhile Captain Figgins of the 67th, a dandy of the first
water, is described, like the naval puppy of Smollett in
Roderick Random, " his hair powdered with marechal, a
cambric shirt, his Malines lace dyed with coffee-grounds."
Towards 1755 the fashion seems to have been on the decline

** In the accounts of Madame du de manchettes garnyes de passement

Barry, we have "Malines batarde d tant deVenise,Gennes,etde Malines."

bordure." *^ Voyage en Flandrc. 1681.

*' Inv. apres le deces de Mgr. Ic *^ B. M. Add. MSS. No. 5751.

Marechal de la Motte. Bib. Nat. " Gr. Ward. Ace. V. R. O.

MSS. V. Fr. 11,426. " Quatre paires *'' Ibid.

Plate XXXIX.

ilECHLiN. — Four specimens of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Arranged bv age, the

oldest at the top. The upper one is the end of a lappet, the property of Mr. Arthur

Blackborne. Width about 3^ in. Widths of smaller pieces, If in., lower[,2| in.

Photos by A. Dryden.

To face page 126,

MECHLIN 127

in England. "All the town," writes Mr. Calderwood, '• is
full of convents ; Mechlin lace is all made there ; I saw a
great deal, and very pretty and cheap. They talk of giving
up the trade, as the English, upon whom they depended,
have taken to the wearing of French blondes. The lace
merchants employ the workers and all the town with lace.
Though they gain 1jut twopence halfpenny daily, it is a good
worker who will finish a Flemish yard (28 inches) in a
fortnight."

Mechlin is essentially a summer lace, not becoming in

Fig. 61.

Mechi.ix.— (Period Louis XVI.)]

itself, but charmino; when worn over colour. It found
great favour at the court of the Regent, as the inventories
of the period attest. Much of this lace, judging from
these accounts, was made in the style of the modern insertion,
with an edging on both sides, " campane," and, being light
in texture, was well adapted for the gathered trimmings,
later termed^" " quilles," now better known as "' plisses a la

*^ " On chamarre les jupes eu " Un volant deutellc d'Augleterre

quiles de dentelles plissees." — plissee." — Extraordinaire duMcrcure.
Mercurr GaJnnt. 1678. Quarticr d'EsU. 1678.

128

HISTORY OF LACE

vieille." ^' Mechlin can never have been used as a "' dentelle
<le grande toilette " ; it served for coiffures de nuit, garnitures
de corset, ruffles and r-ravats.^^

Lady Mary Wortle}- Montagu, describing an admirer,
^vrites : ,^„ , .

" With eager beat his Mechlin cravat moves —
He loves, I whisper to myself, he loves ! "

It was the favourite lace of Queen Charlotte (Fig. iVl)
and of the Princess Amelia. Napoleon I. was also a great

Fio-. 62.

MECHLlN.-(Foniierly belonging to H. M. Queen Oliailoae.)

admirer of this fabric, and when he first saw the light Gothic
tracery of the cathedral spire of Antwerp, he exclaimed,
'• ('est comme de la dentelle tie Malines."

''■' •• 1741. Une coiffure de unit de
]\Ialines k raizeau campanee de deiix
pieces.

*' Une paire de manches de Malines
hrodee A, raizeau campanee, mi tour
de gorge, et une garniture de corset."
— Inv. dc Mademoiselle de Clermont.

"1761. Une paire de manches de
Malines brides non campanee. tour de

gorge, et garniture de corset.'" — Inc.
de la Diicliesse de Modene.

^^ " 1720. Une garniture de teste a
trois pieces de dentelle de ]\Ialines a
bride.

" Deux peignoirs de toile d'HoUande
gariiis de dentelle, I'une d'Aiigleterre
•X bride et I'autre de Maline a raisean.""
— Iiiv. de la Duchesse de BoiirJion.

Plate XL.

-J5

-k3

o
<s

•—<
f— )

>-^

«■<-<

rrt

-t-3

>-»

CIJ

r-i

<4-(

ry;

'73

S >o

To face page 128.

ANTWERP 129

ANTWERP.

" At Antwerp, bought some ruffles of our agreeable laiidladv, and set out at
2 o'clock for Brussels."— To«;-, by G. L., 1767.

Before finishing our account of the hxces of Brabaiit, we
must touch upon the produce of Antwerp, which, though
little ditfei'ing from that of the adjoining towns, seems at
one time to have been known in the commercial world.^'' In
the year 1560 we have no mention of lace among the fabrics
of Antwerp, at that period already flourishing, unless it be
classed under the head of " mercery, fine and rare." ^" The
cap, however, of an Antwerp lady ^^ of that period is deco-
rated with the fine lace of geometric pattern. (Fig. 63.) As
early as 1698 the Flying Postman advertises as follows ;
" Yesterday, was dropped between the Mitre Tavern and the
corner of Princes-street, five yards and Ijetter of Antwerp
lace, pinner breadth. One guinea reward."

According to Savary, much lace without ground, " dentelle
sans fond," a guipure of large flowers united by " brides,"
was fabricated in all the towns of Bralnint for especial
exportation to the Spanish Indies, where the " Gothic " taste
continued in favour up to a very late period. These envoys

" 1750. Une dornieuse de Malines." '-2 taye d'orilier garnis de ^laline."

— Inv. de Mademoiselle de CharoUais. — Benouvellcviciit de M. Ic Due. de

" 1770. 5^ gi-ande hauteur de Norniandie. Ibid.

Malmes pour une pah'e de uianchettes, *^ An Arret, dated 14 Aug., 1688,.

264 francs. requires that " toutes les dentelles de

" 1 au. jabot pour le tour de gorge, fil d'Anvers, Bruxelles, Malines et

16. autres lieux de la Flandre EspagnoUe,"

" 5 au. I Malines pour garnir 3 shall enter only by Rousselars and

chemises au negre a 12 fr." (The Conde, and pay a duty of 40 livres

wretch Zamor who denounced her.) — per lb. — Arch. Nat. Coll. Eoiidon-

ComjJtes de Madame da Barry. neau.

" 1788. 6 tayes d'oreiller garnies ^' In the list of foreign Protestants

de Malines." — Etat de ce qui a ete resident in England, 1618 to 1688,

fourni pour le renouvellement de we find in London, Aldersgate Ward,

Mgr. le Dauphin. Arch. Nat. K. 505, Jacob Johnson, born at Antwerp,

No. 20. lace-maker, and Antony du Veal, lace-

" 1792. 2 tayes d'oreillier garnis de weaver, born in Turny (Tournay).

nialine." — Notes da Huge du ci-devant -*' This portrait has been engraved

Roi. Ibid. No. 8. by Verbruggen, who gives it as that

" 1792. 24 fichus de batiste garnis of Catherine of Aragon.
de Maline.

1^0

HISTORY OF LACE

were expedited first to Cadiz, and there disposed of. In
1696, we find in a seizure made l)y Monsieur de la Belliere,
on the high seas, " 2181 pieces de dentelles grossieres a
I'Espagnole assorties." " (Pkte XLI.)

Since the cessation of this Spanish market, Antwerp lace
would have disappeared from the scene had it not been for
the attachment evinced by the old people for one pattern,
which has been worn on their caps from generation to
generation, generally known l)y the name of " pot lace "
■(potten kant). It is made in the Beguinages of three
■qualities, mostly " fond double." The pattern has always a

Fig. 63.

A Lady of Antweri'.— (Ob. 1598. After Crispin de Pa.sse.)

vase (Fig. 64), varied according to fancy." Antwerp now
makes Brussels lace.

One of the earliest pattern-books, that printed l)y Vor-
-sterman ^^ — the title in English — was published at Antwerp,
but it only contains patterns for Spanish stitch and other
embroidery — no lace. There is no date affixed to the title-
page, which is ornamented with six woodcuts representing

■'•^ MoTiire Galant, 1696.

°* The flower-pot was a symbol of
tlie Annunciation. In the early repre-
sentations of the appearance of the
Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, lilies
are placed either in his hand, or set as

;vn accessory in a vase. As Romanism
declined, the angel disappeared, and the
lily pot became a vase of flowers ; snbse-
(juently the Virgin was omitted, .and
there remained only the vase of flowers.
^^ See Appendix.

'I'll /ace page 130,

FLANDERS {WESJ)

■women, and one a man, working at frames. This wcjrk is
most rare ; the only copy known may be found in the Lil)rary
of the Arsenal at Paris.

Turnhout, wdiich with Antwerp and Mechlin form the
three divisions of the modern province of Antwerp, seems to
have largely manufactured lace up to the present century ;
as we find in 1803, out of forty lace thread and lace fabrics
in the province, there were thirteen at Antwerp, tAvelve at
Turnhout, and nine at Malines.^^ Turnhout now produces
Mechlin.

FLANDERS (WEST).

The most important branch of the pillow-lace trade in
Belgium is the manufacture of Valenciennes, which, having
expired in its native city, has now spread over East and
West Flanders. The art was originally imported into
Flanders from French Hainault in the seventeenth century.
As early as 1656, Ypres began to make Valenciennes lace.
When, in 1684, a census was made by order of Louis XIV.,
there were only three forewomen ^"^ and sixty-three lace-
makers. In 1850, there were from 20,000 to 22,000 in
Ypres and its environs alone.

The productions of Ypres are of the finest quality and
most elaborate in their workmanship. On a piece not two
inches wide, from 200 to 300 bobbins are employed, and for
the larger widths as many as 800 or more are used on the
same pillow. In the exhiljition of 1867, one exhibited with
the lace in progress had 1,200 bobbins," while in the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1874 there were no less than 8,000
bobbins on a Courtrai pillow used for making a parasol cover.
The ground is in large clear squares, which admirably throws
up the even tissue of the patterns. In these there was little
variety until 1833, when a manufacturer^* adopted a clear

"" Tableau Statistiquc da Dej). dcs
Deux-Nethes, par le Citoyen Herbou-
ville. An X. = 1802.

■"•^ Their names are given : Veuves
Mesele, Papegay, and Turck.

■'^ Ypres Valenciennes was exhibited
at dE80 (the metre). The lace-maker,
working twelve hours a day, could
scarcely produce one-third of an inch

a week. It would take her twelve
years to complete a length of six
or seven metres, her daily earnings
averaging two to three francs. Ypres
makes the widest Valenciennes of any
manufacture except Courtrai, whence
was exhibited a half shawl (pouite) of
A'alenciennes.

^^ M. Duhavon Brunfaut, of Ypres.

K 2

132

HISTORY OF LACE

wire ground witli l)old lowing designs, instead of the thick
fre'dle'''^ and scanty flowers of the okl laces. (Fig. 65.) The
change was accepted by fashion, and the Valenciennes lace
<jf Yj)res has now attained a high degree of perfecticjn.
Courtrai has made great advances towards rivalling Ypres
in its productions.

Not a hundred years since, when the laces of Valen-
ciennes prospered, those of Belgium were designated as
" fausses Valenciennes." Belgium has now the monopoly
to a commercial value of more than £800,000."" The other
principal centres of the manufacture are Bruges, Courtrai^

Fig. 65.

Valexciennes Lace cif Yi-itEs.

and ]\Ienin m West, Ghent and Alost in East, Flanders.
When Peuchet wrote in the eighteenth century, he cites " les-
dentelles a I'instar de Valenciennes " of Courtrai as l)eing \\\
favour, and generally sought after Itoth in England and
France, while those of Bruges are merely alluded to as
"passing for Mechlin." From this it may be inferred the
tide had not then flowed so far north. The Valenciennes
of Bruges, from its round ground, has never enjoyed a high

■'■'" Trcillc is tlie general term for the iiiore Valenciennes than all the other

ground (rescaii) throughout Belgium countries united; upwards of 12 millions

and the D(^p. du Nord. of francs (i;480,000).— Aubry.

''" France alone buvs of ]3elgium

Plate XLI.

J' LANDERS (EAST) 133

reputation. In forniin^- tlie ground, the bol)bins are only
twisted twice, while in th<jse of Ypres and Alo.st, the
■operation is performed four and five times." The oftener
the bobbins are twisted the clearer and more esteemed is the
Valenciennes. The " guipure de Flandres" made at Bruges
in " point plat '' is now in high repute, and has proved
from its low price a formidable rival to Honiton, which it
resembles, but the workmanship is coarser and inferior than
in the best Honiton. It is of a brilliant white, and composed
of bobbin-made fiowers united V)y barettes or brides a p'lcot.
In the TJ Industrie Dentelliere Beige (1860), it is stated that
West Flanders has now 180 fabrics and 400 lace schools.
Of these, 157 are the property of religious communities, and
number upwards of 30,000 apprentices.^'"^

FLANDERS (EAST).

No traveller has passed through the city of Ghent for
the last hundred years without descri])ing the Beguinage
■and its lace school. " The women, " writes the author of
the Grand Tour, 1756, "'number nigh 5,000, go where they
please, and employ their time in weaving lace."

Savary cites the " fausses Valenciennes," which he declares
to equal the real in beauty. '" They are," continues he,
^' moins serrees, un pen moins solides, et un peu moins
clieres."

The best account, however, we have of the Ghent manu-
factures is contained in a letter addressed to Sir John
Sinclair by Mr. Hey Schoulthem in 1815. "The making of
lace," he writes, " at the time the French entered the Low
Countries, employed a considerable number of people of both
sexes, and great activity prcA^ailed in Ghent. The lace was
chiefiy for daily use ; it was sold in Holland, France and
England. A large quantity of ' sorted ' laces of a peculiar
quality were exported to Spain and the colonies. It is to
be feared that, after an interruption of twenty years, this
lucrative branch of commerce will be at an end : the changes
<)i fashion have even reached the West Indian colonists,

''^ At Ghent two turns and a half, "'^ U Iml nut rie Dentdliere Beige, \)-ax

-and at Courtrai three and a half . Each B. v. d. Dnssen, Bruxelles, 1860.
town has its own peculiar stitch.

134 HISTORY OF LACE

whose favourite ornciments once consisted of Flemish laces *'^
and fringes. These laces were mostly manufactured in the
charitaljle institutions for poor girls, and l)y old women
whose eyes did not permit them to execute a finer work.
As for the young girls, the equality of these Spanish laces,
and the facility of their execution, permitted the least skilful
to work them with success, and proved a means of rendering
them afterwards excellent workwomen. At present, the best
market for our laces is in France ; a few also are sent to-
England." He continues to state that, since the interruption
of the commerce wdth Spain, to which Ghent formerly be-
longed, the art has been replaced by a trade in cotton ; but
that cotton-weaving spoils the hand of the lace-makers,,
and, if continued, would end by annihilating the lace
manufacture."

Grammont and Enghien formerly manufactured a cheap
white thread lace, now replaced by the making of laces of
black silk. This industry was introduced towards 1840 by
M, Lepage, and black silk and cotton-thread lace is now
made at Grammont, Enghien, and Oudenarde in the southern
part of Eastern Flanders. The lace of Grammont is remark-
able for its regularity, the good quality of its silk, and its
low price, but its grounds are coarse, and the patterns want
relief and solidity, and the bobl»ins are more often twisted
in making the ground, which deprives it of its elasticity.
Grammont makes no small pieces, but shawls, dresses, etc.,^
principally for the American market.

The " industrie dentelliere " of East Flanders is now most
flourishing. In 18G9 it Ijoasted 200 fabrics directed by the
laity, and 450 schools under the superintendence, of the nuns.
Even in the poor-houses (hospices) every woman capable of
using a bob1)in passes her day in lace-making.

HAINAULT.

The laces of Mons and those once known as " les figures
cle Chimay " both in the early part of the eighteenth century
enjoyed a considerable reputation. Mrs. Palliser, on visiting

•='" Piobinson Crusoe, when at Lisbon. "^ Anawer to Sir John Sinclair, hy >

sends " some Flanders lace of a good Mv. H. Schoulthem, concerning the

value " as a jjresent to the wife and manufactures of Ghent. 1815.
daughter of his partner in the Brazils.

Plate XLII.

Ul 'Si
I I

O cS

yo /rtfc iJ«;/'' 134,

HAINAULT 135;

Chimay in 1874, could find no traces of the manufacture
beyond an aged lace-maker, an inmate of the hospice, who made-
black lace — " point de Paris " — and who said that until lately
Brussels lace had also been made at Chimay. The first Binche
lace has the character of Flanders lace, so it has been supposed
that the women who travelled from Ghent in the train of Mary
of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles le Temeraire, created
the taste for lace at Binche, and that the stay of the great
ladies, on their visits to the royal lady of the manor, made
the fortune of the lace-makers. Afterwards there was much
traffic between the lace-workers of Brussels and Binche. and
there is a o-reat resemblance between the laces of the two
towns. Sometimes the latter is less light, richer, and more
complex in effect, and the design is closely sprinkled witli
open-work, the ground varied and contrasted.

Binche was, as early as 1686, the subject of a royal edict,,
leading one to infer that the laces it produced were of some
importance. In the said edict, the roads of Verviers, Gueuse,
and Le Catelet, to those persons coming from Binche, are
pronounced '' faux passages." "' Savary esteems the products
of this little village. The same laces, he adds, are made in
all the monasteves of the province, that are partly maintained
by the gains. The lace is good, equal to that of Brabant
and Flanders. The characteristic peculiarities of Binche are,
that there is either no cordonnet at all outlining the pattern,
or that the cordonnet is scarcely a thicker thread than that
which makes the toile.^'^ The design itself is very indefinite,,
and is practically the same as the early Valenciennes laces.
Varieties of the fond de neuje ground were used instead
of the regular reseau ground. Dentelle de Binche appears
to have been much in vogue in the last century. It is
mentioned in the inventory of the Duchesse de Modene,'"
daughter of the Eegent, 1761 ; and in that of Mademoiselle
de CharoUais, 1758, who has a " couvrepied, mantelet, garni-
ture de robe, jupon," etc., all of the same lace. In the
Misembles of Victor Huoo, the old o-randfather routs out

'^■'^ Arch, de Nat., Coll. Komlon- " Trois paires de manchettes a trois

neau. rangs de dentelle de Binche ;

-'o'-

Point and Pillow Lace, A. M. S. "Deux fichus de mousseline bordees

London, 1899. de dentelle de Binche ;

''' '• Une paire de manchettes de " Deux devants de corps de dentelle

cour de dentelle de Binche ; de Binche." — Arch, de Nat. X., 10,082..

136

HISTORY OF LACE

from a cupboard " une ancienne garniture de guipure de
Binclie" for C'osette's wedding-dress.*^^ The Binche application
Howers have already been noticed.

The lace industry of Binche will soon be only a memory.
But before 1830 it " was a hive of lace-makers, and the bees
of this hive earned so much money by making lace that their
husbands could go and take a walk without a care for the
morrow," as it is curiously phrased in an account of Binche
•and its lace. (Plate XLIII.)

We have now named the great localities for lace-makino;
throughout the Low Countries. Some few^ yet remain
unmentioned.

The needle-point of Liege should be mentioned among
the Flanders Jaces. At the Cathedral of Liege there is still
to be seen a flounce of an alb unequalled for the richness
and variety of its design and its perfection. Liege in her
days of ecclesiastical grandeur carried on the lace trade like the
rest.*^^ We read, in 1620, of " English Jesuitesses at Liege,
who seem to care as much for politics as for lace-making." '"

An early pattern-book, that of Jean de Glen, a transcript
of Vinciolo, was pul:)lished in that city in 1597. It bears
the mark of his printing-press — three acorns with the motto,
" Cuique sua prajmia," and is dedicated to Madame Loyse
■de Perez. He concludes a complimentary dedication to the
lady wnth the lines : —

" Madame, dont I'esprit niodestement subtil,
Vigoureiix, se delecte en toutes choses belles,
Prenez de bonne part ces nouvelles niodelles
Que vous offre la main de ce maistre gentil."

He states that he has travelled and brought back from Italy
some patterns, without alluding to Vinciolo. At the end,
in a chapter of good advice to young ladies, after exhorting
them to " salutairement passer la journee, tant pour I'ame

CA iL -^i Victor Hugo told the Author
lie liad, in his younger days, seen
]3inch guipure of great beauty." — Mrs.
Palliser, 1869.

'^■' Letter of Sir Henry Wotton to
Jjord Zouch. — State Papers, Domestic,
■Jas. I., P. E. O.

'" In the BuUetin de VInstitut
Arclieologique, Liegois XVIII., 188;").
As a copy of a contract dated January

23rd, 1634, whereby a lace-maker of
Liege, Barbe Bonneville, undertakes
for 25 florins, current money, to teach
a young girl lace-making.

Again, in the copy of a Namur Act
of November, 1701, a merchant of
Namur orders from a Liegois " 3 pieces
of needle-made lace called Venice
point," to sell at the rate of 5^ florins,
4^ florins, and one ecu respectively.

Plate XLIII.

Plate XLV.

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To /ace page 136.

HAINAULT

137

<|ue pom- le corp8,"' lie winds up that be is aware that other
exercises, such as stretching the hands and feet, " se frotter
un peu les points des bras," and combing the hair, are good
for the health ; that to wash the hands occasionally in cold
water is both "■ civil et honnete," etc.

" Dentelles de Liege, fines et grosses de toutes sortes,"
are mentioned with those of Lorraine and Du C^omte
( Franc] le-Comte) in the tarift' fixed by a French edict of
September 18tli, 1664.'^ Mrs. Calderwood, who visited
Liege in 1756, admires the point-edging to the surplices of
the canons, which, she remarks, " have a very genteel
appearance." The manufacture had declined at Liege, in
1802, when it is classed by the French Commissioners among
the " fal)ri(j[ues moins considerables," and the lace-makers of
the Rue Pier reuse, who made a " o;arniture etroite " — the
"' caieteresses " '-^ — had died out in 1881. The same work is
now carried on at Laroche.'^

The lace products of St. Trend, in the province of Lim-
burgh, appear by the report of the French Commission of
1803 to have l)een of some importance. Lace, they say, is
made at St. Trond, where from 800 to 900 are so employed,
either at their own homes or in the workshops of the lace-
manufacturers. The laces resemble those of Brussels and
Mechlin, and although they have a lesser reputation in com-
merce, several descriptions are made, and about 8,000 metres
are produced of laces of first quality, fetching from twelve
to fotirteen francs the metre. These laces are chiefly made
for exportation, and are sold mostly in Holland and at the
Frankfort fairs. The report concludes by stating that the
vicissitudes of war, in diminishing the demand for objects of
luxury, has much injured the trade ; and also suggests that
some provisions should be made to stop the abuses arising
from the bad faith of the lace-makers, who often sell the
materials given them to work with.'^''''

^' Arch, de Nat., Coll. Roudonneau.

" " Caieteresses," from coCiets.
bobbins.

'" Exjwsitioii (h- Liege, pax Chsmoine
Dubois, 1881.

"* Sfatistiqur die dejy. de la Meuse-
Iiif., par le Citoyen Cavenne. An. X.

"■' Liege in the seventeenth century
numbered 1600 workers, and produced

black and white laces which it exported
to England, Germany and France.
The rich clergy of the country also
bought a large quantity. At the time
of the Exliibition held there in 1881
the fabric had so declined that it
was impossible to find a smgle piece
of lace that liad been made in the
town.

138

HISTORY OF LACE

Many of the Belgian eliurclies have laee among the
tn'sors cVegli-'O'. A great number of the convents also possess
beautiful lace, for girls who have been educated in them
often give their bridal lace, after their marriage, to the
chapel of the convent.

At Bruges, an ancient turreted house of the fifteenth
century, the Gruuthus mansion, now restored, contains one
of the finest collections of lace in the world — a collection of
Flemish laces presented to the town by the Baroness Liedts.
Bruges itself, and the country round, is full of lace-workers,
some w^orking in factories or ateliers at the guipure de
Flandres, others working at the coarse cheap torchon, sitting
in the sun by the quiet canal-sides, or in the stone-cobbled
lanes of the old city, where their house-door opens into a
room as dark and narrow as a fox-earth, and leadins; a life
so poor that English competition in the cheaper forms of lace
is impossible.

Within the last few years the immense development of
the Belgian lace ^rade has overthrown the characteristic lace
of each city. Lace, white and black, point and pillow, may
at the present time be met with in every province of the
now flourishino' kingdom of Belgium.'''

''' Fil tire, dra\\n and eiubroidered
uinslin-work so fine as to be classed
with lace, was made in Dinant in
the religious communities of the city
and the " pays " of Dinant before the
French Eevolution. At Marche lace
-with flowers worked directly on the
reseau is made, and the lace of Yorck
is also imitated — a lace characterised
by additions worked on to the lace,
srivingrelief to the flowers. — Exposition

de Liege, par Chanoine Dubois, 1881.
The list of Belgian laces also includes
" Les points de Brabant, plus mats,
et plus remplis que les points de
Flandres ; les diti'erentes deutelles de
fantaisie, non classees, puis les grosses
dentelles de Couvin, en sole noire, qui
servaient jadis a garnir les pelisses cles
femmes de I'Entre Sarpbre-et-Meuse."
— La Dentelle de Belc/iquc, par Mme.
Daimeries, 1893.

139

CHAPTER VIII.

FRANCE TO LOUIS XIV

" II est une cleesse iuconstante, incoiuinode,
Bizarre clans ses gouts, folle en ses ornements,
Qui parait, fuit, revient, et renait, en tout temps :
Protee etait son pere, et son noni est la mode." — Voltaire.

" To-day the Frencli
All clinquant, all in gold." — Shakespeare. .

To the Italian influences of the sixteenth century France
owes the fashion for points coupes and lace.^ It was under
the Valois and the Medicis that the luxury of embroidery,
laces of gold, silver, and thread, attained its greatest height,
and point coupe was as much worn at that epoch, as were
subsequently the points of Italy and Flanders.

Ruffs and cuffs, according to Quicherat, first appeared in
France in 1540. The ruff or fraise, as it was termed from
its fancied resemblance to the caul ' or frill of the calf, first

' Italian fashions appeared early in
France. Isabeau de Baviere, wearer
of the oriental licn))in, and Valentine
de Milan, first introduced the rich
tissues of Italy. Louis XL sent for
\\-orkmen from Milan, Venice, and
Pistoja, to whom he granted various
privileges, which Charles VIII. con-
firmed.

Lace, according to Seguin, first ap-
pears in a portrait of Henri II. at Ver-
sailles, a portrait painted in the latter
years of his reign.

" Les deux j)ortraits de Francois 1"
qui sont au Louvre n'en laissent pas
soupconnerl'usage de son temps. Aucun
des autres portraits historiques qui y
sont, non plus que ceux des galeries de
"\'ersailles de la meme epoque, n'en
attestent I'existence, et le premier on
on la decouvre est un portrait de Henri

II a Versailles, qui a dii etre peint
vers les dernieres annees de son regiie.
Le col, brode d'entrelacs de couleur,
est horde d'une petite dentelle bien
simple et bien modeste. Nous posse-
dons des portraits authentiques ante-
rieurs au milieu du XVI" siecle, des
specimens incontestes des costumes
qui ont precede cette epoque, aucun
de ces nombreux temoins n'atteste son
existence.

" II faut reconnaitre que I'origine de
la dentelle n'est pas anterieure au
milieu du XVI" siecle." — Seguin, Ld
Dcntdle. Paris, 1875.

- InUlpianFulwell'sJnierZwcZe, 1568,
Nichol Newfangle says —
" I learn to make gowns with long
sleeves and wings,

I learn to make ruffs like calves'
chitterlings."

I40 HISTORY OF LACE

adopted by Henry II. to conceal a scar, continued in favour
with his sons. Tlie Queen-mother herself wore mourning from
the day of the King's death ; no decoration therefore appears
upon her wire-mounted ruft',^ hut the fraises of her family and
the escadron volante are profusely trimmed with the geometric
work of the period, and the making of laces and point coupe
was the favourite employment of her court. It is recorded
that the girls and servants of her household consumed much
time in making squares of i^eseuil, and Catherine de ]Medicis
had a bed draped with these squares of rt'seuil or lacis.
Catherine encouraged dress and extravagance, and sought liy
brilliant fetes to turn people's minds from politics. In this
she was little seconded either by her husband or gloomy
son. King Charles ; l)ut Henry III. and his " mignons
f rises et fraises " wTre tricked out in garments of the
brightest colours — to(|ues and toquets, pearl necklaces and
earrings. The ruff was the especial object of royal in-
terest. With his own hand he used the poking-sticks and
adjusted the plaits. " (laudronneur des collets de sa
femme " was the soubriquet bestowed on him by the satirists
of the day."*

By 1579 the ruffs of the French court had attained such
an outrageous size, " un tiers d'aulne,"" in depth that the
wearers could scarcely turn their heads.'' " Both men and
women wore them intolerably large, being a quarter of a
yard deep and twelve lengths in a ruff'," writes Stone. In
London the fashion was termed the "French ruff"; in
France, on the other hand, it was the " English monster."
Blaise de Viginiere describes them as " gadrooned like
organ-pipes, contorted or crinkled like cabbages, and as liig
as the sails of a windmill." So al)surd was the effect, the

^ The Qneen was accused by her a poisoned pin -wlien fastening liis

■enemies of having, by the aid of Maitre fraise.

Rene, " empoisonneur en titre," termi- * Satyrc Mcnijyprc. Paris, 1593.

nated the life of Queen Jeanne de ° Chronologic Novenaifc, Vict. P.

Navarre, in 1571, by a perfumed ruff Cayet.

(not gloves — Description de la Vie " " S'ils se tournoient, chacun se

de Catherine de Medicis); and her reculoit, crainte de gater leurs f raizes."

favourite son, the Duke d'Alencon, — Satyre Menippec.

vi^as said, cir. 1575, to have tried to " Le col ne se tourne a leur aise
suborn a valet to take away the life Dans le long reply de leur fraise."'

of his brother Henry by scratching — Verfiis ct FroprictcH drs Mignons,

him in the back of liis neck with 1576. ,

FRANCE TO LOUIS XIV

141

journalist of Henrv III." declares " tliev looked like the head
of John the Baptist in a charger."

Nor could they eat so encumbered. It is told how Eeine
Margot one day, when seated at dinner, was compelled to
send for a spoon with a handle two feet in length wherewith
to eat her soup.^ These monstrosities, " so stiffened that
they cracked like paper," '^ found little favour beyond the
precincts of the Louvre. They were caricatured by the
writers of the day : and when, in 1579, Henry III. appeared
thus attired at the fair of St. (Tcrmain, he was met by a
band of students decked out in large paper cuffs, shouting,
"A la fraise on connoit le veau " — for which impertinence
the King sent them to prison.^" Suddenly, at the Court of
Henry, the fraise gave way to the rabat, or turn-down
collar. ^^ In vain were sumptuary edicts issued against
luxury.^" The court set a bad example ; and in 1577, at the
meeting of the States of Blois, Henry wore on his own dress
four thousand yards of pure gold lace. His successor,
Henry lY., issued several fresh ordinances^"' against " clin-
(|uants ^^ et dorures." Touching the last, Regnier, the
satirist, writes : —

" A propos, on m'a (lit
Que contve les clinquants le voy i'aict un edict." '°

Better still, the King tried the effect of example : he wore
a coat of grey cloth with a doublet of taifety, without either

' " Ces beaux mignons portoient . . .
leur fraizes de chemise de toute d'atour
empesez et longues d'un demi-pied,
de I'acon qu'a voir leurs testes dessus
leurs fraizes, il senibloit que ce fut le
chef de Saint Jean dans uu plat." —
Journal dc Hrnri III., Pierre de
FEstoille.

** Perroniana. Cologne. 1691.

" Goudronnees en tuyaux d'orgue,
fraisees en choux crepus, et grandes
coiiime des meules de moulin." — Blaise
dc 1 'iginiere.

" La f raize veaudelisee a six etages."
— La Mode qui Court. Paris, n.d.

'" " Appelez par les Espagnols ' le-
chuguillas ' ou petites laitues, a cause
du rapport de ces gaudrons repliees
avec les fraisures de la laitue." — His-
toirc de la ViJh- de Paris, D. Mich.
Felibien.

'' 1575. Le roy alloit tous les jours
faire ses aiunones et ses prieres en
grande devotion, laissant ses chemises
a grands goderons, dont il estoit aupara-
vant si curieux, pour en prendre a collet
renverse a I'ltalienne." — Journal de
Henri III., Pierre de I'Estoille.

'- No less than ten were sent forth
bv the Yalois kings, from 1549 to 15S8.
' '3 These were dated 1594, 1600,
1601, and 1606.

" Copper used instead of gold thread
for embroidery or lace. The term was
equally applied to false silver thread.

" 1582. Dix escus pour dix aidnes de
gaze blanche rayee d'argent clinquant
pom- faire ung voille a la Boullonnoise."
— Comptes de la Heine dc Navarre.
Arch. Nat. K. K. 170.

''' Piegnier, Math., Ses Satijres..
1642.

142

HISTORY OF LACE

trimming or lace — a piece of economy little appreciated by
the public. His dress, says an author, " sentait des miseres
de la Ligue." Sully, anxious to emulate the simplicity of
the King, laughed at those " qui portoient leurs moulins et
leurs bois de haute futaie sur leurs dos." ^^ "It is neces-
sary," said he, " to rid ourselves of our neighbours' goods,
which deluge the country." So he prohibited, under pain
of corporal punishment, any more dealings with the Flemish
merchants.

But edicts failed to put down point coupe ; Reine
Margot, Madame Gabrielle, and Bassompierre were too
strong for him.

The AVardrol)e Accounts of Henry's first <]ueen are filled
with entries of point coupe and " passements a I'aiguille " ; ^'
and though Henry usually wore the silk-wrought shirts of
the day,^* we find in the inventory of his wife one entered
as trimmed with cut-work.''^ Wraxall declares to have seen
exhibited at a booth on the Boulevart de Bondy, the shirt
worn by Henry when assassinated. " It is ornamented," he
writes, " with a broad lace round the collar and breast.

'" The observation was not new. A
Remonstrance to Catherine de Medicis,
1586, complains that "leurs moulins,
leurs terres, leurs prez, leurs bois et
leurs revenuz, se coulent en broderies,
pourfilures, passemens, franges, tortis,
■canetilles, recameurs, chenettes, pic-
<]ueui's, arrierepoins, etc., qu'on invente
de jour a autre." — Disconrs sur Vex-
trenie cherte, etc.,presente d la Mere du
Roi, 2Mr iin sien fiddle Serviteur (Du
Haitian). Bordeaux, 1586.

^" " 1579. Pour avoir remonste trois
fraises k poinct couppe, 15 sols.

" Pour avoir monte cinq fraizes a
poinct couppe siu' linoiuple, les avoir
ourlles et couzeus a la petite cordelliere
et au poinct none a raison de 30 sols
pour chacune.

" Pour la facon de septrabatz ourlles
i double arrierepoinct et couzu le
passement au dessus.

" 1580. Pour avoir faict d'ung mou-
■choir ouvre deux rabatz, 20 sols.

" Pour deux pieces de poinct
couppe pour servir k ladicte dame, vi
livres.

" Pour dix huict aulnes de passement

blanc pour niestre ;l des fraizes a trois
escus I'aulne."

1582. The account for this year
contains entries for " passement faict a
lesguille," "grand passement," " passe-
ment faict au mestier," etc. —
Com])tes de la Heine de Navarre.
Arch. Nat.

18 " Vingt trois chemizcs de toile
fine a ouvrage de til d'or et soye de
plusieurs coulleurs, a^x manchettes
coulet et coutures.

" Ung chemize :i ouvrage de soye
noire.

" Quatre chemizes les trois a ouvrage
d'or et d'argent et soye bleu." — Iiiv.
des Dicnblcs qui out cstcs partes a
Paris. 1602. Arch. Nat.

^^ " 1577. A Jehan Dupre, linger,
demeurant a. Paris, la somme de soix-
ante douze livres tournois a luy or
<lonnee pour son payement de quatre
layz d'ouvraige tl poinct couppe pour
faire une garniture de chemise pour
servir a mon diet segneur, il raison de
18 liv. chacune." — Comj)tes de la Reine
de Navarre. Arch. Nat. K. K. 162,
fol. 655.

Plate XLVI.

«
P

To face page 142.

FRANCE TO LOUIS XIV

143

Tlie two wounds inflicted by the assassin's knife are plainly
visible." '"

In the inventory "'^ made at the death of Madame

Gabrielle, the fair Duchesse de Beaufort, we find entered
sleeves and towels of point couppe, with fine handkerchiefs,
gifts of the King to be worn at court, of such an extra-
ordinary value that Henry requires them to be straightway
restored to him. In the same list appears the duchess's bed
of ivory,'' with hangings for the room of rezeuil."^

The Chancellor Herault,'^ who died at the same period,
was equally extravagant in his habits ; while the shirts of the
combatants in the duel between M. de C're<|uy and Don
Philippe de Savoie are specially vaunted as " toutes garnies
du plus fin et du plus riche point coupe qu'on eust pu
trouver dans ce temps la, auquel le point de Gennes et de
Flandres n'estoient pas en usage." '''

The enormous collarette, rising behind her head like a

-' "This shirt," he udds, "is well
attested. It became tlie perijuisite of
the king's first valet de chambre. At
the extinction of his descendants, it
was exposed to sale." — Memoirs.

A rival shirt turned up (c. 1860) at
Madame Tussaud's with "the real
blood " still visible. Monsieur Curtius,
uncle of Madame Tussaud, j^urchased
it at an auction of effects once the
property of Cardinal Mazarin. Charles
X. offered 200 guineas for it.

^^ " Item, cinq mouclioirs d'ouvrages
d'or, d'argent et soye, prisez ensemble
cent escuz.

" Item, deux tauayelles aussi ouvrage
•d'or, d'argent et soye, prisees cent
•escuz.

" Item, trois tauayelles blanches de
rezeuil, prisees ensemble trente escuz.

" Item, une paire de manches de
point coupe et enrichies d'argent,
prisez vingt escuz.

" Item, deux niouchoirs blancz de
point coupe, prisez ensemble vingt
escuz.

" Toutes lesquelles tauayelles et
mouchou-s' cy dessus trouvez dans un
cofft-e de bahu que la dicte defunte
dame faisoit ordinairement porter avec
elle a la court sont demeurez entre les
mains du S'' de Eeringhen, suivant le
commandement <^u'il en avoit de sa

majeste pour les representer a icelle,
ce qu'il a promis de faii'e." — Invciitaire
aprcs le deeds de Gabrielle d'Estrees.
1.599. Arch. Nat. K. K. 157, fol. 17.

" " Item, im lit d'y\'oire a fiUetz
noirs de Padoue, garny de son estuy
de cuir rouge." — Ibid.

-'•■ " Item, une autre tenture de cabi-
net de carre de rezeau broduree et
montans recouvert de feuillages de fil
avec des carrez de thoile plaine, prise
et estime la somme de cent escus
Soleil.

" Item, dix sept carrez de thoile de
Hollande en broderie d'or et d'argent
fait a deux endroictz, prisez et estimez
a So escus.

•' Item, un autre pavilion tout de
rezeil avec le chapiteau de fieurs et
feuillages. . . .

'• Item, un autre en neuf fait par
carrez de point coupe." — Ibid. fols.
46 and 47.

-* " Manchettes et collets enrichys
de point couppe." — Iiiveiitaire apres le
deces de Messire Philippe Heniitlf,
Comte de Cheveniy, Chancelier de
France. 1599. Bib. Nat. MSS. Y.
11,424.

-" In 1598. Vulson de la Colom-
biere, Vray Tlu-atre d'Honnenr et
de Chcvaleric. 1647.

144 HISTORY OF LACE

fan, of Mary de Medicis, with its edgings of tine lace, are
well known to the admirers of Rubens : —

" Cinq colets de dentelle , haute de demy-pie
L'lm sur I'autre montez, qui ne vont qu'a inoitie
De celuys de dessus, car elle n'est pas leste,
Si le premier ne passe une paulme la teste." -'^

On the accession of Louis XIII. luxury knew no bounds.
The Queen Regent was magnificent by nature, while Richelieu,
anxious to hasten the ruin of the nobles, artfully encouraged
their prodigality. But Mary was compelled to repress this
taste for dress. The courtiers importuned her to increase
their pensions, no longer sufticient for the exigencies of the
day. The Queen, at her wits' end, published in 1613 a
" Re'glement pour les superfluites des habits," prohibiting
all lace and embroidery."'"

France had early sent out books of patterns for cut- work
and lace. That of Francisque Pelegrin was pulJished at
Paris in the reign of Francis I. Six were printed at Lyons
alone. The four earlier have no date,"* the two others bear
those of 1549'' and 1585.^" It was to these first that
Viuciolo so contemptuously alludes in his dedication, •' Aux
Benevolles Lecteurs," saying, " Si les premiers ouvrages que
vous avez vus ont engendre quelque fruit et utilite je
m'assure que les miens en produiront da vantage." Various
editions of Vinciolo were printed at Paris from 1587 to 1623 ;
the earlier dedicated to Queen Louise de Lorraine ; a second
to Catherine de Bourbon, sister of Henry IV. ; the last to
Anne of Austria. The Pratique de Leguille de Mdour
M. Af/(/nerak was published l)y the same printer, 1605 ; and
we have another work, termed Bele Prerle, al^o printed at
Paris, bearing date 1601.^"^

The points of Italy and Flanders now first appear at

-'' Safijriqtir (Ic la Con it. 1618. -■' La Fltuv den Fatroiitidc Liiujcric.

-' Histoire de la Mere et dii Fils. ^^ Tresor des Patrons. J. Ostans.

from 1616 to 19. Amsterdam, 1729. ^^ Le Livre de Moresques (1546),

-** Livre noiiveau diet Patrons de Livre de Lingerie, Dom. de Sera

Lingerie, etc. (1584), and Patrons j'O'ti- Brodeurs

Patrons de diverses Manieres, ete. (no date), were also printed at Paris.
(Title in rhyme.) The last book on this kind of work

, S'e)i.suyvent les Patrons de Mesire printed at Paris is styled, iHrf7io^?ppo7/r

Antoine Belin. /aire des Dessciiis avee des Carreanj-,

Ce Livre est jplaisant et utile. (Title etc., by Pere Donnnique Donat, leli-

in rliyme.) . gieux carme. 1722.

Plate XLVII.

Brussels. Flounce, Bobbin-made. — Late seventeenth century. Given by Madame de
Maintenon to Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambrai. Now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Height, 2 ft. 2 in.

To face page 146,

FRANCE TO LOUIS XIV

145

■court, and the Cliurcli soon adopted the prevailing taste for
the decoration of her altars and her prelates. ^-

The ruff is finally discarded and replaced l)y the " col
rabattu," with its deep-scalloped border of point. The
"manchettes a revers " are trimmed in the same manner,
and the fashion even extends to the tops of the boots. Of
these lace-trimmed boots the favourite, Cinq-Mars, left three
hundred pairs at his death, 1642. From his portrait, after

Fig. 66.

Cinq-Maks:.— (M. de Versailles.)

Lenain, which hailgs in the Gallery of Versailles, we give
■one of these boots (Fig. 66), and his rich collerette of Point
de Genes (Fig. ^,1).

The garters, now worn like a scarf round the knee, have
the ends adorned with point. A large rosette of lace
•completes the costume of the epoch (Fig. 68).

^^ A point (le Venise.alb, of rose point, said to be of this period, is in
itlie Musoe de Cluny.

146

HISTORY OF LACE

Gold lace shared the favour of the thread fabric on
gloves,^^ garters and shoes.^'^

" De large taftas la jartiere paree
Aux bouts de denaj'-pied de dentelle doree."^"'

The cutfs, collars of the ladies either falling back or
rising behind their shoulders in double tier, caps, aprons

Fig. 67.

Cinq-Mars.— (After liis poitrait by Le Nain. M. de Versailles.)

descending to their feet (Fig, 69), are also richly decorated
with lace.

The contemporary engravings of Al»raham Bosse and
Callot faithfully portray the fashions of this reign. In the
Prodigal Son, of Abraham Bosse, the mother, waiting his

^^ " Quelqiies autres de frangez
Bordent leur riche cuir, qui vient des

lieux estranges."

— Lie Gan,

de Jean Godard, Parisien. 1588.

^'^ " 1619. Deux paires de rozes a
soulliers garnies de dentelle d'or." —
Inv. dc Madame Strur dit Boi. (Hen-
rietta Maria.) Arch. Nat.

^^ Satyriqiie de la Court.

FRANCE TO LOUIS XIV

147

return, holds out to her repentant boy a coUar trimmed with
the richest point. The Foolish Virgins weep in lace-trimmed
handkerchiefs, and the table-cloth of the rich man, as well
as his dinner-napkins, are similarly adorned. Again, the
Accouchee recovers in a cap of Italian point under a coverlet
of the same. At the Retour de Bapteme, point adorns the
christenino--dress of the child and the surplice of the priest.

When, in 1615, Louis XIII. married Anne of Austria,
the collerettes of the (^^ueen-J\Iother were discarded — the

Fi-. 6S.

Lace Ruse and Garter.— (Aftei- Abraham Bosse.)

reign of Italy was at an end — all w^as now a I'espagnole
and the court of Castile.

The prodigality of the nobles "''" having called, down royal
ordinances on their heads,"^ these new edicts bring forth

""^ The inventory of the unfortunate
Marechal de Marillac, beheaded 1632,
has " broderye et poinctz d'Espa^nes
d'or, argent et soye ; rabats et collets
de point couppe ; taffetas nacarat
garnye de dantelle d' argent ; pour-
poinct passemente de dantelle de cane-
tille de Flandre," etc.— Bib. Nat.
MSS. F. Fr. 11,426.

^' 1620, Feb. 8th. " Declaration por-
tant deffenses de porter des clinquants,
passements, broderies," etc. — Arch.
Nat. G. G-. G.

1623, March 20th. " Declaration qui
defend I'usage des etoffes d'or," etc. —
Becueil des ancicnncs Lois Francaiscs.
T. 16. 107.

1625, Sept. 30th. Declaration pro-

L 2

148

HISTORY OF LACE

fresh satires, in which the author deplores the prohibition of
cut-work and lace : —

but

" Ces points couppez, passemens et dentelles,
Las ! que venaient de I'lsle et de Bruxelles,
Sont maintenant descriez, avilis,
Et sans faveur gisent ensevelis ; " ^^

" Pour vivre heureux et A la mode
II faut que chacun acconniiode
Ses habits aux editz du roi."

Edict now follows on edict. ^^ One known as the Code
Michaud, entering into the most minute regulations for the
toilet, especially excited the risibility of the people. It was

Fig. 69.

Young Lady's Apeon, time of Henry III.— (After Gaignieres. Bib. Nat. Grav.)

never carried out. The caricatures of this period are admir-
able : one represents a young courtier fresh rigged in his

hibits the wearing of " collets, fraizes,
manchettes, et autres linges des passe-
nients, Point coupez et Dentelles,
comme aussi des Broderies et Decou-
pures sur quentin ou autre toile." —
Bib. Nat. L. i. 8.

2* Consolation des Dames siir la
Reformation des i^assemens. 1620.

s" Again, 1633, Nov. 18th. Declara-
tion restricts the prohibition ; permits
" passements manufactures dans le
royaume qui n'excederont 9 11. 1'aune."
—Arch. Nat. G. G. G.

1634, May 30th. " Lettres patentes
pour la reformation du luxe des habits,"
prohibits " dentelles, jpassements et

broderies " on boots, carriages, etc.
(British Museum).

1636, April 3rd. " Declaration contre
le Luxe." Again prohibits both foreign
and home-made points coupes, etc.,
under pain of banishment for live
years, confiscation, and a fine of 6000
francs. — De la Mare, Traitc de la
Police.

1639, Nov. 24th. Fresh prohibition,
points de Genes specially mentioned.
Not to wear on the collar, cutis, or
boots, " autres choses que de la toile
simple sans aucune facon." — Arch.
Nat. G. G. G.

FRANCE rO LOUIS XIV 149

plain-bordered linen, according to the ordinance. His vaUt
de chambre is about to lock up his laced suit : —

" G'est avec regret que nion luaitre
Quitte ses beaux habilleniens
Semes de riches passemens." *"

Another engraving of Abraham Bosse shows a lady of fashion
with her lace discarded and dressed in plain linen cuffs and
collar: — ,. ^ . 1.. j i x-

" Quoique 1 age assez de beaute
Pour asseurer sans vanite
Qu'il n'est point de femme plus belle
II semble pourtant, a mes yeux,
Qu'avec de I'or et la dantelle
Je ni'ajuste encore bien mieux."

Alluding to the plain-bordered collars now ordered by the
prohibition of 1639, the " Satyrique de la Court" sings : — -

" Nagueres Ton n'osoit banter les damoiselles
Que Ton n'eust le colet bien garni de dentelles ;
Maintenant on se rit et se nioque de ceux la
Qui desirent encore paroistre avec cela.
Les fraises et colets a bord sont en usage,
Sans faire mention de tous en dentellage."

^a^

France at this time paying large sums to Italy and
Flanders for lace, the wearing of it is altogether prohibited,
under pain of confiscation and a fine of G,000 livres.^^ The
Queen -Mother, regardless of edicts, has over passements dUrr
and all sorts of forbidden articles, " pour servir a la layette
que sa majeste a envoye en Angleterre." *'^ Within scarce
one year of each other passed away Marie de Medicis,
Eichelieu, and Louis XIII. The King's eftigy was exposed
on its " lit de parade vetue d'une chemise de toile de
Hollande avec de tres belles dantelles de point de Gennes
au collet et aux manches." ^^ — So say the chroniclers.

*" Le Courtisan Bcforme, stdvant ^- 1631. Tresoreriede la Beine Marie

VEdit. de Vannee 1633 ; and again, Lc dc Medicis. — Arch. Nat. K. K. 191.

Jardin de la Noblesse Francoise dans "*■' A'ulson de la Colombiere, Pompes

leqiiel ce peat ciieillir hur maniere de qu' on 2yi'atique aux obseques des Bois

Vettement. 1629. de France.

*' April, 1686.

150

HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER IX.

LOUIS XIV.

The courtiers of the Regency under Anne of Austria vied
witli the Frondeurs in extravagance. The latter, however,
had the best of it. " La Fronde," writes Joly, " devint
tellement a la mode qu'il u'y avoit rien de bien fait qu'on ne
dist etre de la Fronde. Les etoffes, les dentelles, etc.,
jusqu'au pain, — rien n'estoit ni bon, ni Ijien si n'estoit a la
Fronde." ^

Nor was the Queen Regent herself less pnjfuse in her
indulgence in lace. She is represented in her portraits w^ith
a Ijerthe of rich point, her beautiful hand encircled by a
double-scalloped cuft" (Fig. 70). The boot-tops had now
reached an extravagant size. One writer compares them to
the farthingales of the ladies, another to an inverted torch.
The lords of the Regent's court filled up the apertures with
two or three rows of Genoa point (Fig. 71).

In 1653,' we find Mazarin, while engaged in the siege of
a city, holding a grave correspondence with his secretary
Colbert concerning the purchase of some points from
Flanders, Venice, and Genoa. He considers it .advisable to

^ Memoires de Guy Joly, from 1648
to 1665.

^ About this period a special Act
had coiitirnied the Statutes of the
Maitres Passenientiers of Paris. By
Article 21, they are privileged to make
every sort of passement or lace, " sur
I'oreiller, aux fuzeaux, aux epingles, et
a la main," on condition the material,
gold, silver, thread, or silk, be " de
toiites fines ou de toutes fausses." The
sale of thread and lace was allowed
to the Lingeres, but by an Arret of the
Parliament of Paris, 1665, no one could

be a marchande lingere unless she
had made profession of the " religion
catholique, apostolique, et romaine,"
a condition worthy of the times. " II
n'y fut," writes Gilles de Felice, in his
Histoirc dcs Protestants de France,
"pas jusqu'a la corporation des lin-
gei-es qui ne s'en allat remontrer au
conseil que leur communaute, ayant
ete instituee par saint Louis, no pou-
vait admettre d'heretiques, et cette
reclamation fut gravement confirmee
par un arret du 21 aoiit, 1665."

Plate XLVIII.

Brussels. Bobbin-made. — Period Louis XIV., 1643-1715.
In the Musee Cinquantenaire, Brussels.

Plate XLIX.

-'^^mTm!^'

Brussels. . Point d'Angleterre a Reseau. — Eighteenth century. Widths, 2 in. and 3^ in.

Photo by A. Dryden.

'I'o face page 150,

LOUIS XIV

151

advance thirty or forty thousand livres " a ces achapts,"
addino-, that by making the purchases in time he will derive
oreat "advantage in the price ; but as he hopes the siege will
soon be at an end, they may wait his arrival at Paris for his
final decision.^ (^^olbert again writes, Noveml)er 25th,

Fig. 70.

Anne of Austria.— (M. de Versailles.)

pressing his Eminence on account of the " quantite de
mariages qui se I'eront I'hyver." A passage in Tallemant
<les Reaux would lead cue to suppose these laces were
destined as patterns for the improvement of French manu-
factures. " Per mostra di fame in Francia," as the Cardinal
expressed himself. Certainly in the inventory of Mazarin *
there are no mention of Italian points, no lace coverlets to
his " Lict d'ange moire tabizee, couleur de rose chamarree de

^ Dated November 19th, 1653. The * Inv. fait apres la inort dii Car-

letter is given in full by the Marquis dinal Mazarin, 1661. — Bibl. Nat.

(le Laborde in Le Palais Mazarin. MSS. Suite de Mortmart, 87.
Paris, 1845.

152

HISTORY OF LACE

dentelles d'or et d'argent." We may almost imagine that
the minister and his secretary combined were already medi-
tating the establishment of Points de France.

In this reign, fresh sumptuary ordinances are issued.
That of NovemlDer 27th, 1660, is the most important of all,^
and is highly commended by Sganarelle in the '^ Ecole des
Maris " of Moliere which appeared the following year : —

" Oh ! trois et qnatre fois soit beni cet edit.
Par qui des veteiuens le luxe est interdit ;
Les peines des maris ne seront pas si grandes,
Et les femmes auront un frein a leurs deiuandes.
Oh ! que je sais au roi bon gre de ses decrets ;
Et que, pour le repos de ces memes maris,
Je voudrais bien qu'on fit de la coq\;etterie
Comme de la guipure et de la broderie."

Fio-. 71.

A Courtier of the Regency.— (After Abraham Bosse.)

This ordinance, after prohibiting all foreign " passemens,
points de Genes, points coupes," etc., or any French laces or
passements exceeding an inch in wddth, allows the use of the
'' collerettes and manchettes" persons already possess for the
space of one year, after which period they are only to be
trimmed with a lace made in the kinodom, not exceedintr an

•'■' It is to be found at the Archives
National, or in the Library of the
Cour de Cassation. In the Archives
National is a small collection of ordi-
nances relative to lace collected by
M. Kondonneau, extending from 166(5
to 1773. It is very dithcult to get at
all the ordinances. Many are printed

in De la Mare {Traife dc la Police);
but the most complete work is the
Beczieil general des anciennes Lois
francaises, dejniis ran 420 jitsqii'a la
Revolution de 17H9, par MM. Isambert.
Ducrusy, et Taillandier. Paris, 1829.
The ordinances bear two dates, that'
of their issue and of their registry.

LOUIS XIV

153

inch in width. The ordinance then goes on to attack the
" canons," which it states have been introduced into the
kingdom, with " un exces de depense insupportal)le, par la
quantite de passemens, points de Venise et Genes," with
which they are loaded/ Their use of them is now entirely
prohibited, unless made of plain linen or of the same stutF as
the coat, without lace or any ornament. The lace-trimmed
" canons" of Louis XIV,, as represented in the picture of his
interview with Philip IV., in the Island of Pheasants,
previous to his marriage, 1660 (Fig. 72), give a good idea of
these extravagant appendages. These

"Canons a trois etages
A leurs jambes faisoient d'onibrages." '

And, what was worse, they would cost 7,000 livres a pair.
" At the Court of France," writes Saviniere, " people think
nothino' of buvino- rabats, manchettes, or canons to the value
of 13,000 crowns." * These canons, with their accompanying
rheingraves, which after the prohibition of Venice point
were adorned with the new productions of France, suddenly
disappeared. In 1682, the Mercure announces, " Les
canons et les rheingraves deviennent tout a fait hors de
mode."

At the marriage of the young King with the Infanta,
1660, black lace,^ probably in compliment to the Spanish^"

'' This " canon," originally called
" bas de bottes," was a circle of linen
or other stuft' fastened below the knee,
widening at the bottom so as to fill
the enlargement of tlie boot, and when
trimmed \\ ith lace, having the appear-
ance of a ruffle.

' Dictionnaire des Precicuses. 1660.
Moliere likewise ridicules them : —
" Et de ces grands canons, ou, connne
des entraves,
On met tons les matins les deux
jambes esclaves."

-y-L'Ecole des Maris.
And again, in UEcole des Femmes :
" lis ont de grands canons, force
rubans et plumes."
^ Les Delices de la France, par M.
Saviniere d'Alquie. 1670.

" The fashion of wearing black lace
was introduced into England in the
reign of Charles II. " Anon the house

grew full, and the candles lit, and it
was a glorious sight to see our Mistress
Stewart in black and white lace, and
her head and shoulders dressed ^\ith
diamonds." — Pepys's Diary.

" The French have increased among
us many considerable trades, such as
black and white lace." — England''s
Great Happiness, etc. Dialogue be-
tween Content and Complaint. 1677.

" Item, un autre habit de grosse
moire garny de dantelle d'Angleterre
noire." — 1691. Inv. dc Madame de
Simianc. Arch. Nat., M. M. 802.

'" " Of this custom, a relic may still
be fomid at the Court of Turin, where
ladies wear lappets of black lace. Not
many years since, the wife of aKussian
mmister, persisting to appear in a suit
of Brussels pomt, was courteously re-
quested by tlie Grand Chamberlain to
retire" (1869).

154 HISTORY OF LACE

€ourt, came into favour, the nobles of the King's suite
wearinor doublets of gold and silver brocade, " ornes," says
the Chronique, ^^ " de dentelles noires d'un point re-
cherche." ^'^ The same writer, descril)ing the noviciate of La
Valliere at the Carmelites, writes, " Les dames portoient
des robes de brocard d'or, d'argent, ou d'azur, par dessus
lesquelles elles avoient jetees d'autres robes et dentelles
noires transparentes." ^^ Under Louis XIV., the gold and
silver points of Spain and Aurillac rivalled the thread
fabrics of Flanders and Italy ; but towards the close of the
century," we are informed, they have fallen from fashion
into the " domaine du vulgaire."

The ordinance of 1660 had but little effect, for various
others are issued in the following years with the oft-repeated
prohibitions of the points of Genoa and Venice. ^'^ But
edicts were of little avail. No royal command could
compel people to substitute the coarse inferior laces of
France" for the fine artistic productions of her sister
(•(nintries. Colbert therefore wisely adopted another expedient.
He determined to develop the lace-manufacture of France,
and to produce fabrics which should rival the coveted points
of Italy and Flanders, so that if fortunes were lavished upon
these luxuries, at all events the money should not be sent
out of the kingdom to procure them.

He therefore applied to Monseigneur de Bonzy, Bishop
of Beziers, then Ambassador at Venice, who replied that
in Venice " all the convents and poor families make a living
out of this lace-making." In another letter he writes to the
minister, " Je vois que vous seriez bien aise d'establir dans
le royaume la manufacture des points de Venise. ce qui
se pourrait faire en envoyant d'icy quelques filles des meil-

" Chroniqucs de VCEil-de-Ba^iif. '' 1690. Chroulqucs de VCEil-de-

'^ Madame de Motteville is not Bceiif.

complimentary to the ladies' of the "1661, May 27; 1662, Jan. 1;

Spanish Court : " Elles avoient pen de 1664, May 31, Sept. 18, and Dec. 12.

linge," she writes, " et lenrs dentelles '" " On fabriquait precedemment

nous parurent laides." — Memoir es ces especes de dentelles guipures, dont

jiour servir a Vliistoire d'Anne on ornait les aubes des pretres, les

d'Autrichc.'^ rochets des eveques et les jupons des

'^ Madame de Sevigne mentions femmes de qualite." — Boland de la

these dresses : " Avez-vous oui parler Platiere. The articles on lace by

des transparens ? . . . de robes noires Roland and Savary have been copied

transparentes ou des belles dentelles by all succeeding writers on the

■d'Angleterre." — Lettres. subject.

Fi-. 72.

Canons of Louis XIV.— (M. de Versailles. 16G0.)

To face page 1 54.

LOUIS XIV

155

leures ouvrieres qui pussent instruire celles cle France avec
le temps." ^'

Monseigneur de Bonzy's suggestion was accepted, and a
few years later (1673) Colbert writes to M. le Comte
d'Avaux, who succeeded M. de Bonzy as ambassador at
Venice : "I have gladly received the collar of needlepoint
lace w^orked in relief that you have sent me, and I find it
very beautiful. I shall have it compared with those new
laces being made by our own lace-makers, although I may
tell you beforehand that as good specimens are now made in
this kingdom." '^ Alencon, an old lace-making centre, was
chosen as the seat of the new manufacture.'^ Favier-
Duboulay wTites to Colbert that, liefore the introduction
of the new points de France, lace-making was to the
peasants " une manne, et une vraie benediction du ciel, (jui
s'est espandue sur tout ce pays." The art had spread far
and wide throuQ-h the district about Alencon ; children of
seven years of age and aged men earned their daily bread
liy it, and the shepherdesses worked at their lace while
herdino; their flocks.

M. Odolent Desnos skives the followino; account of the
invention and establishment of point d'Alencon : — "''

"In 16G5, at the recommendation of the Sieur Ruel, he
(Colbert) selected a Madame Gilbert, a native of Alencon,
already acquainted with the manner of making Venice

1" Mgr. de Bonzy, Dec. 20, 1664.
CoTres]}onda,nce administrative sous
Colbert, vol. 3.

'* Lefebure.

'■' "II y a tres longtemps que le
point coupe se faict icy, qui a son
debit selon le temps ; mais qu'une
fenime nomniee La Perriere (sic), fort
habile a ces ouvrages, tvouva il y a
quelques annees le nioyen d'imitev les
points de Venise, en sorte qu'elle
y vint a telle perfection que ceux
qu'elle faisoit ne devaient rien aux
estrangers. Pour faire ces ouvrages
il luy falloit enseigner plusieurs petites
filles auxquelles elle montroit a faire
ce point .... a present je vous puis
asseurer qu'il y a plus de 8,000
personues qui y travaillent dans
Alencon, dans Seez, dans Argentan,
Falaise ....

" Monseigneur, c'est une manne, et
une vraie benediction du ciel qui s'est
espandue sur tout ce pays, dans lequel
les petitz enfants mesnies de sept ans
trouvent moyen de gaigner leur vie.
Les vieillards y travaillent et les
petites bergerettes des champs y tra-
vaillent memes." — Letter from Favier-
Diiboidai/, intcndant d'Alencon since
1644. Correspondance administrative
sous le regne de Louis XIV (quoted
by Madame Despierres), vol. 3.

-° In 1842 M. Joseph Odolant
Desnos, grandson of this author,
writes, " Ce fut une dame Gilberte, qui
avait fait son apprentissage a Venise,
et etait native d'Alencon. Des qu'elle
fut a ses ordres, ce ministre (Colbert)
la logea dans le magnifique chateau
de Lonrai, qu'il possedait pres d'Alen-
con." — Annuaire de VOrne.

156

HISTORY OF LACE

point, and making lier an advance of 50,000 crowns, estab-
lished lier at his chateau of Lonrai (Fig. 73), near Alencon,
with thirty forewomen, whom he had, at great expense,
caused to be brought over from Venice. In a short time
Madame Gilbert arrived at Paris with the first specimens of
her fabric. The king, inspired by Colbert with a desire to
see the work, during supper at Versailles announced to his
courtiers he had just established a manufacture of point
more beautiful than that of Venice, and appointed a day

Fig. 73.

Chateau de Lonrai, Dep. Orne.

when he would inspect the specimens. The laces were
artistically arranged over the walls of a room hung with
crimson damask, and shown to the best advantage. The
king expressed himself delighted. He ordered a large sum
to be gi^'en to Madame Gilbert, and desired that no other
lace should appear at court except the new fabric, upon
which he bestowed the name of point de France."^ Scarcely

21 MemnircH Jiistoriqucs snr la ville d' Alencon, M. Odolant Desnos.
Alencon, 1787.

Plate LI.

Plate L.

cs .2

OJ § 3

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1-1

'J'o face page 156.

LOUIS XIV

157

had Louis retired than the courtiers eagerly stripped the
room of its contents. The approval of the monarch was the
fortune of Aleneon : point de France adopted by court
etiquette, the wearing of it l^ecame compulsory. All who
had the privilege of the ' casaque bleue ' — all who were
received at Versailles or were attached to the royal house-
hold, could only appear, the ladies in trimmings and head-
dresses, the gentlemen in ruffles and cravats of the royal
manufticture."

Unfortunately for this story, the Chateau de Lonrai
came into the family of Colbert fourteen years after the
establishment of the lace-industry at Aleneon," and the name
of Gilbert is not found in any of the documents relating to
the establishment of point de France, nor in the corre-
spondence of Colbert.-^

An ordinance of August 5th, 16G5, founded upon a large
scale the manufacture of points de France,-^ with an
exclusive privilege for ten years and a grant of 36,000

-- " Le chateau de Lonrai ne passa
dans la niaison de Colbert que par le
niariage de Catherine Therese de
Matignon, Marquise de Lonrai, avec
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, tils aine du
grand Colbert, le 6 septembre 1678"
(i.e., fourteen years after the establish-
ment of points de France at Aleneon)
— Madame Despierres, Histoire de
2)oint d' Aleneon.

-" Madame Despierres, after an
exhaustive study of the mass of docu-
mentary evidence on this point, gives
as her opinion that —

" (1) La premiere personne qui a
Aleneon imita le point de Venise, et
par consequent crea le point d' Aleneon,
fut Mme La Perriere, vers 1650, et
non Mme Gilbert.

" (2) La preposee-directrice des
manufactures de point de France des
differentes villes du royaume quia etabli
les bureaux a Aleneon, fut Catherine
de Marcq, et non pas xuie dame
Gilbert.

" (3) Les preposees mises a la tete
de I'etablissement d'Alencon etaient
Mme Raffy et Marie Fillesae, dont
les noms ne repondent pas a celui
d'une dame Gilbert." — Madame Des-
pierres, Histoire de point d' Aleneon.

-" Mrs. Palliser sought in vain for this

ordinance in the Library of the Com*
de Cassation, where it is stated to be,
by the authors of the " Recueil general
des anciennes Lois fi-ancaises, depuis
Fan 420 jusqu'a la Revolution de
1789 " ; but fortunately it is recited in
a subsequent act, dated Oct. 12, 1666
(Arch. Nat., Coll. Rondonneau), by
which it ajjpears that the declara-
tion ordered the establishment in
" les villes de Quesnoy, Arras, Reims,
Sedan, Chateau-Thierry, Loudun,
Aleneon, Aurillac, et autres du royaume,
de la manufacture de toutes sortes
d'ouvrages de til, tant a I'eguille qu'au
coussin, en la mauiere des points qui
se font a Venise, Gennes, Raguse,
et autres pays estrangers, qui seroient
appelles points de France," by which
it would appear the term point de
France did not exclusively belong to
the productions of Aleneon. After
the company was dissolved in 1675
the name of point de France was
applied to point d'Alencon alone. In
a subsequent arret it is set forth that
the entrepreneurs have caused to be
brought in great numbers the best
workers from Venice and other foreign
cities, and have distributed them over
Le Quesnoy and the above-mentioned
towns, and that now are made in

158

HISTORY OF LACE

francs. A company was formed, -^ its members rapidly
increased, and in 1668 the capital amounted to 22,000 livres.
Eight directors were appointed at salaries of 12,000 livres
a year to conduct the manufacture, and the company held
its sittinojs in the Hotel de Beaufort at Paris. The first
distribution of profits took place in October, 1669, amounting
to fifty per cent, upon each share. In 1670 a fresh
distribution took place, and 120,000 livres were divided
among the shareholders. That of 1673 was still more
considerable. In 1675 the ten years' privilege ceased, the
money was returned, and the rest of the profits divided.
Coll)ert likewise set up a fabric at the Chateau de Madrid,
built by Francis I., on the Bois de Boulogne. Such was the
origin of point lace in France.

The difiiculties met by Colbert in establishing his manu-
factories can only be estimated by reading his correspondence,
in which there are no less than fifty letters on the subject.
The apathy of the town authorities and the constant rebellions
of the lace-workers who preferred their old stitch were inces-
sant sources of trouble to him, but eventually Colbert's plan
was crowned with success. He established a lucrative manu-
facture which brought large sums of money into the king-
dom '^ instead of sending it out. Well might he say that "^'
"Fashion was to France what the mines of Peru were to
Spain." "^

France " des ouvrages de fil si exquis,
qu'ils esgallent, mesme surpassent en
beaute les estrangers." — Bibl. de ia
Cour de Cassation.

What became of these manufactures
at Le Quesnoy and Chateau-Thierry,
of which not a tradition remains ?

^^ Talon, " secretaire du cabinet,"
was one of the first members. We
find by an arret, Feb. 15, 1667,
that this patent had already been
infringed. On the petition of Jean
Pluymers, Paul, and Catherine de
Marcq, " entrepreneurs " of the fabric
of points de France, his Majesty
confirms to them the sole privilege of
making and selling the said points. —
Arch. Nat., Coll. Rondonneau. Nov. 17
of the same year appears a fresh
prohibition of wearing or selling the
passements, lace, and other works
in thread of Venice, Genoa, and other

foreign countries (British Museum),
and March 17, 1668, " Iteratives "
prohibitions to wear these, either new
or " commence d'user," as injurious to
a manufactm-e of point which gives
subsistence to a number of persons in
tlie kingdom. — Ibid. Again, Aug. 19,
1669, a fresh arret in consequence of
complaints that the workers are
suborned and work concealed in Paris,
etc. — Arch Nat., Coll. Poondonneau.

2" Colbert said to Louis XIV. :
" There will always be found fools
enough to purchase the manufactures
of France, though France should be
prohibited from purchasing those of
other countries." The King agreed
with the minister, whom he made
chief director of the trade and manu-
factures of the kingdom.

^^ A favourite saving of Colbert.

^^ The artists who furnished designs

LOUIS XIV

159

Boileau alludes to the success
" Epistle to Louis XIV '' :—

of the minister in his>

" Et nos voisins frustres de ces tributs serviles
Que payait a leur art le luxe de nos villes." -''

The point de France supplanted that of Venice,^" but its
price confined its use to the rich, and when the wearing of
lace became general those who could not atiord so costly
a production replaced it by the more moderate pillow-lace.
This explains the great extension of the pillow-lace manu-
facture at this period— the production did not suffice for the
demand. Encouraged by the success of the royal manu-
factures, lace fabrics started up in various towns in the
kingdom. The number of lace-workers increased rapidly.
Those of the towns being insufficient, they were sought for
in the surrounding country, and each town became the

for all works undertaken for the court
•of Louis XIV. must have supplied
designs for the lace manufactures :
" In the accounts of the King's build-
ings is the entrj- of a payment due to
Bailly, the painter, for several days'
work with other painters in making
designs for embroideries and points
d'Espagne " (Lefebure).

-■' The principal centres of lace-
making were Aurillac, Sedan, Eheims,
Le Quesnoy, Alencon, Arras, and
Loudun, and the name " Points de
France " was given without distinction
to all laces made at these towns ; pre-
ference was given in choosing these
centres to those towns already engaged
in lace-making. Alencon produced the
most brilliant results, for fi-om the
beginning of the seventeenth century
the town had been engaged in needle-
point lace, and some of the lace-makers
earned high wages, and showed great
aptitude lor the art. In her Histoirc
dti Point d'Alencov, Madame Des-
pierres has made some interesting
extracts from various marriage con-
tracts and wills : —

" A notable instance is that of a
family named Barbot, the mother
having amassed 500 livres. Her
daughter, Marthe Barbot, married
Michel Mercier, sieur de la Pevriere,

and brought him a wedding-portion of
300 livres, the earnings of her industry ;
while her sister Suzanne Barbot's
wedding-portion, upon her marriage
with Paul Ternouillet, amounted to
6,000 livres, earned in making cut-
works and works en velin (needle-point
lace done on a parchment pattern),
which command a high price " (Lefe-
bure) .

^" The A'enetian Senate, according
to Charles Yriarte, regarded this euii-
gration of workers to I'rance as a crime
against the State, and issued the fol-
lowing decree : —

"If any artist or handicraftsman
practises his art in any foreign laud
to the detriment of the Piepublic, orders
to return will be sent him ; if he dis-
obeys them, his nearest of kin will be
I)ut into prison, in order that through
his interest in their welfare his obedi-
ence may be compelled. If he comes
back, his past ofl'ence will be con-
doned, and employment for him will
be found in Venice; but if, notwith-
standing the imprisonment of his
nearest of kin, he obstinately decides
to continue living abroad, an emissary
will be commissioned to kill him, and
liis next of kin will only be liberated
upon his death."

i6o

HISTORY OF LACE

centre of a trade extendino; round it in a radius of several
miles, the work being given out from the manufactory to be
executed by the cottagers in their own homes. ^^ ,

^' To afford an idea of the import-
ance of the lace trade in France at
the beginning of the eighteenth cen-
tury, and of the immense consump-
tion of lace in France, we give the fol-
lowing statistics : — In 1707, the collec-
tion of the duties of lace was under-
farmed to one Etienne Nicolas, for
the annual sum of 201,000 livres.
The duty then was of 50 livres per lb.
weight of lace, so that there entered
annually into France above 400,000
lbs. of lace, which, estimating at the
lowest 1,000 lbs. of lace to be worth
1,000 li\Tes, would represent 4 millions
of that epoch. Taking into calculation
that fraud ^^•as extensively practised.

that the points of Venice and Genoa,
being prohibited, could not appear in
the receipts ; and that, on the other
];)art, the under-farmer did not pay the
farmer-general the 201,000 li\Tes with-
out the certainty of profit to himself,
we must admit that the figure, though
high, is far from representing the value
of the foreign laces which entered
France at that period. We think that
S millions (.€320,000) would be below
the true figm'e. — Ha/pjiort sur les Den-
tellcs fait a la Commission francaise
(le V Exposition UnivcrseUe clc Londres,
1851. Felix Aubry. The best history
of lace published.

i6i

CHAPTER X.

LOUIS XlY.—confinued.

"Tout change: la raison change aussi de methode ;
Ecrits, habillemens, s^^stemes : tont est mode."

Racine fils, Exntrc a Rousseau.

Point de France continued to be worn in the greatest
profusion during the reign of Louis XIV. The King
affected his new-born fabric much as monarchs of the
present day do their tapestries and their porcelains. It
decorated the Church and her ministers. Ladies offered
" tours de chaire a I'eglise de la paroisse." ^ Albs, " garnies
d'un grand point de France brode antique " ; ' altar-cloths
trimmed witli Argentan^ appear in the church registers.*
In a painting at Versailles, by Rigaud, representing the
presentation of the Grand Dauphin to his royal father,
1668, the infant is enveloped in a mantle of the richest point
(Fig. 74) ; and point de France was selected by royal
command to trim the sheets of hoUand used at the ceremony
of his ''nomination."^ At the marriage of the Prince de
Conti and of Mademoiselle de Blois the toilette " presented

^ " Deux toiu's de chaire de point
de France donnez depuis quelques
annees par deux dames de la paroisse."
— Inv. de Veglise de Saint-Merry, a
Paris. Ai-ch. Nat. L. L. 859.

- Inv. de Madame Anne Palatine
-de Baviere, Princesse de Conde. —
Ibid. X. 10,065.

^ Inv. de Veglise de Saint- Gervais,
a Paris. — Ibid. L. L. 854.

* The saints, too, came in for their
share of the booty.

" There was St. Winifred," writes a
traveller of the day, " in a point com-
mode with a large scarf on and a loup
in liand, as tho' she were going to
mass. St. Denis, with a laced hat

and embroidered coat and sash, like a
captain of the guards." — Six Weeks in
France. 1691.

^ " Toille de Hollande, avec des
grands points de France." — Le Cere-
monial de la Nomination de Mon-
seigneur le DaupJdn. 1668. Arch.
Nat. K. K. 1431.

^ Le Mercure Galant. Juillet, 1688.
This periodical, which we shall have
occasion so frequently to quote, was
begun in 1672, and continued to July,
1716. It comprises, with the Extra-
ordinaires, 571 vols, in 12mo.

Le Mercure de France, from 1717
to 1792, consists of 777 vols.— Brunet.
Manuel de Librane.

l62

HISTORY OF LACE

by the King was " gariiie de point de France si haut qu'on
ne voyait point de toile." ' The vahmce, too, and the
coverlet of the bed were of the same material.''

In this luxury, however, Enoland followed her sister
kingdom, for we read in the Royal Mcujazine of 1763 that
on the baptism of the young prince, afterwards Duke of
York, the company went to the council chamber at St.
James's, where a splendid bed was set up for the Queen to sit
on, the counterpane of which is described as of inimitable
workmanship, the lace alone costing £3,783 sterling.'^
" What princes do themselves, they engage others to do,"
says Quintilian, and the words of the critic were, in this
case, fully verified : jupes,^" corsets, mantles, aprons with
their bibs," shoes,'" gloves,'^ even the fans were now trimmed
with point de France.'^

At the audience given by the Dauphine to the Siamese
ambassadors, " a ses relevadles," she received them in a bed
" presque tout convert d'un tres beau point de France, sur
lescjuels on avoit mis des riches carreaux." ^•' On the occasion
of their visit to Versailles, Louis, proud of his fabric, pre-

'^ Lc Merc live Galant.

^ It was the custom, at the birth of
a Dauphin, for the papal nuncio to go
to the palace and present to the new-
born child " les langes benites." or
consecrated layette, on belialf of his
Holiness the Pope. The shirts, hand-
kerchiefs, and other linen, were by
half-dozens, and trimmed A\ith the
richest point. Tliis custom dates as
early as the birth of Louis XIII.
Mercier describes the ceremony of
carrying the layette to Versailles in
the time of Louis XV. — Vie clu Dau-
'pliin, pere de Louis XVI. Paris, 1858.

'■' In the Lancaster state bedroom,
at Fonthill, was sold in 1823 : " A
state bed quilt of Brussels point, for
100 guineas, and a Brussels toilet
cover for 30 guineas." — Fonthill. Sale
Catalogue.

" 1694. Une toilette de satin violet
picquee gamy d'un point d'Espagne
d'or a deux carreaux de mesme satin
et aussi pique." — lire, de Mgr. de hi
Vrilliere, PatriareJie, Archeveqiie de
Boiirgen. Bib. Nat.

" 1743. Une toilette et son bon-
honnne garnie d'luie vieille dciitelle

d'Angieterre." — Inv. de la Diieliesse
ele Bourbon.

" 1758. Une toilette avec sa touaille
de point fort vieux d'Alencon." — Inv.
de Mademoiselle de CharoUois.

" 1770. Une tres belle toilette de
point d'Argentan, en son siu'tout de
9,000 livres.

" Une tres belle toilette d'Angieterre,
et son surtout de 9,000." — Cptes. de
Madame dii Barry.

w "On voit toujours des jupes de
point de France."— ^lfrrc?rrr Galant.
1686.

" Corsets chamarrc's de point de
France." — Ibid.

^' Madame de Sevigne describes
Mademoiselle de Blois as " belle
comme un ange," with " un tablier et
tme bavette de point de France." —
Lettres. Paris, 27 Jan., 1674.

'- " Garnis de point de France for-
niant une maniere de rose antique." —
Merciire Galant. 1677.

'* In the Extraordinaire du Mereiire
for 1678. we liave, in "habit d'este,"
gloves of "point d'Angieterre."

'* Mereiire Galant. 1672.

'■' Ihid. 1686.

ing. 74.

Le GjtANi) Bebk. (M. lie Versailles.)

To face page 162.

LOUIS XIV

163,

sented the aml)assa(lors with (travat^ and rutHes of the finest
point.'" Tliese cravats were either worn of point, in one
piece, or partlv of muslin tied, with falling lace ends.^'
(Fig. 75.)

In 167i) the king gave a fete at Marly to the e'lite of his
l)rilliant court. When, at sunset, the ladies retired to repair
their toilettes, previous to the ball, each found in her
dressing-room a robe fresh and elegant, trimmed with point
of the most exquisite texture, a present from that gallant
monarch not yet termed " I'inamusable."

Nor was the Veuve Scarron behind the rest. When, in

Fig. 75.

Loivois. 1691. —(From his statue by Girardon. M. tie Versailles.)

1674, she purchased the estate from which she afterwards
derived her title of Maintenon, anxious to render it pro-
ductive, she enticed Flemish workers from the frontier to
esta])lish a lace manufacture upon her newly-acquired mar-
quisate. How the fabric succeeded history does not relate,
but the costly laces depicted in her portraits (Fig. "J^) have
not the appearance of home manufacture.

Point lace-making became a favourite employment amono-
ladies. We have many engravings of this reign ; one, 1691,
of a " fille de qualite " thus occupied, with the "motto, " Apres

"' Mercurc Galant. Fev. 1685.

Ihi,L

1678.
M 2

164

HISTORY OF LACE

diner vous travaillez au point." Another,'^ an engraving
of Le Paultre, dated 1676, is entitled " Dame en Deshabille
de Chambre" (Fig. 77).

" La France est la tete du monde " (as regards fashion),
says Victor Hugo, " cyclope dont Paris est I'asil " ; and writers
of all ages seem to have been of the same opinion. It was
about the year 1680 that the

" Mode feconde en mille inventions,
Monstre, prodige etrange et diffornie,"

was suddenly exemplified in France.

All readers of this sjreat reion will recall to mind the

Fir. 76.

Madame de Maintenon.— (From her portrait. M. de ^■ersail]es.)

story of the " Fontanges." How in the hurry, of the chase
the locks of the royal favourite burst from the ribbon that
bound them — how the fair huntress, hurriedly tying the lace
kerchief round her head, produced in one moment a coiffure
so light, so artistic, that Louis XIV., enchanted, prayed her
to retain it for that night at court. The lady obeyed the
royal command. This mixture of lace and ribbon, now worn
for the first time, caused a sensation, and the next day all

. ■** At the Mazarin Library there are the Archives Nat. is a large series

four folio volumes of engravings, after preserved in cartons numbered M. 815

Bonnard and others, of the costumes to &23, etc., labelled " Gravures de

of the time of Louis XIV. ; and at Modes."

LOUIS XIV

165
la Fontaiioe."

the ladies of the court appeared " coitfees a
(See Madame du Lude, Fig. 79.)

But this head-dress, with its tiers of point mounted on
wires/^ soon ceased to be artistic ; it grew higher and
liiohe]-. Poets and satirists attacked the fashion much as

Fio-.

< t .

A Lady in Moiining Deshabille.— <Fr(jiii ;ui eiigia\ iny by Le Piiultie. 107(3.)

they did the high head-dresses of the Roman matrons more
than a thousand vears ago."" Of the extinction of this mode

'■' La FontcoKjc altu'-re. — Boileau.

-'° The wife of Tvajan wore this
coiffure, and her sister Marcina Faus-
tina, wife of Antoninus, much regretted

the fashion when it went out. Speak-
ing of this head-dress, says a wi-iter in
the Blbliotlieque Univcrsdle of 1693,
" On regarde quelque fois des certaines

i66 HISTORY OF LACE'

we have A^arious accounts, some asserting it to have been
preached down by the clergy, as were the lii'nnhis in the
time of Charles VI, ; but the most probable story is that
which relates how, in October, 1699, Louis XIV, simply
observed, " Cette coiffure lui paroissoit desagreable," The
ladies worked all night, and next evening, at the Duchess
of Burgundy's reception,"^ appeared for the first time in a
low head-dress. Fashion,"'^ which the author of the Ijefore-
quoted Consolation would call jwnijyeu.v, was " aujourd'hui en
reforme." Louis XIV, never appreciated the sacrifice ; to
the day of his death he persisted in saying, '' J'ai eu beau
crier contre les coiffures trop hautes," No one showed the
slightest desire to lower them till one day there arrived
" une inconnue, une guenille d'Angleterre " (Lady Sand-
wich, the English Ambassadress ! !), " avec une petite coiffure
basse — tout d'un coup, toutes les princesses vont d'une
extremite a I'autre." "^ Be the accusation true or not, the
Mercure of November, 1699, announces that " La hauteur
des anciennes coiffures commence a paroitre ridicule " ; and
St. Simon, in his Memoirs, satirises the fontange as a " struc-
ture of brass wire, ribbons, hair, and baubles of all sorts,
about two feet high, which made a woman's face look as if it
were in the middle of her body."

In these days lace was not confined to Versailles and the
Court,^'

" Le gentilhomme," writes Capefigue, " allait au feu en
manchettes poudre a la marechale, les eaux &e senteur
sur son mouchoir en point d'Angleterre, relegance n'a
jamais fait tort au courage, et la politesse s'allie noble -
ment a la bravoure,"

But war brino's destruction to laces as well as finances,

choses coniine tout :i fait nonvelles, ^^ " 1699, Oct, Le A'cndredi 25, il y

(|ni ne sont que des vieilles modes re- eut giaiide toilette cliez Madame la

nouvellees, L'auteur en appelle un Duchesse de Bourgogne on les dames

exemple dans les coiffures elevees que parurent, pour la premiere fois, en

]iortent les fennnes aujourd'hui, croy- coiffures d'une forme nouvelle, c'est a

ant ajouter par la quelque chose a leur dire beaucoup plus basses." — Mercttrc

taille, Les dames liomaines avaient Galant.

la meme ambition et mettaient des '^^ " Corr. de la Duchesse d'Orleans,

ajustemens de tete tout semblables Princesse Palatine, mere du Regent."

aux Connnodes et aux Fontanges de ^* Speaking of tlie Iron Mask, \o\-

ce temps, Juvenal en parle expresse- taire writes : — " His greatest passion

ment dans sa Satire VI." • was for linen of great fineness and for

^' Galcrie de rancunuir Coiir. lace." — Steele de Louis XIV.

LOUIS XIV 167

and in 1690 the loyal and noble army was found in rags.
Then writes Dangeau : " M. de ( iistanaga, a qui M. de
Maine et M. de Luxembourg avoient demande un passe-
port pour fair venir des dentelles a I'armee, a refuse le
passeport, mais il a envoye des marehands <jui ont porte pour
dix mille ecus de dentelles, et apres qu'on les eut achetees, les
marehands s'en retournerent sans vouloir prendre d'argent,
disant qu'ils avoient cet ordre de 31. de C'astanaga."

" J'avois une Steinkerque de Malines," writes the Abbe
de Choisy, who always dressed in female attire. We hear
a oreat deal about these Steinkirks at the end of the seven-
teenth century. It was a twisted lace necktie, and owed
its origin to the battle of that name in 1692,""' when the
young French Princes of the Blood were suddenly ordered
into action. Hastily tying their lace cravats — in peaceful
times a most elaborate proceeding — they rushed to the
charge, and gained the day. In honour of this event, both
ladies and cavaliers wore their handkerchiefs knotted or
twisted in this careless fashion.

" Je troiive qu'en ete le Steiiikevque est coinuiode,
J'aime le falbala,-'^ quoiqu'il soit critique,"

says somel)ody. Steinkirks l)ecame the rage, and held good
for many years, worn alike in England ''' and France by
the women and the men. Fig. 7^ represents the Grand
Dauphin in his " longue Steinkerque a replis tortueux " ; -*
Fig. 79 the Duchesse du Lude "^ in similar costume and high
Fontange, both copied from prints of the tnue.

We find constant mention now of the fashion of
wearino- a lace rufile to the ladies' sleeves, conceruino; the
wearino- of which " a deux ranos," or " a trois ranos," there
was much etiquette.

The falbalas were not given up until after the Regency ;
the use of them was frequently carried to such an excess

-■' Fought by Marslial Luxenibouvg gent."

— vieux tapissier de Xotre-Dame — " Femme de qualite en Steinkeike

against William of Orange. et Falbala."— Engraving of 1693.

-'" Falbala — a deep single llomice of -'" See England. — William III.

point or gold lace. The Mercure Ga- "** Eegnard.

I ((lit, 1698, describing the Duchess of '-' Dame du palais to Queen Marie

]iurgundy •' a la promenade," states : Therese, and afterwards first lady of

•• Elle avoit un liabit gris de lin en honour to the Duchess of Burgundj-.

falliala, tout gamy de dentelles d'ar- She died 1726.

i6S

H J STORY OF LACE

that a caricaturist of that period drew a lady so enveloped
in them that she " looked like a turkev shaking its feathers
and spreading its comb." This caricature gave rise to a
popular song called " La Dinde aux Falbalas " ; but in despite
of song and caricature, the flounce continued in popularity.

" Les manches plates se font de deux tiers de tour, avec
une dentelle de fil de point fort fin et fort haut. On nomme
ces manches Ensageantes." ^"

'O^-^iD^

vooue

This fashion, though introduced in 1688, continued in
till the French Ee volution. We see them in the
portrait of Madame Palatine, mother of the Regent (Fig. 80)^
and in that of Madame Sophie de France, daughter of
Louis XV., taken in 1782 by Drouais.
finishing with point de
the equipage de bain, in
great item. As early as
presents Madame de Chevreuse with an
" equipage de bain de point de France " of great magni-
ficence. It consisted not only of a peignoir, but a broad
flounce, which formed a valance round the bath itself.
You can see them in old engravings of the day. Then

Before
allude to
formed a
Maintenon

France, we must
which this fabric
1688, Madame de

'"' Mercnrc Galaiif. 1683.

Again, in 1688, he says : " Les points
(le Malines sont fort en regne pour les
manches qu'on nomme engageantes.
Ou y met des points tres-hauts, fort
plisses, avec des pieds."

" Ladies trimmed their hcrthrs and
sleeves with lace ; when the sleeves
were short they were called enga-
geantes; when long, jjagodcs. Upon
skirts laces were worn volantes or as
flounces, whence the name volant or
flounce, which has come into use
for all wide laces ; these flouncings
were draped either in tournantes or
qniJles, the former laid horizontally',
the latter vertically upon skirts ; but
in either case these were stitched
down on each edge of the lace, whereas
flounces were fastened to dresses by
the engrelnre or footing. Lace harhes
and fontangcs were used as head-
dresses."

The.\- appear to have been soon in-
troduced into England, for Evelyn, in
his Mundus Muliebris, 1690, says :
" About her sleeves are engageants ; "
and the Ladies' Dictionary of nearly-

the same date gives : " ^Engageants,.
double ruffles that fall over the wrist."
In the lace bills of Queen Mary II.,
we find — et s. d,

"1694. If yd. Point for a
broad pair of En-
gageants, at £5 10s. 9 12 6
85 for a double pair of

ditto, at i;5 10&. . 19 ",
1 pair of Point En-
gageants . . . . oO
— (B. M., Add. MSS. No. 5751.)
'• 1720. Six pairs d'engageantes. dont
quatre a un rang de dentelle, et les
autres paires a double rang. Tune de
dentelle d'Angleterre a raiseau et
I'autre de dentelle a bride." — Inv. dc
la Duchesse de Bourbon. Arch. Nat.
" 1723. LTne paire d'engageantes a
deux rangs de point plat a raiseau." —
Ini\ d'Aune de Baviere, Priiicesse de
Conde.

" 1770. Six rangs d'engageantes de
point a I'aiguille," with the same of
point d'Argentan and Angleterre,
appear in the lace bills of Madame
du Barr^■.

-:f'^£

Li!

!Zo frtrv />«;/(' 168.

LOUIS XIV

169

:il

there were the towels and the descente, all e(j[ually costly,
for the French hidies of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries admitted their habitues not only to the 7'uelle,'^'^

Fi". SO.

MADAJIK PALATINK (EI.IZ. CHAKLciTTE DE BAVIEKE), DDCHESf>E i/orleaks.
(By Kigaucl. M. tie Versailles.)

l)nt also to the l)ath-room.''^ In the latter case the bath

^' '• 172;j. Deux nianteaux de bain et
deux chemises, aussi de bain, gavnis
aux nianches de dentelle, I'une a bride,
et I'autre a raiseau." — Inv. dWuuc de
Baviere, Frinccsse de Condc.

" 174o. Uiig Tour de baignoii- de
bazin gamy de vieille dentelle.

" Trois linges de baignoire garnis de
dentelle." — Inv. de la Ducliesse de
Bourbon.

^^ Describing tlie duties of the " critic

of each bright ruelle,"" Tickell says : —

"Oft with varied art, his thoughts

digress

On deeper themes — the documents

of dress ;
AYith nice discernment, to each
style of face

Adapt a ribbon, or suggest a lace ;
O'er Granby's cap bid loftier

feathers float,
And add new bows to Devon's
petticoat." — WreatJi of Fashicn.
33 In the spring of 1802* Mr. Hol-
croft, when in Paris, received a polite
note from a lady at whose house he
visited, requesting to see him. He
went, and was informed by her maid
the lady was in her warm bath, but
she would armounce his arrival. She
returned, and led liim to a kind of
closet, where her mistress was up to
her chin in water. He knew the man-
ners of the place, and was not sur-
-Travch.

170 HISTORY OF LACE

was ail lait, i.e., clouded by the mixture of some essence.
" Aux autres temps, autres moeurs."

The " fameuse poupee " of the reign of Louis XIV. must
not be forgotten. The custom of dressing up these great
dolls originated in the salons of the Hotel Rambouillet,
where one, termed " la grande Pandore," at each change of
fashion was exhibited " en grand tenue " ; a second, the little
Pandore, in morning (h'shabille. These dolls were sent to
Vienna and Italy, charged with the finest laces France could
produce. As late as 1764 we read in the Espion Cldnol'',
■' 11 a debarque a Douvres un grand nombre de poupees
de hauteur naturelle haljillees a la mode dc Paris, afin que
les dames dc qualite puissent reglcr leurs gouts sur ces
modeles."^^ Even when English ports were closed in war-
time, a special permission was given for the entry of a
large alabaster doll four feet high, the Grand Courrier de
la Mode.^' In the war of the First Empire this privilege
was refused to our countrywomen ; and from that time
Englishwomen, deprived of all French aid for a whole
generation, began to dress badly. Pitt has much to answer
for. With this notice finishes our account of the reign of
Louis XIV.

^* Mercier also mentions, in his Queen of England : in 1496 another,

Tableau dc Paris, la poupee de la rue sent to the Queen of Spain ; and in

Saint-Honore : " C'est de Paris que les 1571 a third, to the Duchess of

profondes inventions en modes donnent Bavaria.

(les loix a I'univers. La fameuse pou- Henry IV. writes in 1600, before his

pee, le manneqviin precieux, affuble des marriage to Marie de Medicis : " Fron-

modes les plus nouvelles . . . passe de tenac tells me that you desire patterns

Paris ii Londres tons les mois, et va de of our fashion in dress. I send you,

lii repandre ses graces dans toute therefore, some model dolls." — Miss

I'Europe. II va au Nord et du ]\Iidi, Freer's Hcnrij IV.

il penetre a Constantinople et a Peters- It was also the custom of Venice, at

bourg, et le pli qi;'a donne une main the annual fair held in the Piazza of

francoise se repete chez toute les St. Mark, on the day of the Ascension

nations, humbles observatrices du gout (a fair which dates from 1180), to

de la rue Saint-Honore." expose in the most conspicuous place

'^^ The practice was much more of the fair a rag doll, which served as

ancient. M. Ladomie asserts that in a model for tlie fashions for the year. —

the Royal expenses for 1391, figure so Michiel, Origiiic (h'llc Fcstc Veneziani.
many livres for a doll sent to the

Platk LII.

-H

-^'

/<;

-a

(-\

1— 1

» — 1

To /ace page 170.

I/f

CHAPTER XL

LOUIS XV.

" Le luxe corroiupt tout, ut le riche qui en jouit, et le pauvre qui le convoitc."

— J. J. Eousseau.

Louis XIV. is now dead, to the delight of a wearied nation :
we enter on the Regency and times of Louis XV. — that
age of " fourchettes," manchettes, and jabots — in wdiich the
huttei'Hy abbes, " les porte-dentelles par excellence," played
so conspicuous a part.

The origin of the weeping ruffles, if Mercier^ is to l)e
<.'re<lited, may be assigned to other causes than royal decree
or the edicts of fashion. "Les grandes manchettes furent
introduites par des fripons qui voulaient filouter au jeu et
escamoter des cartes." It never answers to investigate too
deeply the origin of a new invented mode, — sufficient to say,
ruffles became a necessary adjunct to the toilet of every
gentleman. So indispensable were they, the Parisians are
accused of adopting the custom of wearing ruffles and no
shirts.

" Les Parisiens," writes Mercier, " achetent quatre ajuste-
mens contre une chemise. Un beau Monsieur se met une
chemise blanche tons les quinze jours. II coud ses man-
chettes de dentelle sur une chemise sale," and powders over
his point collar till it looks white.^ This habit passed into a
proverb. The Marechal de Richelieu, who, though versed in
astronomy, could not spell, said of himself, " (,)u'on ne lui
avoit pas fourni des chemises, mais qu'il avoit achete des

^ Tableau (Jc I'd rid. 1782. without a shirt."— The Complete Eng-

- "The French nation are eminent lish Tradesman. Dan. Defoe. Lond.,

for making a tine outside, when per- 1726. Foote, in his Prologue to the

haps they want necessaries, and indeed Trij) to Paris, says, "They sold

a gay shop and a mean stock is like me some ruffles, and I fomid the

the Frenchman witli his laced ruffles shirts."

172 HISTORY OF LACE

mancliettes.'' " This account tallies well with former accounts *
and with a letter of Madame de Maintenon to the Princess
cles Ursins, 1710.'

At this period it was the custom for grisettes to besiege
the Paris hotels, bearing on their arms baskets decked out
with ruffles and jabots of Malines, Angleterre, and point.
What reader of Sterne will not recollect the lace-seller in his
Sentimental Journey ?

The jabot and manchettes of points were the customary
" cadeau de noces " of the bride to her intended for his
wedding dress — a relic of which practice may be found in
the em1)roidered wedding shirt furnished by the lady, in the
North of Europe.^ The sums expended in these articles
would now appear fabulous. The Archbishop of Cambray ^
alone possessed four dozen pairs of ruffles, Malines, point,
and Valenciennes. The Wardrobe Bills of the Duke de
Penthievre of 1738 make mention of little else. An ell
and a quarter of lace was required for one pair of ruffles. A
yard, minus -^q, sufflced for the jaljot.^ There were man-
chettes de jour, manchettes tournantes,^ and manchettes de
nuit : these last-named were mostly of Valenciennes.^" The

^ Souvenirs de la Marquise de A wedding sark of Holland fine,

Crequy. 1710-1802. Wi' silken flowers wrought."

* Clement X. was in the habit of And in an account quoted in the

making presents of Italian lace, at Beliquary, July, 1865, is the charge on

that time much prized in France, to j^eb. 16, of " six shillings for a cravat

M. de Sabiere. " He sends ruffles," for hur Vallentine."

said the irritated Frenchman who 7 j^v. apres le deces de Mgr. C. de

looked for something more tan- Saint- Alhin, ArcJu'vcsque deCawbrai/.

gible, " to a man who never has a (gon of the Regent.) 1764. Arcli.

sliirt." Nat. M. M. 718.

^ '• M. de Vendome, at his marriage, Louis XVI. had 59 pairs the year

was quite astonished at putting on his before his death : 28 of point, 21 of

clean shirt a-day, and fearfully em- Valenciennes, and 10 of Angleterre.—

bairassed at having some point lace Etat des Effcts siihsistaiit et farmant

on the one given him to put on at U fond de'la garderobe du Boi au \"

night. Indeed," continues she, " you Janvier, 1792. Arch. Nat. K. 506,

would hardly recognise the taste of Nq. 30.

the French. The men are worse than ^ Etatd'iin Trousseau. Description
the women. They wish their wives des Arts et Metiers. Paris, 1777.
to take snuff, play, and pay no more » " Deux aunes trois quarts d' Angle-
attention to their dress." The exqui- terre a bride pour deux paires de man-
site cleanliness of Anne of Austria's chettes tournantes, a 45 livres I'aune."
court was at an end. ^Garderohe de S. A. S. Mgr. Ic Due

'^ In the old Scotch song of Gilderoy, ^^ Penthievre. 1738. Arch. Nat. K. K.

thfe famous higliwayman, we have an ygo.

instance :— i" jhid. The laces for ruffles were

" For Gilderoy, that luve of mine, of various kinds : point brode, point a

Glide faith, I freely bouglit bride, point a raiseau, point a bride a

LOUIS XV

^71

point d'Alencon ruffles of BufFon, wliicli he always wore,
even when writing, were exhibited in 1864 at Falaise, being
carefully preserved in the family to whom they have
descended.

Even, if a contemporary writer may Ije credited, " Mon-
sieur de Paris," the executioner, mounted the scaffold in a
velvet suit, powdered, with point lace jal)ot and ruffles.

" Les rubans, les miroirs, les dentelles sont trois choses
sans lesquelles les Francois ne peuvent vivre. Le luxe
demesure a confondu le maitre avec le valet," '^ says an
unknown writer, quoted by Dulaure.^' The servants of the
last century had on their state liveries lace equal in
richness to that worn by their masters. ^^ Of a Prussian
gentleman, we read, " His valets, who according to the
reigning tastes were the prettiest in the world, wore nothing
but the most costly lace." ^^ This custom was not confined,
however, to France or the Continent. " Our very footmen,"
writes the angry World, " are adorned with gold and

ecaille, point superfin, point brillant,
Angleterre a, bride a raiseau, and one
pair of point d'Argentan ; Valenciennes
pour nianchettes de nuit a 42 livres
I'aune.

The Duke's wardrobe accounts afford
a good specimen of the extravagance
in the decoration of night attire at this
period : —

4 au. de point pour collet

et manchettes de la

chemise de nuit et gar-

uir la coetTe, a 130 11. . 520 11.
3 au. f dito pour jabot et

fourchettes de nuit et

garnir le devant de la

camisole, a 66 11. . . 247 11. 10s.
Sept douze de point pour

plaquer sur les man-

ches de camisoUe, a

5511 3211. Is.

Then for his nightcaps : — -

3 au. Toile fine pour
Coeffes de Nuit . . 2711.

4 au. Dentelles de Ma-
lines pour les tours de
Coeffes, a 20 11. . . 80 11.

5 au. \ Valenciennes, a

46 11 253 11.

52 au. dito petit point,
pour garnir les Tours,
a 5 11. 5s 273 11.

Pour avoir monte lui bon-
net de nuit de point .

7 au. de campanne de
point pour charnarrer
la camisolle et le bon-
net de nuit, a 10 11. 10s.

11.

OS.

73 11. 10s.

The Marquise de Crequy speaks of
a night-cap, "a grandes dentelles,"
offered, with la robe de chambre, to
the Dauphin, son of Louis XV., by the
people of the Duke de Grammont, on
his having lost his way hunting, and
wandered to the Duke's chateau.

^^ " Le Parisien qvii n'a pas dix mille
livTCS de rente n'a ordinairement ni
draps, ni lit, ni serviettes, ni chemises ;
mais il a une montre a repetition, des
glaces, des bas de soie, des dentelles."
■ — Tableau dc Paris.

^^ Histoire dc Paris.

13 a Ordinairement un laquais de
bon ton prend le nom de son maitre,
quand il est avec d'autres laquais, il
prend aussi ses moeui-s, ses gestes,
ses manieres. ... Le laquais d'un
seigneur porte la montre d'or ciselee,
des dentelles, des boucles a brillants,"
etc. — Tableau de Paris.

'* Amuscniens des Eaux de Sjja.
Amsterdam, 1751.

" Les manches qu'a table on voit
tater la sauce." — Ecole des maris.

174 HISTORY OF LACE

silver bags and lace ruffles. The valet is only distinguished
from his master by being better dressed ; " while the Con-
nois^eur complains of " roast Ijeef being banished from
even ' down stairs,' because the powdered footmen will not
touch it for fear of daubing their lace ruffles." ^''

But the time, of all others, for a grand display of lace
was at a visit to a Parisian lady on her " relevailles," or
" uprising," as it was called, in the days of our third
Edward. Eeclining on a chaise longue, she is described as
awaiting her visitors. Nothing is to be seen but the finest
laces, arranged in artistic folds, and long bows of ribbon.
An attendant stationed at the door asks of each new arrival,
" Have you any perfumes ? " She replies not, and passes
on — an atmosphere of fragrance. The lady must not be
spoken to, but, the usual compliments over, the visitors
proceed to admire her lace. " Beautiful, excjuisite ! " — but,
" Hist ! speak low," and she who gave the caution is the
first, in true French style, to speak the loudest.^"

Lace " garnitures de lit " were general among great
people as early as 1696. The Mercure speaks of " draps
garnis d'une grande dentelle de point d'Angleterre." In
1738 writes the Due de Luynes,^' " Aujourd'hui Madame
de Luynes s'est fait apporter les fournitures qu'elle avoit
choisies pour la Reine, et qui regardent les dames d honneur.
Elles consistent en couvrepieds ^* garnis de dentelle pour le
grand lit et pour les petits, en tales d'oreiller ^'^ garnies du

" The state liveries of Queen demie aune de hauteur." — Inv. d'A.

Victoria were most richly embroidered dc Bavierc, Princesse de Conde.
ill gold. Thej' were made in the earl^ " 1743. Un couvrepied de toile

part of George II. 's reign, since which picquee, brodee or et. soye, borde de

tinae they have been in use. In the trois cotes d'une grande dentelle

year 1848, the servants appeared at d'Angleterre et du quatrieme d'un

the ro3'al balls in gold and ruffles of nioyen dentelle d'Angleterre a bords.
the richest gros point de France, of " Un autre, garni d'xme gi'ande et

the same epoch as their dresses. In moyenne dentelle de point d'Alencon.
1849, the lace no longer appeared — " Un autre, garni d'un grand point

probably suppressed by order. Queen de demie aune de hauteur, brode, garni

Anne, who was a great martinet in d'une campane en bas.
trifles, had her servants marshalled " Un autre, ' point a bride,' " and

before her every day, that she might luan^' others. — Inv. de la Duchesse dc

see if their ruffles were clean and their Bourbon.
periwigs dressed. '•' " 1704. Deux tales d'oreiller gar-

'f Tableau de Paris. nies de dentelle, I'une a raiseau. et

''^ Memoircs. I'autre a bride." — Inv. de F. P. Loiael.

'8 " 1723. Un couvrepied de toile Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 11,459.
blanche, picqure de Marseille, garni " 1723. Quatre tales d'oi'eiller, dont

autour d'un point en campane de trois garnies de differentes dentelles.

LOUIS XI

175

meme point (rAngietene, etc. Cette fourniture coute
environ 30,000 livres, quoique Madame de Luynes n'ait pas
fait renouveler les beaux couvrepieds de la Reine." These
o-arnitures were renewed every year, and Madame de Luynes
inherited the old ones.

Madame de C'requy, describing her visit to the Duchesse

Fig. 81.

Mahajie Sophik I)K FitANt'K, 1782, Dalcjhter OF Louis XV. By Drouais. JJ. de Versailles.
(In this picture the hexagonal brides and lieavy relief of Point d'Argentan are clearly to be seen.)

-Douairiere de La Ferte, says, when that lady received her,
she was lying in a state bed, under a coverlet made of point
de Venise in one piece. " I am persuaded," she adds, " that

et I'autre de Point." — Iirv. d' Anne dr
Baviere, Princcssc de Ccmdr.

'' 1755. Deux taies cVoreiller gavnies
de point d'Alencon." — Tnv. de Made-
moiselle de CharoUals.

"• 1761. Trois taies d'oreiller de den-
telle de point a brides." — Inv. dr la
DncJiesse de Modene.

'• 1770. 7 au. 1/8 vraie Va-
lenciennes pour oarnir une
taie d'oreiller, a 60 11. . . 427 10."
— Comptes de Madame dii Barrij.

'• 1707. 7 au. touniante
d'Angletevre pour garnir des
plottes (pincushions) a 50 . 350 00."
— Comptes de Madame dii Barry.

"1788. 12 Pelottes garnies de den-
telle."— I6u7.

" 6 trousses a peigne garnies de
dentelle." — Fourni jwnr Mgr. le
Dauphin. Arch. Nat.

" 1792. 6 Pelottes garnies de den-
telle." — Linge du, ci-devant Boi.
Ibid.

176

HISTORY OF LACE

the trimming of her sheets, which were of point d'Argentan,
were worth at least 40,000 ecus/' -" To such a pitch had the
taste for lace-trimmed linen attained, that when, in 1739,
Madame, eldest daughter of Louis XV., espoused the Prince
of Spain, the bill for these articles alone amounted to
£25,000 ; and when Cardinal Fleury, a most economical
jDrelate, saw the trousseau, he observed, " Quil croyait que

Fig. 82.

Mahajie Adelaide de France, Daughter of Louis XV.— (M. de Versailles.)

c'etait pour marier toutes les sept Mesdames. " "^ (Figs,
81, 82). Again, Swinburne writes from Paris:" "The
trousseau of Mademoiselle de Matignon will cost 100,000
crowns (£25,000). The expense here of rigging'^ out a
bride is erjual to a handsome portion in England. Five

22
23

Souvenirs.

Memoires du Due de Liiyncs.

1786. Courts of Eurojw.

It may be amusing to the reader
to learn the laces necessary for I'Etat
d'un Trousseau, in 1777, as given in
the Description des Arts de Metiers :
" Une toilette de ville en dentelle ;
2 jupons garnis du meme. Une coif-

fure avec torn- de gorge, et le iichu
plisse de point d'Alencon. Un idem
de point d'Angleterre. 1 id. de vraie
Valenciennes. Une coitfui'e dite ' Bat-
tant d'oeil ' de Malines brodee, pour le
neglige. 6 Hchus simples en mousse-
line a mille Heurs garnis de dentelle
pour le neglige. 12 grands bonnets
garnis d'une petite dentelle pour la

Plate Llll

Madame Louise de France. Trimmings and tablier of Point d'Argcutan.
Painted by Nattier at the age of eleven, 1748. M. de Versailles.

To face pwje 176.

LOUIS XV

-^17

tliousaiid pounds" worth of lace, linen, etc., is a common
thing among them."

The masks worn by the ladies at this period were of

.black blonde lace'' oi' the most exquisite fineness and

Fig. 83.

Marie Therese Ant. Raph., Infanta of Spain, first wife of Louis Dauphin, son of Louis XV.

— By locque. Dated 1/48. IM. de Versailles.

design.-"' They were trimmed round the eyes, like those
described by Scarron : —

" Dirai-je coinme ces fantasques
Qui portent dentelle a leurs masques,
En chamarrent les trous cles yeux,
Croyant que le masque en est mieux."

In the reign of Louis XV., point de France was rivalled

nuit. 12 a deux rangs, plus beaux,
pour le jour, en cas d'indisposition.
12 serres-tete garnis d'une petite den-
telle pour la nuit. 2 tales d'oreiller gar-
nies en dentelle. 12 pieces d'estomach
garnies d'une petite dentelle. 6 garni-
tiu'es de corset. 12 tours de gorge.
12 paires ce manchettes en dentelle.
Une toilette ; les volants, au nombre
de deux, sont en dentelle ; ils ont 5
aunes de tour. Dessus de pelotte, en
toile garnie de dentelle, etc. La
Layette : 6 paires de manclies pour
la mere, garnies de dentelle. 24 bon-
nets ronds de 3 ages en dentelle. 12
bavoirs de deux ages, garnis en den-
telle." The layette was furnished to-

gether with the trousseau, because, says
a fabricant, " les enfans se font plus
vite que les points."

24 4. i7g7_ Pour achat de 11 au. blonde

noire, a 6 10 ... 71 livres 10 sous."

— Comptes de Monsieur Hergosse.

Bib. Nat. MSS., F. Fr. 11,447.

-■' When the Empress Josephine was
at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, a masked
ball was given on the occasion. The
ladies, says Mademoiselle Avrillion,
wore short dominoes with their faces
covered with a mask, "' le tour desyeux
garni d'vuie petite dentelle noire." —
Mem. de Mademoiselle Avrillion, pre-
miere femtne de chamhre de VTinpera-
trice. Paris, 1833.

178

HISTORY OF LACE

by the productions of Angleterre '"" and Malines. Argentan
and Alencon (Fig. 83) were declared by fashion to be " den-
telles d'hiver : " each lace now had its appointed season.'-'
" On porte le point en hiver," says the Dictionary of the
Academy.

There was much etiquette, too, in the court of France, as
regards lace, which was never worn in mourning. Dangeau
chronicles, on the death of the Princess of Baden, " Le roi
qui avoit repris les dentelles et les rubans d'or et d' argent,
reprend demain le linge uni et les rubans unis aussi." "^

" Madame " thus describes the " petit deuil " of the jNIar-
grave of Anspach : " Avec des dentelles blanches sur le noir,
du beau ruban bleu, a dentelles blanches et noires. C'etoit
une parure magnifique.

" 29

^•^ A few extracts from ]\'Iadame du
Barry's lace accounts will furnish an
idea of her consumption of point
d'Angleterre : —

Une toilette d'Angle-
terre complette de . 8823 livres.

Une parure composee de
deux barbes, rayon et
fond, 6 rangs de man-
chettes, 1 1/2 au. de
ruban fait expres, 1/8
jabot pour le deAant
de tour. Le tout d'An-
gleterre superfin de . 7000 —

Unajustemente d'Angle-
terre complet de . . 3216 —

Une garnitui-e de peig-

noir d'Angleterre de . 2342 livres.
Une garniture de fichu

d'Angleterre .
8 au. d'Angleterre

388 -

pour tayes d'oreil-

ler 240

9 1/2 au. dito pour

la tete .... 76
14 au. pied dito pour
la tete . . . .140

456 livres.

"- " Les dentelles les plus precieuses
pour chaque saison." — (Duchesse
d'Abrantes.)
-* Memoir es.

-' Mem. de la Pvinccsse Palatine,
veuve (le Monsieur.

179

CHAPTER XII.

LOUIS XVI. TO THE EMPIRE.

" Proud Versailles ! thy glory falls." — Pope.

In the reign of Louis XVI. society, tired out with ceremony
and the stately manners of the old court, at last began to
emancipate itself. Marie-Antoinette (Fig. 84) first gave the

Fig. 84.

Marie-Antoinette.— From a picture by Madame Le Bnin. M. de Versailles.

signal. Rid herself of the preaching of " Madame Etiquette "
she could not on state occasions, so she did her best to amuse
herself in private. The finest Indian muslin now supplanted
the heavy points of the old court. Madame du Barry, in
her Memoirs, mentions the purchase of Indian muslin so fine

N 2

i8o HISTORY OF LACE

that the piece did not weigh fifteen ounces, although suffi-
cient to make four dresses. " The hidies h:)oked," indig-
nantly observed the Marechale de Luxembourg, '^ in their
muslin aprons and handkerchiefs like cooks and convent
porters." ^ To signify her disapproval of this new-fangled
custom, the Marechale sent her grand-daughter, the Duchesse
de Lauzun, an apron of sailcloth trimmed with fine point
and six fichus of the same material similarly decorated.
Tulle and marli "" were much worn during the latter years of
the Queen's life, and entries of tulle, marli, blondes, and
embroidered linens occur over and over again in Madame
Eloffe's accounts with the Queen. The richer ornamental
laces were not worn, and one reads of items such as " a
gauze fichu trimmed with white jjretention."

On leaving Versailles for the last time (October 6th,
1789), Marie Antoinette distributed among her suite all that
remained of her fans and laces.

The arrangement of the lace lappets was still preserved
by rule. "Lappets to be pinned up" — lappets to be let
down on grand occasions.^ Later Madame de Stael, like a
true has-hleu — without speaking of her curtsey to Marie
Antoinette, which was all wrong — on her first visit of
ceremony to Madame de Polignac, in defiance of all
etiquette, left her lace lappets in the carriage.

The democratic spirit of the age now first creeps out in

^ " Cuisinieres et Tourieres." The Eliz., vol. 32.

joke formed the subject of some clever See also the cnrious extract from

verses from the Chevalier de Boufflers. Madame de Campan's Memoires : —

2 Marli, which takes its name from " Madame de Noailles etait remplie

the village between Versailles and St. de vertus ; niais I'etiquette etait pour

Germain, is tulle dotted with small elle une sorte d'atmosphere. Unjourje

square spots. See page 225. mis, sansle vouloir, cette pauvre dame

^ The harhe, or lappet, of whatever dans une angoisse terrible ; la reine

form it be, has always, in all ages and recevait je ne sais plus qui. Tout etait

all comitries, been a subject of eti- bien, au moins je le croyais. Je vols

quette. At the interment of Queen tout-a-coup les yeux de Madame de

Mary Tudor, December 14th, 1558, it Noailles attaches sur les miens, et

is told how the ladies in the first and puis ses deux sourcils seleventjusqu'au

second chariots were clad in mourning haut de son front, redescendent, re-

a,pparel, according to their estates, montent. L'agitation de la Comtesse

"their barbes above their chynes." croissait toujours. La reine s'apercut

"The 4 ladies on horseback in like de tout ceci . . . et me dit alors a

manner had their barbes on their mi-voix : ' Detachez vos barbes, ou la

chynes." In the third chariot, " the comtesse en mourra.' L'etiquette du

ladies had their barbes under their costume disait : ' Barbes pendentes.' "
chynes." — State Papers, Domestic,

LOUIS XVI. TO THE EMPIRE i8i

the fashions. Among the rich parures of Du Barry * we find
" barbes a h\ paysanne " — everything now becomes " a
coquille," " ;i papillon."

Even the Queen's hairdresser, Leonard, " (|ui

" Portait jusques au ceil I'audace de ses coiffures,"

did not venture to introduce much lace.

The affected phraseoh)gy of the day is very " precious " in
its absurdity. We read of the toilette of Mademoiselle
Duthe in which she appeared at the opera. She Avore a robe
" soupirs etouffes," trimmed with " regrets superHus " ; a
point of '' candeur parfaite, garnie eo plaintes indiscretes " ;
ribbons en " attentions marquees " ; shoes " cheveux de la
reine," '' embroidered with diamonds, " en coups perfides "
and " venez-y-voir " in emeralds. Her hair "en sentiments
soutenus," with a cap of " conquete assuree," trimmed with
ribbons of " oeil abattu " ; a " chat*^ sur le col," the colour of
" gueux nouvellement arrive," and upon her shoulders a
Medicis "en bienseance," and her muff of "agitation
momentanee."

In the accounts of Mademoiselle Bertin, the Queen's
milliner, known for her saying, " II n'y a rien de
nouveau dans ce monde que ce qui est oublie," we have
little mention of lace.^

* Only in her last lace bill, 1773 : dress. The back seam, trimmed with

" Une paire de barbes plattes longues emeralds, was called " venez-y-voir."

de 3/4 en blonde fine a Heurs fond '^ Souvenirs du Marquis de Valfons,

d'Alencon, 36. 1710-1786. A " chat," tippet or Pala-

" Une blonde grande hauteiu- a tine, so named after the mother of the

bouquets detaches et a bordure riche. Regent.

" 6 au. de blonde de grande hauteur '^ In the National Archives, formerly

facon d'Alencon a coquilles a mille preserved with the Livre Eouge in the

poix, a 18. Annorie de Fer, is the Ga.-efte j^our

" Une paire de sabots de comtesse Vmmee, 1782, of Marie Antoinette,
de deux rangs de tvdle blonde a festons, consisting of a list of the dresses fur-
fond d'Alencon." — Comptcs de la Com- nished for the Queen during the year,
tesse du Barry. Bib. Nat. F. Fr. drawn up hy the Comtesse d'Ossune.
8157. her dame des atours. We find — grands

Madame du Barry went to the habits, robes sur le grand panier, robes

greatest extravagance in lace ajuste- sur le petit panier, with a pattern of

ments, barbes, collerettes, volants, the material affixed to each entry, and

quilles, coeffes, etc., of Argentan, An- the name of the couturiere who made

gleterre, and point a I'aiguille. the dress. One " Levite " alone ap-

■"' The great fashion. The shoes were peai's trimmed with blonde. There is

embroidered in diamonds, which were also the Gazette of Madame Elizabeth,

scarcely worn on other parts of the for 1792.

l82

in STORY OF LACE

" Blond a fond d'Alencon seme a poix, a mouclies," now
usurps the place of the old points. Even one of the
" grandes dames de la vieille cour," Madame Adelaide de
France herself, is represented in her picture by Madame
(7uiard with a spotted handkerchief, probably of blonde
(Fig. 85).

The Church alone protects the ancient fabrics. The lace
of the Eohan family, almost hereditary Princes Archbishops
of Strasburg, was of inestimable value. " AVe met," writes

Fig. <S,5.

Madame Adelaiue de France. —After a picture by Madame Guianl, dated 17S7. M. de

Versailles.

the Baroness de Oberkirch, " the cardinal coming out of his
chapel dressed in a soutane of scarlet moire and rochet of
English lace of inestimable value. When on great occasions
he officiates at Versailles, he wears an alb of old lace ' en point
a I'aiguille ' of such beauty that his assistants were almost
afraid to touch it. His arms and device are worked in a
medal] ion above the large flowers. This alb is estimated at
100,000 livres. On the day of which I speak he wore the
rochet of Ens^lish lace, one of his least beautiful, as his

LOUIS XVI. TO THE EMPIRE

18-

secretaiy, tlie Abbe Georget. told me." ^ On his elevation
to the see of Bourges (1859), Monseigneur de La Tour
d'Auverojne celebrated mass at Rome arrayed with all the
sacerdotal ornaments of point d'Alengon of the finest work-
manship. This lace descended to him from his uncle,
Cardinal de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had inherited it from
his mother, Madame d'Aumale, so well known as the friend
of Madame de Maintenon. Lender the first Empire, a
complete suit of lace was offered to the prelate for sale,
which had belonged to Marie-Antoinette. This lace is
described as formed of squares of old point d'Angleterre or
de Flandre, each representing a difierent subject. The
t)eauty of the lace and its historic interest decided his
Eminence to speak of it to his colleague, Cardinal de Bonald,
and these two prelates united their resources, bought the
lace, and divided it.

But this extravagance and luxury w^ere now soon to
end. The years of '92 and '93 were approaching. The
great nobility of France, who patronised the rich manu-
factures of the kingdom at the expense of a peasantry
starving on estates they seldom if ever visited, were ere
long outcasts in foreign countries. The French Revolu-
tion was fatal to the lace trade. For twelve years the
manufacture almost ceased, and more than thirty different
fabrics entirely disappeared.^ Its merits were, however,
recognised by the Etats Gene'raux in 1789, who, when
previous to meeting they settled the costume of the three
estates, decreed to the nohhsse a lace cravat. It was not
until 1801, when Napoleon wished to " faire revenir le luxe,"
that we ao;ain find it chronicled in the annals of the
day : /** How charming Caroline Murat looked in her white
mantelet of point de Bruxelles^^et sa robe garnie des memes
ilentelles," etc. The old laces were the work of years, and
transmitted as heirlooms ^^ from o-eneration to generation.

* Memoires siir la Cour de Louis
XVI.

_ " Among these were Sedan, Chavle-
ville, Mezieres, Dieppe, Havre, Pont-
I'Eveque, Honfleur, Eu, and more than
ten neighbouring villages. The points
of Aurillac, Bourgogne, and Murat dis-
appeared ; and worst of all was the
loss of the manufacture of Valenciennes.

Laces were also made in Champagne,
at Troyes and Domchery, etc.

^" 1649. Anne Gohory leaves all her
personals to Madame de Sevigne except
her "plus beau mouchoir, le col de
point fin de Flandres, et une Juppe de
satin a tleurs fond vert, garnye de point
fin d'or et de soie."

1764. Genevieve Laval bequeaths to

1 84 HISTORY OF LACE

They were often heavy and overloaded with ornament. The
ancient style was now discarded and a lighter description
introduced. By an improvement in the point de raccroc
several sections of lace were joined together so as to form
one large piece ; thus ten workers could now produce in a
month what had formerly been the work of years.

Napoleon especially patronised the fabrics of Alencon,
Brussels, and Chantilly. He endeavoured, too, without
success, to raise that of Valenciennes. After the example of
Louis XIV., he made the wearing of his two favourite points
obligatory at the Court of the Tuileries, and it is to his
protection these towns owe the preservation of their
manufactures. The lace-makers spoke of the rich orders
received from the imperial court as the most remarkable
epoch in their industrial career. Never was the beauty and
costliness of the laces made for the marriage of Marie-Louise
yet surpassed. To reproduce them now would, estimates
M. Aubry, cost above a million of francs. Napoleon was a
great lover of lace : he admired it as a work of art, and was
proud of the proficiency of his subjects Mademoiselle
d'Avrillion relates the followino; anecdote : — The Princess
Pauline had given orders to the Empress Josephine's lace-
maker for a dress and various objects to the value of
30,000 francs. When the order was completed and the
lace brought home, the Princess chano;ed her mind and
refused to take them. Madame Lesoeur, in despair, appealed
to the Empress. She, thinking the price not unreasonable,
considering the beauty of the points, showed them to
Napoleon, and told him the circumstance. " I was in the
room at the time," writes the authoress of the Mi'moires.
The Emperor examined minutely each carton, exclaiming at
interval?, '" Comme on travailie bien en France, je dois
encouragcr un pared commerce. Pauline a grand tort." He
ended by paying the bill and distributing the laces among
the ladies of the court. ^^ Indeed, it may be said that never

lier sister " line garniture de dentelle 1764. Madame de Pompadour, in

de raiseavi a grandes dents, valant an her will. says. " Je donne a mes deux

moins (juin/e livres I'aune." — Arch, de femmes de chambre tout ce qui con-

N'at. Y. o8. cerne ma garderobe . . . . y compris

1764. Anne Challus leaves her "belle les dentelles."

garniture de dentelle en plem, man- " M(hn. de Mademoiselle d'Avril-

ehettes, tour de gorge, palatine et lin)i.
iondr—Ibid.

LOUIS XVI . TO THE EMPIRE 185

was lace more in vogue than during the early days of the
Empire.

The morninsi costume of a French duchesse of that court
is described in the following terms : — " EUe portait un
peignoir brode en mousseline garni d'une Angleterre tres-
belle, une fraise en point d' Angleterre. Sur sa tete la
duchesse avait jete en se levant une sorte de ' baigneuse,'
comme nos meres I'auraient appelee, en point d' Angleterre,
garnie de rubans de satin rose pale." ^'^ The fair sister of
Napoleon, the Princess Pauline Borghese, " s'est passionnee,"
as the term ran, '' pour les dentelles." ^^

That Napoleon's example was quickly followed by the
elegantes of the Directory, the following account, given to
the brother of the author by an elderly lady who visited
Paris during that very short period ^^ when the English
flocked to the Continent, of a ball at Madame Recamiers, to
which she had an invitation, will testify.

The First Consul was expected, and the elite of Paris
early thronged the salons of the charming hostess, but where
was Madame Pecamier ? " Soiilf'rante ," the murmur ran,
retained to her bed by a sudden indisposition. She would,
however, receive her guests couch.ee.

The company passed to the bedroom of the lady, which,
as still the custom in France, opened on one of the principal
salons. There, in a gilded bed, lay Madame Pe'camier, the
most beautiful woman in France. The bed-curtains were of
the finest i3russels lace, bordered with garlands of honey-
suckle, and lined with satin of the palest rose. The
couirrepied was of the same material ; from the pillow of
embroidered cambric fell " des flots de Valenciennes."'

The lady herself wore a jmgnoir trimmed with the most
exquisite English point. Never had she looked more lovely
— never had she done the honours of her hotel more grace-
fully. And so she received Napoleon — so she received the
heroes of that great empire. All admired her " fortitude,"
her devouement, in thus sacrificing herself to society, and
on the following day " tout Paris s'est fait inscrire chez
elle." Never had such anxiety been expressed — never had
woman gained such a triumph.

'- Memoircs sur la Restauration, '^ Ibid. T. v., p. 48.

par Madame la l)ucht?sse d'Abrantes. " After the Peace of Amiens, ISOl.

i86 HISTORY OF LACE

The Duchesse d'Abrantes, who married in the year 1800,
descriLing her trousseau/' says she had " des mouchoirs, des
jupons, des canezous du matin, des peignoirs de mousseline
de rinde, des camisoles dc nuit, des bonnets de nuit, des
bonnets de matin, de toutcs les couleurs, de toutes les
formes, et tout cela brode, garni de Valenciennes ou dc
Malines, ou de point d'Angleterre." In the corbeille de
mariage, with the cachcmires were " les voiles de point
d'Angleterre, les garnitures de robes en point a I'aiguille, et
en point de Bruxelles, ainsi qu'en blonde pour I'ete. II y
avait aussi des robes de blonde Ijlanche et de dentelle
noire," etc. When they go to the Mairie, she describes her
costume : " J'avais une robe de mousseline de I'lnde brodee
au plumetis et en points a jour, comme c'etait alors la mode.
Cette robe etait a queue, montante et avec de longues
manches, le le de devant entierement brode ainsi que le tour
du corsage, le l)out des manches, qu'on appelait alors amadis.
La fraise etait en magnifique point a laiguille, sur ma tete
j'avais un bonnet en point de Bruxelles. . . . Au sommet
du bonnet etait attachee une petite couronne de fleurs
d'oranger, d'oii partait un long voile en point d'Angleterre
qui tombait a mes pieds et dont je pouvais pres(|ue
m'envelopper." Madame Junot winds up by saying that
" Cette profusion de riches dentelles, si fines, si deliees ne
semblaient etre qu'un reseau nuageux autour de mon visage,
oil elles se jouaient dans les boucles de mes cheveux."

Hamlet always used to appear on the stage in lace cravat
and ruffles, and Talma, the French tragedian, was very proud
of his wardrobe of lace. Dr. Doran relates of him that on
one occasion, when stopped by the Belgian custom-house
olhcers at the frontier, an official, turning over his wardrobe,
his stage costumes, etc., contemptuously styled them "habits
de Polichinelle." Talma, in a rage exclaimed, "Habits de
Polichinelle ! Why, the lace of my jabot and ruffles alone
is worth fifty louis a yard, and 1 wear it on my private
costume." "And must pay for it accordingly," added the
official. " Punch's clothes might pass untaxed, but Monsieur
Talma's lace owes duty to our king." Talma was forced
to submit.

The French lace manufacture felt the political events of

^® Memoires de Madame la Duchesse d' Abrantes.

LOUIS XVI. TO THE EMPIRE T87

1813 to 1817, but. experienced a more severe crisis in 1818,
when bobbin net was first made in France. Fashion at once
adopted the new material, and pillow lace was for a time
discarded. For fifteen years lace encountered a fearful
competition. The manufacturers were forced to lower their
prices and diminish the produce. The marts of Europe were
inundated with tulle ; but happily a new channel for expor-
tation was opened in the United States of North America.
In time a reaction took place, and in 1834, with the
exception of Alencon, all the other fabrics were once more
in full activity. ^"^ But a cheaper class of lace had been
introduced. In 1832-33 cotton thread first bes^an to be
substituted for flax.^' The lace-makers readily adopted the
change ; they found cotton more elastic and less expensive.
It gives, too, a brilliant appearance, and breaks less easily
in the working. All manufacturers now use the Scotch
cotton, with the exception of Alencon, some choice pieces of
Brussels, and the finer qualities of Mechlin and Valenciennes.
The difierence is not to be detected by the eye ; both
materials wash equally well.

We now turn to the various lace manufactures of France,
taking each in its order.

^® The revival first appeared in the Caen, Bayeux, Mirecourt, Le Puy,
towns which made the cheaper laces : Arras, etc. '' " Fil de iniilquinerie."

1 88 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XIII.

THE LACE MANUFACTUEES OF FRANCE.

France is a lace-makiiig, as well as a lace-wearing, country.

Of the half a million of lace-makers in Europe, nearly a
quarter of a million are estimated as belonging to France.

Under the impulse of fashion and luxury, lace receives
the stamp of the special style of each country. Italy
furnished its points of Venice and Genoa. The Netherlands,
its Brussels, Mechlin, and Valenciennes. Spain, its silk
l)londes. England, its Honiton. France, its sumptuous
point d'Alencon, and its black lace of Bayeux and Chantilly.
Now, each style is copied by every nation ; and though
France cannot compete with Belgium in the points of
Brussels, or the Valenciennes of Ypres, she has no rival in
her points of Alencon and her white blondes, or her black
silk laces. To begin with Alencon, the only French lace not
made on the pillow.

ALENgON (Dep. Orne), NORMANDY.

"Alenchon est sous Sarthe assis,
II luic divise le pays." — Bomant de Bou.

We have already related how the manufacture of point
lace was established by Colbert. The entrepreneurs had
found the lace industry flourishing at the time of the point
de France. (Page 155.)

Point d'Alencon is mentioned in the Revolte des Passe-
mens, 1661, evidently as an advanced manufacture; but the
monopoly of the privileged workmen — the new-comers —
displeased the old workwomen, and Colbert^ was too despotic

' The name '])oint Colbert, adopted " La bi'ode a toujours existe dans le

in nieniory of the great Minister, is point d'Alencon, aussi que dans le
applied to point laces in high relief. point de Venise, seulement dans le

Plate LIV.

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7'o /ace ;*«.'/'' 188.

ALENfON

189

in his orders prohibiting to make any kind of point except
that of the royal manufactory, and made the people so
indignant that they revolted. The intendant, Favier-
Duboulay, writes to Colbert, August 1665, that one named
Le Prevost, of this town, having given suspicion to the
people that he was about to form an establishment of
" ouvrages de fil," the women to the number of above
a thousand assembled, and pursued him so that, if he had
not managed to escape their fury, he would assuredly have
suffered from their violence. " He took refuge with me," he

Fig. 86.

Colbert + 1683.— M. de Versailles.

WTites, " and I with difficulty appeased the multitude by
assuring them that they would not be deprived of the liberty
of working. It is a fact that for many years the town of
Alencon subsists only by means of these small works of lace :
that the same people make and sell, and in years of scarcity
they subsist only by this little industry, and that wishing to

point d'Alencon les reliefs etaient
moins enleves. On ne mettait pas
seulenient un fil, mais trois, cinq, huit
ou dix fils, siiivant I'epaisseur dvi
relief que Ton voulait obtenir puis,
sur ce bourrage, se faisaient des points

boucles tres serres de facon que la
boucle fut presque sous les fils forniant
le relief. C'est ce point que certains
fabricants nomment point Colbert." —
Madame Despierres, Histoim du Point
(V Alencon. — Page 228, post.

I90 HISTORY OF LACE

take away their liberty, they were so incensed I had great
difficulty in pacifying them."

The Act, it appears, had come from the Parliament of
Paris, but as Alencon is in Normandy, it was necessary to
have the assent of the Parliament of Rouen.

The remonstrance of the intendant (see his letter in
Chap. IX., page 155) met with the attention it deserved.

On September 14th following, after a meeting headed by
Prevost and the Marquis de Pasax, intendant of the city, it
was settled that after the king had found 200 girls, the rest
were at liberty to work as they pleased ; none had permission
to make the fine point of the royal pattern, except those who
worked for the manufactory ; and all girls must show to the
authorities the patterns they intended working, " so that the
King shall be satisfied, and the people gain a livelihood."

The " maitresse dentelliere," Catherine Marcq, writes to
Colbert, November 30th, 1665, complaining of the obstinacy
of the people, who prefer the old work. " Out of 8,000
women, we have got but 700, and I can only count on 250
who at least will have learnt to perfection the Venetian
point, the remainder merely working a month and then
leaving the establishment."

The new points are duly chronicled.^ In 1677 the
Mercure announces, " They make now many points de
France without grounds, and ' picots en campannes ' to all
the five handkerchiefs. We have seen some with little
flowers over the large, which might be styled ' flying
flowers,' being only attached in the centre."

In 1678 it says : " The last points de France have no
brides, the fleurons are closer together. The flowers, which
are in higher relief in the centre, and lower at the edges, are
united by small stalks and flowers, which keep them in their
places, instead of brides. The manner of disposing the
branches, called ' ordonnances,' is of two kinds : the one is a
twirling stalk, which throws out flowers ; the other is regular
— a centre flower, throwing out regular branches on each
side." In October of the same year, the Mercure says:

^ In 1673, July, we read in the d'Espagne avec des brides claires sans

Mercure: — " On fait aussi des dentelles picots; et Ton fait aux nouveaux

k grandes brides, comme aux points points de France des brides qui en

de fil sans raiseau, et des dentelles sont remplies d'un nombre infini."

ALENfON

191

" There lias been no change in the patterns," and it does not
allude to them again. What can these be but Venice pat-
terns ? The flower upon flower — like " fleurs volantes " —
exactly answers to the point in high relief (Fig. 87).

A memoir drawn up in 1698 by M. de Pommereu^ is
the next mention we find of the fabric of Alencon. " The
manufacture of the points de France is also," he says, " one
of the most considerable in the country. This fabric began
at Alencon, where most of the women and girls work at it,
to the number of more than eioht to nine hundred, without
counting those in the country, which are in considerable

Fig. 87.

Venice Point.—" Dentelle Volante.

numbers. It is a commerce of about 500,000 livres per
annum. This point is called ' vilain ' * in the country ; the
principal sale was in Paris during the war, but the demand
increases very much since the peace, in consequence of its
exportation to foreign countries." The numljer of lace-
workers given by M. Pommereu appears small, but Alencon

^ Memoire concernant Ic Generalite
cV Alencon, dresse par M. de Pom-
mereu.' 1698. Bib. Nat. MSS. Fonds
Mortemart, No. 89.

* Vilain, velin, vellum, from the
parchment or vellum upon which it is
made.

" La manufacture des points de

France, appeles dans le pavs velin." —
Savary, Vol. I., p. 108.

" The expression is still used. AVhen
the author inquired at Alencon the
way to the house of Mr. R., a lace
manufacturer, she was asked in return
if it was ' Celui qui fait le velin ? ' " —
Mrs. Palliser.

192

HISTORY OF LACE

manufacture was then on the decline. The death of its
protector, Colbert (1683), and the Revocation of the Edict
of Nantes, which reduced the population one-third, the
industrial families (qui faisaient le principal commerce)
retiring to England and Scotland, the long wars of Louis
XIV,, and, finally, his death in 1715, all contributed to
diminish its prosperity.''

Savary, writing in 1726, mentions the manufacture of
Alencon as not being so flourishing, but attributes it to the
long wars of Louis XIV. He adds, " It still, however,
maintains itself with some reputation at Alencon ; the
magnificence, or, if you like, the luxury of France, sufficing
to keep it up even in war-time ; but it flourishes principally
in peace, in consequence of the large exports to foreign
countries." Russia and Poland were its great marts : and
before the Revolution, Poland estimates the annual value of
the manufacture at 11,000,000 to 12,000,000 livres.' The
workwomen earned from three sous to three livres per day.

In 1680, in Brifaiinia Lanfiucm^, a discourse upon trade,
it states that " the laces commonly called points de Venise
now come mostly from France, and amount to a vast
:sum yearly."

Point d' Alencon is made entirely by hand, with a fine
needle, upon a parchment pattern, in small pieces, afterwards
united by invisible seams. There are twelve processes,
including the design, each of which is executed by a special
workwoman. These can again be subdivided, until the total
number of processes is twenty or twenty-two.' The design.

•'"' In 1788 Arthur Young states the
number of lace-makers at and about
Alencon to be from 8,000 to 9,000."—
Travels in France.

Madame Despierres, however, states
that only 500 or 600 lace-workers
ieft Alencon on the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes, as there were
not 4,000 lace-workers then in the
■toivn.

" He deducts 150,000 livres for the
raw material, the Lille thread, which
was used at prices ranging from
60 to 1 ,600 livres per pound ; from
800 to 900 livres for good fine point ;
but Lille at that time fabricated
thread as high as 1,800 livres per
pound.

" In 1705 ther§ were ten pro-
cesses : — (1) Le dessin ; (2) le picage ;
(3) la trace ; (4) les fonds ; (5) la
dentelure ou bride a picots ; (6) la
brode ; (7) I'enlevage ; (8) I'eboulage ;
(9) le regalage ; (10) I'assemblage.

Mrs. Palliser gives eighteen pro-
cesses, and states that this number is
now reduced to twelve. The work-
women were : — (1) The piqueuse ; (2)
traceuse ; (3) reseleuse ; (4) remplis-
seuse ; (5) fondeuse ; (6) modeuse ;
(7) brodeuse ; (8) ebouleuse ; (9) rega-
leuse ; (10) assembleuse ; (11) tou-
cheuse ; (12) brideuse ; (13) boucleiase ;
(14) gazeuse ; (15) mignonneuse ; (16)
picoteuse ; (17) affineuse ; (18) aflfi-
quese.

Plate LV.

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To' face page 192,

ALENCON

193

engraved upon a copper plate, is printed off in divisions
upon pieces of parchment ten inches long, each numbered
according to its order. Green parchment is now used,
and has been in vogue since 1769, at which date it is noted
in an inventory of Simon Geslin (April 13th, 17G9). The
worker is better able to detect any faults in her work than
on white. The pattern is next pricked upon the parchment,
which is stitched to a piece of very coarse linen folded
double. The outline of the pattern is then formed by two
flat threads, which are guided along the edge by the thumb
of the left hand, and fixed by minute stitches passed, with
another thread and needle, through the holes of the parch-
ment. AVhen the outline is finished, the work is given over
to the " re'seleuse " to make the ground, which is of two
kinds, bride and reseau. The delicate reseau is worked
backwards and forwards from the footing to the picot — of
the bride, more hereafter. Besides the hexagonal bride
ground, and the ground of meshes, there was another variety
of groundino^ used in Aleneon lace. " This OTound consists
of buttonhole-stitched skeleton hexagons, within each of
which was worked a small solid hexaoon connected with the
surrounding figure by means of six little tyes or brides.'
Lace with this particular ground has been called Argentella.^
In making the flowers of Aleneon point, the worker supplies
herself with a Ions; needle and a fine thread ; with these she
works the " point noue " (buttonhole stitch) from left to
right, and when arrived at the end of the flower, the thread
is thrown back from the point of departure, and she works
ao-ain from left to rig-Jit over the thread. This sfives a
closeness and evenness to the work unequalled in any other
point. Then follow the " modes," and other difterent
operations, which completed, the threads which unite lace,

^ " The origin of this name Argen-
tella is obscure, but it was presumed
to imply that the lace was worked in
Genoa or Venice. There is, however,
no evidence of this type of lace being
made there. Another tlieory is that
Argentella is an Italianised title for
the more delicate examples of point
d'Argentan. The character of the
lace and the style of the floral patterns
worked upon mesh grounds are those
of Aleneon laces." In Specimen

1,373-74 in the Victoria and Albert
Museum collection the cordonnet is
done in buttonhole stitches closely
cast over a thread which outlines
various forms in the design — a dis-
tinctive mark of point d'Alencon.
And the hexagonal wheel device in
this example is often to be seen intro-
duced into flounces of point d'Alencon,
of which other portions are composed of
the ordinarv Aleneon ground or reseau.
—A. S. Cole. Fig. 88 and Plate LVII.

194 HISTORY OF LACE

parchment and linen together, are cut with a sharp razor
passed between the two folds of linen, any little defects
repaired, and then remains the great work of uniting all
these segments imperceptibly together. This task devolves
upon the head of the fabric, and is one requiring the greatest
nicety. An ordinary j^air of men's ruffles would be divided
into ten pieces ; but when the order must be executed
quickly, the subdivisions are even greater. The stitch by
which these sections are worked is termed " assemblao;c,"
and differs from the " point de raccroc," where the segments
are united by a fresh row of stitches. At Alencon they are
joined by a seam, following as much as possible the outlines
of the pattern. When finished, a steel instrument, called a
picot, is passed into each fiower, to polish it and remove any
inequalities in its surface. The more primitive lobster-claw
or a wolf's tooth was formerly used for the same purpose.

Point d' Alencon is of a solidity which defies time and
washing, and has been justly called the Queen of Lace. It
is the only lace in which horsehair is introduced along the
edge to give firmness and consistency to the cordonnet,
rendered perhaps necessary to make the point stand up when
exposed to wind, mounted on the towering fabrics then worn
by the ladies. The objection to horsehair is that it shrinks
in washing and draws up the flower from the ground. It
is related of a collar made at Venice for Louis XIII. that the
lace-workers, being unsuccessful in finding sufficiently fine
horsehair, employed some of their own hair instead, in order
s^\^ to secure that marvellous delicacy of work which they aimed
at producing. The specimen, says Lefebure, cost 250 golden
ecus (about sixty pounds). In 1761, a writer, describing
the point de France, says that it does not arrive at the taste
and delicacy of Brussels, its chief defect consisting in the
thickness of the cordonnet, which thickens when put into
water. The horsehair edge also draws up the ground, and
makes the lace rigid and heavy. He likewise finds fault
with the "modes" or fancy stitches of the Alencon, and
states that much point is sent from there to Brussels to have
the modes added, thereby giving it a borrowed beauty ; but
connoisseurs, he adds, easily detect the diflerence.^

AVhen the points of Alencon and Argentan dropped their

Dictionnaire dn Citoycn, Paris, 1761.

Fiff. 88.

Argentella, t)R P(iintii)'Alen<,'i>n a reseau Rosace.— Period Louis XV.

To face page 194.

ALEiYfON

195

c,^eneral designations of " points de France "'" it is difficult
to say. An eminent writer states the name was continued
till the Revolution, but this is a mistake. The last inventory
in which we have found mention of point de France is one
of 1723," while point d'Argentan is noted in 1738,^^ and
point d'Aleneon in 1741, where it is specified to be "a

reseau

" 13

In the accounts of IMadame du Barry, no point d'Aleneon
is mentioned — always point a I'aiguille — and " needle point"
is the name by which point d'Aleneon was alone known in
England during the last century. The purchases of needle
point of Madame du Barry w^ere most extensive. Sleeves
(engageantes) and lappets for 8,400 livres ; court ruffles at
1,100 ; a mantelet at 2,400 ; a veste at 6,500 ; a grande
coeffe, 1,400 ; a garniture, 6,010, etc.^^

In the description of the Department of the Orne drawn
up in 1801, it is stated, "Fifteen years back there were from
7,000 to 8,000 lace-workers at Alencon and its environs :
the fabric of Argentan, whose productions are finer and more
costly, had about 2,000." Almost all these lace-makers,
some of whom made reseau, others the bride ground, passed
into England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the courts of the
north, especially to Russia. These united fabrics produced
to the annual value of at least 1,800,000 fr., and when they
had extraordinary orders, such as " parures " for beds and
other large works, it increased to 2,000,000 fr. (£80,000).
But this commerce, subject to the variable empire of fashion,
had declined one-half even before the Revolution. Now it
is almost nothing, and cannot be estimated at more than
150,000 to 200,000 fr. per annum. "It supported three

^^ Madaiaie Despierres writes on this
head that entries of point d'Aleneon
occur as early as 1663 : —

" 1663, 9 juin — contrat entre Georges
Rouillon, Greffier, et Marie Leroy. . . .

" 1900 liv. gagnees par son industrie
a faire des ouvrages de point d'Alen-
eon."

^^ Inv. de Madame Anne Palatine,
Princesse de Conde. See chap. x.
note 2.

^^ In the Inventory of the Due de
Pen hievre, 1738. See chap. xi.

" " Une coiffure de point d'Aleneon

a raiseau." — Inv. de deces de Made-
moiselle de Clermont, 1741. Again,
1743, Inv. de la Dtichesse de Bourbon.
Bib. Nat.

'* Among the objects of religious
art exhibited in 1864 at the General
Assembly of the Catholics of Belgium
at Malines was a " voile de benedic-
tion," the handkerchief used to cover
the ciborium, of point d'Aleneon, with
figures of the Virgin, St. Catherine,
St. Ursula, and St. Barbara. It be-
longed to the Church of St. Christo-
pher at Charleroi.

196 HISTORY OF LACE

■cities and tlieir territoiy, for that of Seez ^^ Lore its part.
Some black laces are still made at Seez, but they are of little
importance. — P.S. These laces have obtained a little favour
at the last Leipsic fair." ^*^

The manufacture of Alencon was nearly extinct when
the patronage of Napoleon caused it to return almost to its
former prosperity. Among the orders executed for the
Emperor on his marriage with the Empress Marie Louise,
was a bed furniture of great richness. Tester, curtains,
coverlet, pillow-cases. The principal subject represented
the arms of the empire surrounded l;>y bees. From its
elaborate construction, point d' Alencon is seldom met with
in pieces of large size ; the amount of labour therefore
expended on this bed must have been marvellous. Mrs.
Palliser, when at Alencon, was so fortunate as to meet with
a piece of the ground powdered with bees, bought from the
ancient fabric of Mercier, at Lonray, when the stock many
years back was sold off and dispersed (Fig. 89). The
point d'Alencon bees are applique upon a pillow ground,
" vrai reseau," executed probably at Brussels. Part of the
'•' equipage " of the King of Eome excited the universal
admiration of all beholders at the Paris Exhibition of 1855.

Alen9on again fell with the empire. No new workers
were trained, the old ones died off, and as it requires so
many hands to execute even the most simple lace, the
manufacture again nearly died out. In vain the Duchesse
d'Angouleme endeavoured to revive the fabric, and gave
large orders herself ; but point lace had been replaced by
blonde, and the consumption was so small, it was resumed
on a very confined scale. So low had it fallen in 1830,
that there were only between 200 and 300 lace-workers,
whose products did not exceed the value of 1,200 francs
(£48). Again,' in 1836, Baron Mercier, thinking by pro-
ducing it a lower price to procure a more favourable sale, set
up a lace school, and caused the girls to work the patterns
on bobbin net, as bearing some resemblance to the old " point
de bride," but fashion did not favour " point de bride," so
the plan failed.

In 1840 fresh attempts were made to revive the manu-

'® Seez has now no records of its IX. Publiee par ordre du ministre
manufacture. de I'interieur.

"^ Dcscr. du Dep. de VOrne. An

ALENgON

197

facture. Two hundred aged women — all the lace-makers
remainiuo- of this once flounshino; fabric— were collected and
again set to w^ork. . k. new class of patterns w^as introduced,
and the manufacture once more returned to favour and
prosperity. But the difficulties were great. The old point
was made by an hereditary set of workers, trained from their
earliest infancy to the one special work they were to follow

Fig. 89.

Uel) Made for Xapoleon I.

for life. Now new workers had to be procured from other
lace districts, already taught the ground peculiar to their
fabrics. The consequence was, their fingers never could
acquire the art of making the pure Alencon reseau. They
made a good ground, certainly, but it was mixed with their
own early traditions : as the Alencon workers say, " Elles
batardisent les fonds."

In the Exhibition of 1851 were many fine specimens of

198 HISTORY OF LACE

the revived manufacture. One flounce, which was valued
at 22,000 francs, and had taken thirtv-six women eighteen
months to complete, afterwards appeared in the '' corbeille
de mariage " of the Empress Eugenie.

In 1856 most magnificent orders were given for the
imperial layette, a description of which is duly chronicled. ^^
The young Prince was " voue au blanc " ; white, therefore,
was the prevailing colour in the layette. The curtains of
the Imperial infant's cradle w^ere of Mechlin, with Alencon
coverlet lined with satin. The christening robe, mantle, and
head-dress were all of Alencon ; and the three corbeilles,
bearing the imperial arms and cipher, were also covered
with the same point. Twelve dozen embroidered frocks,
each in itself a work of art, were all profusely trimmed with
Alengon, as were also the aprons of the Imperial nurses.

A costly work of Alencon point appeared in the Exhi-
bition of 1855 — a dress, purchased by the Emperor for
70,000 francs (£2,800), and presented by him to the
Empress.

A few observations remain to be made respecting the
dates of the patterns of Alencon point, which, like those of
other laces, will be found to correspond with the archi-
tectural style of decoration of the period. The " corbeilles
de mariage " preserved in old families and contemporary
portraits are our surest guides.

In the eighteenth century the reseau ground was intro-
duced, and soon became universally adopted. After carefully
examinino; the eno-ravinsjs of the time, the collection of
historical portraits at Versailles and other galleries, we find
no traces of Point d'Alencon with the reseau or network
ground in the time of Louis XIV. The laces are all of the
Venetian character, a bride, and Colbert himself is depicted
in a cravat of Italian design ; while, on the other hand,
the daughters of Louis XV. (Mesdames de France) and
the " Filles du Regent " all wear rich points of Alencon
and Argentan.^^ The earlier patterns of the eighteenth
century are flowery and undulating ^^ (^^ig- ^1)^ scarcely

' " Illustrated News, March 22, 1856. '" " Sous Louis XIV. il y avaient

'^ It only requires to compare Figs. de magnifiques rinceaux, guirlandes,

74, 75, 76, and 80, with Figs. 82 and et cornes d'abondance d'ou s'echap-

83 to see the marked difference in the pent de superbes fleurs. Sous Louis

character of the lace. XV. les fabricants changerent encore

ALENgON 199

begun, never ending, into which haphazard are intro-
duced patterns of a liner ground, much as the medallions
of Boucher or Vanloo were inserted in the gilded panellings
of a room. Twined around them appear a variety of jours,
filled up with patterns of endless variety, the whole wreathed
and orarlanded like the decoration of a theatre. Such was
the taste of the day. " Apres moi le deluge"; and the
precept of the favourite was carried out in the style of
design : an insouciance and laisser-aller typical of a people
reijardless of the morrow.

Towards the latter end of the reio-n a chano;e came over
the national taste. It appears in the architecture and
domestic decoration. As the cabriole legs of the chairs are
replaced by the " pieds de daim," so the running patterns of
the lace give place to compact and more stiff designs. The
flowers are rigid and angular, of the style called bizarre, of
almost conventional form. With Louis XVI. beoau the
ground senie with compact little bouquets, all intermixed
with small patterns, spots (pois), fleurons, rosettes, and
tears (larnies) (Fig. 90), which towards the end of the
century entirely expel the bouquets from the ground. The
semes continued during the Empire.

This point came into the liighest favour again during
the Second Empire. Costly orders for trousseaux were given
not only in France, but from Russia and other countries. One
amounted to 150,000 francs (£6,000)— flounce, lappets and
trimmings for the body, pocket-handkerchief, fan, parasol, all
en suite, and, moreover, there were a certain number of metres
of aunage, or border lace, for the layette. The making of
point dAlencon being so slow, it was impossible ever to
execute it " to order " for this purpose.

Great as is the Ijeauty of the workmanship of Aleneon,
it was never able to compete with Brussels in one respect :
its designs were seldom copied from nature, while the fabric
of Brabant sent forth roses and honeysuckles of a correctness
worthy of a Dutch painter.

leurs dessins pour prendre les fleurs des guirlandes et des fleurettes sont

qui s'epanouent et s'ensoulent capri- la base des dessins de cette epoque.
cieusement les unes aux autres. " Sous la republique et le premier

^ " Le style de Louis XVI. n'a rien de empire, les dessins deviennent raides "

I'ainpleur ni de I'elegance des styles (Madame Despierres.)
precedents. Les formes sont arrondies ;

200

HISTORY OF LACE

This defect is now altered. The desiirns of the lace are
admirable copies of natural flowers, intermixed w^ith grasses
and ferns, which give a variety to the form of the leaves.

Alencon point is now successfully made at Burano near
Venice, in Brussels, at Alen9on itself, and at Bayeux, where

o
3

the fabric was introduced, in 1855, by M. iVuguste Lefebure,
a manufacturer of that town. Departing from the old
custom of assigning to each lace-maker a special branch
of the work, the lace is here executed throuQ-h all its stages
by the same worker. Perhaps the finest example of point
d' Alencon exhibited in 18G7 was the produce of the

To face pagu 200.

ALENfON 201

Bayeux fabric ; a dress consisting of two flounces, the pat-
tern, flowers, and foliage of most artistic and harmonious
design, relieved by the new introduction of shaded tints,
giving to the lace the relief of a picture.'" The ground
(point a I'aiguille) was worked with the* greatest smoothness
and regularity, one of the great technical ditflculties when
such small pieces have to be joined together. The price of
the dress was 85,000 francs (£3,400). It took forty women
seven years to complete.

In the Exhibition of 1889 in Paris, Alencon itself showed
the best piece of lace that had taken 16,500 working days
to make.

2^ This effect is produced by vary- grille, the more open part of the pat-

ing the appUcation of the two stitches tern. The systena has been adopted

used in making the flowers, the toiU, in France, Belgium, and England, but

which forms the close tissue, and the with most success in France.

202 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XIV.

ARGENTAN (Dep. Oene).

"Vous qui voulez d'Argentan faire conte,
A sa grandeur arreter ne faut ;
Petite elle est, niais en beaute surnionte
Maintes cites, car rien ne lui defaut ;
Elle est assise en lieu plaisant et liaut,
De tout cote a prairie, a campaigne,
Un tleuve aussi, oii maint poisson se baigne,
Des bois epais, suffisans pour nourrir
Biches et cerfs qui sont prompts a courir ;
Plus y trouvez, tant elle est bien garnie.
Plus au besoin nature secourir
Bon air, bon vin, et bonne compagnie ! "

— Des Maisons. 1517.

The name of the little town of Argentan, whose points long
rivalled those of Alencon, is familiar to English ears as
connected with our Norman kings. Argentan is mentioned
by old Robert Wace as sending its sons to the conquest of
England.^ It was here the mother of Heniy II. retired in
1130 ; and the imperial eagle borne as the arms of the town
is said to be a memorial of her long sojourn. Here the first
Plantagenet held the " cour pleniere," in which the invasion
of Ireland was arranered ; and it was here he uttered those
rash words which prompted his adherents to leave Argentan
to assassinate Thomas a Becket."^

But, apart from historic recollections, Argentan is cele-
l)rated for its point lace. A " bureau " for points de France
was established at Aro;entan at the same time as the bureau
at Alencon (1665), and was also under the direction of
Madame Ratiy. In a letter dated November 23rd, 1665,
she writes to Colbert : " Je suis tres satisfaite de la publication
a son de trompe d'un arret qui ordonne aux ouvrieres

' " Li boen citean de Roeni, ^ Henry founded a chapel at Ar-

E la Jovante de Caem, gentan to St. Thomas of Canter-

E de Falaise e d'Argentoen." bury.
• — Homan de Eon.

Point d'Argentan. — ]\Iodern reproduction at Burano of the flounce now belonging to the

is evidently wrong, as the design and execution is of fifty years la

Photo

waat

Platk LVI.

the
slat

'low

■own of Italy, said formerly to have belonged to Paul de Gondy, Cardinal de Retz 1614-79.
date, but it is a fine specimen of an ecclesiastical flounce. Height, 24 in.
llBurano School.

This

Ei'tweeii pwjOi 20-1 ami -JO.'J.

ARGENTAN

203

d'Argentan de travailler uniquement pour la bureau de la
manufacture royale."

Point d'Argentan has been thought to be especially

distinguished by its hexagonally-arranged brides ; but this

has also been noticed as a peculiarity of certain Venetian

point laces. The bride ground, to which we have before

alluded in the notice of Aleneon, was of very elaborate

construction, and consists of a large six-sided mesh, worked

over with the buttonhole stitch. It was always printed on

the parchment pattern, and the upper angle of the hexagon

is pricked. After the hexagon is formed, by passing the

needle and thread round the pins in a way too complicated

to be worth explaining, the six sides are worked over with

seven or eight buttonhole stitches in each side. The bride

ground was consequently very strong. It was much affected

in France ; the reseau was more preferred abroad.^ At the

present time, it is usual to consider the point d'Alencon as a

lace with a fine reseau, the mesh of which is more square

than hexagonal in form, worked by looped stitches across

horizontal lines of thread, with the flower or ornament

worked in fine point stitches, closely resembling the gimp

or ornament in the point de Venise a reseau, and outlined

by a cordonnet of the finest buttonhole stitches worked over

a horsehair or threads, while point d'Argentan is a lace with

similar work as regards flower, ornament, and cordonnet, but

with a hexag;onal bride o;round, each side of the hexagon

beino; of the finest buttonhole stitchino-s. Reo;ardino; the

dale of the introduction of the reseau, the large hexagonal

" grande bride" would appear to follow from the points de

Venise, Argentan being named before Aleneon a reseau.

Madame Despierres, however, is of opinion that Argentan

simplified the usual reseau by adopting the Ijride tortille

{i.e., twisting the threads round each mesh instead of the

more arduous buttonhole stitchingT. Aleneon would then

^ " The average size of a diagonal,
taken from angle to angle, in an Alen-
eon or so-called Argentan hexagon was
about \ of an inch, and each side of
the hexagon was about -^^^ of an inch.
An idea of the minuteness of the work
can be formed from the fact that a
side of a hexagon would be overcast
"with some nine or ten buttonhole

stitches " (A. S. Cole). " So little is
the beautiful workmanship of this
ground known or understood, that the
author has seen priceless flowers of
Argentan relentlessly cut out and
transferred to bobbin net, ' to get rid
of the uglv, old, coarse ground ' " (Mrs.
Palliser, 1869).

204

HISTORY OF LACE

have copied back the petites brides of small hexagonal
twisted or buttonholed meshes in Louis XVL's reis^n. To
this again succeeded the looped reseau of very thick thread.

With the view of showing- that Alencon and Aro;entan
were intimately connected the one with the other in the
manufacture of lace, M. Dupont says that, whereas consider-
able mention has been made in various records of the
establishment at Alencon of a lace factory, trace of such
records with regard to Alencon cannot be found. A family
of thread and linen dealers, by name Monthulay, are credited
with the establishment of a branch manufactory or succursale
for lace at Aro;entan.

The Monthulays, then, sowed Alengon seeds at Argentan,
which developed into the so-called Argentan lace. In almost
all respects it is the same as Alencon work.'* The two towns,
separated by some ten miles, had communications as frequent
as those which passed between Alencon and the little village
of Vimoutier, eighteen miles distant, where one workman in
particular produced what is known as the true Alencon lace.
If a work were made at Argentan, it was called Argentan, if
at Alencon, Alencon, though both might have been produced
from the same desicrns.

In 1708, the manufacture had almost fallen to decay,
when it was raised by one Sicur Mathieu Guyard, a merchant
mercer at Paris, who states that " his ancestors and himself
had for more than 120 years been occupied in fabricating
black silk and white thread lace in the environs of Paris."
He applies to the council of the king for permission to re-
establish the fabric of Argentan and to employ workwomen
to the number of 600. He asks for exemption- from lodging

* " Les trois sortes de brides comme
champ sont executees dans ces deux
fabriques, et les points ont ete et sont
encore faits par les nienies procedes de
fabrication, et avec les inemes matieres
textiles," writes Madame Despierres.
Mrs. Palliser, on the other hand, was
of opinion that the two manufactures
were distinct, "though some lace-
makers near Ligneres-la-Doucelle
worked for both establishments. Alen-
con made the finest reseau ; Argentan
specially excelled in the bride. The
flowers of Argentan were bolder and
larger in pattern, in higher relief,

heavier and coarser than those of
Alen9on. The toile was flatter and
more compact. The workmanship dif-
fered in character. On the clear bride
ground this lace was more effective
than the minuter workmanship of
Alen9on ; it more resembled the Vene-
tian. Indeed, so close is its resem-
blance that many of the fine garni-
tures de robe, aprons, and tunics that
have survived the revolutionary storm
would be assigned to Venice, did not
their pedigree prove them to be of
the Argentan fabric" (Mrs. Palliser,
1869).

ARGENTAN 205

soldiers, begjs to have the royal arms placed over his door,
and stipulates that Monthulay, his draughtsman and engraver,
shall be exempted from all taxes except the capitation. The
Arret obtained by C4uyard is dated July 24th, 1708.

Guyard's children continued the fabric. Monthulay went
over to another manufacturer, and was replaced in 1715 l)y
Jacques James, who, in his turn, was succeeded by his
daughter, and she took as her partner one Sieur De La Leu.
Other manufactures set up in competition with Guyard's ;
among others that of Madame Wyriot, whose factor, Du
Ponehel, was in open warfare with the rival house.

The marriage of the Dauphin, in 1744, was a signal for
open hostilities. Du Ponehel asserted that Mademoiselle
James enticed away his workmen, and claimed protection,
on the PTOund that he worked for the kino- and the court.
But on the other side, " It is I," writes De La Leu to the
intendant, on behalf of Mademoiselle James, " that supply
the ' Chambre du Roi ' for this year, by order of the Duke
de Richelieu. I too have the honour of furnishing the
' Garderobe du Roi,' by order of the grand master, the Duke
de La Rochefoucault. Besides which, I furnish the King
and Queen of Spain, and at this present moment am supply-
ing lace for the marriage of the Dauphin." ^ Du Ponehel
rejoins, " that he had to execute two ' toilettes et leurs
suites, nombre de bourgognes *^ et leurs suites ' for the Queen,
and also a cravat, all to be worn on the same occasion." Du
Ponehel appears to have had the better interest with the
controller-general ; for the quarrel ended in a prohibition to
the other manufacturers to molest the women working for
Du Ponehel, though the Maison Guyard asked for recipro-
city, and maintained that their opponents had suborned and
carried off more than a hundred of their hands.'

The number of lace-makers in the town of Argentan and
its environs at this period amounted to nearly 1,200. In a
list of 111 who worked for the Maison Guyard appear the

° Letter of September 19th, 1744. asked what he had been about, answers,

® "Burgoigne, the first part of the "Sir, I was coming to Mademoiselle

dress for the head next the hair." — Furbelow, the French uailliner, for

Mztndus MuUebi-is. 1609. " Bui'goigin, a new Burgundy for my lady's

the part of the head-dress that covers head."

up the head." — Ladies' Dictionary. ^ The offenders, manufacturers and

1694. In Farquhar's comedy of " Sir workwomen, incurred considerable

Harry Wildair," 1700, Parley, when fines.

2o6 HISTORY OF LACE

names of many of the good bourgeois families of the county
of Alencon, and even some of noble birth, leadino- one to
infer that making point lace was an occupation not disdained
by ladies of poor but noble houses.

De La Leu, who, by virtue of an ordinance, had set up a
manufacture on his own account, applies, in 1745, to have
200 workwomen at Arffentan, and 200 at Carrousfcs,
delivered over to his factor, in order that he may execute
works ordered for the King and the Dauphin for the
approaching fetes of Christmas. This time the magistrate
resists. " I have been forced to admit," he writes to the
intcndant, " that the workmen cannot be transferred by
force. We had an example when the layette of the Dauphin
was being made. You then gave me the order to furnish a
certain number of women who worked at these points to the
late Sieur de Monthulay. A detachment of women and girls
came to my house, with a female captain (capitaine femelle)
at their head, and all with one accord delared that if forced
to work they would make nothing but cobbling (bousillage).
Partly by threats, and partly by entreaty, I succeeded in
compelling about a dozen to go, but the Sieur de Monthulay
was obliged to discharge them the next day.^ I am there-
fore of opinion that the only way is for M. De -La Leu to
endeavour to get some of the workwomen to suborn others
to work for him under the promise of higher wages than
they can earn elsewhere. M. De La Leu agrees with me
there is no other course to pursue ; and I have promised him
that, in case any appeal is made to me, I shall answer that
thincrs must be so, as the work is doinsf for the kins;." From
this period we have scarcely any notices concerning the fabric
of A rg en tan.

In 1763 the widow Louvain endeavoured to establish at
Mortagne (Orne) a manufacture of lace like that of Alencon
and Argentan, and proposed to send workers from these two
towns to teach the art gratuitously to the girls of Mortagne.
We do not know what became of her project ; but at the
same period the Epoux Malbiche de Boislaunay applied for
permission to establish an office at Argentan, with the
ordinary exemptions, under the title of Royal Manufacture.
The title and exemptions were refused. There were then

Nov. 12th, 1745.

T(i face page 206.

ARGENT AN

207

(1763) at Argentan three manufactures of point de France,
without counting the general hospital of St. Louis, in which
it was made for the profit of the institution, and evidently
with success ; for in 1764, a widow Roger was in treaty
with the hospital to teach her two daughters the fabrication
of point d'Argentan. They were to be boarded, and give
six years of their time. The fine on non-performance was
80 livres. In 1781, the Sieur Gravelle Desvallees made a
fruitless application to establish a manufacture at Argentan ;
nor could even the children of the widow AVyriot obtain a
renewal of the privilege granted to their mother.^ Gravelle
was ruined by the Revolution, and died in 1830.

Arthur Young, in 1788, estimates the annual value of
Argentan point at 500,000 livres.

Taking these data, we may fix the reigns of Louis XV.
and Louis XVI. as the period wdien point d'Argentan was at
its highest prosperity. It appears in the inventories of the
personages of that time ; most largely in the accounts of
Madame du Barry (from 1769 to 1773), who patronized
Argentan equally with point d'Angleterre and point a I'aiguille.
In 1772, she pays 5,740 francs for a complete garniture.
Lappets, flounces, engageantes, collerettes, aunages, fichus,
are all supplied to her of this costly fabric.^"

One specialite in the Argentan point is the " bride
picotee," a remnant, perhaps, of the early Venetian teaching.
It consists of the six-sided button-hole bride, fringed with a
little row of three or four picots or pearls round each side.
It was also called " bride epinglee," because pins were pricked
in the parchment pattern, to form these picots or boucles
(loops) on ; hence it was sometimes styled " bride bouclee." ^^

^ In 1765, under the name of
Duponchel.

^" 1772. Un ajustement de point
d'Argentan —

Les 6 rangs manchettes.
1/3 pour devant de gorge.
4 au. 1/3 festonne des

deux eostes, le fichu et

une garniture de fichu

de nuit 2,500 livres.

1 au 3/4 ruban de point

d'Argentan, a 100 . . 175 —
Une collerette de point

d'Argentan .... 360 —
— (Comjjtes de Madame du Barry.)

1781. " Une nappe d'autel garnie
d'une tres belle dentelle de point
d'Argentan." — Inv. de VEglise de St.
Gervais. Arch. Nat. L. 654.

1789. "Item, un parement de robe
consistant en garniture, deux paires
de manchettes, et fichu, le tout de
point d'Argentan." (Dans la garde-
robe de Madame.) — Inv. de deces de
Mgr. de Due de Duras. Bib. Nat.
MSS. F. Fr. 11,440.

'^ " Une coiffure bride a picot
complete." — Inv. de deces de Made-
moiselle de Clermont, 1741.

2o8 HISTORY OF LACE

The " eeaille de poisson " reseau was also much used at
Alencon and Aro;entan.

The manner of making " bride picotee " is entirely
lost. Attempts were made to recover the art some years
since (1869), and an old workwoman was found who had
made it in her girlhood, but she proved incapable of bringing
the stitch back to her memory, and the project was
given up.'"^

Point d'Argentan disappeared, and was re-established
in 1708 ; but though a few specimens were produced at
the Exhibition of Industry in 1808, the industry died out in
1810.'^ It was again revived with some success by M. M.
Lefebure in 1874. In January 1874, with the assistance of
the mayor, he made a search in the greniers of the Hotel
Dieu, and discovered three specimens of point d'Argentan
in progress on the parchment patterns. One was of bold
pattern with the " grande bride " ground, evidently a man's
ruffle ; the other had the barette or bride ground of point
de France ; the third picotee, showing that the three descrip-
tions of lace were made contemporaneously at Argentan.

The author of a little pamphlet on Argentan, M.
Eugene '* de Lonlay, remembers having seen in his youth
in the Holy week, in the churches of St. Martin and St,
Germain, the statues of the apostles covered from head to
foot with this priceless point.

Aro;entan is now much made at Burano. Plate LVI.
illustrates one of their fine reproductions.

^^ These details on the manufacture '^ Embroidery has replaced this

of Argentan have been furnished from industrj- among the workers of the

the archives of Alencon through the town and the hand-spinning of hemp

kindness of M. Leon de la Sicotiere, among those of the countrj-.

the learned archaeologist of the Depart- ^* Leg end e du point d'Argentan,

ment of the Orne (Mrs. Palliser, 1869). M. Eugene de Lonlay.

Plate LVH.

French. Point d'Argentan. — Eighteenth century. Period Louis XV. Needle-point

borders. Both these have the hexagonal ground of the genre "Argentan." The upper

one is chiefly filled in with the "oeil de perdrix " or " reseau rosac6." Width, 3f in.

The lower one has been pieced together. Width, 7 in.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

To face parje 208.

209

CHAPTER XV.

ISLE DE FRANCE.— PARIS (DAp. Seine).

"Quelle henre est-il ?
Passe midi.
; Qui vous I'a dit '?

Une petite souris.
Que fait-elle?
De la dentelle.
Pour qui ?
La reine de Paris." — Old Nursery Song.

Early in the seventeenth century, lace was extensively
made in the environs of Paris, at Louvres, Gisors, Villiers-
le-Bel, Montmorency, and other localities. Of this we have
confirmation in a work^ published 1634, in which, after
commenting upon the sums of money spent in Flanders for
" ouvrages etpassemens," tant de point couppe que d'autres,"
which the king had put a stop to by the sumptuary law of
1633, the author says : — " Pour empescher icelle despence,
il y a toute I'lsle de France et autres lieux qui sont remplis
de plus de di:^ mille families dans lesquels les enfans de I'un
et I'autre sexe, des I'age de dix ans ne sont instruits qu'a la
manufacture desdits ouvrages, dont il s'en trouve d'aussi
beaux et bien faits que ceux des etrangers ; les Espagnols,
qui le sfavent, ne s'en fournissent ailleurs."

Who first founded the lace-making of the Isle de France
it is difticult to say ; a great part of it was in the hands
of the Huguenots, leading us to suppose it formed one of
the numerous " industries " introduced or encouraged by

^ Nouveau Reglement General snr " passemens de fil," very fine and

toutes sortes de Marchandises et Manu- delicately worked. Laffemas, in his

factures qui sont utiles et necessaires Beglement General pour dresser les

dans CO Boyaume, etc., par M. le Mar- Manu factures du Royaume, 1597,

quis de la Gomberdiere. Paris, 1634. estimates the annual cost of these

In 8vo. " passemens " of every sort, silk stock-

2 M. Fournier says that France was ings, etc., at 800,000 crowns. Mont-

at this time tributary to Flanders for chrestien, at above a million.

2IO

HISTORY OF LACE

Henry IV. and Sully. Point de Paris, mignonette, bisette,
and other narrow cheap laces were made, and common
guipures were also fal)ricated at 8t. Denis, Ecouen, and
Groslay. From 1665 to the French E evolution, \}ii^ exigen-
cies of fashion requiring a superior class of lace, the work-
w^omen arrived gradually at making point of remarkable
fineness and superior execution. The lappet (Fig. 94) is a
good example of the delicacy of the fine point de~ Paris.

Fig. 94.

Point hk Paris.— EeiliKe<l.

The ground resembles the fond chant, the six-pointed star
meshed reseau.

Savary, who wrote in 1726, mentions how, in the
Chateau de Madrid, there had long existed a manufacture of
points de France.^ A second fabric was established by the
Comte de Marsan,* in Paris, towards the end of the same
century. Having brought over from Brussels his nurse,

^ This was established b^f Colbert,
and there they made, as well as at
Aurillac, the finest pillow lace in the
style of point d'Angleterre. This
manufacture was encouraged by the

King and the Court, and its produc-
tions were among tlie choicest of the
points de France.

^ Youngest son of the Comte d'Har-
court.

3 r-' ~

01 ^

S3
§35.

To face piige "J 10.

ISLE DE FRANCE 211

named Dumont, with lier four daughters, she asked him, as
a reward for the care she had bestowed upon him in his
infancy, to obtain for lier the privilege of setting up in Paris
a manufactory of point de France. C^olbert granted the
request : Dumont was established in the Faubourg St.
Antoine — classic land of embroidery from early times— cited
in the " Eevolte des Passemens," "Telle Broderie qui n'avoit
jamais este plus loin que du Faubourg S. Antoine au
Louvre." A " cent Suisse " of the king's was appointed as
guard before the door of her house. In a short time
Dumont had collected more than 200 girls, among whom
were several of o;ood birth, and made beautiful lace
called point de France. Her fabric was next transferred
to Rue Saint Sauveur, and subsequently to the Hotel
Saint-Chaumont, near the Porte St. Denis. Dumont after-
wards went to Portugal, leaving her fabric under the
direction of Mademoiselle de Marsan. But, adds the
historian, as fashion and taste often change in France,
people became tired of this point. It. proved difficult to
wash ; the flowers had to be raised each time it was cleaned ;
it was thick and unbecoming to the face. Points d'Espagne
were now made instead, with small flowTrs, which, being
very fine, was more suitable for a lady's dress. Lastly, the
taste for Mechlin lace comino- in, the manufacture of Dumont
was entirely given up.^

In the time of Louis XIV. the commerce of lace was
distributed in different localities of Paris, as we learn from
the " Livre Commode"" already quoted. The gold laces,
forming of themselves a special commerce, had their shops
in the " rue des Bourdonnais (in which silk laces were
especially sold) and the rue Sainte-Honore, entre la place
aux Chats et les piliers des Halles," while the rue Betizy
retained for itself the specialite of selling "points et
dentelles."

The gold and silver laces of Paris, commonly known as
points d'Espagne,^ often embellished with pearls and other

^ Vie de J. -Bap. Colbert. (Printed The manufacture of gold lace in Paris

in the Archives Curienses.) was, however, prior to Colbei't.

^ " Livre commode ou les Adienes " 1732, un bord de point d'Espagne

de la Ville de Paris " for 1692. d'or de Paris, a fonds de reseau." —

'' For the introduction of the gold Gardcrohe de S. A. S. Mr/r. Ic Due de

point of Spain into France, see Spain. Penthievre. Arch. Nat. Iv. K. 390-1.

P 2

212 HISTORY OF LACE

ornaments, were for years renowned throughout all Europe ;
and, until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, an object
of great commerce to France. Its importance is shown by
the sumptuary edicts of the seventeenth century forbidding
its use, and also by its mention in the Revolte des Passemens.
It was made on the pillow. Much was exported to Spain
and the Indies. How those exiled workmen were received
by the Protestant princes of Europe, and allowed to establish
themselves in their dominions, to the loss of France and
the enrichment of the lands of their adoption, will be told
in due time, when we touch on the lace manufactures of
Holland and Germany. (Plate LVIII.)

Since 1784, little lace has been made in Paris itself, but
a large number of lace-makers are employed in applying
the flowers of Binche and Mirecourt upon the 1)obbin-net
grounds.

CHANTILLY (Di^p. Oise).

" Dans sa poinpe elegante admirez Chantilli,
De heros en heros, d'age en age embelli."

— Delille. Lcs Jardins.

Although there lona; existed lace-makers in the environs
of Paris, the establishment for which Chantilly was celebrated
owes its formation to Catherine de Rohan, Duchesse de
Longueville, who sent for workwomen from Dieppe and
Havre to her chateau of Etrepagny, where she retired at
the l^eginning of the seventeenth century, and established
schools.

The town of Chantilly, being the centre of a district of
lace-makers, has given its name to the laces of the sur-
rounding district, the trade being distributed over more
than a hundred villages, the principal of which are Saint-
Maximien, Viarmes, Meric, Luzarches, and Dammartin.
The proximity to Paris, affording a ready sale for its pro-
ductions, caused the manufacture to prosper, and the narrow
laces w^hich they first made — gueuse and point de Paris —
were soon replaced by guipures, white thread, and black
silk lace.^ Some twenty years since there dwelt at Cliantilly

^ In Statistique de la France, 1800, at Fontenay, Puisienx, IMorges, and
the finest silk lace is said to be made Louvres-en-Parisis. The coarse and

Plate LVIII.

French (or Dutch).— Borders of gold and silver thread and gimp lace. Eighteenth
century. From the Treasury of St. Mary's Church, Dantzig. Widths : IJ, 1^ and 4i in.

Victoria and Albert IMuseum.

To face page 212.

CHANTILLY 213

an elderly lady, grand-daughter of an old proprietor, who
had in her possession one of the original pattern-books
of the fabric, with autograph letters of Marie Antoinette,
the Princess de Lamballe, and other ladies of the court,
giving their orders and expressing their opinion on the
laces produced. We find in the inventories of the last
century. " coeffure de cour de dentelle de soye noire,"
" mantelet garni de dentelles noires," a " petite duchesse
et une respectueuse," and other " coeffes," all of " dentelle
de soye noire." ^

White blonde appears more sparingly. The Duchesse de
Duras has " une paire de manchettes a trois rangs, deux
fichus et deux paires de sabots en blonde." '" The latter
to wear, probably, with her " robe en singe." Du Barry
purchases more largely. ^^ See pages 181, 182, and 224.

Fig. 96 is a specimen taken from the above-mentioned
pattern-book ; the flowers and ground are of the same silk,
the flowers worked en grille (see CUiap. III., grille), or open
stitch, instead of the compact tissue of the " blondes mates,"
of the Spanish style. The cordonnet is a thicker silk strand,
flat and untwisted. This is essentially " C^hantilly lace."
The flllinffs introduced into the flowers and other ornaments
in ( 'liantillv lace are mesh grounds of old date, which,
according to the district where they were made, are called
vitre, mariage, and cinq trous. Chantilly first created the
blaclv: silk lace industry, and deservedly it retains her name,
whether made there or in Calvados. Chantilly black lace
has always been made of silk, but from its being a grenadine,
not; a shining silk, a common error prevails that it is of
thread, whereas black thread lace has never been m.ade

coimiion kinds at Montmorency, " " Une fraise a deux rangs de

Villiers-le-Bel, Sarcelles, Ecouen, blonde tres fine, grande hauteur, 120 1.

Saint-Brice, Groslay, , Gisors, Saint- "Une paire de sabots de la nienie

Pierre-les-Champs, Etrepagny, etc. blonde, 84 1.

Peuchet adds : " II s'y fait dans Paris " Un fichu en colonette la fraise

et ses environs une grande quantite garnie k deux rangs d'une tres belle

de dentelles noires dont il se fait des blonde fond d'Alencon, 120 1.

expeditions considerables." It was " Un pouff borde d'un plisse de

this same black silk lace which raised blonde tournante fond d'Alencon, a

to so high a reputation the fabrics of bouquets tres fins et des bouillons

Chantilly. de meme blonde." This wonderful

" Inv. lie iJecc8 de la Duchesse de coiffure being finished with " Un beau

Mod hie. 1761. panache de quatre plumes couleurs

^" Inv. de deccs du Due de Duras. imperiales, 108 1."
1789.

214

H] STORY OF LACE

either at Cliantilly or Bayeux. The distinguishing feature
of this lace is ilio, fond chant (an abbreviation of Chantilly),
the six-pointed star reseau, or, as it is better described, a
diamoncl crossed by two horizontal threads.

Chantillv fell with '93. Beinor considered a Royal fabric,
and its productions made for the nobility alone, its unfortu-
nate lace-workers became the victims of revolutionary fury,
and all perished, with their patrons, on the scati'old. We
hear no more of the manufacture until the Empire, a period
during which Chantilly enjoyed its greatest prosperity. In
1805, white blonde became the rage in Paris, and the work-
women were chiefly employed in its fabrication. The
Chantilly laces were then in high repute, and much exported.

Fig. 96.

Chantilly.— Keduccd.— From one of the Ordei- r.ooks. temp. Louis X^'I.

the black, especially, to Spain and her American colonies ;
no other manufactories could produce mantillas, scarfs, and
other large pieces of such great beauty. It was then they
made those rich large-patterned blondes called by. the French
" l)londes mates," by the Spaniards '' trapeada," the prevailing
style since the First Empire.

About 1835 black lace again came into vogue, and the
lace-makers were at once set to work at making black silk
laces with double ground, and afterwards they revived the
hexagonal ground of the last century, called fond d'Alencon,^^
for the production of which they are celebrated.

The lace industry has been driven away from Chantilly
by the increase in the price of labour consequent on its
vicinity to the capital. The lace manufacturers, unable to

'- Sec presediug note.

CHAN TILLY 215

pay .sudi high salaries, retired to (lisors, where in 1851 there
were from 8,000 to 9,000 lace-makers. They continued to
make the finest lace some years longer at (Jhantilly ; but now
she has been supplanted by the laces of Calvados, (Jaen, and
Bayeux, which are similar in material and in mode of
fabrication. The generally so-called Chantilly shawls are
the production of Bayeux.

2l6

HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XVI.

NORMANDY.

"Dangling thy liands like bobbins before thee.".'

— Congreve, Way of the World.

SEINE inf:6kieure.

Lace forms an essential part of the costume of the Normandy
peasants. The wondrous " Bourgoin," ^ with its long lappets
of rich lace, descended from generation to generation, but
little varied from the cornefctes of the fourteenth and fifteentli
centuries (Fig. 97). The countrywomen wore their lace at
all times, when it was not replaced by the cotton nightcap,
without much regard to the general effect of their daily
clothes. " Madame the hostess," writes a traveller in 1739,
" made her appearance in long lappets of Ijone lace, with a
sack of linsey wolsey."

The manufactures of the Pays de Caux date from the
beginning of the sixteenth century. It appears to have
been the first centre in Normandy, as in 1661 Havre laces
occur in the Revolte des Passemens. Lace-making was the
principal occupation of the wives and daughters of the
mariners and fishermen. In 1692, M. de tSainte-Aignan,
governor of Havre, found it employed 20,000 women.-^

^ " The bourgoin is formed of white,
stiffly-starched muslin, covering a
paste-board shape, and rises to a great
height above the head, frequently
diminishing in size towards the top,
where it hnishes in a circular form.
Two long lappets hang from either
side towards tlie back, composed often
of the finest lace. The bourgoins
throughout Normandy are not alike."
— Mm. Stotliard's Tour in Normandy.

■^ This must have included Hontleur
and other siu'rounding localities.

By a paper on the lace trade {Mcin.

concernant le Commerce des Dentelles,-
1704. Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 14,294),
we find that the making of " dentelles
de bas prix," employed at Eouen,
Dieppe, Le Havre, and throughout the
Pays de Caux, the Bailliage of Caen,
at Lyons, Le Puy, and other parts of
France, one quarter of the population
of all classes and ages from six to
seventy years. These laces were all
made of Haarlem thread. See Hol-
land.

" The lace-makers of Havre," writes
Peuchet, " work both in black and

NORMANDY

2^y

It was in the province of Normandy, as comprised in its
ancient extent, that the lace trade made the most rapid

Fig. 97,

I Cauchoise.— From an engraving of the eighteenth century.

increase in the eighteenth century. From Arras to St.

white points, from 5 sous to 30 francs Much is transported to foreign coun-

the ell. They are all employed by tries, even to the East Indies, the

a certain number of dealers, who pur- Southern Seas, and the islands of

chase the produce of their pillows. America."

2l8

HISTORY OF LACE

Mulo more than thirty centres of manufacture established
themselves, imitating with success the laces of Mechlin ; the
guipures of Flanders ; the fond clair, or single ground, then
called point de Bruxelles ; point de Paris ; Ijlack thread
laces, and also those guipures enriched with gold and silver,
so much esteemed for church ornament. The manufactures
of Havre, Honfleur, Bolbec, Eu, Fecamp, and Dieppe were
most thriving. They made double and single grounds,
guipure, and a kind of thick Valenciennes, such as is still
made in the little town of Honfleur and its environs.
In 1692 the number of lace-makers at Havre and its
environs was not less than 22,000. (*orneille,^ 1707,
declares the laces of Havre to be " tres recherchees " ;
and in an engraving, 1688, representing a " marchande
lingere en sa boutique," "^ among the stock in trade,
together with the points of Spain and England, are
certain " cartons " labelled " Point du Havre." It appears
also in the inventory of Colbert, who considered it worthy
of trimming his pillow-cases and his camisoles ; '" and
Madame de Simiane'^ had two " toilettes garnies de den telle
du Havre," with an " estuy a peigne," en suite.

Next in rank to the points du Havre came the laces of
Dieppe and its environs, which, says an early writer of the
eighteenth century, rivalled the " Industrie " of Argentan
and Caen. The city of Dieppe alone, with its little colony
of Saint-Nicolas-d'Aliermont (a village two leagues distant,
inhabited by the descendants of a body of workmen who
retired from the bom1)ardment of Dieppe),' employed 4,000
lace-makers. A writer in 1761 '"" says, " A constant trade is
that of laces, which yield only in precision of design and fine-
ness to those of Mechlin ; but it has never been so consider-

^ Dictionnaire Gcogrnphiqnc. T.
Corneille. 1707.

•* Gravares dc Modes. Aix-h. Xat.
M., 815-23.

■' " 1683. Deux housses de toille
piqnee avec dentelle du Havre deux
camisolles de pareille toille et de den-
telle du Havre." — Inv. fait apres le
decedz de Monseigneur Colbert. Bib.
Nat. MSS. Suite de Mortemart, 34.

''' " 1651. Un tour d'autel de dentelle
du Havre." — Inv. dcs meuhles de la
Sacristiede VOratoire de Jesus, dParis.
3^ib. Nat. MSS. F. F. 8621.

" 1681. Una clieniisette de toile de
Marseille picquee garnye de dentelle
du Havre." — Inv. d'Anne d'Escon-
hleau de Sourdis, veuve de Francois
de Siniiane. Arch. Nat. M. M.
802.

"• " Les ouvriers n'etant apparem-
rnent rappeles par aucune possession
dans cette ville, lorsqu'elle fut retablie,
ils s'v sont etablis et ont transmis leur
travail a la posterite." — Peuchet.

* Point de Dieppe appears among
the already-quoted lace boxes of
1688.

Plate LIX,

^rrm5q£ m>^9l^>^^ 'i^>f» iiM^

French, Chantilly. Flounce, Black Silk, Bobbin-made. — Much reduced.

Plate LX.

iPrench, Le Puy. Black Silk Guipure, Bobbin-made.
Photos by A. Dryden from laces the property of Mr. Arthur Blackborne.

2'u Jiice page 218.

NORMANDY

219

able as it was at the end of the seventeenth century.
Although it has slackened since about 1745 for the amount
of its productions, which have diminished in value, it has
not altogether fallen. As this work is the occupation of
women and girls, a great number of whom have no other
means of subsistence, there is also a large number of dealers
who buy their laces, to send them into other parts of the
kingdom, to Spain, and the islands of America, This trade
is free, without any corporation ; but those who make lace
without beinsf mercers cannot sell lace thread, the sale of
which is very lucrative."^

iVbout twenty years later we read. " The lace maimfacture,
which is very ancient, has much diminished since the points,

Fig. 98.

Petit Poussin.— Dieppe.

emljroidered muslins, and gauzes have gained the preference ;
yet good workers earn suiticient to live comfortal:)ly ; but
those who have not the requisite dexterity would do well to
seek some other trade, as inferior lace-workers are una])le to
earn suffi('ient for a maintenance." ^^ M. Feret writes in
1824/^ "JDieppe laces are in little request; nevertheless
there is a narrow kind, named ' poussin,' the habitual resource
and work of the poor lace-makers of this town, and which
recommends itself by its cheapness and pleasing eftect when
used as a trimmino- to collars and morning dresses. Strangers
who visit our town make an ample provisioii of this lace "
(Fig. 98). The lace-makers of Dieppe love to give their own

■' Memolres pour scrvir a VHistoire
de la Ville de Dieppe, composes en
I'annee 1761, par Michel-Claude Gur-
bert. P. 99.

'" Mt'inoires ChronoJogiqiics j^'^^f

servir a VHistoire de Dieppe, par M.
Desinarquets. 1785.

^^ Notices sitr Dicjjpe, Arqioes, etc.,
par P. J. l'\n-et. 1824.

220

HISTORY OF LACE

names to their different laces — vierge, Ave Maria, etc. (Fig. 99)
• — and the designation of Poussin (chicken) is given to the lace
in question from the delicacy of its workmanship.

Point de Dieppe (Fig. 100) much resembles A alenciennes^
but is less complicated in its make. It requires much fewer
bobbins, and whereas Valenciennes can only l)e made in
lenoths of eio;ht inches wil.hout detachino- the lace from the
pillow, the Dieppe point is not taken off, but rolled.^' It is
now no Ion O'er made. In 1826 a lace school was established
at Dieppe, under the direction of two sisters from the C^onvent
of La Providence at Eouen, patronized by the Duchesse
de Berri, the Queen of the French, and the Empress
Eugenie. The exertions of the sisters have been most
successful. In 1842 they received the gold medal for

Fig. 99.

A\i; ilAr.iA.-Dieppe.

having, by the substitution of the Valenciennes for the old
Dieppe stitch, introduced a new industry into the depart-
ment. They make Valenciennes of every width, and are
most expert in the square grounds of the Belgian A'alen-
ciennes, made entirely of flax thread, unmixed- with cotton,
and at most reasonable prices. ^^

iV very pretty double-grounded old Normandy lace, greatl}'
used for caps, w^as generally known under the name of
" Dentelle a la Vierge" (Fig. 101). We find only one
mention of a lace so designated, and that in the inventory
made in 1785, after the death of Louis-Philippe, Duke of

'- Peuchet, of Dieppe, says : " On
ne fait pas la dentelle en roulant les
fuseaux sur le coussin, niais en r_\-
jetant."

'•' Almanacli dc Diepjjc jjonr 1847.

The Author has to express her
thanks to S(inu' Hubert, of the Ecole
(I'Apprentissage de Dentelle, and M. x\.
Morin, Libraiian at Dieppe, for their
communications.

NORMANDY

22 I

Orleans, the father of Egalite, where in his chapel at Villcrs-
Cotterets is noted, " Une aube en baptiste garnie en gros
point (le dentelle dite a la Vierge." ^^

The lace of Eu, resembling Valenciennes, was much

o
o

esteemed. Located on the site of a royal chateau, the pro-
perty of the Due de Penthievre, himself a most enthusiastic
lover of fine point, as his wardrobe accounts testify, the

" Arch. Nat. X. 10,086.

222

HISTORY OF LACE

lace-makers received, no doubt, much patronage and cn-
couraoement from the seis^neur of the domain. In the
family picture by Vanloo, known as the " Tasse de Chocolat,"
containing portraits of the Due de Penthievre, his son, and

Fig. 101.

UENTKI.LE a la VlEKOK

the unfortunate Princesse de Lamballe, too;ethcr with liis
daughter, soon to be Duchess of Orleans, the duke, who is
holding in his hand a medal, enclosed in a case, wears a lace
ruffle of Valenciennes pattern, probably the fabric of his own.
people (Fig. 102).

NORMANDY

223

Arthur Young, in 1788, states the wages of the lace-
makers seldom exceed from seven or eight sous per day ;
some few, he adds, may earn fifteen. Previous to the
Eevolution, the lace made at Dieppe amounted to 400,000
francs annually. But Normandy experienced the shock of
1790. Dieppe had already sutl'ered from the introduction
of foreign lace when the Revolution broke out in all its fur}'.
The points of Havre, with the fabrics of Pont-l'Eveque (Dep.

Due DE Penthievre.— Vanloo. M. de Versailles.

Calvados), Harfieur, Eu, and more than ten other neighbour-
ing towns, entirely disappeared. Those of Dieppe and Hon-
fleur alone trailed on a precarious existence.

CALVADOS.

The principal lace centres in the department of Calvados
are Caen and Bayeux.

From an early date l)oth black and white thread laces
were made, of which the former was most esteemed. It was
not until 1745 that the blondes made their appearance. The,
first silk used for the new production was of its natural
colour, " ecrue," hence these laces w^ere called "blondes."''

15 <' The silk came from Nankin b^- prepared at Lyons, the thread was from
way of London or the East, the black Haarlem." — Roland de la Platiere.

silk called ' grenadine ' was dyed and

224 HISTORY OF LACE

The blonde of the time of Marie Antoinette is a very light
fabric with spots or outline threads of thicker silk forming a
pattern. Later, in the time of the Empire, the Spanish style
came into vogue. The eighteenth-century patterns were
again copied at Caen in the middle of the nineteenth century.
After a time silk was procured of a more suitable white,
and those beautiful laces produced, which before long
became of such commercial importance. A silk throwster,
M. Duval, was in a great degree the originator of the success
of the Caen blondes, having been the first to prepare
those brilliant white silks which have made their repu-
tation. The silk is procured from Bourg-Argental, in the
Cevennes. The Caen workers made the Chantilly lace,
^' Grille blanc," already described,^'^''^ and also the " blonde
de Caen," in which the flower is made with a difi*erent
silk from that which forms the reseau and outlined with a
thick silk strand. The reseau is of the Lille type, fond
simple. It is this kind of blonde which is so successfully
imitated at Calais.

Lastly the " blonde mate," or Spanish, already mentioned.
In no other place, except Chantilly, have the blondes attained
so pure a white, such perfect workmanship, such lightness,
such brilliancy as the " Blondes de Caen." They had great
success in France, were extensively imported, and made the
fortune of the surrounding country, where they were fal)ri-
cated in every cottage. Not every woman can work at the
white lace. Those who have what is locally termed the
" haleine grasse," are obliged to confine themselves to black.
In order to preserve purity of colour, the lace-makers work
during the summer months in the open air, in winter in lofts
over their cow-houses : warmed by the heat of the animals,
they dispense with fire and its accompanying smoke. ^'^
Generally, it was only made in summer, and the black
reserved for winter work. Peuchet speaks of white lace
being made in Caen from the lowest price to twenty-five
livres the ell.^^ According to Arthur Young, the earnings

^^^ Page 213. fois entretenue a I'hopital du Mans,

'^ Letter from Edgar McCulloch, lui rapportoit xvn. benefice de 4,000 a

Esq., Guernsey. .5,000 fr. EUe est bien tombee par la

" Blondes appear also to have been dispersion des anciennes soeurs hospi-

made at Le Mans :— talieres." — Stat, du Dep. de la Sarthe,

" Cette manufactiuie qui etoit autre- par le Citoyen L.-M. Auvray. An X.

NORMANDY 225

of tlie blonde-workers were greater than those of Dieppe or
Havre, a woman gaining daily from fifteen to thirty sous.
The silk blonde trade did not suffer from the crisis of 1821
to '32 : when the thread-lace-makers w^ere reduced to the
brink of ruin by the introduction of bobbin net, the demand
for blonde, on the contrary, had a rapid increase, and Caen
exported great quantities, by smuggling, to England. The
blonde-makers earning twenty-five per cent, more than the
thread-lace-makers, the province was in full prosperity. The
competition with the machine-made blondes of Calais and
Nottingham has caused the manufacture of the white blondes
to be abandoned, and the Caen lace-makers have now confined
themselves to making black lace. Caen also produces gold
and silver blondes, mixed sometimes with pearls. In 1847
the laces of Caen alone employed more than 50,000 persons,
or one-eighth of the whole population of Calvados.

Bayeux formerly made only light thread laces — migno-
nette, and what Peuchet calls ^* " point de Marli." " On ne
voit dans ces dentelles," he writes, " que du reseau de
diverses cspeces, du fond et une canetille a gros fil, qu'on
conduit autour de ces fonds." Marli, styled in the Dictionary
of Napole'on Landais a " tissu a jour en fil et en sole fabrique
sur le me'tier a faire de la gaze," was in fact the predecessor of
tulle. It w^as invented about 1765,^^ and for twenty years
had great success, and was much worn by Marie Antoinette.
When the mesh ground with an edging of loops, which
•constituted this lace in the decadence of Louis XVI.,
had a pattern, it was pois, rosettes, or the spots of point
d'esprit. In the Tableau de Paris, 1782, we read that
Marli employed a great number of workpeople, " et Ton
a vu des soldats valides et invalides faire le marli, le
promener, I'offrir, et le A'endre eux-memes. Des soldats
faire le marli I " It was to this Marli, or large pieces of white
thread net, that Bayeux owed its reputation. No other fabric
could produce them at so low a price. Bayeux alone made
albs, shawls, and other articles of large size, of thread lace.

'* The handkerchief of " Paris net " for the double twisted thread of the

mentioned by Goldsmith. country." — Dieudonne, Statistique de

'•' In the Dep. du Nord, by Jean- Bej). du Nord.

Ph. Briatte. " Its fall was owing to In the Mercure Galant for June,

the bad faith of imitators, who substi- 1687, we find the ladies wear cornettes

tuted a single thread of bad quality a la jardiniere " de Marly."

226 HISTORY OF LACE

Lace was first made at Bayeux in the convents and
schools, under the direction of the nuns of " La Providence."
The nuns were sent there at the end of the seventeenth
century, to undertake the supervision of the work-room
founded by the Canon Baucher, in the okl church of S.
George. In 1747 che xlbbe Suhard de Loucelles provided
additional rooms for them in a house in the Faubourg St.
Loup, close by the church of Notre Dame de la Poterie. In
a short time more than 400 young women were employed
at the two sets of work-rooms, and in 1758 the aldermen of
the town presented to the intendant of the province a pair
of thread lace cutFs, which, according to the accounts of the
muni(dpality, cost 144 livres. It was not until 1740 that
a commercial house was established by M. Clement ; from
which period the manufacture has rapidly increased, and
is now one of the most important in France. The black
laces of Caen, Bayeux, and Chantilly, are alike ; the
design and mode of fabrication being identical, it is
almost impossible, for even the most experienced eye, to
detect the difterence. They are mostly composed of " piece
goods," shawls, dresses, fiounces, and veils, made in small
strips, united by the stitch already alluded to, the ijoint de
rac.croc, to the invention of which Calvados owes her pros-
perity. This stitch, invented by a lace-maker named
Cahanet, admits of putting a number of hands on the same
piece, whereas, under the old system, not more than two could
work at the same time. A scarf, which would formerly have
taken two women six months to complete, divided into seg-
ments, can now be finished by ten women in one. (Plate LIX.)
About 1827, Madame Carpentier caused silk blonde again
to be made for French consumption, the falmc having died
out. Two years later she was succeeded by M, Auguste
Lefebure, by whom the making of " blondes mates " for
exportation was introduced with such success, that Caen, who
had applied herself wholly to this manufacture, almost gave
up the competition. Mantillas (Spanish, Havanese, and
Mexican), in large quantities, were exported to Spain, Mexico
and the Southern Seas, and wei-e superior to those made in
Catalonia. This manufacture requires the greatest care, as it
is necessary to throw aside the French taste, and adopt the
heavy, overcharged patterns appropriate to the costumes and
fashions of the countries for which they are destined. These

Plate LXl.

" O

a" S
<

Til J'dci' iifii/e 22(1.

NORMANDY

227

mantillas have served as models for the imitation made at
Nottingham. (Plate LXL)

To the exertions of M. Lefe'bure is due the great improve-

Fig. 103.

Modern Black Lace of Bayeux.— Much reduced.

ment in the teaching of the lace schools. Formerly the
apprentices were consigned to the care of some aged lace-
maker, probably of deficient eyesight ; he, on the contrary,

Q 2

228

HISTORY OF LACE

placed them under young and skilful forewomen, and the
result has been the rising up of a generation of workers who
have given to Bayeux a reputation superior to all in Calvados.
It is the first fabric for large pieces of extra fine quality
and rich designs ; and as the point d'Alenoon lace has also
been introduced into the city, Bayeux excels equally at the
pillow and the needle (Figs. 103 and 104).

Messrs. Lefebure have also most successfully reproduced
the Venetian point in high relief; the raised flowers are
executed with great beauty and the picots rendered with
great precision. The discovery of the way in which this
complicated point lace was made has been the work of great
patience. It is called " Point Colbert." See page 188.

In 1851 there were in Calvados 60,000 lace-workers,
spread along the sea-coast to Cherbourg, where the nuns of
La Providence have an establishment. It is only by visiting
the district that an adequate idea can be formed of the
resources this work affords to the labouring classes, thousands
of women deriving; from it their sole means of subsistence.^"

Bayeux is now the centre for high-class lace-making in
France. M. Lefebure considers that the fichus, mantillas,
etc., that are made of fine white thread in the country round
Bayeux have all the suppleness and softness which contri-
bute to the charm of Mechlin lace, to which they have a close
affinity.

BEETAGNE.

No record of lace-making occurs in Bretagne, though prob-
ably the Normandy manufacturers extended westward along
the coast. At all events, the wearing of it was early adopted.

-" U Industrie Francaise depuis la
Mevolution de Fevrier et V Exposition
de 1848, par M. A. Audiganne.

M. Aubry thus divides the lace-
makers of Normandy : —

Department of Calvados —
Arrondissement of Caen . . 25,000
Arr. of Bayeux ..... 15,000
Arr. of Pont-l'Eveque, Falaise,*

and Lisieux 10,000

Departments of La Manche and

Seine-Inferieure

10,000

60,000
The women earn from 50 sous to 25
sous a day, an improvement on the
wages of the last century, which, in
the time of Arthur Young, seldom
amounted to 24 sous.

Their products are estimated at from
8 to 10 millions of francs (^320,000 to
^400,000).

Falaise, dentelles facon de Dieppe." — Peuchet.

p
E

To face page 228.

i^ORMANDY 229

Embroidered tulle or point d'e^sprit was made in Brittany
as in Denmark, and around Genoa, where its production still
continues. Embroidered muslins with open-work lace
stitches were also made in Brittany during the eighteenth
century, and called Broderie des Indes, after the Indian
muslin scarfs that were brought to Europe at that date, and
set the fashion.

There is a popular ballad of the province, 1587, on
" Fontenelle le Ligueur," one of the most notorious partizans
of the League in Bretagne. He has been entrapped at
Paris, and while awaiting his doom, sends his page to his
wife, with these words (we spare our readers the Breton
dialect) : —

" Page, mon page, petit page, va vite a Coadelan et dis a
la pauvre heritiere ^^ de ne plus porter des dentelles.

" De ne plus porter des dentelles, parce que son pauvre
epoux est en peine. Toi, rapporte-moi une chemise a mettre,
et un drap pour m'ensevelir." ^^

One singular custom prevails among the ancient families
in Bretagne ; a bride wears her lace-adorned dress but twice
— once on her wedding-day, and only again at her death,
when the corse lies in state for a few hours before its
placing in the coffin. After the marriage ceremony the bride
carefully folds away her dress ^^ in linen of the finest home-
spun, intended for her winding sheet, and each year, on the
anniversary of the wedding-day, fresh sprigs of lavender and
rosemary are laid upon it until the day of mourning.

^^ He had run away with the rich admitted to see it, and each of them

heiress of Coadelan. sprinkles the orange blossoms with

■-- Chants poptilaires de la Bretagne, which it is trimmed with holy water

par Th. Hersart de la Villemarque. placed at the foot of the bed whereon

-^ The bringing home of the wed- the dress is laid, and offers up a prayer

ding dress is an event of solemn for the future welfare of the wearer,
importance. The family alone are

230 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XVII.

VALENCIENNES (Dep. du Nord).

" lis s'attachoient a considerer des tableaux de petit point de la manufacture
de Valencienne qui repvesentoient des fleurs, et coninie ils les trouvoient
parfaitenient beaux, M. de j\Iagelotte, leur bote, vouloit les leur donner, niais
ils ne les accepterent point." — 1686. Voyage des Ambassadeurs de Siam.

Part of the ancient province of Hainault, Valenciennes,
together with Lille and Arras, is Flemish by birth, French
only by conquest and treaty.^

Its lace manufacture has been supposed to date from the
fifteenth century, its first productions being attributed to
Pierre Chauvin and Ignace Harent, who employed a three-
thread twisted flax. This early date, however, is probably
not correct. It is more probable that Valenciennes
developed from and took the place of the lace-making
foundation of Colbert at Le Quesnoy. The lace of Le
Quesnoy is never mentioned after Louis XIV., whereas
after that reign Valenciennes comes into notice. It reached
its climax from 1725 to 1780, when there were from 3,000
to 4,000 lace-makers in the city alone.

One of the finest known specimens of the earlier fabric is
a lace-bordered alb,^ belonging to the ladies of the Convent
of the Visitation,^ at Le Puy^ The lace is 28 inches wide,
consisting of three breadths, entirely of white thread, very
fine, though thick. The solid pattern, which with its flowers
and scrolls partakes of the character of the Renaissance,
comes out well from the clear reseau ground.

' French Hainault, French Flanders ^ Photographed in the Album d'Ar-

and Cambresis (the present Dep. du cheologie Beligicuse. It is supposed

Nord), with Artois, were conquests of to have been made towards the end of

Louis XIII. and Louis XIV., confirmed the seventeenth century,

to France by the treaties of Aix-la- ^ Founded 1630.
Chapelle (1668) and Nimeguen (1678).

To face page 23(1.

VA L EiVC/ENNES 23 1

From 1780 downwards, fashion changed. The cheaper
and lighter hices of Brussels, Lille, and Arras, obtained the
preference over the costly and more substantial products of
Valenciennes — les eternelles Valenciennes, as they were
•called — while the subsequent disappearance of ruffles from
the costume of the men greatly added to the evil Valen-
ciennes fell with the monarchy. During the war of liberty,
foreign occupation decimated its population, and the art
became nearly lost. In 1790, the number of lace-workers
had diminished to 250 ; and, though Napoleon used every
€fibrt to revive the manufacture, he was unsuccessful. In
1851 there were only two lace-makers remaining, and they
both upwards of eighty years of age.

The lace made in the city alone was termed " Vraie
Valenciennes," and attained a perfection unrivalled by the
productions of the villages beyond the walls. In the lace
accounts of Madame du Barry we find constant mention of
this term.* " Vraie Valenciennes " appears constantly in
contradistinction to " batarde " ^ and " fausse," simply leading
us to suppose that the last-mentioned appellations signify
the laces fabricated in the neighbourhood. In support of
this assertion, M. Dieudonne writes:^ "This beautiful
manufacture is so inherent in the place, that it is an
•established fact, if a piece of lace were begun at Valen-
ciennes and finished outside the walls, the part which had
not l)een made at Valenciennes would be visibly less beauti-
ful and less perfect than the other, though continued by
the same lace-maker with the same thread, and upon the
same pillow.

" 7

* " 1772. 15 aixnes S-IG"""" jabot the stamp of the place where it is
haut de vraie Valencienne, 3,706 livres made. It has never been possible to
17 sous " ; and many other similar transfer any kind of manufacture from
entries. one city to another without there

* "5/8 Batarde dito a bordure, a being a mai'ked dift'erence between the
•60 11., 37 11. 10 s." — Convptes de Madame productions." — Aubry.

■du Barry. " After the French Eevolution, when

® Statisfique du Dep. du Nord, par so many lace-makers fled to Belgium,

M. Dieudonne, Prefet en 1804. Alost, Ypres, Bruges, Ghent, Menin,

"^ " Among the various fabrics having and Courtrai became the centres of

the same process of manufacture, there this industry, and the lace produced

is not one which produces exactly the in each town has a distinctive feature

same style of lace. The same pattern, in the ground. That made in Ghent

with the same material, whether exe- is square-meshed, the bobbins being

■cuted in Belgium, Saxony, Lille, Ari-as, twisted two and a half times. At

Mirecourt, or Le Puy, will always bear Ypres, which makes a better quality

232

HISTORY OF LACE

The extinction of the fabric and its transfer to Belgium
has been a great commercial loss to France. Valenciennes,
being specially a " dentelle linge," is that of which the

Fig. 106.

Valenciennes.— Period Louis XIV.

greatest quantity is consumed throughout the universe-
Valenciennes lace is altogether made upon the pillow, with

of Valenciennes, the ground is also
square-meshed, bnt the bobbins are
twisted four times. In Courtrai and
Menin the grounds are twisted three

and a half times, and in Bruges, where
the ground has a circular mesh, the-
bobbins are twisted three times."

Platk LXII.

Valenciennes. — Three specimens of seventeenth and eighteenth ccntm-y. Arranged by
age, the oldest at tlie top, which was made for a royal personage, with the initials
E. P. ; it is now the property of ]Mr. Arthur Blackbornc. Widths of the middle and

lower pieces 1^ and 2J in.

Photos by A. Dryden.

To faci' jiHjjc 2S2.

VALENCIENNES 233

one kind of thread for the pattern and the ground
(Fig. 106). No lace is so expensive to make, from the
number of bobbins required, and the flax used was of the
finest quality. The city-made lace was remarkable for the
beauty of its ground, the richness of its design, and evenness
of its tissue. Its mesh is square or diamond-shaped, and it
has no twisted sides ; all are closely plaited. The ornament
is not picked out with a cordonnet, as is the case with
Mechlin ; but, like Mechlin, the ground went through various
modifications, includino; the " fond de neigre," before the reseau
was finally fixed. From their solidity, " les l)elles et eter-'
nelles Valenciennes " became an heirloom in each f^imily. A
mother bequeathed them to her daughter as she vvould now
her jewels or her furs.** The lace-makers worked in under-,
ground cellars, from four in the morning till eight at night,
scarcely earning their tenpence a day. The pattern was the
especial property of the manufacturer ; it was at the option
of the worker to pay for its use and retain her work, if not
satisfied with the price she received. This lace was generally
made by young girls ; it did not accord with the habits of
the " mere bourg-eoise " either to abandon her household
duties or to preserve the delicacy of hand requisite for the
work. It may be inferred, also, that no eyes could support
for a number of years the close confinement to a cellar :
many of the women are said to have become almost blind
previous to attaining the age of thirty. It was a great
point when the whole piece was executed by the same lace-
worker. " All by the same hand," we find entered in the
bills of the lace-sellers of the time.^

The labour of making " vraie Valenciennes " was so
great that while the Lille lace-workers could produce from
three to five ells a day, those of Valenciennes could not
complete more than an inch and a half in the same time.
Some lace-workers only made half an ell (24 inches) in a

^ In the already quoted ^tat iVun valued at 200 livres the pah-. Du

Trousseau, 1771, among the necessary Barry, more extravagant, gives 770

articles are enumerated : " Une coef- for hers.

fure, tour de gorge et le fichu plisse ^ "2 barbes et rayon de vi-aie valen-

de vraie Valencienne." The trimming cienne ; 3 au. 3/4 collet grande hauteur ;

of one of Madame du Barry's pillow- 4 au. grand jabot ; le tout de la meme

cases cost 487 fr. ; her lappets, 1,030. main, de 2,400 livres." — Comjjtes de

The ruffles of the Duchesse de Modene Madame du Barry. 1770.
and Mademoiselle de Charollais are

234

HISTORY OF LACE

year, and it took ten months, working fifteen hours a day,
to finish a pair of men's ruffles — hence the costliness of the
lace." A pair of ruffles would amount to 4,000 livres, and
the " barbes pleines," " as a lady's cap was then termed, to
1,200 livres and upwards.

The Valenciennes of 1780 was of a quality far superior

Fig. 107.

Valenciennes.

to any made in the present century. The reseau was fine
and compact, the flower resembling cambric in its texture ;
the designs still betraying the Flemish origin of the
fabric — tulips, carnations, iris, or anemones — such as we

''* Arthur Young, in 1788, says of
Yalenciennes : " Laces of 30 to 40
lines' breadth for gentlemen's ruffles
is from 160 to 216 livres (.£9 9s.) an
ell. The quantity for a lady's head-
dress from 1,000 to 24,000 livres. The
women gain from 20 to 30 sous a day.
3,600 persons are employed at Valen-
ciennes, and are an object of 450,000
livres, of which the flax is not more

than 1/80. The thread costs from 24
to 700 livres the pound."

" The "barbes pleines" consisted
of a pair of lappets from 3 to 5 inches
wide each, and half an ell (20 inches)
long, with a double pattern of sprigged
flowers and rounded at the ends. A
narrow lace 1^ ell long, called the Pa-
pillon, with the bande or passe, and
the fond de bonnet, completed the suit.

Fig. 108.

\'ALENO[ENNE?< LAl'l'KT. -Period Ldiiis XVI,

To face page 23-1.

LILLE 235

see ill the old Flemish flower-pieces, true to nature,
executed with Dutch exactness (Fig. 108). The city owed
not its prosperity to the rich alone ; the peasants themselves
were great consumers of its produce. A woman laid by her
earnings for years to purchase a " bonnet en vraie Valen-
ciennes," some few of which still appear in the northern
provinces of France at church festivals and holidays. These
caps are formed of three pieces, " barbes, passe, et fond."
The Norman women also loved to trim the huge fabric with
which they overcharge their heads with a real Valenciennes ;
and even in the present day of " bon marche " a peasant
woman will spend from 100 to 150 francs on a cap which is
to last her for life.

The last important piece made within the city walls was
a head-dress of " vraie Valenciennes " presented by the city to
the Duchesse de Nemours, on her marriage in 1840. It was
furnished by Mademoiselle Ursule Glairo, herself an aged
lady, who employed the few old lace-workers then living,
with the jiatriotic wish of exhibiting the perfection of the
ancient manufacture.^'^

LILLE (Dep. du Noed).

" Ces points couppes, passements et dentelles,
Las! qui venoient de I'lsle et de Bruxelles."

— Consolation des Dames. 1620.

The fabrics of Lille and Arras are identical ; both make
white lace with single grounds (fond simple) ; but the
productions of Lille are far superior to those of Arras in
quality. The manufacture of the capital of French Flanders
vies with those of the Netherlands in antiquity. As early
as 1582 its lace-makers are described, at the entry of the
Duke of Anjou into the city, " as wearing a special costume.
A gown of striped stuff, with a cap of fine linen plaited in
small flutes." A silver medal suspended from the neck by a
black ribl)on completed a dress which has descended to the
nineteenth century. ^^ The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle having
transferred Lille to France, many of its artizans retired to

'^ The fault of the old Valenciennes '•"' " Les dentelieres avaient adopte

lace is its colour, never of a clear white, un par-dessus de calamande rayee, un
l)ut inclining to a reddish cast. bonniquet de toile fine plisse a petits

>S6

HISTORY OF LACE

Ghent ; they are described at that period as making both white
and black lace.^* The art, however, did not die out, for in
ITIS,'"^ on the marriage of the Grovernor, young Boufflers, to
Mademoiselle de Villeroi, the magistrates of Lille presented
him with lace to the value of 4,000 livres.^''

Fig. 109.

LiM.E.

The beauty of the Lille lace is its ground, called " Point
de Lille," or fond clair, " the finest, lightest, most trans-

canons. Une medaille cV argent, pendue
au cou par un petit lisere noir, coni-
pletait leiir costume, qui est arrive
jusqu'd nous ; car nous I'avons vu, il
n'y a pas trente ans." — Hist, de Lille,
par V. Derode. Paris et Lille, 1848.

'* Memoires sur V Iniendance de
Flandre.— MS. Bib. de Lille.

'® Period of the peace of Utrecht,
when Lille, which had been retaken
by Prince Eugene, was again restored
to France.

'® Histoire Populaire de Lille. Henri
Brunet. Lille, 1848 ; and Histoire de
Lille. V. Derode.

LILLE

■217

parent, and best made of all grounds." ^' The work is
simple, consisting of the ground, with a thick thread to
mark the pattern ^^ (Fig. 109). Instead of the sides of the
mesh being plaited, as in Valenciennes, or partly plaited,
partly twisted, as in Brussels and Mechlin, four of the sides
are formed by twisting two threads round each other, and
the remaining two sides by simple crossing of the threads
over each other. In the eighteenth century more than two-
thirds of the lace-making population of Europe made it under
the name of mignonettes and blondes de fil.

The " treille " ^^ was finer in the last century ; but in
1803 the price of thread having risen 30 per cent.,-" the
lace-makers, unwilling to raise the prices of their lace,
adopted a larger treille, in order to diminish the quantity of
thread required.

The straight edge and stiff pattern of the old Lille lace
is well known (Fig. 110).

The laces of Lille, both black and white, have been much
used in France : though Madame Junot speaks disparagingly
of the fabric,"^ the light clear grouncl rendered them especially
adapted for summer wear.

They found great favour also in England, into which
country one-third of the lace manufactured throughout the
Departement du Nord was smuggled in 1789." The broad
black Lille lace has always been specially admired, and
was extensively used to trim the long silk mantles of the
eighteenth century.""*

" Report of the Commissioners for
1851.

^^ As late as 1761 Lille was con-
sidered as " foreign " with respect to
Prance, and her laces made to pay
duty according to the tarift' of 1664.

In 1708 (31st of July) we have an
Arrest du Conseil d'Estat du Koy, rela-
tive to the seizure of seventeen cartons
of lace belonging to one " Mathieu,
marchand a I'lsle." Mathieu, in de-
fence, pretends that " les dentelles
avoient este fabriquees a Haluin (near
Lille), terre de la domination de Sa
Majeste." — Arch. Nat. Coll. Eon-
donneau.

'" See Flanders (West), treille.

20 In 1789, thread was 192 francs the
kilogramme.

-' Describing her trousseau, every
article of which was trimmed with
Angleterre, Malines, or Valenciennes,
she adds : " A cette epoque (1800), on
ignorait meme I'existence du tulle, les
seules dentelles communes que I'on
connut etaient les dentelles de Lille et
d' Arras, qui n'etaient portees que par
lesfemmes les plus ordinaires." — Mem.
de Madame la DucJiesse d'Ahrantes. T.
iii. Certainly the laces of Lille and Arras
never appear in the inventories of the
" grandes dames " of the last century.

^^ Dieudonne.

^^ Peuchet states much " fausse Val-
enciennes, tres rapprochee de la \Taie,"
to have been fabricated in the hospital
at Lille, in which institution there
were, in 1723, 700 lace-workers.

238

HISTORY OF LACE

lu 1788 there were above 16,000 lace-makers at Lille,
and it made 120,000 pieces ^^ of lace, representing a value of
more than £160,000. In 1851 the number of lace-makers
was reduced to 1,600 ; it is still gradually diminishing, from
the competition of the fabric of Mirecourt and the numerous
other manufactures established at Lille, which offer more
lucrative wages than can be obtained by lace-making.

Fig. 110.

Lille.

The old straight-edged is no longer made, but the rose
pattern of the Mechlin is adopted, and the style of that lace
copied : the seme of little square dots (points (V esprit) on the
Sfround — one of the characteristics of Lille lace — is still
retained. In 1862 Mrs. Palliser saw at Lille a complete gar-
niture of beautiful workmanship, ordered for a trousseau at
Paris, but the commercial crisis and the revolutions of 1848
virtually put an end to the lace industry of Lille and Arras.

^* A piece of Lille lace contains from 10 to 12 ells.

ARRAS 239

ARRAS (Artois) (Dep. Pas-de-Calais).

" Arras of ryche arraye,
Fresh as floures in Maj'e." — Skeltou.

Arras, from the earliest ages, lias been a working city.
Her citizens were renowned for the tapestries which bore
their name : the nuns of her convents excelled in all kinds
of needlework. *In the history of the Abbaye du Vivier,'^^
we are told how the abbess, Madame Sainte, dite la Sauvage,
set the sisters to work ornaments for the church : —

" Les filles dans I'ouvroir tons les jours assemblees
N'y paroissent pas nioins que I'Abbesse zelees,
Celle cy d'vme aiguille ajuste au petit point
Un bel etuy d'autel que I'eglise n'a point,
Broche d'or et de soye un voile de Calice ;
L'autre fait un tapis du point de haute lice,
Dont elle fait un riche et precieux frontal ;
Une autre coud une aube, ou fait un corporal ;
Une autre une chasuble, ou chappe nompareille,
Ou I'or, I'argent, la soye, arranges k merveille,
Representant des saints vestus plus richenaent
Que leur eclat n'auroit souffert de leur vivant ;
L'autre de son Carreau detachant la dentelle.
En orne les surplis de quelque aube nouvelle."

Ao;ain, amonsj; the first rules of the institution of the
'• Filles de Sainte-Agnes," in the same city, it is ordained
that the girls " aprendront a filer ou coudre, faire passement,
tapisseries ou choses semblables." '^

The Emperor Charles V. is said, however, to have first
introduced the lace manufacture into Arras. ^' Arras was
one of the seats of Colbert's manufactures, probably of
the Flemish bobbin lace. It flourished in the eio;hteenth
century, when, writes Arthur Young, in 1788, were
made " coarse thread laces, which find a good market in
England. The lace-workers earn from 12 to 15 sous."^
Peuchet corroborates this statement. " Arras," he says,.

^^ " L'Abbaye du Vivier, etablie dans spondence (1669), the directors of the

la ville d'Arras," Poeme par le Pere General hospital at Arras had enticed

Doni Martin du Buisson, in Memoires lace-workers of point de France, with

et Pieces pour servir a VHistoire de la a view to establish the manufacture in

Ville d'Arras. — Bib. Nat. MSS., Fonds their hospital, but the jealousy of the

Francois, 8,936. other cities threatening to overthrow

^^ Bib. Nat. MSS., Fonds Francois, their commerce, they wrote to Colbert

8,936. for protection.

^ We find in the Colbert Corre-

240

HISTORY OF LACE

" fait beaucoup de mignonette et entoilage, dont on con-
somme boucoup en Angleterre." The fabric of Arras
attained its climax during the Empire (1804 to 1812), since
which period it has declined. In 1851 there were 8,000
lace-makers in a radius of eight miles round the city, their
salary not exceeding 65 centimes a day. In 1881, however,
the trade had enormously decreased, only one house making
a speciality of the old patterns. The old Arras laces are
now no more.

There is little, or, indeed, no variety in the pattern of
Arras lace ; for years it produced the same style and design.

Fig. 111.

Arras. — Modern.

As a consequence of this, the lace-makers, from always
executing the same pattern, acquired great rapidity. Though
not so fine as that of Lille, the lace of Arras has three good
qualities : it is very strong, firm to the touch, and perfectly
white ; hence the great demand for both home and foreign
consumption, no other lace having this triple merit at so
reasonable a price (Fig. 111).

The gold lace of Arras appears also to have had a reputa-
tion. We find among the coronation expenses of George I.
a charge for 354 yards of Arras lace " atrebaticse lacinse." '^^

28 Gt. Ward. Ace. Geo. I. 1714-15
{P. K. O.), and Ace. of John, Duke of
Montagu, master of the Great Ward-
robe, touching the expenses of the
iuneral of Queen Anne and the corona-

tion of George I. (P.R.O.)

In 1761 an Act was passed against
its being counterfeited, and a vendor
of " Orrice lace " (counterfeit, we sup- ■
pose) forfeits her goods.

BAILLEUL 241

BAILLEUL (Dep. du Nord).

As already mentioned, up to 1790 the " vraie Valen-
ciennes" was only made in the city of that name. The
same lace manuftictured at Lille, Bergues, Bailleul, Avesnes,
Cassel, Armentieres, as well as that of Belgium, was called
" Fausses A'alenciennes." " Armentieres et Bailleul ne font
que de la Valencienne fausse, dans tons les prix," writes
Peuchet. " On nomme," states another author,^* " fausses
Valenciennes la dentelle de meme espece, inferieure en
qualite, fabriquee moins serree, dont le dessin est moins
recherche et le toile des Heurs moins marque." Of such is
the lace of Bailleul,'"^ whose manufacture is the most ancient
and most important, extending to Hazebrouck, Bergues,
Cassel, and the surrounding villages.^"

Previous to 1830, Bailleul fabricated little besides
straight edges for the Normandy market. In 1832 the
scalloped edge was adopted, and from this period dates the
progress and present prosperity of the manufacture. Its
laces are not much esteemed in Paris. They have neither
the finish nor lightness of the Belgian products, are soft to
the touch, the mesh round, and the ground thick ; but it is
strong and cheap, and in general use for trimming lace.
TJie lace, too, of Bailleul, is the whitest and cleanest Valen-
ciennes made ; hence it is much sought after, for exportation
to America and India. The patterns are varied and in good
taste ; and there is every reason to expect that in due time
it may attain the perfection, if not of the Valenciennes of
Ypres, at least to that of Bruges, which city alone annually
sends to France lace to the value of from £120,000 to
£160,000.

-^ Siatistlquc ties Gens de Lettrcs. makers. In 1802 tlie number had

1803. Herbin. T. ii. diminished ; but it has since gradually

^'' A museum of lace has been esta- increased. In 1830 there were 2, .500.

blished at Bailleul. In 1851 there were already 8,000, dis-

*' In 1788, Bailleul, Cassel, and the persed over twenty communes,
district of Hazebrouck, had 1351 lace-

2 12

HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XVIIl.

AUVERGNE AND VELAY.

LE PUY (I)i5p. Haute-Loire).

As early as the fifteenth century the countrywomen from
the mountains of the Velay would congregate together during
the winter within the walls of the neighbouring cities, and
there, forming themselves into companies, gain their sub-
sistence by making coarse lace to ornament the alljs of the
priests, the rochets of the bishops, and the petticoats of ladies
of quality. And very coarse and tasteless were these early
products, to judge from the specimens which remain tacked
on to faded altar-cloths, still to be met with in the province,
a mixture of netting and darning without design. They also
made what was termed " dentelles de menage" with the
coarse thread they used for weaving their cloth. They edged
their linen with it, and both bleached tooether in the
wearing.

The lace region of Central France, of which Le Puy is the
centre, is considered to be the most ancient and considerable
in France. It is distributed over the four departments,^ and
employs from 125,000 to 130,000 women. It forms the sole
industry of the Haute-Loire, in which department alone are
70,000 lace-makers.

The lace industry of Le Puy, like all others, has experi-
enced various changes ; it has had its trials " and its periods
of great prosperity.^ In the chronicles of Le Puy of the
sixteenth century ^ w^e read that the merciers of Notre-Dame

' Haute-Loire, Cantal, Puy-de- •'* 18o3 and 1848.

Dome, and Loire. * By Medecis.

^ 1640.

AUVERGNE AND VELAY 243

des Anges " qui, suivant 1' usage faisaient dans notre ville le
commerce des passementeries, Ijroderies, dentelles, etc.,
comptaient alors quarante boutiques, et qu'ils figurent avec
enseignes et torches au premier rang dans les solennites
relio-ieuses."

Judging from local documents, this manufacture has for
more than two centuries back formed the chief occupation of
the women of this province.

It suffered from the sumptuary edicts of 1629, 1635 and
1639, and in 1 640 threatened to be annihilated altos^ether. In
the month of January of that year, the Seneschal of Le Puy
published throughout the city a degree of the Parliament of
Toulouse, which forbade, under pain of heavy line, all persons
of whatever sex, quality, or condition, to wear upon their
vestments any lace " tant de sole que de fil blanc, ensemble
passement, clinquant d'or ni d'argent fin ou faux ;" thus by
one ordinance anuihihiting the industry of the province. The
reason for this absurd edict was twofold ; first, in consequence
of the large number of women employed in the lace trade,
there was great ditliculty in obtaining domestic servants ;
secondly, the general custom of wearing lace among all
classes caused the shades of distinction between the hicrh and
low to disappear. These ordinances, as may be imagined,
created great consternation throughout Le Puy. Father
Regis, a Jesuit, who was then in the province, did his best to
console the sufferers thus reduced to beggary by the caprice
of Parliament. , " Ayez conhance en Dieu," he said; "la
dentelle ne perira pas." He set out to Toulouse, and by his
remonstrances obtained a revocation of the edict. Nor did
he rest satisfied with his oood work. At his suo;o-estion the
Jesuits opened to the Auvergne laces a new market in Spain
and the New World, which, until the year 1790, was the
occasion of great prosperity to the province. The Jesuit
Father, who died in December 1640, was later canonised for
his good deeds ; and under his new appellation of Saint
Francois Regis, is still held in the greatest veneration by the
women of Auvergne — as the patron saint of the lace-makers.

Massillon, when bishop of Clermont (1717), greatly
patronisiid the lace-makers of his diocese, and, anxious that
the province should itself furnish the thread used in the
manufacture, he purchased a quantity of spinning-wheels,
which he distributed among the poor families of Beauregard,

R 2

244 HISTORY OF LACE

the village in wliicli the summer palace of the Ijishop^
previous to the Revolution, was situated.

The lace trade of this province frequently appears on the-
scene during the eighteenth century. Jn 1707 the manu-
facturers demand a remission of the import duties of 1664 as-
unfair,^ and with success. Scarce ten years afterwards,*^ not-
withstanding the privilege accorded, we again find them in
trouble ; whether their patterns did not advance with ther
fashions of the day, or the manufacturers deteriorated the
quality of the thread — too often the effect of commercial
prosperity — the shops were filled with lace, " propres, les-
uues pour I'ltalie, d'autres pour les mers du Sud," which the
merchants refused to buy. To remedy this bad state of
affairs, the commissioners assembled at Montpelier coolly
decide that the diocese should borrow 60,000 livres to-
purchase the dead stock, and so clear the market. After
some arguments the lace was bought by the Sieur Jerphanion,,
Syndic of the diocese.

Prosperity, however, was not restored, for in 1755 we-
again hear of a grant of 1,000 livres, payal)le in ten years by
the States of Velay, for the relief of the distressed lace-
makers, and again a fresh demand for exemption of the
export duty.' This is declared in a memorial of 1761 to be-
tlie chief cause of the distress, which memorial also states that,,
to employ the people in a more lucrative way, a manufacture
of blondes and silk laces had been introduced. This distress-
is supposed to have been somewhat exaggerated by the
merciers of Le Puy, whose profits must have been very
considerable ; the women, according to Arthur Young,,
earning only from four to eight sous daily.

Peuchet, with his predecessor, Savary, and other writers on
statistics, describe the manufacture of Le Puy as the most
flourishing in France. "Her lace," writes Peuchet, "re-
sembles greatly that of Flanders ; much is consumed m the

•' They represent to the lung that 6 August, 1707. Arcli. Kat. Coll..

the laces of the " diocese du Puy, du Eond. They ended by obtaming a

Velay et de I'Auvergne, dont il se duty of five sous per lb., instead of the

faisait un commerce tres considerable 50 livres paid by Flanders and Eng-

dans les pays etrangers, par les ports land, or the ten livres by the laces oi

de Bordeaux, La Rochelle et Nantes," Comte, Liege, and Lorraine,

ought not to pay the import duties '' 171.') and 1710.

held by the " cinq grosses fermes." — ^ See Milan.
Arrest du Conseil d'Estat du Boy,

AUVERGNE AND VELAY 245

French dominions, and a considerable (quantity exported to
Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy and England. Much
•thread lace is also expedited by way of Cadiz to Peru and
Mexico. The ladies of these countries trim their petticoats
.and other parts of their dress with such a profusion of lace as
to render the consumption ' prodigieuse.'" " Les Angiois
-en donnent des commissions en contrebande pour I'lsthmus
de Panama. Les Hollandois en demandent aussi et faisaient
expedier a Cadiz a leur compte."^ We read, however, after
^ time, that the taste for a finer description of lace having
penetrated to Mexico and Peru, the commerce of Le Puy had
fallen off, and that from that epoch the work-people had
supported themselves by making blondes and black lace.
The thread used in Auvergne comes from Haarlem, purchased
•either from the merchants of Rouen or Lyons. In the palmy
days of Le Puy her lace-workers consumed annually to the
■amount of 400,000 livres. The laces made for exportation
were of a cheap quality, varying from edgings of 30 sous to
45 livres the piece of 12 ells ; of these the annual consump-
tion amounted to 1,200,000 livres.'' It may indeed be
said that, with the exception of the period of the French
Revolution to 1801, the lace trade of Le Puy has ever been
prosperous.

Formerly they only made at Le Puy laces which had
•each a distinctive name — ave, pater, chapelets, mie, serpent,
bonnet, scie, etc,

Le Puy now produces every description of lace, white and
•coloured, silk, thread, and worsted, blondes of all kinds,
black of the finest grounds, application, double and single
grounds ; from gold and silver lace to edgings of a halfpenny
•a yard, and laces of goats' and Angora rabbits' hairs.

In 1847 more than 5,000 women were employed in
making Valenciennes. They have also succeeded in producing
admirable needle-points, similar to the ancient Venetian. A
•dress of this lace, destined to adorn an image of the Virgin,
was shown in the French Exhibition of 1855.

^ Eoland de la Platiere. Florence and Spain, each 200,000 ;

^ Three-fourths Avere consumed in Guyenne exported by the merchants

Europe in time of peace :— Sardinia of Bordeaux 200,000 ; 500,000 went to

took 120,000 francs, purchased by the the Spanish Indies. The rest was

merchants of Turin, once a year, and sold in France by means of colpor-

then distributed through the country : teurs. — Pcuchet.

24^5 HISTORY OF LACE

In 1848 commerce and trade languished, and a cheaper
lace was produced, made of worsted, for shawls and trimmings.
This lace was not long in fashion, but it re-appeared a few
years later under the name of " lama," or " poil de chevre,"
when it obtained a great success. The hair of the lama has
never been used.

Le Puy now offers to the market an infinite variety of
lace, and by means of these novelties her laces successfully
compete with those of Saxony, which alone can rival her in
cheapness ; but as the patterns of these last are copied from
the laces of Le Puy and Mirecourt, they appear in the foreign,
market after the originals.

The finest collection of Auvergne lace in the International
Exhibition (1867) was from the fabric of Craponne (Haute-
Loire),'" established in 1830 by M. Theodore Falcon, to whom
Le Puy is indebted for her " musee de dentelles," containing
specimens of the lace of all countries and all ages, a most
useful and instructive collection for the centre of a lace
district. Le Puy has also a lace school, numbering a hundred
pupils, and a school of design for lace patterns, founded
in 1859.'^

AURILLAC AND MURAT (Dep. Cantal).

" L'on fait a Orillac les dentelles quit ont vogue dans le
royaume," writes, in 1670, the author of the Dclices de la
France. ^^ The origin of the fabric is assigned to the
fourteenth century, when a company of emigrants established
themselves at Cuenca and Valcameos, and nearly all the
points of Aurillac were exported into Spain through this
company. In 1688 there was sold on the Place at Marseilles
annually to the amount of 350,000 livres of the products of
Aurillac, with other fine laces of Auvergne. ^^ In 1726 the

^" In Auvergne lace has preserved " Le Puy in recent years has named

its ancient names of " passement " and some of its coarse patterns "guipure

" pointes," the latter applied especially de Cluny," after the museum in Paris-

to needle-made lace. It has always — a purely fanciful name,

retained its celebrity for passements '^ Saviniere d'Alquie.

or guipures made in bands. The '^ Savary. Point d'Aurillac is:

simplicit}^ of life in the mountains has mentioned in the Bcvoltc des Passp-

doubtless been a factor in the unbroken mens.
contmuitv of the lace-trade.

Plate LXIII.

Plate LXIV.

French.— Two specimens bought in France as Cambrai. They are typical of Northern French
laces that became naturalised in England after the French Revolution. Widths, 2^ and 3J in.

Photos by A. Dryden from private collection.

Plate LXV.

French. Bobbin-made. — From the environs of Le Puy.

Period Louis XIII. -Louis XIV.

Now made and called Tluipure de Cluny.

In the Mus^e Cinquantenaire, Brussels.

To face pa fie 24(i

AUVERGNE AND VELAY 247

produce was already reduced to 200,000 livres. The finest
" points de France," writes Savary, were made at Aurillac and
Murat, the former alone at one time producing to the annua]
value of 700,000 francs (£28,000), and giving occupation to
from 0,000 to 4,000 lace-workers.

An attempt to establish a " bureau " for Colbert's new
manufacture of points de France was at first opposed, as we
read : "" Les trois femmes envoyees par les entrepreneurs pour
etablir cette manufacture furent attaques clans les rues
d' Aurillac. Les ouvrieres de cette ville leur disait ' qu'elles
prouvaient s'en retourner, parce qu'elles savaient mieux
travail ler qu'elles.' " '^

The lace-makers would not give up what the intendant
terms " the wretched old point," which M. Henri Duref, the
historian of the Departcment de Cantal, describes, on the
contrary, as consisting of rich flowered designs, such as may
be seen by studying the portraits of many Auvergnat nol:)le-
men of the period. There are various letters on the subject
in the Colbert Correspondence ; and in the last from Colbert,
1670, he writes that the point d'Aurillac is improving, and
there are 8,000 lace-women at work. It appears that he
estal)lished at Aurillac a manufactory of lace where they
made, upon " des dessins Hamands modifies," a special article,,
then named " point Colbert," and subsequently " point
d'Aurillac."

In the Convent of the Visitation at Le Puy is shown the
lace-trimming of an alb, point d'Augleterre. It is 28 inches
wide, of white thread, with brides picotees, of elegant scroll
design. If, as tradition asserts, it was made in the country,,
it must be the produce of this manufactory.

It appears that rich " passements," as they are still called
in the country, of gold and silver were made long before the
period of Colbert. We find abundant mention of them in
the church inventories of the province, and in the museum
are pieces of rich lace said to have belonged to Francis I. and
his successors which, according to tradition, were the produce
of Aurillac. They are not of wire, ]>ut consist of strips of
metal twisted round the silk.

In the inventory of the sacristy of the Benedictine
monastery at St. Aligre, 1G84, there is a great profusion of

^* Histoire ilit point cVAlencon, Madame Despierres.

248 HISTORY OF LACE

lace. " Voile de brocard, fond d'or entoure d'uii point
d'Espagne d'or ct argent ; " another, " garni de dentelles d'or
et argent, enrichi de perles fines"; "20 auljes a grandes
dentelles, amicts, lavabos, surplis," etc., all '' a grandes ou
petites dentelles." ^^

In the inventory of Massillon's chapel at Beauregard,
1742, are albs trimmed with " point d'Aurillac " ; veils with
" point d'Espagne or et argent." ^'^

Lacis was also made at Aurillac, and some specimens are
still preserved among the old families there. The most
interesting dates from the early seventeenth century, and
belongs to the Chapel of Notre Dame at Thierzac, where
Anne of Austria made a pilgrimage in 1631, and which, by
the mutilated inscription on a piece of the w^ork, would appear
to refer to her.

Mazarin held the Aurillac laces in high estimation, and
they are frequently met with in the inventory of the effects
he left on his death in 16G0. Again, in the account of a
masked ball, as given in the Mercure Galant of 1679, these
points find honourable mention. The Prince de Conti is
described as wearing a " mante de point d'Aurillac or et
aro;ent." The Comte de Vermandois, a veste edoed with the
same ; while Mademoiselle de Blois has " ses voiles de point
d'Aurillac d'argent," and of the Duchesse de Mortemart it is
said, " On voyait dessous ses plumes un voile de point
d'Aurillac or et argent qui tomboit sur ses 'e'paules.'" The
Chevalier Colbert, who appeared in an African costume, had
" des manches pendantes " of the same material.

The same Mercure of April, 1681, speaking of the dress
of the men, says, " La plupart portent des garnitures d'une
richesse qui empeschera que les particuliers ne les imitent,
puisqu'elles reviennent a 50 louis. Ces garnitures sont de
point d'Espagne ou d'Aurillac." From the above notices, as
well as from the fact that the greater part of these laces were
sent into Spain, it appears that point d'Aurillac was a rich
gold and silver lace, similar to the point d'Espagne.

The laces of Murat (Dep. Haute-Garonne) were " facon de

]5 u Yoile de toile d'argent, garni de '" In the convents are constantly

grandes dentelles d'or et argent fin, noted down " point d'Espagne d'or et

donne en 1711 pour envelopper le chef argent fin," while in the cathedral of

de S. Gaudence." — Invcniaire du, Mo- Clermont the chapter contented itself

nastere des Benedictines de St. Aligre. with " dentelles d'or et argent faux."

AUVERGNE AND VELAY 249

Maliiies et cle Lille." Tliey were also made at La Chaise
Dieu, Alenches, and Verceilles. Those points were greatly
esteemed, and purchased by the wholesale traders of Le
Puy and Clermont, who distributed them over the kingdom
through their colporteurs.

The fabrics of Aurillac and Murat ended with the
Eevolution. The women, finding they could earn more as
domestic servants in the neighbouring towns, on the restora-
tion of order, never aoain returned to their ancient
occupation.

250 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XIX.

LIMOUSIN.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a kind of
piUow net (torchon entoilage, Mr. Ferguson calls it) ^ for
women's sleeves was manufactured at Tulle (Correze) and
also at Aurillac. From this circumstance many writers have
derived tulle, the French name for bobbin net, from this
town. M. Lefel)ure is of this opinion, and adduces in
favour of it the fact that lace was made at Tulle in the
eighteenth century, and that an account of 1775 mentions
certain Mesdemoiselles Gantes as lace-makers in that town.

The first dictionary in which the word " tulle " occurs is
the French Encyclopifedia of 1765, where we find, "Tulle,
une espece de dentelle commune mais plus ordinairement ce
qu'on appelait entoilage." ^ Entoilage, as we have already
shown, is the plain net ground upon which the pattern is
worked ^ or a plain net used to widen points or laces, or worn
as. a plain border. In Louis XV. 's reign Madame de Mailly
is described, after she had retired from the world, as " sans
rouge, sans poudre, et, qui plus est, sans dentelles, attendu
(ju'elle ne portait plus que de Tentoilage a bord plat."'^ We
read in the Tableau de Paris how '' Le tul, la gaz et le
marli ont occupes cent mille mains." Tulle was made on
the pillow in Germany before lace was introduced. If tulle
derived its name from any town, it would more probably be
from Toul, celebrated, as all others in Lorraine, for its
embroidery ; and as net resembles the stitches made in
embroidery by separating the threads (hemstitch, etc.), it

' " 1773. 6 au. de grande entoilage -^ " 7 au. de tulle pour hausser les

de belle blonde a poix." manchettes, a 9 1., 63 1." — 1770. Ci^es.

- " 16 au. entoilage a niouches a de Madame du Bai-ry,

11 1., 1761." — Comjjtes de Madame du * SoKvenirs de la Marquise de

Barry. Crequy.

LORRAINE

!5i

may have taken its French name, Tulle, German Tiill, from
the points de Tulle of the workwomen of the town of Toul,
called in Latin Tullum, or Tullo.'

LORRAINE.

The lace '^ manufactures of Lorraine flourished in the seven-
teenth century. Mirecourt (Dep. Vosges) and the villages of
its environs, extending to the department of Meurthe, w^as the
great centre of this trade, which formed the sole occupation
of the countrywomen. For some centuries the lace-workers
employed only hempen thread, spun in the environs of
Epinal, and esjiecially at Chatel-sur-Moselle.' From this
they produced a species of coarse guipure termed " passa-
ment," or, in the patois of the province, " peussemot."^

As early as the seventeenth century they set aside this
coarse article and soon produced a finer and more delicate
lace with various patterns : they now made double ground
and mignonette ; and at Luneville {Dep. Meurthe), '"' den-
telles a Finstar de Flandre." In 1715 an edict of Duke
Leopold regulates the manufacture at Mirecourt.^ The lace
was exported to Spain and the Indies. It found its way
also to Holland, the German States, and England, where
Randle Holme mentions " Points of Lorraine, without

raismos

" 10

The Lorraine laces were mostly known in commerce as

^ In an old geography we find,
" Tulle, Tuille three hundred years
ago."

The word Tule or Tuly occm-s in
an English inventory of 1315, and
again, in " Sir Gawayn and the Green
Knight " ; but in both cases the word
seems not to indicate a stuff but rather
a locality, probably Toulouse. — Fran-
cisque ]\Iichel,

In Skelton's Garland of Laivrell,
we find, " A skein of tewly silk " ;
which his commentator, the Rev. A.
Dyce, considers to be " dyed of a red
colour."

•^ As early as 1615 there appears to
have been a traffic with Italy in laces,
the painter Claude Lorraine being
taken to Italy in that year by his

uncle, a carrier and dealer in laces.

'' Neufchfiteau.

^ The trader who purchases the lace
is called " peussemotier."

•' The Lorraine laces coiald only enter
France by the bureau of Chaumont,
nor could they leave the country with-
out a formal permit delivered at Mon-
thureux-le-Sec. — Arch. Nat., Coll. Ron-
donneau.

"' In a catalogue of the collection of
objects of religious art, exhibited at
IMechlin in 1864, we find noticed,
" Dentelle pour rochet, point de
Nancy," from the church of St. Charles
at Antwerp, together with various
" voiles de benediction," laces for
rochets and altar-cloths, of " point
de Paris."

252

HISTORY OF LACE

" Les dentelles de Saint-Mihiel," from the town of that
name, one of the chief phices of the fabric. These hist-
named laces were much esteemed on their first appearance.
Previous to the union of Lorraine to France in 1766, there
were scarcely 800 lace-makers in Mirecourt. The number
amounted to nearly 25,000 in 1869/^

Early in the nineteenth century the export trade gave
place to more extensive dealings with France. " Point de
Flandres " was then very much made, the patterns imported
by travelling merchants journeying on their way to Switzer-
land. Anxious to produce novelty, the manufacturers of
Mirecourt wisely sent for draughtsmen and changed the old
patterns. Their success was complete. They soon became
formidable rivals to Lille, Geneva, and the Val de Travers
(Switzerland). Lille now lowered her prices, and the Swiss
lace trade sank in the contest.

Scarcely any but white lace is made ; the patterns are
varied and in excellent taste, the work similar to that of
Lille and Arras.

Some few years since the making of application liowers
was attempted with success at Mirecourt, and though it has
not yet attained the perfection of the Brussels sprigs, yet it
daily improves, and bids fair to supply France with a
production for which she now pays Belgium £r20,000
annually. The Lorraine application possesses one advantage
over those of Flanders, the flowers come from the hands of
the lace-makers clean and white, and do not require
bleaching.^- The price, too, is most moderate. The pro-
duction which of late years has been of the most commercial
value is the Cluny lace, so called from the first patterns
being copied from specimens of old lace in the Musee de
Cluny. The immense success of this lace has been highly
profitable to Mirecourt and Le Puy.

'' The Tableau Statistiqne da Dip.
des Vosges, by Citoyen Desgoulles, An
X, says: "Mirecourt is celebrated for
its lace fabrics. There are twenty lace
merchants ; but the workers are not
attached to any particular house. They
buy thejr own thread, make the lace,
and bring it to the merchants of ^lire-
court to purchase. The women follow
this occupation when not engaged in

field work ; but they only earn from
25 to 40 centimes a day. Before the
Revolution, 7/8 of the coarse lace was
exported to Germany towards Swabia.
Of the fine qualities, France consumed
2/3. The remainder went to the
colonies."

'^ So are those of Courseulles (Cal-
vados).

CHAMPAGNE 253.

The waoes of the 24,000 hxce- workers averag-ino; eiorht-
pence a day, their annual products are estimated at
£120,000. Much of the Lorraine lace is consumed at Paris
and in the interior of France ; the rest is exported to
America, the East Indies, and the different countries of
Euroj)e.

CHAMPAGNE.

The Ardennes lace was generall}^ much esteemed, espe-
cially the " points de Sedan," which derived their name from-
the city where they were manufactured.^^ Not only were
points made there, but, to infer from the Great Wardrobe-
Account of Charles L, the cut- work of Sedan had then
reached our country, and was of great price. We find in
one account ^^ a charge for "six handsome Sedan and Italian
collars of cut-work, and for G2 yards of needlework purl for
six pairs of linen ruffs" the enormous sum of £116 66'. And
again, in the last year of his reign, he has " six handsome
Pultenarian Sedan collars of cut-work, with the same accom-
paniment of 72 yards of needlework purl " amounting to-
£106 16.S.'' AVhat these Pultenarian collars may have
been we cannot, at this distance of time, surmise ; but the
entries afford proof that the excellency of the Sedan cut-work
was known in Eng;land. Rheims, Chateau-Thierrv and
Sedan are mentioned among the other towns in the
ordinance establishing the points de France in 1665. In
less than four months Rheims numbered a hundred and
fortv workers, consistino- of Venetians and Fleming^s, with
seven from Paris and the natives of the place. In 1669 the
number had fallen to sixty, in consequence of the price
demanded for their board and lodoino-. Their lace was-
remarkable for its whiteness. Lace was made in the seven-
teenth century at Sedan, Donchery, Charleville, Mezieres,
Troyes and Sens.

The thread manufacturers of Sedan furnished the material

'^ Savary. Sedan was ceded to Louis Ace. Car. I., ix. to xi. P. R. O.
XIII. in 1642. _ ''^ " Eidem pro 6 divit Pultenarian

'* " Eideni pro 6 divit Sedan et Sedan de opere sciss colaris et pro 72

Italic colaris opere sciss et pro 62 purles divic opere acuo pro manic

purles opere acuo pro 6 par manic lintear eisdem, £106 16s." — Gt. "Ward..

lintear eisdem, £116 6s." — ^Gt. Ward. Ace. Car. I., xi. to xii.

254 HISTORY OF LACE

necessary for all the lace-workers of C^hanipagne. Much
point cle Sedan was made at Charleville, and the laces of this
last-named town ^'^ were valued at from four up to fifty
livres the ell, and even sometimes at a hio;her rate. The
ofreater part of the pi'oduce was sold in Paris, the rest found
a ready market in England, Holland, Germany, and Poland/'
Pig-nariol de la Force, writino; later, savs the manufacture of
points and laces at Sedan, formerly so flourishing, is now of
little value.''

Most of its lace-makers, being Protestants, emigrated after
the Edict of Revocation. Chateau-Renaud and Mezieres
were chiefly employed in the manufacture of footings
{engre lures) .^^ The laces of Donchery were similar to those
of Charleville, but made of the Holland thread. They were
less esteemed than those of Sedan. A large quantity were
exported to Italy and Portugal ; some few found their
way to England and Poland. Up to the Revolution
Champagne employed from 5000 to 6000 lace- workers, and
their annual products were estimated at 200,000 fr. During
the twelve years of revolutionary anarchy, all the lace
manufactures of this province disappeared.

There are difierences of opinion as to the exact character
of Sedan lace. M. Seguin considers it to have been a lace
inferior in design and workmanship to point de A^enise a
reseau. A single thread intervenes between the pattern and
the reseau, instead of the overcast cordonnet of Alencon,
and in other respects it resembles late Venetian needle-
point. Certain authorities in Brussels, again, claim the point
(le Sedan as a needle-made production of Brabant or Liege.
M. Lefebure, on the other hand, considers it as an important
variety of Alencon, " The floral devices in points de Sedan,
which are somewhat large and heavy in execution, spring
from bold scroll forms, and in between them are big meshes
of the ' grande maille picotee ' of the point de France.
Instead of an even and slightly raised stitching along their
contours, these l)ig flowers are accentuated here and there
in well chosen parts by raised stitching, worked somewhat

"' In 1700 there were several lace ^^ Savarv. Ed. 1726.

manufacturers at Charleville, tlie prin- '" Description de la France. Ed.

cipal of whom was named Vigoiireux. — 1752.

Hist, de Charleville. Charleville, 1854. ^" Savary.

BURGUNDY 255

with the effect of viojorous touches of rather forced hitrh
lights in a picture. These recurrent little mounds of relief,
as they may be called, are frequently introduced with
admirable artistic result. The finest bishops' rochets wliicli
appear in the later portraits by Hyacinthe Rigaud and de
Larguilliere are of point de Sedan."

It is possible that both types of lace mentioned —
the heavy kind, and the lace with the reseau — are the
productions of Sedan.

BUEGUNDY.

Colbert was proprietor of the terre de Seignelay, three
leagues from Auxerre, which caused him to interest himself
in establishing manufactories, and especially that of point
de France. In his Correspondence are twelve letters relating
to this manufacture for 1667-74, Init it did not succeed.
At last, worn out, he says " the mayor and aldermen will
not avail themselves of the means of prosperity I offer, so I
will leave them to their bad conduct."

Specimens of a beautifully line well-finished lace,
resembling old Mechlin, are often to be met with in
Belgium (Fig. 112), bearing the traditional name of "point
de Bourgogne," but no record remains of its manufocture.
In the census taken in 1571, giving the names of all
strangers in the City of London, three are cited as natives
of Burgundy, knitters and makers of lace,"'^ In the eigh-
teenth century, a manufactory of A'alenciennes was carried
on in the hospital at Dijon, under the direction of the
magistrates of the city. It fell towards the middle of the
last century, and at the Bevolution entirely disappeared.^^
" Les dentelles sont grosses," writes Savary, " niais il s'en
debite beaucoup en Franche-Comte."

2^' John Eoberts, of Burgundy, eight ^i ]\j_ Joseph Gamier, the learned

years in England, " a knitter of knotted Archiviste of Dijon, informed Mrs.

wool." Palliser that " les archives de

Peter de Grue, Burgundian, " knitter I'hospice Sainte-Anne n'ont conserve

of cauls and sleeves." aucuue trace de la manufacture de

Callys de Hove, "maker of lace," dentelles qui y fut etablie. Tout ce

and Jane his wife, born in Burgundy. — qu'on sait, c'est qu'elle etait sous la

ytate Papers, Dom., Eliz. Vol. ""84. direction d'un sieur Helling, et qu'on

I'-K-O- y fabriquait le point d'AIencon."

256 HISTORY OF LACE

LYONNOIS.

Lyons, from the thirteenth century, made gold and silver
laces enriched with ornaments similar to those of Paris.

Tiie laces of Bt. Etienne resembled those of Valenciennes,
and were much esteemed for their solidity. The finest
productions were for men's ruffles, which they fabricated of
exquisite beauty.

A considerable quantity of Ijlonde was made at Meran, a
villao;e in the neio;hl)ourhood of Beauvoisin, but the com-
merce had fallen off at the end of the last century. These
blondes go by the familiar name of " bisettes."

OELEANOIS.

Colbert's attempts at establishing a manufactory of point
de France at Montargis appear by his letters to have been
unsuccessful.

BEEEY.
Nor were the reports from Bourges more encouraging.

POITOU.

Lace was made at Loudun, one of Colbert's foundations,,
in the sex^euteenth century, but the fabric has always been
common. " Mignonettes et dentelles a poignet de chemises j,
et de prix de toutes especes," from one sol six deniers the
ell, to forty sols the piece of twelve ells.

Children began lace-making at a very early age. " Loudun
fournit quelques dentelles communes," says the Government
Eeporter of 1803."

Peuchet speaks of lace manufactories at Perpignan, Aix^,

^" Dcncv. iht Dvj'. de la. Vicnnc, par le Citoyen Cochon. An X.

ir.

To face page 256.

POITOU

257

Cahors, Bordeaux, -^ etc., but they do uot appear to have beea
of any importance, and no longer exist'*

-^ " Ce n'est pas une grande chose
que la niannfactiire de points qui est
etablie dans I'hopital de Bourdeaux." —
Savary. Edit. 1726.

-* Table of the Number of Lace-
workers ill France in 1851. (From
M. Aubry.)

]\Iannfacture of Chantilly
and Alencon : —

Orne

Seine-et-Oise ....

Eure \ 12,500

Seine-et-Marne . . .

Oise

Manufacture of Lille, Arras,
and Bailleul : —

Pas-de-Calais . . . . ) '
Manufacture of Normandy,
Caen, and Bayeux : —

Calvados ]

Manche [ 55,000

Seine-Inferieure . . j
]\Ianufacture of Lorraine,
Mirecourt : —

Manufacture of Auvergne,
Le Puy : —

Cantal \

Haute Loire .... ^

Loire I

Puy-de-D6nie .... J
Application-work at Paris \ q rnn
and Lace-makers . . . j '

Total 240,000

In his I{e])ort on the Universal Ex-
liihition of 1867, M. Aubry estimates
the number at 200,000 — their average
wages from 1 to 1^ francs a day of
ten hours' labour ; some earn as much
as 3^ francs. Almost all work at
home, combining the work of the
pillow with their agricultural and
household occupations. Lace schools
are being founded throughout the
northern lace departments of France,
and prizes and every kind of en-
couragement given to the pupils by
the Empress, as well as by public
authorities and private indviduals.

258 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XX.

HOLLAND, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRL\ AND HUNGARY.

HOLLAND.

" A country that draws fifty feet of water,
In which men live as in the hokl of nature,
And when the sea does in them break.
And drowns a province, does but spring a leak." — HiuUbras.

We know little of the early fabrics of this country. The
laces of Holland, though made to a great extent, were over-
shadowed by the richer products of their Flemish neigh-
bours. " The Netherlanders," writes Fynes Moryson, who
visited Holland in 1589, " wear very little lace,^ and no
embroidery. Their gowns are mostly black, without lace or
gards, and their neck-ruffs of very fine linen."

We read how, in ,1667, France had l)ecome the rival of
Holland in the trade with Spain, Portugal and Italy ; 1)ut
she laid such high duties on foreign merchandise, the Dutch
themselves set up manufactures of lace and other articles,
and found a market for their produce even in France." A
few years later, the revocation of the Edict' of Nantes^
caused 4,000 lace-makers to leave the town of Aleneon
alone. Many took refuge in Holland, where, says a
writer of the day, " they were treated like artists."
Holland gained more than she lost by Louis XIV. The
French refugees founded a manufactory of that point lace

' In the Census of 1571, giving the Roi qui ordonne I'execution d'une sen-
names of all strangers in the city of tence du niaitre de poste de Rouen,
London, we find mention but of one portant confiscation des dentelles ve-
Dutchman, Richard Thomas, "a worker nant d' Amsterdam." — Arch. Nat. Coll.
of billament lace." Rondonneau.

^ In 1689 appears an " Arrest du ^ 1685.

Plate LXVl.

William, Prince of Orange, Father of William III., 1027-1050. School of Van Dyck.
The collar is edged with Dutch lace. National Portrait Cxallery.

Photo l.y Walker and Cockerell.

Tu face page 25§,

HOLLAND • 259

■called " dentelle a la Reine " ^ in the Orphan House at
Amsterdam/

A few years later, another Huguenot, Zacharie Chatelain,''
introduced into Holland the industry, at that time so
important, of making gold and silver lace.

The Dutch possessed one advantage over most other
nations, especially over England, in her far-famed Haarlem ^
thread, once considered the best adapted for lace in the
world. "No place bleaches flax," says a writer of the day,^
" like the meer of Haarlem." ^

Still the points of Holland made little noise in the world.
The Dutch strenuously forbade the entry of all foreign lace,
and what they did not consume themselves they exported to
Italy, where the market was often deficient.^" Once alone
in England we hear tell of a considerable parcel of
Dutch lace seized between Deptford and London from the
Rotterdam hoy. England, however, according to Anderson,
in 1764, received in return for her products from Holland
" fine lace, but the balance was in England's favour."

In 1770 the Empress Queen (Marie Theresa) published
a declaration prohibiting the importation of Dutch lace
into any of her Imperial Majesty's hereditary dominions in
Germany.'^

As in other matters, the Dutch carried their love of lace

^ We have frequent mention of den- (see Normaxdy) on the lace trade, in

telle a la reine previous to its intro- 1704, it is stated the Flemish laces

ductiou into Holland. called " dentelles de haut prix " are

1619. " Plus une aulne ung tiers de made of Lille, Mons and Mechlin

dentelle a la reyne," — Tresorcrie de thread, sent to bleach at Haarlem,

Madame, Sosiir de Roi. Arch. Nat. " as they know not how to bleach

K. K. 234. them elsewhere." The " dentelles de

1678. " Les danaes mettent ordi- bas prix" of Normandy and other

nairement deux cornettes de Point a parts of France being made entirely

la Keyne ou de soie ecrue, rarement of the cheaper thread of Haarlem it-

de Point de France, parce que le point self, an Act, then just passed, excluding

clair sied mieux au visage." — Mercure the Haarlem thread, would, if carried

Galant. out, annihilate this branch of industry

1683. " Deux Aubes de toille demie in France. — Commerce des Dentelles

holande garnis de point a la Pteyne." de Fil. Bib. Nat. MSS. F, Fr.

— Inv. fait apres le decedz de Mgr. 14,294.

Colbert. Bib. Nat. MSS. Suite de '■* And. Yarranton. 1677.

Mortemart, 34. » " Flax is improved by age. The

* C. Weisse. History of the French saying was, 'Wool may be kept to

Protestant Refugees from the Edict of di;st, flax to silk.' I have seen flax

Nantes. Edinburgh, 1854. twenty years old as fine as a hair." —

^ Grandson of Simon Chatelain. See Ihid.

'Chap. VI. 1'^ Commerce de la HoUande. 1768.

^ In the paper already referred to ^^ Edinburgh Amusement.

s 2

26o HISTORY OF LACE

to the extreme, tying up their knockers with rich point to-
announce the birth of an infant. A traveller who visited
France in 1691, remarks of his hotel: " The v/arming-pans
and brasses were not here muffled up in point and cut-work,
after the manner of Holland, for there were no such things
to be seen." ^■"

The Dutch lace most in use was thick, strong and
serviceable (Fig. 113). That which has come under our
notice resembles the fine close Valenciennes, having a
pattern often of fiowers or fruit strictly copied from
nature. " The ladies wear," remarks Mrs. Calderwood,
" very good lace mobs." The shirt worn by AVilliam the
Silent when he fell by the assassin is still preserved at
The Hague ; it is trimmed with a lace of thick linen
stitches, drawn and worked over in a style familiar to
those acquainted with the earlier Dutch pictures.

SAXONY.

" Here unregarded lies the rich brocade,
There Dresden lace in scatter'd heaps is laid ;
Here the gilt china vase bestrews the floor.
While chidden Betty weeps without the door."

— " Eclogue on the death of Shock, a pet lapdog."

Ladies' Magazine. 1750.

" His olive-tann'd complexion graces
With little dabs of Dresden laces ;
AVhile for the body Mounseer Puft'
Would think e'en dowlas line enough."

— French Barber. 1756.

The honour of introducing pillow lace into Germany is
accorded 1)y tradition to Barbara Uttman. She was born
in 1514, in the small town of Etterlein, which derives its
name from her family. Her parents, burghers of Nurem-
burg, had removed to the Saxon Hartz Mountains, for the
purpose of working some mines. Barbara Etterlein here
married a rich master miner named Christopher Uttmann,
of Annabero;, It is said that she learned lace-makino; from
a native of Brabant, a Protestant, whom the cruelties
of the Spaniards had driven from her country. Barbara
had observed the mountain girls occupied in making a

^2 Six Wechs in the Court and Couiitrij of France. 1691.

To face jjuye 2GU.

SAXONY

261

network for the miners to wear over tlieir liair : she took
great interest in the work, and, profiting hy the experience
derived from her Brabant teacher, succeeded in makino; her
pupils produce first a fine knotted tricot, afterwards a kind
of pLain hice ground. In 1561, having procured aid from
Flanders, she set up, in her own name of Barbara Uttmann,
a workshop at Annaberg, and there began to make laces of
various patterns. This branch of industry soon spread I'rom
the Bavarian frontier to Altenberg and Geissing, giving

Fig. 114.

'^kM

Tomb of Barbara Uttjiann, at Annaberg.

employment to 30,000 person?, and producing a revenue of
1,000,000 thalers. Barbara Uttmann died in 1575, leaving
sixty-five children and grandchildren, thus realising a pro-
phecy made previous to her marriage, that her descendants
would equal in number the stitches of the first lace ground
she had made : such prophecies were common in those days.
She sleeps in the churchyard of Annaberg, near the old
lime-tree. On her tomb (Fig. 114) is inscribed : '"' Here lies
Barbara Uttmann, died 14 January, 1575, whose invention

262 HISTORY OF LACE

of lace in the year 1561 made her the benefactress of
the Erzgebirge."

" An active mind, a skilful hand,
Bring blessings down on the Fatherland."

In the Green Vault at Dresden is preserved an ivory
statuette of Barbara Uttmann, four and a half inches high,
beautifully executed by Koehler, a jeweller of Dresden, who
worked at the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is
richly ornamented with enamels and precious stones, such
figures (of whicli there are many in the Green Vault) being
favourite articles for birthday and Christmas gifts.

Previous to the eighteenth century the nets of Germany
had already found a market in Paris.^^ " On vend," says the
Livre Commode des Adresses of 1692, " le treillis d'Allemagne
en plusieurs bouticjues de la rue Bethizy."

"Dresden," says Anderson, "makes very fine lace," the
truth of which is confirmed by nearly every traveller of
the eighteenth century. We have reason to believe the
so-called Dresden lace was the drawn-work described in
Chapter 11. , and which was carried to great perfection.

"Went to a shop at Bpaw," writes Mrs. Calderwood,
" and bought a pair of double Dresden ruffles, which are just
like a sheaf, but not so open as yours, for two pounds two."

" La broderie de Dresde est tres connue et les ouvriers
tres habiles," says Savary.

This drawn-work, for such it was, excited the emula-
tion of other nations. The Anti-Gallican Society in 1753
leads the van, and awards three guineas as their second prize
for ruffles of Saxony.^* .

Ireland, in 1755, gave a premium of £5 for the best
imitation of " Dresden point," while the Edinburgh Society,

'3 Treillis d'Allemagne is early men- Polite Arts, premiums were given to a

tioned in the French inventories : — specimen of a new invention imitating

1543. " Pour une aulne deux tiers Dresden work. It is done with such

trillist d'Allemagne." — Argcntcrie dc success as to imitate all the various-

la Reine{Eleonored''Autriclie). Arch. stitches of which Dresden work is

Nat. K. K. 104. composed, with such ingenuity as to

1557. " Pour une aulne de treilliz surpass the finest performance with

,noir d'Allemagne pour garnir la robbe the needle. This specimen, consisting

de damars noir ou il y a de la bizette." of a cap and a piece for a long apron,

— Com/ptes de VArgentier du Bol the apron, valued by the inventress at

{Henry II.). Arch. Nat. K. K. 106. £2 2s., was declared by the judges

" "At a meeting of the Society of woi-th£56.''— Annual Eegisfer. 1762..

Fie;. 114 a.

Barbara I'ttmann, who ixTRODroKH thk Lack .MANUKACTiiiK int(i thk
h-RZGEBlRGE. -Fioni an ivory .statuette liy Koehler, (iieeii Vault, Dresden.

To face page 262.

SAXONY 263

followiiioj in the wake, a year later presents to Miss Jenny
Dalrymple a gold medal for " the best imitation of Dresden
work in a pair of ruffles."

In the Fool of Quality, ^^ and other works from 1760 ta
1770, we have "Dresden aprons,*' "Dresden ruffles," show-
ing that point to have been in high fashion. AYraxall, too,
1778, describes a Polish beauty as wearing " a broad Medicis
of Dresden lace." As early as 1760 "Dresden work" is
advertised as taught to young ladies in a boarding-school
at Kelso, ^'^ together with " shell-work in grottoes, flowers,,
catgut, working lace on bobbins or wires, and other useful
accomplishments. "

The lace of Saxony has sadly degenerated since the
eighteenth century. The patterns are old and ungraceful,
and the lace of inferior workmanship, but, owing to the low
price of labour, they have the great advantage of cheapness,,
which enables them to compete with France in the American
and Russian markets. In all parts of Germany there are
some few men who make lace. On the Saxon side of the
Erzgebirge many l)oys are employed, and during the winter
season men of all ages work at the pillow ; and it is observed
that the lace made by men is firmer and of a superior
quality to that of the women. The lace is a dentelle torchon,
of large pattern, much in the style of the old lace of Ischia.^'

The Saxon needle-lace of the present day is made in
imitation of old Brussels, with small tlowers on a reseau.
Some is worked in coloured thread, and also black silk lace of
the Chantilly type is made : of this the Erzgebirge is the
chief centre. This lace is costly, and is sold at Dresden
and other large towns of Germany, and particularly at Paris,
where the dealers pass it off for old lace. This fabric
employed, in 1851, 300 workers. A C[uantity of so-called
Maltese lace is also made, but torchon predominates.

The Museum for Art and Industry, opened at Vienna in
1865, contains several pattern-books of the sixteenth cen-
tury, and in it has Ijeen exhibited a fine collection of ancient
lace belonoino; to General von Hauslaub, Master-General of
the Ordnance.

^^ " Smash go the glasses, aboard of Spain, your ruffles of Dresden."—

pours the wine on circhng laces, Dres- Fool of Quality. 1706.

den aprons, silvered silks, and rich '" Caledonian Mercury. 1760.

brocades." And again, " Your points " Letter from Koestritz. 1863.

264 HISTORY OF LACE

GEKMANY (NORTH AND SOUTH).

Germany in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was
renowned for its lacis, cut-work, and embroidery with thread
on net, of which there are several good examples in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, together with specimens of
early Flemish work from their colonies on the Elbe, estab-
lished in the twelfth century by various German rulers.
The work of these towns is of later date — of the fifteenth
century — and has continued to the nineteenth century, when
they made cambric caps, embroidered or ornamented with
drawn-work, and edged with bobbin-made Tonder lace, in
the style of eighteenth century Valenciennes.

" Presque dans toutes sortes d'arts les plus habiles
ouvriers, ainsi que les plus riches ne'gociants, sont de la
religion pretendue re'formce," said the Chancellor d'Agues-
seau ; ^'' and when his master, Louis XIV., whom he, in not
too respectful terms, calls " le roi trop credule," signed the
Act of Revocation (1G85), Europe was at once inundated with
the most skilful workmen of France. Haml>urg alone of the
Hanse Towns received the wanderers. Lubec and Bremen,
in defiance of the remonstrances of the Protestant princes,
allowed no strangers to settle within their precincts. The
emiorrants soon established consideral^le manufactures of gold
and silver lace, and also that now extinct fabric known under
the name of Hamburg point. ^^

Miss Knight, in her Autohiograpliy, notes : " At Hamburg,
just before we embarked, Nelson purchased a magnificent
lace trimming for Lady Nelson, and a black lace cloak for
another lady, who, he said, had been very attentive to his
wife during his absence."

On the very year of the Revocation, Frederic William,
Elector of Brandenburg, anxious to attract the fugitive
workmen to his dominions, issued from Potsdam an edict ■^''
in their favour. Crowds of French Protestants responded to
the call, and before many years had passed Berlin alone
boasted 450 lace manufactories.-^ Previous to this emigration
,she had none. These " mangeurs d'haricots," as the Prussians

i« In 1713. '" Dated Oct. 29, 1685.

"• Weisse. -' Anderson.

Plate LXVIII.

Plate LXIX,

Plate LXVII.

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To /ace page 264.

GERMANY {NORTH AND SOUTH)

265

styled the emigrants, soou umassed large fortunes, and
•exported their laces to Poland and to Russia. The tables
were turned. France, who formerly exported lace in large
•quantities to Germany, now received it from the hands of
her exiled workmen, and in 1723 and 1734 we find " Arrets
du Conseil d'Etat," relative to the importation of German
laces.^^

The Landgrave of Hesse also received the refugees, pub-
lishing an edict in their favour."^ Two fabrics of fine point
were established at Hanover."* Leipsic, Anspach,"^ Elberfeld,
.all profited by the migration. " On compte," writes Peuchet,
"a Leipsig cinq fabriques de dentelles et de galon d'or et
argent."

A large colony settled at Halle, where they made " Hun-
garian " lace — " Point de Hongrie,"" a term more generally
.applied to a stitch in tapestry."' The word, however, does
occasionally occur : —

" Your Hungerland -^ bands and Spanish quellio ruffs,
Great Lords and Ladies, feasted to survey." -'

All these various fabrics were offsets of the Alencon
trade.

Fynes Moryson expresses surprise at the simplicity of the
German costume — ruffs of coarse cloth, made at home. The
Dantzickers, however, he adds, dress more richly. " Citi-
zens' daughters of an inferior sort wear their hair woven
with lace stitched up with a border of pearl. Citizens' wives
wear much lace of silk on their petticoats." Dandyism
began in Germany, says a writer,^'' about 1626, when the
women first w^ore silver, wdiich appeared very remarkable,
and " at last indeed white lace." A century later luxury at
the baths of Baden had reached an excess unparalleled in the

^^ Arch. Nat. Coll. Eondonneau.

^^ " Connnissions and Privileges
granted by Charles I., Landgrave of
Hesse, to the French Protestants,
dated Cassel, Dec. 12, 1685."

-* Peuchet.

^^ Anderson.

'^^ La France Protestanie, par M.
M. Haag. Paris 1846-59.

-^ " Item. Dix carrez de tapisserye
a poinctz de Hongrye d'or, d'argent et
.soye de differends patrons." — 1632.

Tnv. ajyres le' ileces' du Marechal de
Marillac. Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr.
11,424.

-^ Hungary was so styled in the
seventeenth century. In a Relation
of the most famous Kingdoms and
Common Weales through the World,
London, 1608, we find " Hungerland."

-■' " City Madam." Massinger.

^" Pictures of German Life in the
Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth
Centuries, by Gustaf Freytag.

266 HISTORY OF LACE

present day. The bath mantles, " equipage de bain," of both
sexes are described as trimmed with the richest point, and
after the bath were spread out ostentatiously as a show on the
baths before the windows of the rooms. Lords and ladies,
princesses and margraves, loitered up and down, passing
judgment on the laces of each new arrival.^^

This love of dress, in some cases, extended too far, for
Bishop Douglas ^"^ mentions how the Leipsic students " think
it more honourable to beg, with a sword by their side, of all
they meet than to gain their livelihood. I have often," he
says, "given a few groschen to one finely powdered and
dressed with sword and lace ruffles."

Concerning the manufactures of the once opulent cities of
Nuremburo- and Auo-sburo- we have no record. In the first-
mentioned was published, in 1601, the model book, engraved
on copper, of Sibmacher.^^ On the frontispiece is depicted a
garden of the sixteenth century. From the branches of a
tree hangs a label, informing the w^orld " that she who loves
the art of needlework, and desires to make herself skilful,
can here have it in perfection, and she will acquire praise,
honour, and reward." At the foot of the tree is seated a
modest young lady yclept Industria ; on the right a second,,
feather-fan in hand, called Ignavia — Idleness ; on the left a
respectable matron named Sofia — Wisdom. By way of a
preface the three hold a dialogue, reviewing, in most
flattering terms, the work.

A museum was founded in 1865 at Nuremburg for
works and objects connected with the lace manufacture and
its history. It contains some interesting specimens of
Nuremburg lace, the work of a certain Jungfrau Pickleman,
in the year 1600, presented by the widow Pfarrer Michel, of
Poppenreuth.^* The lace is much of the Venetian character.
One specimen has the figures of a knight and a lady, resem-
bling the designs of Vecellio. The museum also possesses
other curious examples of lace, together with a collection of
books relative to the lace fabric. (Plate LXVIII.)

" In the chapel of St. Egidius at Nuremburg," writes one

31 Mcrvcilleux Amusements cles ^^ Moddhucli in Ku^ifcn gcmacht.

Bains de Bade. Londres, 1739. Niirnberg, 1601.

^^ Bishop of Salisbury. " Letters." "* Poppenreuth is about a German

1748-9. mile from Nuremberg.

GERMANY {NORTH AND SOUTH) 267

of our correspondents, " we were led to make inquiries con-
cerning sundry ponderous-looking chairs, Ijearing some re-
semblance to confessionals, but wanting the side compart-
ments for the penitents. We learned that they belonged to
the several guilds (Innung), who had undertaken to collect
money for the erection of a new church after the destruction
of the old by fire. For this end the last members sworn in
of every trade sat in their respective chairs at the church
doors on every Sunday and holiday. The offerings were
thrown into dishes placed on a raised stand on the right of
the chair, or into the hollow in front. The devices of each
trade w^ere painted or embossed on circular plates, said to be
of silver, on the back of each chair. One Handwerksstuhl
in particular attracted our attention ; it was that of the
passmenterie-makers (in German, Portenmacher or Posa-
mentier Handwerk), which, until the handicrafts became
more divided, included the lace-makers. An elegant scroll-
pattern in rilievo surrounds the plate, surmounted by a
cherub's head, and various designs, resemljling those of the
pattern-books, are embossed in a most finished style upon
the plate, together with an inscription dated 1718."

Misson, who visited Nuremberg in 1698, describes the
dress of a newly-married pair as rich in the extreme — that
of the brideoToom as black, "fort charo-e de dentelles " ; the
bride as tricked out in the richest " dentelle antique," her
petticoat trimmed with " des tresses d'or et de dentelle noire."

In the Victoria and Albert Museum there are two
women's rufis from Nuremberg belonging to the latter part
of the sixteenth or early seventeenth century, and embroidered
in blue and black silk and white cotton, and edged with
a coarse thread Mechlin lace with a large meshed irreo-ular
plaited reseau, prol)ably late seventeenth century.

Perhaps the finest collection of old German point is
preserved, or rather was so, in 1840, in the palace of the
ancient, but now extinct. Prince- Archljishops of Bamberg.

Several more pattern-books were published in Germany.
Among the most important is that printed at Augsburg, by
John Schw^artzenburg, 1534. It is printed in red, and the
patterns, mostly borders, are of delicate and elegant design.
(See Appendix.)

Secondly comes one of later date, published by Sigismund
Latomus at Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1605 ; and lastly, that

^68 HISTORY OF LACE

of " Metrepiere Quinty, demorat dempre leglie de iii roie.s,"
a culoge (Cologne), 1527.

In Austria, writes Peueliet, " les dentelles de soie et de
ill ne sont pas moins bien travaillees."' Many of the Pro-
testant lace-workers took refuge in the cities of Freyburg
and Altenburo'.

There is a collection in the Victoria and iVlbert Museum of
cuffs embroidered in satin stitch, and edged with bobl)in-lace
" torchon " of the peasants' work in Slavonia in the eighteenth
century. The patterns resemble Cretan and Russian laces.

There is a comparatively modern variety of lace made in
Austria and Bohemia which resembles the old Italian bobbin-
lace ; the school where it is tauoht is under Government
patronage. This industry was established as a means of
relieving the distress of the Tyrol in 1850, and continues to
flourish.

Austria sent to the International Exhibition of 1874
specimens of needle-point and point plat made in the school
•of the Grand Duchess Sophie, and specimens of border laces
in the style of the Auvergne laces were exhibited from the
Erzgebirge and Bohemia.

At the Paris Exhibition, Austria and Vienna both
exhibited copies of old needle-point laces.

At Laybach, in Austria, there was at one time a bobbin-
lace factory which produced lace much esteemed in the
eighteenth century.

The collection of Hungarian peasant lace in the Victoria
and Albert Museum collection contains specimens of coarse
modern pillow-made lace, with rude floral designs worked in
thick thread or yellow silk.

The modern laces of Bohemia are tasteless in design.
The fabric is of early date. " The Bohemian women," writes
Moryson, " delight in black cloth with lace of bright colours."
In the beginning of the nineteenth century upwards of 60,000
people, men, women and children, were occupied in the
Bohemian Erzoebirsfe alone in lace-makino-. Since the
introduction of the bol)bin-net machine into Austria, 1831,
the number has decreased. There were in 1862 scarcely
8,000 employed in the common laces, and about 4,000 on
Valenciennes and points. ^'^

Austria." — Bcimri of the International Exliihition o/ 1862.

Plate LXX.

HuNGARiAK. Bobbin Lace. — Latter half of nineteenth century. Widths, 6| and 2J in.

Victoria and Albert IMuseum.

Plate LXXI.

Austro-Hungarian, South Slavonian. Cuff of linen embroidered in satin stitch
IN white silk. White silk bobbin lace. — Eighteenth century. Width, 7^ in.

Yictoi'ia and Albert Museum.

To face page 268.

5 WITZERL A ND 269.

SWITZERLAND.

" Dans im vallon fort bien nomnie Travers,
S'eleve un iiiont, vrai sejour cles hivers." — Voltaire.

In the Preface of the Xeues Modelhuch of Froschowern,^
printed at Zurich (see Appendix), occurs the following : —
" Amongst the different arts we must not forget one which
has been followed in our country for twenty-five years.
Lace-making was introduced in 1536 by merchants from
Italy and Venice. Many women, seeing a means of liveli-
hood in such work, (quickly learned it, and reproduced lace
with great skill. They first copied old patterns, but soon
were enabled to invent new ones of great beauty. The
industry spread itself about the country, and was carried to
great perfection : it was found to be one specially suitable
for women, and brought in good profits. " In the beginning
these laces were used solely for trimming chemises and shirts ;
soon afterwards collars, trimmings for cufis, caps, and fronts
and bodies of dresses, for napkins, sheets, pillow-cases and
coverlets, etc., were made in lace. Very soon such work was
in great demand, and became an article of great luxury.
Gold thread was subsequently introduced into some of it,
and raised its value considerably ; but this latter sort was
attended with the inconvenience that it was more difficult to
clean and wash than laces made with flax threads only." ^^

The above account is interesting, not only in its reference
to Switzerland, but from its corroborative evidence of the
Italian orioin of lace.

In 1572, one Symphorien Thelusson, a merchant of
Lyons, having escaped from the massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew, concealed himself in a bale of goods, in which he
reached Geneva, and was hospitably received by the inhabi-
tants. When, after the lapse of near a hundred and twenty
years, crowds of French emigrants arrived in the city, driven
from their homes on the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes,,
a descendant of this same Thelusson took a body of 2,000
refugees into his service, and at once established a manufac-
ture of lace.^' The produce of this industry was smuggled.

^^ As quoted in Lefebure's Em- ^' Haag. La France Protestante.

broidery and Lace.

270 HISTORY OF LACE

Lack into France, the goods conveyed across the Jura over
passes known only to the bearers, by which they avoided
the custom-house duties of Valence, " Every day," writes
Jambonneau, himself a manufacturer, " they tell my wife
what lace they want, and she takes their orders." Louis
XIV. was furious.^*

Though lace-making employed many women in various
parts of the country, who made a common description
while tending their flocks in the mountains, Neufchatel has
always been the chef -lieu of the trade. " In this town," says
Savary, " they have carried their works to such a degree
of perfection, as to rival the laces of Flanders, not only in
beauty but in quality." We have ourselves seen in Switzer-
land guipures of fine workmanship that were made in the
country, belonging to old families, in which they have
remained as heirlooms ; and have now in our possession a
pair of lappets, made in the last century at Neufchatel, of
such exquisite l)eauty as not to be surpassed by the richest
productions of Brussels.

Formerly lace-making employed a large numljer of work-
women in the Val de Travers, where, during his sojourn at
Moutiers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau tells us he amused himself
in handlino; the bobbins.

In 1780 the lace trade was an object of great profit to
the country, producing laces valuing from 1 batz to upwards
of 70 francs the ell, and exporting to the amount of
1,500,000 francs ; on which the workwomen gained 800,000,
averaging their labour at scarcely 8 sols per day. The
villaoes of Fleurens and Connet were the centre of this once
flourishing trade,^^ now ruined by competition with Mire-
•court. In 1814 there were in the Neufchatel district, 5628
lace-makers ; in 1844 a few aged women alone remained.
The modern laces of Neufchatel resemble those of Lille, but
are apt to wash thick. (Plate LXVII.)

In 1840, a fabric of "point plat de Bruxelles dite de
Geneve " was established at Geneva.

By the sumptuary laws of Zurich,'*'' which were most

^* The Neufchatel trade extended de Geneve. 1819.

"through the Jura range from the •*" A curious pattern-book has been

valley of Lake Joux (Vaud) to Poren- sent to us, belonf:!ing to the Anti-

iiruy, near Bale. quarian Society of Zurich, through the

^^ Statistiquc de la Suisse. Picot, kindjiess of its president, Dr. Ferd.

5 VVITZERLA ND 27 1

severe, women were especially forbidden to wear either
blonde or thread lace, except upon their caps. This must
have been a disadvantage to the native fabrics, " for Zurich,"
says Anderson, " makes much gold, silver, and thread lace."
Several pattern-books for lace were published in Switzer-
land in the later years of the sixteenth century ; one,
without a date, but evidently printed at Ziirich about 1540,
by C. Froschowern, is entitled, NiliD ModdhilcU allerley Gat-
tungen Daniel, etc. Another one, entitled New Afodel-buch,
printed by G. Strauben, 1593, at St. Gall, is but a reprint
of the third book of Vecellio's Corona. Another, called also
Sehr Newe Model-Buch, was published at Basle in 1599, at
the printing-house of Ludwig Kiinigs.

Keller. It contains specimens of a few open-work edgings that could be
variety of narrow braids and edgings called lace,
■of a kind of knotted work, but only a

2/2 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XXL

DENMARK, SWEDEN AND EUSSIA.

DENMAEK.

" Eraste. — Miss, how many parties have you been to this week '?
" Lady. — I do not frequent such places ; but if you want to know \\o\\'
much lace I have made this fortnight, I inight well tell you."

— Holberg. The Inconstant Lady.

" The far-famed lace of Tcinder."

" A CERTAIN kind of embroidery, or cut-work in linen, was
much used in Denmark before lace came in from Brabant,"
writes Professor Thomsen. "This kind of work is still in
use among the peasants, and you will often have observed
it on their bed-clothes."

The art of lace-making itself is supposed to have been
first brought over by the fugitive monks at the Reformation,
or to have been introduced by Queen Elizabeth/ sister of
Charles V., and wife of Christian 11. , that good queen who^
had her husband been more fortunate, would, says the
chronicler, " have proved a second Dagmar to Benmark."

Lace-making has never been practised as a means of
livelihood throughout Denmark. It is only in the province
of North Schleswig (or South Jutland, as it is also called)
that a resf'ular manufacture was established. It is here that
King Christian IV. appears to have made his purchases ; and
while travelling in Schleswig, entries constantly occur in
his journal book, from 1619 to 1625, such as, "Paid to a
female lace-worker 28 rixdollars — 71 specie to a lace-seller
for lace for the use of the children," and many similar

On her marriage, 1515.

DENMARK

notices.'- It was one of those pieces of Tonder lace that
lung Christian sends to his Chamberlain, with an antograph
letter, ordering him to cut out of it four collars of the same
size and manner as Prince Ulrik's Spanish. Thev must
contrive also to get two pairs of manchettes out of tlie same.
In the museum of the palace at Kosenborg are still
preserved some shirts of Christian IV., trimmed with
Schleswig lace of great beauty (Fig. 115), and in liis portrait,

Fig. 115.

Shikt Collar op Chkistian IV.— (Castle of Itoseuboi-g, Coiiuiiha.iiL-ii.)

which hangs in Hampton Court Palace, the lace on his shirt
is of similar texture.

It was in the early part of this monarch's reign ^ that the
celebrated Golden Horn, so long the chief treasure of the
Scandinavian Museum at Copenhagen, was found bv a voung

- _" 1619. Sept. 11. Paid for a lace,
63 rixcl. 11 skillings.

" 1620. Oct. 11. Paid to a female
lace -worker, 28 rixd.

" Nov. 4. Paid 10 rixd. to a female
lace-worker who received her dismissal.

" Paid 33 specie dollars and 18 skill.
Lubec money, to the same man for
lace and cambric.

" 1625. May 19. Paid 21 rixd. for
lace.

" Dec. 20. Paid 25 specie dollars

" Nov. 11. Paid 71 specie dollars to 15 skill. Lubec money, for taffetas and
a lace-seller for lace for the use of the lace."
children. s 1039 _

274 HISTORY OF LACE

lace-maker on her way to her work. She carried her pri;ic
to the king, and with the money he liberally bestowed upon
her she was enabled, says tradition, to marry the object of
her choice.

The year 1647 was a great epoch in the lace-making of
Jutland. A merchant nfimed Steenbeck, taking a great
interest in the fabric, engaged twelve persons from Dort-
mund, in Westphalia, to improve the trade, and settled them
at Tonder, to teach the manufacture to both men and
women, rich and poor. These twelve persons are described
a,s aged men, with long beards, which, while making lace,
they gathered into bags, to prevent the hair from becoming
entansrled anion 2: the bob])ins. The manufacture soon made
great progress under their guidance, and extended to the
south-western part of Ribe, and to the island of Eomo.^ The
lace was sold by means of " lace postmen," as they were
termed, who carried their wares throughout all Scandinavia
and parts of Germany.

Christian IV. protected the native manufacture, and in
the Act of 1643,^ " lace and suchlike pinwork " are described
^is luxurious articles, not allowed to be imported of a higher
value than five shillings and sixpence the Danish ell.'' A
later ordinan(?e, 1683, mentions "white and black lace whidi
are manufactured in this country," and grants permission to
the nobility to wear them.^

Christian IV. did not patronise foreign manufactures.
" The King of Denmark," writes Moryson, " wears but little
gold lace, and sends foreign apparel to the hangman to be
disgraced, when brought in by gentlemen."

About the year 1712 the lace manufacture again was
much improved by the arrival of a number of Brabant
women, who accompanied the troops of King Frederick IV.
-on their return from the Netherlands,^ and settled at Tonder.
We have received from Jutland, through the kind exertions
■of Mr. Rudolf Bay, of Aalborg, a series of Tonder laces, taken

* BawerV s Beport upon tlie Industry Thereof is exported to the German
a the Kingdom of DcmnarJc. 1848. markets and the Baltic, it is sup-

r. (4

The Great Eecess." posed, for more than 100,000 rixdoUars

" Two-thirds of a yard. (^11,110), and the fine thread must

■^ Dated 1643. be had from the Netherlands, and

» " Tonder lace, fine and middling, sometimes costs 100 rixdollars per lb."

made in the districts of Lygum Kloster, — Pontopjndan. Economical Balance.

ieeps all the peasant girls employed. 1759.

a —

To face page 274.

DENMARK 275

from the pattern-books of the manufacturers. The earlier
specimens are all of Flemish character. There is the old
Flanders lace, with its Dutch flowers and double and trolly
grounds in endless variety. The Brabant, with fine ground,
the flowers and iours well executed. Then follow the
Mechlin grounds, the patterns worked with a coarse thread,
in many, apparently, run in with the needle. There is also
a good specimen of that description of drawn muslin lace,
commonly known under the name of " Indian work," but
which appears to have been very generally made in various
manners. The leaves and flowers formed of the muslin are
worked round with a cordonnet, by way of relief to the thick
double ground (Fig. IIG).^ In the Scandinavian Museum
at Copenhagen is a pair of lappets of drawn muslin, a fine
specimen of this work.

The modern laces are copied from French, Lille, and
Saxon patterns ; there are also imitations of the so-called
Maltese. The Schleswig laces are all remarkable for their
fine quality and excellent workmanship. Guipure, after the
manner of the Venice points, was also fabricated. A fine
specimen of this lace may be seen decorating the black-
velvet dress of the youthful daughter of Duke John of
Holstein. She lies in her coflin within the mortuary chapel
of her family, in the castle of Sonderborg. Lace was
much used in burials in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, when it really appears people were arrayed in
more costly clothing than in their lives. The author of
Jutland and the Danish Islands has often seen mummies
in the Danish churches exposed to view tricked out in
points of great richness.

The lace industry continued to increase in value till the
beginning of the present century. The year 1801 may be
considered its culminating point. At that period the number
of peasants employed in Tonder and its neighbourhood alone
was 20,000. Even little boys were taught to make lace till
stronoj enough to work in tlie fields, and there was scarcely
a house without a lace-maker, who would sit before her

^ " In the Victoria and Albert Mu- and suchlike, which are somewhat

seum collection, DeniTiark is repre- similar in appearance to lace fabrics of

sented by a few skilful embroideries Meclilin design." — (A. S. Cole.)
done on and with fine linen, muslin

T 2

2/6 HISTORY OF LACE

cottage door, working from sunrise tiJl midnight, singing tlie
ballads handed down from their Brabant teachers.^"

" My late father," " writes Mr. F. Wulff, of Brede, " who
began the lace trade the end of the last century, first went
on foot with his wares to Mecklenburg, Prussia and Hanover :
we consigned lace to all parts of the world. Soon he could
afford to buy a horse ; and in his old age he calculated he
had travelled on horseback more than 75,000 Eoglish miles,
or thrice round the earth. In his youth the most durable
and prettiest ground was the old Flemish, much used by the
peasants in Germany. It was solid, and passed as an heir-
loom throuoh several o-enerations. Later, the fine needle
ground came in, and lastly, the fond clair, or point de Lille,
far less solid, but easier to work ; hence the lace-makers
became less skilful than of old."

They had not many models, and the Ijest workwomen
were those who devoted their whole life to one special
pattern. Few were found so persevering. One widow, how-
ever, is recorded who lived to the age of eighty and brought
up seven children on the produce of a narrow edging, which
she sold at sixpence a yard.

Each pattern had its proper name — cock-eye, spider,
lyre, chimney-pot, and feather.

The rich farmers' wives sat at their pillows daily, causing
their household duties to be performed by hired servants
from North Jutland. Ladies also, a century and a half
ago, made it their occupation, as the motto of our chapter,
from the drama of Holberg, will show. And this continued
till the fashion of " hvidsom " — white seaming — the cut-work
already alluded to, was for a time revived. This work
was, however, looked upon as infra dig. for the wives of
functionaries and suchlike, in whom it was unbecoming to
waste on such employment time that should be devoted to
household matters. Our informant tells of a lady in the

111

The lace fabric in Nortli Sles- it in their shops." — licport of the

wick in 1840 was divided into two Boyal HlcswicTi-Holstein Government.

districts — that of Tender and Lygum 1840.

Kloster on the western coasts, and " Mr. Jens Wulff, an eminent lace-
that of Haderslaben and Apenraadc dealer, Knight of the Danebrog, who
on the east. The quality of the lace has made great exertions to revive the
from these last localities is so bad lace industry in Denmark,
tliat no Copenliagen dealers will have

Plate LXXII.

Russian. — The upper piece of lace is needle-point "a brides picotees." Modern

reproduction of a sixteenth century design. Width, 3g in.
G-BRivrAN. Saxon. — The lo\Yer x^iece bobbin-made by the peasants of the Erzgebirge.

Nineteenth century

Victoria and Albert Museum

Width, 3i in.

Plate LXXIII.

Russian. — Old bobbin-made with coloured silk outlines. The property of

Madame Pogoskv.

Photo by A. Dry den.

To face page 276.

5 WEDEN 277

north who thus embroidered the christening robe of her
chikl by stealth in the kitchen, fearing to be caught by
her visitors — cookery had in those days precedence over
embroidery. Among the lioards of this child, born 1755,
was found a most exquisite collection of old Tonder lace,
embracing all the varieties made by her mother and herself,
from the thick Flemish to the finest needle-point.

The fashion of cut-work still prevails in Denmark, where
collars and cuffs, decorated with stars, crosses, and other
mediaeval designs, are exposed in the shop-windows of
Copenhagen for sale — the work of poor gentlewomen, who,
by their needle, thus add a few dollars yearly to their
income.

From 1830 dates the decline of the Tonder lace. Cotton
thread was introduced, and the quality of the fabric was
deteriorated.^^ The lace schools were given up ; and the
flourishing state of agriculture rendered it no longer a
profitable employment either for the boys or the women. ^^
The trade passed from the manufacturers into the hands
of the hawkers and petty dealers, who were too poor to
purchase the finer points. The " lace postmen " once more
travelled from house to house with their little leathern
boxes, offering these inferior wares for sale.^* The art died
out. In 1840 there were not more than six lace manufac-
turers in Schleswio;.

The old people, however, still believe in a good time
coming. " I have in my day," said an aged woman, " sold
point at four thalers an ell, sir ; and though I may never
do so again, my daughter will. The lace trade slumbers,
but it does not die."

SWEDEN.

At a very early period the Scandinavian goldsmith hatl
learned to draw out wires of gold and twine them round
threads either of silk or flax — in fact to guiper them.

'- Tonder lace was celebrated for its ^^ The Tonder lace-traders enjoy the

durability, the best flax or silk thread privilege of oft'ering their wares for

only being used. sale all over Denmark without a license

^^ " A lace-maker earns from 3^cZ. (concession), a privilege extended to

to 4^£Z. per day of sixteen lioiu's."- — no other industry.
BawerVs Be;poi-t. 1848.

2/8

HISTORY OF LACE

Wadstena, where lies Queen Pliilippa of Lancaster,
daughter of Henry IV., is celebrated for its lace. The
art, according to tradition, was introduced among the nuns
of the convent by St. Bridget on her return from Italy.
Some even go so far as to say she wrote home to
Wadstena, ordering lace from Eome ; but, as St. Bridget
died in 1335, we may be allowed to <juestion the fact:
certain it is, though, the funeral coif of the saint, as
depicted in an ancient portrait, said to have been taken at
Rome after death, is ornamented with a species of per-
forated needlework. ^^ By the rules of the convent, the nuns
of Wadstena were forbidden to touch either gold or silver,
save in their netting and embroidery. There exists an old
journal of the Kloster, called Diarium Vadstencen.se, in which
are, however, no allusions to the art ; but the letters of a
Wadstena nun to her lover extra muros, published from
an old collection ^^ of documents, somewhat help us in our
researches.

" I wish," she writes to her admirer, " I could send you
a netted cap that I myself have made, but when Sister
Karin Andersdotter saw that I mingled o:old and silver
thread in it, she said, ' You must surely have some beloved.'
' Do you think so ? ' I answered. ' Here in the Kloster, you
may easily see if any of the brethren has such a cap, and
I dare not send it by anyone to a sweetheart outside the
walls.' ' You intend it for Axel Nilson,' answered Sister
Karin. ' It is not for you to talk,' I replied. ' I have seen
you net a long hood, and talk and prattle yourself with
Brother BertoL' "

From netted caps of thread, worked in with gold and
silver, the transition to lace is easy, and history tells that in
the middle ao;es the Wadstena nuns " Knit their laces of

^•^ The early perfection of Bridget
herself in this employment, if we may
credit the chronicle of the Abbess
Margaretha, 1440-46, may be ascribed
to a miraculous origin. .

When, at tlie age of twelve, she
was employed at her knitted lace-
work, a fear came over her that slie
should not finish her work creditably
to herself, and in her anxiety she
raised lior heart above. As her aunt
came into the chamber she beheld

an unknown maiden sitting ojjposite
to her niece, and aiding her in her
task ; she vanished immediately, and
when the aunt asked Bridget who had
helped her she knew nothing about it,
and assured her relation she had seen
no one.

All were astonished at the fineness
and x^erfection of the work, and kept
the lace as of miraculous origin.

^'^ Warlsfena Past and Present
(Forr och Nu).

S WE DEN 279

gold and silk." We may therefore suppose the art to have
Nourished in the convents at an early date.

At the suppression of the monasteries, under Charles IX.,
a few of the nuns, too infirm to sail with their sisters for
Poland, remained in Sweden. People took compassion on
the outcasts, and gave them two rooms to dwell in, where
they continued their occupation of making lace, and were
able, for a season, to keep the secret of their art. After a
time, however, lace-making became general throughout the
town and neighbourhood, and was known to the laity
previous to the dissolution of Wadstena— a favoured con-
vent which survived the rest of the other monasteries of
Sweden.

" Send up," writes Gustaf Vasa, in a familiar letter ^' to
his Queen Margaret, " the lace passement made for me by
Anne, the smith's daughter, at Upsala ; I want it : don't
neo-lect this." ^*'

In an inventory of Ericksholm Castle, drawn up in 1.548,
are endless entries of " sheets seamed with cut- work, half
worn-out sheets with open border of cut-work, towels with
cut-work and with the king's and queen's arms in each
corner, l)lue curtains with cut-work seams," etc.

The style of Wadstena lace changed with the times and
fashion of the national costume. Those made at present are
of the single or double ground, both black and white, fine,
but wanting in firmness. They also make much dentelle
torchon, of the lozenge pattern, for trimming the bed-linen
they so elal)orately embroider in drawn-work.

In 1830 the products in value amounted to 30,000 rix-
dollars. They were carried to every part of Sweden, and
a small quantity even to foreign parts. One dealer alone,
a Madame Hartruide, now sends her colporteurs hawking
Wadstena lace round the country. The fabric, after much
depression, has slightly increased of late years, having'
received much encouragement from her Majesty (^)ueen

'' The letter is dated March 20th, the Prmcess Isabella, daughter of

1544. John III., as it lies in the vault of

"* In the detailed account of the Stren.2;nas, the child's dress and shoes

trousseau furnished to his daughter, literally covered witli gold and silver

there is no mention of lace ; but the lace of a Gothic pattern, fresh and

authov of One Year in Sivedcnha.AHeen untarnished as though made yester-

the body of his little granddaughter, day.

28o HISTORY OF LACE

Louisa. Speciiiieijs of Wadstena lace — the ouly ]ace manu-
factory now existing in Sweden — were sent to the Great
International Exhi1)ition of 1862.

Holesoni, (ji- cut-work, is a favourite employment of
Swedish women, and is generally taught in the schools. ^^
At the various bathing-places you may see the young ladies
working as industriously as if for their daily sustenance ;
they never purchase such articles of decoration, l)ut entirely
adorn their houses by the labours of their own hands. It
was by a collar of this hcilesom, worked in silk and gold, that
young Gustaf Erikson was nearly betrayed when working as
a labourer in the barn of Eankhytta, the property of his old
college friend, Anders Petersen. A servant girl observed to
her master, " The new farm-boy can be no peasant ; for,"
says she, " his linen is far too fine, and I saw a collar
wrought in silk and oold l)eneath his kirtle."

Gold lace was much in vogue in the middle of the six-
teenth century, and entries of it al)ound in the inventory of
Gustavus Vasa and his youngest son, Magnus.

In an inventory of Ericksholm, 1536, is a pair of laced
sheets. It is the custom in Sweden to sew a broad border
of seamino- lace between the breadths of the sheets, some-
times wove in the linen. Directions, with patterns scarcely
changed since the sixteenth century, may be found in the
Wearlmj Book pul)lished at Stockholm in 1828.""

Towards the end of 1500 the term " passement " appears
in general use, in an inventory of " Pontus de Gardia."

In the neiohbourhood of Wadstena old soldiers, as well
as women, may be seen of a summer's evening sitting at the
cottage doors makino- lace. Though no other lace manu-
factory can be said to exist in Sweden beyond that of
Wadstena, still a coarse bobbin lace is made l)y the peasantry
for home consumption. The author has received from the
Countess Elizabeth Piper, late Grande Maitresse to her
Majesty the Queen of Sweden, specimens of coarse pillow
laces, worked by the Scanian peasant women, which, she
writes, "form a favourite occupation for the women of our
province."

''^ Inthe Victoria and Albert Museum Leipzig, 1746. Handholc for unga
tlicre is a collection of Norwe.t^ian cut- Fruniimmcr, by Ekenniark. Stock-
work of the eighteenth centui*y. holm, 1826-28.

^' Weber. Bilherhuch.

Plate LXXIV.

Russian. — Part of a long border setting forth a Procession. Lacis and embroidery in silk.

The luce is bobbin-made in thread. Reseau similar to Valenciennes. The Russian thread

is good quality linen. Size of portion shown 18^ x 14 in.

The property of Madame Pogosky.

Photo by A. Dryden.

To face page 280,

^ WED EN

281

Latterly this manufacture lias been protected and the
workwomen carefully directed.

Far more curious are the laces made by the peasants of
Dalecarlia, still retaining the patterns used in the rest of
Europe two hundred years since. The In'oader^^ kinds, of
which we give a woodcut (Fig. 1I7)> are from Gaguef, that
part of Dalecarlia where laces are mostly made and used.
Married women wear them on their summer caps, much
starched, as a shelter against the sun. Others, of an

Fig. 117.

Dalecarlian Lace.

unbleached thread, are from Orsa. This lace is never
washed, as it is considered an elegnnce to preserve this
coffee-coloured tint. The firmness and solidity of these last
laces are wonderful.

The specimens from liattwik are narrow " seaming "
laces of the lozenge pattern.

There is also a sort of plaiting used as a fringe, in the
style of the Genoese macrame, from the ends of a small

■^' Some are twice tlie width of Fig. 117.

282 HISTORY OF LACE

sheet wliich the peasants spread over their pillows. No
improvement takes place in the designs. The Dalecarlian
women do not make a trade of lace-making, they merely
work to supply their own wants.^^

Fig. 118 ' represents a lace collar worn by Gustavus
Adolphus, a relic carefully preserved in the Northern
Museum at Stockholm. (.)n it is inscribed in Swedish :
" This collar was worn by Gustaf Adolf, King of Sweden,
and presented, together with his portrait, as a remembrance,
in 1632, to Miss Jacobina Lauber, of Augsburg, because she
was the most beautiful damsel present." In addition to this
collar, there is preserved at the Royal Kladskammar at
Stockholm a blood-stained shirt worn by Gustavus at the
Battle of Dirschau, the collars and cuffs trimmed with
lace of rich geometric pattern, the sleeves decorated with
" seaming " lace.

In an adjoining case of the same collection are some
splendid altar-cloths of ancient raised Spanish point, said to
have been worked by the Swedish nuns previous to the sup-
pression of the monasteries. A small escutcheon constantly
repeated on the pattern of the most ancient specimens has
the semblance of a water-lily leaf, the emblem of the Stures,
leading one to believe they may have been of Swedish fabric,
for many ladies of that illustrious house sought shelter
from troublous times within the walls of the lace-making
convent of Wadstena.

In the same cabinet is displayed, with others of more ordi-
nary texture, a collar of raised Spanish guipure, worked by
the Princesses Catherine and Marie, daughters of Duke Johan
Adolf (brother of Charles X.). Though a creditable perform-
ance, yet it is far inferior to the lace of convent* make. The
making of this Spanish point formed a favourite amusement of
the Swedish ladies of the seventeenth century : bed- hangings,
coverlets, and toilets of their handiwork may still be found
in the remote castles of the provinces. We have received
the photograph of a flower from an old bed of Swedish lace
— an heirloom in a Smaland castle of Count Trolle Bonde.

22 For this information, with a collection of specimens, tlie autlior has to
thank Madame Petre of Gefle.

To face page 282.

RUSSIA 283

RUSSIA.

After his visit to Paris early in the eighteenth century.
Peter the Great founded a manufacture of silk lace at
Novgorod, which in the time of the Empress Elizabeth fell
into decay. In the reign of Catherine II. there were twelve
gold lace-makers at St. Petersburg, who were scarcely
able to supply the demand. In Kussia lace-making and
em])roidery go hand in hand, as in our early examples of
embroidery, drawn-work, and cut-work combined. Lace-
making was not a distinct industry ; the peasants, especially
in Eastern Russia, made it in their houses to decorate, in
conjunction with embroidery, towels, table-linen, shirts, and
even the household linen, for which purpose it was pur-
chased direct from the peasants 1)y the inhabitants of
the towns. Many will have seen the Russian towels in the
International Exhibition of 1874, and have admired their
(juaint design and bright colours, with the curious line of
red and blue thread running through the pattern of the lace.
Darned netting and drawn-work appear, as elsewhere, to
have been their earliest productions. The lace is loosely
wrought on the pillow, the work simple, and requiring few
l)obbins to execute the vermiculated pattern which is its
characteristic (Fig, 119, and Plates LXXII.-IV.).

The specimens vary very much in quality, but the
patterns closely resemble one another, and are all of an
oriental and barbaric character (Fig. 119).

In Nardendal, near Abo, in Finland, the natives offer to
strangers small petticoats and toys of lace — a relic of the
time when a nunnery of Cistercians flourished in the place.

Much of a simple design and coarse quality is made
in Belev, Vologda, Riazan, Mzeresk. At Vologda a lace
resembling torchon is made, with colours introduced, red,
blue, and ecru and white.^^ In some laces silks of various
colours are employed. Pillow-lace has only been known
in Russia for over a hundred years, and although the

-^ The Eussian bobbins are interest- iaxioy or artistic taste, they are purelj-

ing by reason of their archaic sim- utihtai-ian, mere sticks of wood, more

plicity. Lacking any trace of decora- or less straight and smooth, and six or

tion, whether suggested by sentimental seven inches long.

284 HISTORY OF LACE

lace produced is effective, it is coarse in texture and crude
in pattern. Late in the nineteenth century the Czarina
gave her patronage to a school founded at Moscow, where
Venetian needle-point laces have been copied, using the
finest English thread, and needle-laces made after old
Russian designs of the sixteenth century,"* called Point de
Moscou.

-^ A depot has been opened in London, wlieic Kussian laces -Awd embroidery
of all kinds are shown.

C".

33
I
-<

To face page 284.

285

CHAPTER XXII.

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH.

" We weare most fantastical fashions than any nation imdcv tlie sun dotb.
the French only excepted."— (7or?/a^'s Crudities. 1611.

It would be a difficult matter for antiquaries to decide at
what precise time lace, as we now define the word, first
appears as an article of commerce in the annals of our
country.

As early as the reign of Edward III.,^ the excessive
luxury of veils, worn even by servant girls, excited the
indio-nation of the Government, who, in an Act, dated 1363,
forbade them to be worn of silk, or of any other material,
'' mes soulement de fil fait deinz le Roialme," for which veils
no one was to pay more than the sum of tenpence. Of what
stuff these thread veils were composed we have no record ;
probably they were a sort of network, similar to the caul of
Queen Philippa, as we see represented on her tomb." That
a sort of crochet decoration used for edging was already
made, we may infer from the monumental effigies of the
day.^ The purse of the carpenter is described, too, in
Chaucer, as " purled with latoun," a kind of metal or wire
lace, similar to that found at Herculaneum, and made in
some parts of Europe to a recent period.

M. Aubry refers to a commercial treaty of 1390, l)etween
England and the city of Bruges, as the earliest mention of
lace. This said treaty we caimot find in Rymer, Dumont,

^ Eot. Pari. 37 Ediv. III. Printed. silk cap with a three-pointed border of

P. 278, Col. 2, No. 26. broad lace network." (Sandford. St.

2 See her monument in Westmin- Paul's monument, after Dugdale.)
ster Abbey. — Sandford's Genealogical "Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, died
History. 1425 (Sandford, p. 259), wore also a

3 " Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, caul of network with a needlework
wife of John of Gaunt, wears a quilted edging."

286 HISTORY OF LACE

or anywhere else. We have, as before alluded to, constant
edicts concerning the gold wires and threads of " Cipre.
Venys, Luk, and Jeane," of embroideries and suchlike, but
no distinct allusion to " lace."*

According to Anderson, the first intimation of such an
occupation being known in England is the complaint, made
in 1454, by the women of the mystery of thread -working in
London, in consequence of the importation of six foreign
women, by which the manufacture of needlework^ of thread
and silk, not as yet understood, was introduced. These six
women, probably Flemings, had brought over to England
the cut-work or darning of the time, a work then unknown
in this country.

All authors, up to the present period, refer to the well-
known Act of Edward IV., "^ 1463, in which the entrv of
'' laces, corses, ribans, fringes, de sole and de file, laces de
tile sole enfile," etc., are prohibited, as the first mention of
" lace " in the public records.

The English edition of the Fcedera, as well as the statutes
at large, freely translate these words as laces of thread, silk
twined, laces of gold, etc. ; and the various writers on
commerce and manufactures have accepted the definition as
" lace," without troubling themselves to examine the ques-
tion.' Some even go so far as to refer to a MS. in the Har-
leian Library,^ giving " directions for making many sorts of
laces,^ which w^ere in fashion in the times of King Henry VI.

* In the Statute 2 Rich. II. = 1378, " ' Item, to John Eden, my o gr. of

merchant strangers are allowed to sell tawny silk with poynts of needle work

in gross and in retail " gold wire or — opuspunctatnm.' '" — lim-y Wills and

silver wire" and other such small Inventories.

ware." Neither in this nor in the ^ Bib. Harl. 2,320.

Treaty 13 Rich. II. = 1390, between '■* Such as " Lace Bascon, Lace en-

]*jngland, the Count of Flanders, and dented. Lace bordred on both syde,

" les bonnes Gentz des Trois bonnes yn o syde, pykke Lace bordred, Lace

villes de Flandres Gand, Brugges et Condrak, Lace Dawns, Lace Piol,

Ipre (see Rymer),is there any mention Lace covert, Lace coverte doble. Lace

of lace, which, even if fabricated, was compon coverte. Lace niaskel, Lace

of too little importance as an article of cheyne brode, Las Cheveron, Lace

commerce to deserve mention save as Ounde, Grene dorge. Lace for Hattys,"

otlier " small wares." etc.

•"' Pins not yet being in common use. Another MS. of directions for making

any lace would be called " work of the these same named laces is in tlie

needle." possession of the Vicar of Ipsden,

" 3 Edw. IV., cap. iv. Oxfordshire, and lias been examined

'' " 1463. John Barett bequeaths to by the author through the kindness of

* My Lady Walgrave, my musk ball of Mr. W. Twopenny,
gold with pic and lace.

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH

287

and Edward IV.," as a proof that lace was already well
known, and formed the occupation of the " handcraftry " —
as those who gained their livelihood by manual occupation
were then termed — of the country. Now, the author has
carefully examined this already quoted MS., in the principal
letter of which is a damaged fig-ure of a woman sittino' and
" making of lace," which is made by means of " bowys." ^"
As regards the given directions, we defy anyone, save the
most inveterate lover of crochet-work, to understand one
word of its contents, beyond that it relates to some sort of
twisted thread-work, and perhaps we might, in utter confusion
of mind, have accepted the definition as given, had not
another MS. of similar tenor, bearing date 1651, been also
preserved in the British Museum. ^^

This second MS. gives specimens of the laces, such as
they were, stitched side by side with the rlirections, which
at once establishes the fact that the laces of silk and o-old,
laces of thread, were nothing more than braids or cords —
the laces used with tags, commonly called " poynts " (the
" ferrets " of Anne of Austria) — for fastening the dresses, as
well as for ornament, previous to the introduction of pins.

In the Wardrobe Accounts of the time we have frequent
notice of these " laces " and corses. " Laces de quir " (cuir)
also appear in the Statutes, ^^ which can only mean what we
now term bootlaces, or something similar.

^^ Bows, loops.

" Additional :\ISS. No. 6,293, small
quarto, ff. 38. It contains instructions
for making various laces, letters and
"edges," such as "diamond stiff, fly,
cross, long S, figure of 8, spider, hart,"
etc., and at the end : —

" Heare may you see in Letters New
The Love of her that honoreth yon.
My love is this,
Presented is
The Love I owe
I cannot showe,
The fall of Kings
Confusion bringes
Not the vallyou but the Love
When this you see
Remember me."

In the British Museum (Lansdowne
Roll, No. 22) is a tliird MS. on the
same subject, a parchment roll written
about the tinie of Charles I., contain-

ing rules and directions for executing
various kinds of sampler-work, to be
wrought in letters, etc., by means of
coloured strings or bows. It has a
sort of title in these words, " To know
the use of this Booke it is two folkes
worke," meaning that the works are to
be done by two persons.

Probably of this work was the
'•Brede (braid) of divers colours,
woven by Four Ladies," the subject
of some verses by Waller begin -

Virgins'

" Twice twenty slender

Fingers twine
This curious web, where all their

fancies shine.
As Nature them, so they tliis

shade have wrought,
Soft as tlieir Hands, and \;tvioiis

as their Thoughts," etc.

'"- 1 Rich. IIL = 1483. Act Xl[.

288 HISTORY OF LACE

In the "Total of stuffs bought" for Edward IV./^ we
have entries : " Laces made of ryban of sylk ; two dozen
laces, and a double lace of ryban " — " corses of sylk with
laces and tassels of sylk," etc. Again, to Alice Claver, his
sylk woman, he pays for " two dozen laces and a double lace
of sylk." These double laces of ribbon and silk were but
plaited, a simple ornament still used by the peasant women
in some countries of Europe. There must, however, be a
beginnino- to everything, and these tag laces — some made
round, others in zigzag, like the modern braids of ladies'
work, others Hat — in due course of time enriched with an
edging, and a few stitches disposed according to rule, pro-
duced a rude lace : and these patterns, clumsy at first, were,
after a season, improved upon.

From the time of Edward IV. downwards, statute on
apparel followed upon statute, renewed for a number of
years, bearing always the same expression, and nothing-
more definite. ^^

The Venetian galleys at an early period bore to England
the goldwork of " Luk," Florence, " Jeane " and Venice.
In our early Parliamentary records are many statutes on the
subject. It is not, however, till the reign of Henry VII.
that, according to Anderson, " Gold and thread lace came
from Florence, Venice, and Genoa, and became an article of
commerce. An Act was then passed to prevent the buyers
of such commodities from selling for a pound weight a packet
which does not contain twelve ounces, and the inside of the
said gold, silver, and thread lace was to be of equal greatness
of thread and goodness of colour as the outside thereof." '•'

The Italians were in the habit of giving short lengths,
gold thread of bad quality, and were guilty of sundry other
misdemeanours which greatly excited the wrath of the
nation. The balance was not m Engjland's favour. It was
the cheatino; Venetians who first brought over their gold
lace into England.

A warrant to the Keeper of the (heat Wardrobe, in the

'^ Privy Purse Expenses of Eliza- for ten yeai-s, and that of Richard is

hcth of York, and Wardrobe Accounts continued by 19 Henry VII. for twenty

of King Edward IV., by Sir H. years more.

Nicolas. i« 4 Hen. VII. = 1488-9.

" 1 Rich. III. renews 3 Edw. lY.

Plate LXXV.

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T" ./«(,'(' patje 28S.

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH 289.

eighteenth year of King Henry's reign,'" contains an order
for " a mauntel lace of hlewe silk and Venys gold, to be
delivered for the use of our right dere and well-beloved
Cosyn the King of Romayne " — Maximilian, who was made
Knight of the Garter. "'

If lace was really worn in the days of Henry VH. , it was
proljably either of gold or silk, as one of the last Acts of that
monarch's reign, l)y which all foreign lace is prohibited, and
" those who have it in their possession may keep it and wear
it till Pentecost," '* was issued rather for the protection of
the silk-women of the country than for the advantage of
the ever-complaining " workers of the mysteries of thread-
work."

On the 3rd of October, 1502, his Queen Elizabeth of
York pays to one Master Bonner, at Langley, for laces,
rybands, etc., 405. ; and again, in the same year, Z'^s. Id. to
Dame Margrette Cotton, for " hosyn, laces, sope, and other
necessaries for the Lords Henry Courtenay, Edward, and
the Lady Margrette, their sister." A considerable sum is
also paid to Fryer Hercules for gold of Venys, gold of
Danmarke, and making a lace for the King's mantell of the
Garter.'^

It is towards the early part of Henry VIII.'s reign that
the " Actes of Apparell " -" first mention the novel luxury of
shirts and partlets, " garded and pynched," ^' in addition to
clothes decorated in a similar manner, all of which are

"^ P.E.O. The same Warrant con- with her heare rowled up with a

tains an order to deliver "for the use white lace sett in a boxe of wodde." —

and wearing of our right dere daughter P. R. O.

the Lady Mary," together with a black '« 19 Hen. VII. = 1504,

velvet gown^ scarlet petticoat, etc., " a ^'' Sir H. Nicolas,

nounce of lace for her kyrtel," and a '' Statute 1 Hen. VIII. = 1509-10.

thousand " pynnes." An act agaynst wearing of costly

^■^ In the list of the late King Henry's Apparell, and again, 6 Hen. VIII. =

plate, made 1543, we have some curious 1514-15.

entries, in which the term lace ap- ^^ " Gard, to trim with lace." —

pears : — Cotgrave.

"Item, oone picture of a woman " No less than crimson velvet did him

made of erthe with a carnacion Eoobe grace,

knitt with a knott in the lefte shoulder All garded and regarded with gold

and bare hedid with her heere rowlid lace."— Samuel Rowlands, A Pair

up with a white lace sett in a boxe of of Sjjy-Knaves.

wodde. " I do forsake these 'broidered gardes,

"Item, oone picture of a woman And all the fashions new."

made of erthe with a carnacon garment —The Queen in King Cambisis,

after the Inglishe tyer and bareheddid <^ii^C. 1615.

290

HISTORY OF LACE

forbidden to be worn by anyone under the degree of a
knio-ht.^' In the year 1517 there had been a serious insur-
rection of the London apprentices against the numerous
foreign tradesmen who ah-eady infested the land, which,
followed up by the never-ending complaints of the workers
of the mysteries of needlework, induced the king to ordain
the wearing of such " myxte joyned, garded or browdered " "
articles of lynnen cloth be only allowed when the same be
wrought within " this realm of England, Wales, Berwick,
(Calais, or the Marches.""^

The earliest record We find of laced linen is in the
Inventory of Sir Thomas L'Estrange, of Hunstanton, County
of Norfolk, 1519, where it is entered, " 3 elles of Holland
cloth, for a shirte for hym, 6 shillings," with " a yard of lace
for hym, 8f/."

In a MS. called " The Boke of Curtasye "—a sort of
treatise on etiquette, in which all grades of society are
tauoht their duties — the chamberlain is commanded to
provide for his master's uprising, a " clene shirte," bordered
with lace and curiously adorned with needlework.

The correspondence, too, of Honor. Lady Lisle, seized by
Henry VIII. "^ as treasonous and dangerous to the State,
■embraces a hot correspondence with one Soeur Antoinette
de Sevenges, a nun milliner of Dunkirk, on the important
subject of nightcaps,-" one half dozen of which, she com-
plains, are far too wide behind, and not of the lozenge (cut)
work pattern she had selected. The nightcaps were in
•consequence to be changed.

Anne Basset, daughter of the said Lady Lisle, educated
in a French convent, writes earnestly begging for an

" edo-e

~- Under forfeiture of the same shirt
and a fine of 40 shilhnos.

■'' 7 Hen. VIII. = 1515-16.—" Thacte
of Apparell."

-'^ 24 Hen. VIII. = 1532-33.— " An
Act for Eeformation of excess in Ap-
parel."

25 jj-j J539

2« Lisle, borr. Vol. i., p. 64. P.E.O.
Lord Lisle was Governor of Calais,
whence the letter is dated.
Honor. Lylle to Madame Antoinette
de Sevenges, a Dunkerke.

" Madame, — Je ne vous eusse vollu

envoier ceste demi dousaine pour chan-
gier nestoit que tous celles que men-
voiez dernierement sont trop larges,
et une dousaine estoit de cestuy
ou\rage dout jestis esmerveille, veu
que je vous avois escript que menvois-
siez de louvrage aux lozenges, vous
priant que la demy dousaine que
menvoierez pour ceste demy dousaine
soient du diet ouvrage de lozenge, et
quil soient plus estroictes mesmement
par devant nonobstant que lexemple
est au contraire."

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH

291

of perle"' for lier coif and a tablete (tablier) to ware." Her
sister Mary, too, gratefully expresses her thanks to her
mother, in the same year,^^ for the " laced gloves you sent
me by bearer." Calais was still an English possession, and
her products, like those of the Scotch Border fortresses, were
held as such.^^

Lace still appears but sparingly on the scene. Among
the Privy Purse expenses of the king in 1530,^*^ we find five
shillings and eightpence paid to Richard Cecyll,^' Groom of
the Robes, for eight pieces of " yelowe lace, bought for the
King's Grace." We have, too, in the Harleian Inventory/^
-a coif laid over with passamyne of gold and silver.

These " Acts of Apparell," as regards foreign imports,
are, however, somewhat set aside towards the year 1546,
when Henry grants a licence in favour of two Florentine
merchants to export for three years' time, together with
•other matters, " all manner of fryngys and passements
wrought with gold or silver, or otherwise, and all other new
gentillesses of what facyou or value soever they may be, for
the pleasure of our dearest wyeft' the Queen, our nobles,
gentlemen, and others." ^^ The king, however, reserves to
himself the first view of their merchandise, with the privilege
■of selecting anything he may please for his own private use,
before their wares were hawked about the country. The
said " dearest wyefi"," from the date of the Act, must have
been Katherine Parr ; her predecessor, Katherine Howard,
had for some four years slept headless in the vaults of the
White Tower chapel. Of these " gentillesses" the king now
beo^an to avail himself. He selects " trunk sleeves of redd
■cloth of gold with cut-work ; " knitted gloves of silk, and
•" handkerchers " edoed with o-old and silver ; his towels are

"" Among the niamage clotlies of
Mary Neville, who espoused George
■€lifton, 1536, is :—

" A neyge of perle, .£1 4s. Of7.

In the pictures, at Hampton Court
Palace, of Queens Mary and Elizabeth,
:and another of Francis II., all as
■children, their ruffs are edged with a
very narrow purl.

-» 1538. Lisle. Corr. (P.R.O.)

23 See Note 24.

30 Privy Purse Ex. Hen. A^III.
1529-32. Sir H. Nicolas.

^' Father of Lord Burleigh. There
are other similar entries: — " 8 pieces
of yellow lace, 9.5. 4*^?." Also, "green
silk lace."

1632, " green silk lace " occurs again,
as trimming a pair of French shoes in
a *• Bill of shoes for Sir Francis Winde-
bank and family." — State Papers Dom.
Vol. 221. P.R.O.

3^ " Inv. of Hen. VIII. and 4 Edw.
VI." Harl. MS. 1419, A and B.

33 38 Hen. VIIL = 1546. Rymer's
Focdcra. Vol. xv., p. 105.

U 2

292

HISTORY OF LACE

of diaper, " with Stafford knots," or " knots and roses ; " he^
lias " coverpanes of fyne diaper of Adam and Eve garnished
about with a narrow passamayne of Venice gold and silver ;
liandkerchers of Holland, frynged with Venice gold, redd
and white silk," others of " Flanders worke," and his shaving
cloths trimmed in like fashion.^* The merchandise of the-
two Florentines had found vast favour in the royal eyes.
Though these articles were imported for " our dere wyeif's-
sake," beyond a " perle edging " to the coif of the Duchess
of Suffolk, and a similar adornment to the tucker of Jane
Seymour,^^ lace seems to have been little employed for female
decoration during the reign of King Henry VIII.

That it was used for the adornment of the ministers of

Fig. 120.

FiSHKK, Bishop of Kochi;s:'i:i:. + i.iyr).— (jr. de Versailles.)

the Church we have ample evidence. M. Aubry states having
seen in London lace belonging to Cardinal Wolsey. On this
matter we have no information ; but we know the surplices
were ornamented round the neck, shoulders, and sleeves with
" white work " and cut- work ^^ at this period. The specimens
we give (Figs. 120, 121) are from a portrait formerly in
the Library of the Sorbonne, now transferred to Versailles,
of Fisher, Bishop of Eochester, Cardinal Fisher as he is
styled — his cardinal's hat arriving at Dover at the ver}^
moment the head that was to wear it had fallen at Tower
Hill.

About this time, too, lace gradually dawns upon us in

'* Harl. MS. 1419. Passion.

^^ See Holbein's porti-aits.

"■"^ " The old cut-work cope."— Beau-

mont and Fletcher.
Curate.

The Spanish

Plate LXXVI.

English. Cutwork akd Needlk-point. — Croos sail
to have belonged to Cardinal Wolsey.

Plate LXXVII.

English. Devonshire "Trolly." — First part of nineteenth century.
Photos by A. Dryden from private eolleetion.

Til face iKiiji' i\)i.

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH

293

the churcli inventories. Among the churchwardens' accounts
of St. Mary-at-Hill, date 1554, we find entered a charge of
Zs. for making " the Bishopp's (boy bishop) myter with stuff
and lace."^' The richly-laced corporax cloths and church
linen are sent to be washed by the " Lady Ancress," an
ecclesiastical washerwoman, who is paid by the churchwardens
of St. Margaret's, Westminster, the sum of %d. ; this Lady
Ancress, or Anchoress, being some worn-out old nun who,
since the dissolution of the relioious houses, eked out an
existence by the art she had once practised within the walls
of her convent.

^At the burial of King Edward VL, Sir Edward Waldgravo.

Fig. 121.

Fisher, Bishoi' of Rochester. — (M. ile Versailles.)

enters on his account a charge of fifty yards of gold passe-
ment lace for garnishing the pillars of the church.

The sumptuary laws of Henry VIIL were again renewed
by Queen Mary :^^ in them ruffles made or wrought out of
England, commonly called cut-work, are forbidden to anyone
under the degree of a baron ; while to women of a station
beneath that of a knight's wife, all wreath lace or passement
lace of gold and silver with sleeves, partlet or linen trimmed

3' We read, too, of " 3 kvrcheys y'
was given to the kyrk wash," large as
a woman's hood worn at a fi;neral,
highly ornamented with the needle by
pions women, and given to be sold for

the good of the impoverished church,
for which the churchwardens of St.
Midiael, Spurr Gate, York, received
the sum of .5s.

^'^ 1 and 2 Ph. and Mary.

294 HISTORY OF LACE

with purles of gold and silver, or white-works, alias cut-works,,
etc., made beyond the sea, is strictly prohibited. These
articles were, it seems, of Flemish origin, for among the New
Year's Gifts presented to Queen Mary, 1556, we find
enumerated as given by Lady Jane Seymour, " a fair smock
of white w^ork,^^ Flanders making." Lace, too, is now in
more general use, for on the same auspicious occasion, Mrs.
Penne, King Edward's nurse, gave " six handkerchers edged
with passamayne of golde and silke." ^^ Two years previous
to these New Year's Gifts, Sir Thomas Wyatt is described as
wearing, at his execution, " on his head a faire hat of velvet,
with broad bone-work lace about it.""

Lace now seems to be called indifferently purle, passa-
mayne or bone-work, the two first-mentioned terms occurring
most frequently. The origin of this last appellation is
generally stated to have been derived from the custom of
using sheep's trotters previous to the invention of wooden
bobbins. Fuller so explains it, and the various dictionaries
have followed his theory. The Devonshire lace-makers, on
the other hand, deriving their knowledge from tradition ,
declare that when lace-making was first introduced into their
county, pins,'*'^ so indispensable to their art, being then sold
at a price far beyond their means, the lace-makers, mostly
the wives of fishermen living along the coast, adopted the

3:1 K White work " appears also By an Act of Eich. III. the importa-

among Queen EHzabeth's New Year's tion of pms was prohibited. The early

Gifts : — pins were of boxwood, bone, bronze or

"1578. Lady Eatcliff. A veil of silver. In 1347 {Liber Garderohw,

white work, with spangles and small 12-16 Edw. III. P. R. 0.) we have a

bone lace of silver. A swete bag, charge for 12,000 pins for the trousseau

being of changeable silk, with a small of Joanna, daughter of Edward III.,

bone lace of gold. betrothed to Peter the Cruel. The

"1589. LadyShandowes (Chandos). young Princess probably escaped a

A cushion clotli of lawne wrought with miserable married life by her decease

whitework of branches and trees, edged of the black death at Bordeaux when

with bone work, wrought with crowns." on her way to Castille.

— Nichols' Boyal Progresses. The annual import of pins in the

*o Eoll of New Year's Gifts. 1556. time of Elizabeth amounted to ^3,297.

*' Stowe. Queen Mary. An. — State Papers, Dom., Eliz. Vol. viii.

1554. P. E. O.

*^ It is not known when brass wire In Eliz., Q. of Bohemia's Expenses,

pins were first made in England, but we find : " Dix mille espingles dans

it must have been before 1543, in which un papier, 4 florins." — Ger. Corr. No.

year a Statute was passed (35 Hen. 41. P. E. O.

VIII.) entitled, " An Act for the True " In Holland pillow-lace is called

Making of Pynnes," in which tlie price Pinwork lace — Gespelde-werkte kant."'

is fixed not to exceed 6s. Sd. per 1,000. — Sewell's Eng. and Dutch Diet.

ENGLAND TO OUEEN ELIZABETH

295

bones of fish, which, pared and cut into regular lengths, fully
answered as a substitute. This explanation would seem
more probable than that of employing sheep's trotters for
bobbins, which, as from 300 to 400 are often used at one
time on a pillow, must have been both heavy and cumber-
some. Even at the present day pins made from chicken
bones continue to be employed in Spain ; and bone pins are-
still used in Portuc;al.*^

Shakespeare, in Tivelftli- Night, speaks of

" The spinsters and the knitters in the sun,
And the free maids tliat weave their threads with bone."

"Bone" lace*^ constantly appears in the wardrobe
accounts, while bobbin lace*^ is of less frequent occurrence. .

Among the New Year's Gifts presented to Queen Eliza-
beth, we have from the Lady Paget " a petticoat of cloth
of gold stayned black and white, with a bone lace of
gold and spangles, like the way ves of the sea " ; a most
astounding article, with other entries no less remarkable
but too numerous to cite.

^^ An elderly woman informed the
author that slie recollects in her youth,
Avhen she learned to make Honiton
point of an ancient teacher of the
parish, bone pins were still employed.
The}' were in use until a recent period,
and renounced only on account of
their costliness. The author purchased
of a Devonshire lace-maker one,. bear-
ing date 1829, with the name tatooed
into the bone, the gift of some long-
forgotten youth to her grandmother.
These bone or wood bobbins, some
ornamented with glass beads — the
more ancient with silver let in — are the
calendar of a lace-worker's life. One
records her first appearance at a neigh -
bom-ing fair or May meeting ; a second
was the first gift of her good man,
long cold in his grave ; a third the first
prize brought home by her child from
the dame school, and proudly added
to her mother's cushion : one and all.
as she sits weaving her threads, are
memories of bygone days of hopes
and fears, of joys and sorrows ; and,
though many a sigh it calls forth, she
cherishes her well-worn cushion as an

old friend, and works away, her present
labour lightened by the memory of the
past.

« Surtees' Wills and Inv.

" Hearing bone lace value 5s. 4^7."
is mentioned " in y'' shoppe of John
Johnston, of Darlington, merchant."

*'^ 1578. " James Backhouse, of
Kirby in Lonsdale. Bobbin lace, 6s.
per ounce."

1597. "John Farbeck, of Durham.
In y" Shoppe, 4 oz. & ^ of Bobbing^
lace, 6s. 4d."—Ibid.

"Bobbin" lace is noted in the
Royal Inventories, but not so fre-
quently as " bone."

" Laqueo. . . . fact, super lez bob-
bins."— G. W. A. Eliz., 27 and 28,
P. E. O.

" Three peces teniar bobbin." — Ibid.
Car. I., vi.

"One pece of bobin lace, 2s.."
occiu-s frequently in the accounts of
Lord Compton, afterwar-ds Earl of
Northampton, Master of the Ward-
robe of Prince Charles.— Roll, 1622-28,
Extraordinary Expenses, and others.
P. R. O.

296

HISTORY OF LACE

In the marriage accounts of Prince Charles*^ we have
charged 150 yards of bone lace^' for six extraordinary ruffs
and twelve pairs of cuffs, against the projected Spanish
marriage. The kice was at 96-. a yard. Sum total, £67 10*'.**
Bone lace is mentioned in the cataloo;ue of Kino- Charles l.'s
pictures, drawn up by Vanderdort,^'* wdiere James I. is
described " without a hat, in a bone lace fallino- band." ""

Setting; aside wardrobe accounts and inventories, the term
constantly appears both in the literature and the plays of the
seventeenth century.

" Buj" some quoifs, handkerchiefs, or very good bone lace, mistress?"

cries the pert sempstress when she enters with her basket of
wares, in Green's Tu Quoque, °^ showing it to have been at
that time the usual designation.

" You taught her to make shirts and bone lace,"

says someone in the City Madam.''^

- Again, descriljing a thrifty wife, Loveless, in The Scornful
LadyJ'^ exclaims —

" She cuts cambric to a thread, weaves bone lace, and quilts balls
admirably."

The same term is used in the TafJer ^* and Spectator ^^

^^ In the "Ward. Ace. of his brother,
Prince Henry, 1607, and the Warrant
to the G. Ward., on his sister the
Princes^ "Elizabeth's marriage, 1612-
13, "bone" lace is in endless quan-
tities.

Bobbin lace appears invariably dis-
tinguished from bone lace, both being
mentioned in the same inventory. The
author one day showed an old Vandyke
Italian edging to a Devonshire lace-
worker, asking her if she could make
it. " I think I can," she answered ;
" it is Ijobbin lace." On inquiring the
distinction, she said : " Bobbin lace is
made with a coarse thread, and in its
manufacture we use long bobbins in-
stead of the boxwood of ordinary
size, wliich would not hold the neces-
sary quantity of this thread, though
sufficient for the quality used in
making Honiton flowers and Trolly
lace."— Mrs. Palliser.

*'' Randle Holme, in his enumera-

ting

411

tion of terms used in arts, gives :
" Bone lace, wrought with pegs."

The materials used for bobbins in
Italy have been already' mentioned.

*** Lord Compton. "Extraordinary
Expenses of the W^ardrobe of K.
Charles, before and after he was
-Roll, 1622-26. P. R. 0.
An. 1635.

'^^ A miniature of Old Hilliard, now
in the possession of his Grace the
Duke of Hamilton.

'"^ 1614.

''■'- Massinger. 1612.

'•'^ Beaumont and Fletcher.

54 u rpj^g things you follow and make
songs on now, should be sent to knit,
or sit down to bobbins or bone-lace." —
Tatler.

05 II -^g destroy the symmetry of the
lunnan figure, and foolishly combine
to call off the eye from great and real
Ijeauties to childish gewgaw ribbands
and bone-lace." — Spectator.

ENGLAND TO QUEEN ELIZABETH 297

^nd in the list of prizes given, in 1752, by the Society of
Anti-Gallicans, we find, " Six pieces of l)one lace for men's
ruffles." It continued to be applied in the Acts of Parlia-
ment and notices relative to lace, nearly to the end of the
•eighteenth century. ^"^ After a time, the sheep's trotters or
bones having been universally replaced by bobbins of turned
box-wood, the term fell into disuse, though it is still retained
in Belgium and Germany.

From the reign of (^leen Mary onwards, frequent mention
is made of parchment lace (see pp. 297-298), a term most
generally associated with gold and silver, otherwise we should
■consider it as merely referring to needle-made lace, which is
worked on a parchment pattern.

But to return to Queen Mary Tudor. We have among
the " late Queen Mary's clothes " an entry of " compas " ^"^
lace ; probably an early name for lace of geometric pattern.
Open-w^ork edging of gold and passamaine lace also occur ;
and on her gala robes lace of " Venys gold," as well as
" vales of black network," a fabric to wdiich her sister. Queen
Elizabeth, was most partial ; partlets,^^ dressings, shadowes,
and pynners " de opere rete," appearing constantly in her

accounts. ^^

It was at this period, during the reign of Henry VIII.
and Mary, a peculiar and universally prevalent fashion,
varying in degrees of eccentricity and extravagance, to slash
the garment so as to show glimpses of some contrasting
underdress. Dresses thus slashed, or puffed, l)anded,
" pinched," stiff with heavy gold and metal braid or em-
broidery, required but little additional adornment of lace.*""
The falling collar, which was worn in the early part of the
sixteenth century, before the Elizabethan ruff (introduced
from France about 1560), w^as, however, frequently edged
with lace of geometric pattern.

Early in the sixteenth century the dresses of the ladies

^•^ It is used in Walpole's New 24s., ^4 16s."— G. W. A. Eliz., 43

British Traveller. 1784. to 44,

^^ Haliwell gives compas as " a 1578-79. New Year's Gifts. Baroness

circle ; Anglo-Norman." Shandowes. " A vail of black net-

'* Partlet, a small ruff or neck- work flourished with flowers of silver

band. and a small bone-lace." — Nichols.

*' " Eidem pro 4 pec' de opera lihet' ''" Encyclojnrdia Britannica. Art.

bon' florat' in forma oper' sciss' ad Costume. Sixteenth Century.

298 HISTORY OF LACE

fitted closely to the figure, with long skirts open in front to
display the underdress ; and were made low and cut square
about the neck. Sometimes, however, the dresses were worn
high with short waists and a small falling collar. Somewhat
later, when the dresses were made open at the girdle, a
partlet— a kind of habit-shirt — was worn beneath them, and
carried to the throat."

Entries of lace in the wardrobe accounts are, however,
few and inconsiderable until the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

EncycloiKfdia Britannica. Art. Costume. Sixteenth century.

Plate LXXVIII.

Marie de Lorraine, 1515-1560. Daughter of Dug de Guise, married James V.

OF Scotland, 1538. This picture was probably painted before she left France, by an

unknown French artist. National Portrait Gallery.

Photo by Walker and Cockerell.

T(i fare jKdJf "208.

299

CHAPTER XXIIL

QUEEN ELIZABETH.

" By land and sea a Virgin Queen I reign,
And spurn to dust both Antichrist and Spain." — Old Masque^

" Tell me, Dorinda, why so gay ?

Why such embroidery, fringe and lace ?
Can any dresses find a way
To stop the approaches of decay

And mend a ruined face?" — Lord Dorset.

Up to the present time our mention of lace, both in the
Statutes and the Royal Wardrobe Accounts, has been but
scanty. Suddenly, in the days of the Virgin Queen,
both the Privy Expenses and the Inventories of New
Year's Gifts overflow with notices of passaments, drawn-
work, cut-work, crown lace,^ bone lace for ruffs, Spanish
chain, byas,^ parchment, hollow,^ billament/ and diamond

^ Crown lace — so called from the
pattern being worked on a succession
of crowns sometimes intermixed with
acorns or roses. A relic of this lace
may still be found in the " faux galon "
sold by the German Jews, for the
decoration of fancj' dresses and theatri-
cal piu'poses. It is frequently' men-
tioned. We have : —

" 12 vards laquei, called crown lace
of black gold and silk."— G. W. A.
Eliz. 4 & 5.

" 18 yards crown lace purled with
one wreath on one side." — Ibid. 5 & 6.

2 " 11 virgis laquei Bvas."— li^W. 29
&30.

^ Hemming and edging 8 yards of
ruff of cambric with white lace called
hollow lace, and various entries of
Spanish lace, Fringe, Black chain,
Diamond, knotted, hollow, and others,
are scattered through the earlier

Wardrobe Accounts of Queen Eliza-
beth.

The accounts of the Keepers of the
Great Wardrobe, which we shall have
occasion so frequently to cite, are now
deposited in the Public Record Office,
to which place they were transferred
fi-om the Audit Office in 1859. They
extend from the 1 Elizabeth = 1558 to
Oct. 10, 1781, and comprise 160 vol-
umes, ^vTitten in Latin until 1730-31,
when the account appears in English,
and is continued so to the end. 1748-
49 is the last account in which the
items are given.

■* Eliz. 30 & 31. Billament lace
occurs both in the " shoppes " and
inventories of the day. Among the
list of foreigners settled in the City of
London in 1571 (State Papers, Dom.,
Eliz. Vol 84. P.E.O.), are : William
CrutaU, "useth the craft of making

,30o HISTORY OF LACE

lace ^ in endless, and to us, we must own, most incompre-
hensible variety.

The Surtees' Wills and Inventories add to our list the
laces Waborne ^ and many others. Lace was no longer con-
fined to the court and hif>h nobility, but, as these inventories
show, it had already found its way into the general shops
and stores of the provincial towns. In that of John John-
ston, merchant, of Darlington, already cited, we have twelve
yards of " loom " lace, value four shillings, black silk lace,
"statute" lace, etc., all mixed up with entries of pepper,
hornbooks, sugar-candy, and spangles. About the same
date, in the inventory taken after the death of James Back-
house, of Kirby-in-Lonsdale, are found enumerated " In y"
great shoppe," thread lace at 16.<?. per gross ; four dozen
and four " pyrled " lace, four shillings ; four quarterns of
statching (stitching or seaming X) lace ; lace edging ; crown
lace ; hollow lace ; copper lace ; gold and silver chean
(chain) lace, etc. This last-mentioned merchant's store
appears to have been one of the best-furnished provincial
shops of the period. That of John Farbeck, of Durham,
mercer, taken thirty years later, adds to our list seventy-
eight yards of velvet lace, coloured silk, chaynelace, "coorld"
lace, petticoat lace, all cheek by jowl with Venys gold and
turpentine.

To follow the " stitches " and " works " c^uoted in the
Wardrobe Accounts of Elizabeth — all made out in Latin, of
which we sincerely trust, for the honour of Ascham, the

byllament lace"; Eich. Thomas, ^ 95 dozen ricli silver double dia-

Dntch, " a worker of Billament iiiond and cross laces occur also in the

lace." Extraoirlinanj Expenses for Prince

In 1573 a country gentleman, by his Charles's Journey to Spain. 1623. —

will deposited in the Prerogative Court P. R. O.

•of Canterbury (Brayley and Britton's "^ 1571. " In y'= Great Shop, 8 peces

GrajyJiic Illustrations), bequeaths: of 'waborne' lace, 16(1." — Mr. John

"To my son Tyble my short gown Wilhinsoiis Goods, of Newcastle, Mer-

faced with wolf skin and laid with cliant.

Billements lace." 1580. " 100 Gross and a half of

In John Johnston's shop we liave : ' waborne ' lace." — Inv. of Cuthhert

■" 3 doz. of velvet Billemunt lace, 12s." FAlyson.

In that of John Farbeck, 9 yards of 1549. John de Tronch, Abbot of

the same. (Surtees' Wills and Inv.) Kilmainham Priory, is condemned to

Widow Chapman of Newcastle's inven- pay 100 marks fine for detaining 2 lbs.

tory, 1533, contains : " One old cassock of Waborne thread, value 3.s., and

of broad cloth, with billements lace, other articles, the property of W.

10s." (Ihid.) Sacy.

QUEEN ELIZABETH 30 r

Queen herself was guiltless — would be but as tlie inventory
of a haberdasher's shop.

We have white stitch, " opus ret' all)," of which she had
a kirtle, " pro le hemmynge et edginge " of which, with
"laqueo coronat' de auro et arg' " — gold and silver crown
lace — and " laqueo alb' lat' bon' opera t' super ess' "^ — broad
white lace worked upon bone — she pays the sum of 35s.^

Then there is the Spanish stitch, already mentioned as
introduced by Queen Katherine, and true stitch,^ laid- work ,^'
net-work, black-work,"' white-work, and cut-work.

Of chain-stitch we have many entries, such as Six caules
of knot- work, worked with chain-stitch and bound " cum,
tapem " (tape), of sister's (nun's) thread. ^^ A scarf of white
stitch -work appears also among the New Year's Gifts.

As regards the use, however, of these ornaments, the
Queen stood no nonsense. Luxury for herself was quite a
different aftair from that of the people ; for, on finding that
the London apprentices had adopted the white stitching and
gardiug as a decoration for their collars, she put a stop to all
such finery by ordering ^^ the first transgressor to be publicly
whipped in the hall of his Company.

Laid- work, which maybe answers to our modern plumetis,,
or simply signified a braid-w^ork, adorned the royal garters,
" Frauncie," which worked " cum laidwork," stitched and
trimmed " in ambobus lateribus " with gold and silver lace,
from which hung silver pendants, " tufted cum serico color,"
cost her Majesty thirty-three shillings the pair.^^

■^ G. W. A. Eliz. 16 & 17. work and edged with a broad bone-lace-

^ " Eidem pro 6 maniiterg' de of black sylke."

camerick operat' cum serico nigra " "Eidem pro 6 caiiles alb' nodat

trustich," etc. — G. W. A. Eliz. 41 & 42, opat' cii' le chainestich et ligat' cu'

and, again, 44. tape de filo soror, ad 14s., 4Z. 4s." —

" 1572. Inventory of Thomas Swin- G. W. A. Eliz. 41 .& 42.

burne of Ealingham, Esq. Also in the last year of her reign

(1602) we find :—

" His Apparell. ^ Six fine net caules flourished with

"A wellwett cote layd with silver chaine stitch with sister's thread." —

las. Wardrobe Accoimts. B. M. Add..

" A satten doullet lavd with silver MSS. No. 5751.

las. ' '2 In 1583.

"A payr of wellwett sleeves layd '^ G. W. A. Eliz. 38 & 39. We

with silver las." — Sui-tees' Wills and have it also on ruffs.

Inv. " Eidem pro 2 sutes de lez ruffs bon'

^" New Year's Gifts. Lady Mary de la lawne operat' in le laid work et

Sidney. "A smock and two pillow edged ctnn ten' bon' ad 70s. per pec',,

beres of cameryck wrought with black- 7/." — G. AV. A. Eliz. 43 & 44.

302

HISTOR Y OF LA CE

The descriptiou of these right royal articles appears to
have given as much trouble to describe as it does ourselves
to translate the meaning of her accountant.

The drawn-work, "opus tract','' seems to have been but a
drawing of thread worked over silk. We have smocks thus
wrought and decorated " cum lez ruffs et wrestbands." ^*

In addition to the already enumerated laces of Queen
Elizabeth are the bride laces of Coventry blue,^^ worn and
given to the guests at weddings, mentioned in the Masques
of Ben Jonson : ^'^ —

" Clod. — And I have lost, beside my purse, my best bride-lace I had at
Joan Turnips' wedding.

" Frances. — Ay, and I have lost my thimble and a skein of Coventry blue
I had to work Gregory Litchfield a handkerchief."

When the Queen visited Kenilworth in 1577, a Bridall
took place for the pastime of her Majesty. " First," writes
the Chancellor, " came all the lusty lads and bold bachelors
■of the parish, every wight with his blue bridesman's bride
lace upon a braunch of green broom." What these bride
laces exactly were we cannot now tell. They continued in
fashion till the Puritans put down all festivals, ruined the

" G. W. A. Eliz., last year of her
reign. Again —

1600. " Drawing and working with
black silk drawne worke, five smocks
of fine hoUand cloth."— B. M. Add.
MSS. No. .5751.

" These Holland smocks as white as
snow,
And gorgets brave with drawn -
work wrought."
— Pleasant Quippes for Upstart New-
fangled Gentlewomen. 1596.

'^ As early as 1485 we have in the
inventory of St. Mary-at-Hill, " An
altar cloth of diaper, garnished with 3
blue Kays (St. Peter's) at each end."
All the church linen seems to have
been embroidered in blue thread, and
so appears to have been the smocks
and other linen.

-Jenkin, speakmg of his sweetheart,
says : " She gave me a shirt collar,
wrought over with no counterfeit stuff."

George : " What ! was it gold ? "

Jenkin : " Nav, 'twas better than
;gold."

George : " What was it ? "

.Jenkin : " Eight Coventry blue." —
Pinner of WaJcefield . 1599.

" It was a simple napkin wrought
with Coventry blue." — Laugh and
Lie Doivne, or the Worlde's Folly.
1605.

" Though he perfume the table with
rose cake or appropriate bone-lace and
Coventry blue," write's Stephens in his
Satirical Essays. 1615.

In the in\'entor3' of Mary Stuart,
taken at Fotheringay, after her death,
we liave : " Furnitiire for a bedd of
Idack velvet, garnished with Bleue
lace. In the care of Eallay, alias
]3eauregard."

This blue lace is still to be found on
baptismal garments which have been
preserved in old families on the Con-
tinent and in England.

'"^ The widow of the famous clothier,
called Jack of Newbury, is described
when a bride as "led to church be-
tween two boys with bride laces and
rosemary tied about their sleeves."

QUEEN ELIZABETH 303

•commerce of Coventry, and the fabric of blue thread ceased
for ever. It was probably a showy kind of coarse trimming,
like that implied by jNIopsa in the Winter s Tale, when she

says —

"You promised me a tawdry lace: " '''

articles which, judging from the song of Autolycus —

" Will you buy any tape,
Or lace for yovu- cape ? "

were already hawked about among the pedlars' wares
throughout the country : one of the " many laces " mentioned
by Shakespeare.^^

Dismissing, then, her stitches, her laces, and the 3,000
gowns she left in her wardrobe behind her — for, as Shake-
speare says, " Fashion wears out more apparel than the
man " ^" — we must confine ourselves to those articles immedi-
ately under our notice, cut-work, bone lace, and purle.

Cut-work — " opus scissum," as it is termed by the Keeper
of the Great Wardrobe — was used by Queen Elizabeth to the
greatest extent. She wore it on her ruffs, " with lilies of
the like, set with small seed pearl " ; on her doublets,
" flourished with squares of silver owes" ; on her forepart of
lawn, " flourished with silver and spangles " ; '° on her cushion-

" " Tawdry. As Dr. Henshaw and " Bind your fillets faste

Sldnner suppose, of knots and ribbons, And gird in your waste

bought at a fair held in St. Audrey's For more fineness with a tawdry lace ; "

<J]iapel ; fine, without grace or ele- _,.,,_ ^„

o-ance." Ballofs Diet. 1764. '^"*-' "'' ^"® I^aithful Sheplierdess of

''Southey {Oniniana.' Vol. i., p. 8) Beaumont and Fletcher, Amaryllis

says :— «Peaks of

" It was formerly the custom in .. The primrose chaplet, tawdry lace

England for women to wear a necklace ^nd rin"'."
of fine silk called Tawdry lace, from St.

Audrey. ^' A passage already quoted in 3/»t7i

" She had in her youth been used to Ado about Nothing shows us that, in

wear carcanets of jewels, and being Shakespeare's time, the term " to lace "

afterwards tormented with violent was generally used as a verb, denoting

pams in the neck, was wont to say, to decorate with trimming. Margaret,

that Heaven, in his mercy, had thus the tiring woman, describes the Duch-

pmiished her for her love of vanity. ess of Milan's gown as of " Cloth o'

She died of a swelling in her neck. gold, and cuts, and laced with silver."

Audry (the same as Ethelrede) was ''' Much Ado about Nothing.

daughter of King Anna, who founded -" New Year's Gifts of Mrs. Wyng-

the Abbey of Ely." field, Lady Southwell, and Lady

Spenser in the Shepherd's Calender, Willoughby. — Nichols' Boyal Pro-
has : — gresses.

304

HISTORY OF LACE

cloths,'"^ her veils, lier tootli-cloths," her smocks and her
nightcaps.-^ All flourished, spangled, and edged in a manner
so stupendous as to defy description. It was dizened out in
one of these last-named articles "^ that young Gilbert Talbot,
son of Lord Shrewsbury, caught a sight of the Queen while
walking in the tilt-yard. Queen Elizabeth at the window
in her nightcap 1 What a goodly sight ! That evening she
gave Talbot a good flap on the forehead, and told her
chamberlain how the youth had seen her " unready and in
her night stuff," and how ashamed she was thereof.

Cut-work first appears in the New Year's Offerings of
1577-8, where, among the most distinguished of the givers,
we find the name of 8ir Philip Sidney, who on one occasion
offers to his royal mistress a suit of ruffs of cut-work, on
another a smock — strange presents according to our modern
ideas. We read, however, that the offering of the youthful
hero gave no offence, but was most graciously received.
Singular enough, there is no entry of cut-work in the Great
Wardrobe Accounts l)efore that of 1584-5, where there is a
charge for mending, washing and starching a bodice and cuffs-
of good white lawn, worked in divers places with broad spaces.
of Italian cut-work, 20 shillings,^'^ and another for the same
operation to a veil of white cut- work trimmed with needle-
work lace.-" Cut-w^ork was probably still a rarity ; and really,,
on reading the quantity offered to Elizabeth on each recurring
new year, there was scarcely any necessity for her to pur-
chase it herself. By the year 1586-7 the Queen's stock had
apparently diminished. Now, for the first time, she invests
the sum of sixty shillings in six yards of good ruff lawn, well
worked, with cut- work, and edged with good white lace.^'^

2' " Mrs. Edmonds. A cushion cloth
of lawn ciitw'ork like leaves, and a few
owes of silvev." — New Yeai-'s Gifts.

" Eideni pro le edginge unius panni
vocat' a quishion cloth de lawne alb'
operat' cnni spaces de opere sciss' et
pro viii. virg' de Laquei alb' lat' operat'
sup' oss' 33s. 4fZ."— G. W. A. Eliz. 31
&32.

^^ " Mistress Twist, the Court laun-
dress. Four toothcloths of Holland
wrought with black silk and edged
with bone lace of silver and black
silk."— New Year's Gifts.

-'3 " Lady Katcliffe. A night coyf of

white cutwork flourished with silver
and set with spangles." — Ihid.

-'■' " Cropson. A night coyf of
canieryk cutwork and sx^angells, with
a forehead cloth, and a night border
of cutwork with bone lace." — Ihid.
1577-8.

-° " Eidem pro emendac lavacione et
starching unius par' corpor' (staj's) et'
manic' de lawne alb' bon' deorsum
operat' in diversis locis cum spaciis
Lat' de operibus Italic' sciss SOs/;." —
G. W. A. Eliz. 26-27.

2" Ihid.

-■^ Ihid. 28-29.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

505

From this date the Great Wardrobe Accounts swarm with
entries such as a " sut' de lez ruffes de Jawne," with spaces
of " opere sciss'/' ^^ " un' caule de lawne alb' sciss' cum le
edge," of simihir work ; "^ a "toga cum traine de opere
sciss' ; " ^° all minutely detailed in the most excruciating
gibberish. Sometimes the cut-work is of Italian ^^ fabric,,
sometimes of Flanders ; ^^ the ruffs edged with bone lace,^^
needle lace,^* or purle,^^

The needle lace is described as "curiously worked,"
" operat' cum acu curiose fact'," at 32^. the yard.^'' The
dearest is specified as Italian.^" We give a specimen (Coloured
Plate XV.) of English workmanship, said to Ije of this period,
which is very elaborate. ^^

The thread used for lace is termed " hlo soror," or nun's
thread, such as was faljricated in the convents of Flanders
and Italy. ^'^ If, however, Lydgate, in his ballad of " London
Lackpenny," is an authority, that of Paris was most prized :—

" Another he taked me by his hand,
Here is Paris thredde, the finest in the land."

Queen Elizal)eth was not patriotic ; she got and wore her

2^* G. W. A. Eliz. 29-30.

-■' Ihid. 35-36.

3" Ihid. 43-44. " A round kyrtle of
cutwork in lawne." — B. M. Add. MSS.
No. 5751.

^' " One yard of double Italian cut-
work a quarter of a yard wide, 55s. 4(-?."
- G. W. A. Eliz. 33 and 34.

" Una virga de opere sciss' lat' de
factiu-a Italica, 26s. Mr—Ihid. 29
&30.

32 u For one yard of double Flanders
cutwork worked with Italian purl,
33s. Mr—Ihid. 33 & 34.

^^ " 3 suits of good lawn cutwork
ruffs edged with good bone lace
' operat' super oss',' at 708., 10?. 10s."
—Ibid. 43 & 44.

31 u rj ^.j^.g' Tenie lat' operis acui, ad
6s. 8f7., 46s. Sd.''—Ihid. 37-38.

^■^ " Eideni pro 2 pectoral' de ope'
sciss' fact' de Italic' et Flaundr' purle.
ad 46s."— l6i(Z. 42 & 43.

"Eideni pro 1 virg' de Tenie de
opere acuo cum le purle Italic' de
cons' ope' acuo 20s."— G. AV. A. Eliz.
40 & 41.

^" Eliz. 44 = 1603.

^" " 3 yards broad needlework lace of
Italy, with the purls of similar work, at
50s. per yard, 8/. 15s.''— Ibid. 41-42.

Bone lace varies in price from 40s.
the dozen to lis. 6c?. the yard. Needle-
made lace from 6s. 8f?. to 50s. —
G. W. A. Passim.

"** Lace is always called " lacqueus "
in the Gt. Wardrobe Accounts up to-
1595-6, after which it is rendered
"taenia." Both terms seem, like our
" lace " to have been equally applied
to silk passements.

" Galons de soye, de I'espece qui
peuvent etre denomines par le terme
latin de ' taeniola.' "

" Laqueus, enlassements de divei'ses-
couleurs, galons imitation de ces
chaines qui les Komains faisoient
peindre, dorer et argenter, pour les
rendre plus supportables aux illustres-
malheureux que le sort avoit reduit a
les porter." — Traite des Marques
Nationales. Paris, 1739.

3!i " Fine white or nun's thread is
made by the Augustine nuns of
Crema," writes Skippin, 1631.

From the Great Wardrobe Accounts

3o6 HISTORY OF LACE

l)one lace from whom she could, and from all countries. If
she did not patronize English manufacture, on the other
hand, she did not encourage foreign artizans ; for when, in
1572, the Flemish refuoees desired an asvlum in Enoland,
they were forcibly expelled from her shores. In the census
of 1571, ffivino- the names of all the stransfers in the Citv of
London,^" including the two makers of Billament lace already
cited, we have but four foreigners of the lace craft : one
described as " Mary Jurdaine, widow, of the French nation,
and maker of purled lace " ; the other, the before-mentioned
" Callys de Hove, of Burgundy." '^

Various Acts^'" were issued durinsf the reion of Elizabeth
in order to suppress the inordinate use of apparel. That of
May, 1562,^^ though corrected by Cecil himself, less summary
than that framed against the " white- work " of the apprentice
boys, was of little or no avail.

In 1568 a complaint w^as made to the Queen against the
frauds practised by the "16 appointed waiters," in reference
to the importation of haberdashery, etc., by which it appears
that her Majesty was a loser of '' 5 or 600 1. l)y yere at least "
in the customs on " parsement, cap rebone bone lace, cheyne
lace," etc.,^^ but with what effect we know not. The annual
import of these articles is therein stated at £10,000, an
enormous increase since the year 1559, when, among the
" necessary and unnecessary wares" brought into the port of
London,*^ together with " babies " (dolls), " glasses to looke
in," " glasses to drinke in," pottes, gingerbread, cabbages,
and other matters, we find enumerated, " Laces of all sortes,
£775 Qs. 8f/.," just one-half less than the more necessary,
though less refined item of " eles fresh and salt." ^^

In 1573 Elizaljeth again endeavoured to suppress " the
silk glittering with silver and gold lace," but in vain.

the price appears to have been half a in his Description of England and

crown an ounce. Scotland.

" Eideni pro 2 li. 4 unc' fili Sororis, ^'■^ 1559. Oct. 20. Proclamation

;ul 2s. &d. per unciam, 4/. 10s." — Eliz. against excess of apparel. — State

34 & 35. Papers Dom. Eliz. Vol. vii.

*» State Papers Domestic. Eliz. Vol. 1566. Feb. 12.— I6it?. Vol. xxxix.

84. The sum total amounts to 4,287. 1579. Star Chamber on apparel.

*^ See Burgundy. " Tlie natural- ^-^ State Papers Dom. Eliz. Vol.

ized French residing in this country xxiii. No. 8.

are , Normans of the district of '*'' Ihid. Vol. xlvii. No. 49.

Caux, a wicked sort of French, worse ■*■' Ihid. Vol. viii. No. 31.

than all the English," writes, in 1553, *'' The value of thread imported

Stephen Porlin, a French ecclesiastic, amounts to .£13,671 13s. Ad.

QUEEN ELIZABETH 307

The Queen was a great lover of foreign novelties. All
^vill call to mind liow she overhauled the French finery of
poor Mary Stuart ^' on its way to her prison, purloining and
selecting for her own use any new-fashioned article she
craved. We even find Cecil, on the sly, penning a letter to
Sir Henry Norris, her Majesty's envoy to the court of France,
" that the Queen's Majesty would fain have a tailor that has
skill to make her apparel both after the French and Italian
manner, and she thinketh you might use some means to
obtain such one as suiteth the Queen without mentioning
any manner of request in the Queen's Majesty's name." His
lady wife is to get one privately, without the knowledge
coming to the Queen Mother's ears, " as she does not want to
be beholden to her."

It is not to be wondered at, then, that the New Year's
Gifts and Clreat AVardrobe x^ccounts *^ teem with entries of
" doublets of peche satten all over covered with cut- work
and lyned with a lace of Venyse gold,^'' kyrtells of white
satten embroidered with purles of gold- like clouds, and layed
round about with a bone lace of Venys gold." ^^ This gold
lace appears upon her petticoats everywhere varied by bone
lace of Venys silver. ^^

That the Queen drew much fine thread point from the
same locality her portraits testify, especially that preserved
in the royal gallery of Gripsholm, in Sweden, once the
property of her ill-fated admirer, Eric XIV. She wears a
ruti", cuffs, tucker, and apron of geometric lace, of exquisite
fineness, stained of a pale citron colour, similar to the liquid
invented by Mrs. Turner, of Overbury memory, or, maybe,
adopted from the saffron- tin ted smocks of the Irish, the
wearing of which she herself had prohibited. We find
among her entries laces of Jean ^^ and Spanish lace ; she did
not even disdain bone lace of copper, and copper and silver

*' Walsinghani writes : In opening a with ' lez rolls and true loves,' &c." —

coffer of the Queen of Scots, he found G. W. A. Eliz. Last year,

certain heades which so pleased cer- *^ New Year's Gifts. By the Lady

tain ladies of his acquaintance, he had Shandowes. 1577-8.

taken the liberty to detain a couple. '" Marquis of Northampton.

■"* " A mantel of lawn cutwork "'' Lady Carew. " A cush^-n of fine

wrought throughout witli cutwork of cameryk edged with bone lace of

' pomegranettes, roses, honeysuckles, Venice sylver."

cum crowns.' " '- " Laqueus de serico Jeano " —

" A doublet of lawn cutwork worked (Genoa). G. W. A. Eliz. 30-1.

X 2

3o8

HISTORY OF LACE

at 18f/. the ounce. ^^ Some of her furnishers are English.
One Wylliam Bowll supplies the (^)ueen with " lace of crowne
purle."'^^ Of her sylkwoman, Alice Mountague, she has bone
lace wrought wdth silver and spangles, sold by the owner at
nine shillings. ^^

The Queen's smocks are entered as wrought with black
work and edged with bone lace of gold of various kinds. We
have ourselves seen a smock said to have been transmitted as
an heirloom in one family from generation to generation. '^^

Fig. 122.

QUEEN Elizabeth's Smock.

It is of linen cloth embroidered in red silk, with her favourite
pattern of oak-leaves and butterflies (Fig. 122). Many
entries of these articles, besides that of Sir Philip Sidney's,.
appear among the New Year's Gifts. ^''

It was then the custom for the sponsors to give " chris-

^=5 1571. Bevels at Court. Cun-
ningham.

Some curious entries occiu' on tlie
occasion of a Masque called " The
Prince " given at court in 1600 : —

" For the tooth-drawer :

" To loope leace for his doublet and
cassacke, 8s.

" For leace for the corne-cutters
suite, 7s.

" For green leace for the tinkers
suite, 2s.

'" For the mouse-trapp-man :

" 6 3'ards of copper leace to leace is
eloake, at Is. 8(/., 10s.

" The Prophet merely- wears fringe,.
2 Ruffes and cuffes, 3s. lOfZ."

The subject of the Masque seems
lost to posterity.

^ Lady Chandos, jun. " A cushyn
cloth of lawne, wrought with white
worke of branches and trees edged
with white bone worke wrought with
crownes."— New Year's Gifts.' 1577-8.

^'^ 1572. Revels at Court.

^ In the possession of Mrs. Evans
of Wimbledon.

^" Sir Gawine Carew. " A smock of
cameryke wrought with black work
and edged with bone lace of gold."

QUEEN ELIZABETH

309

tenino- shirts," with little bands and cuffs edged with laces
•of gold and various kinds — a relic of the ancient custom of
presenting white clothes to the neophytes when converted
to Christianity. The " bearing cloth," ^^ as the mantle used
to cover the child when carried to baptism was called,^^ was
also richly trimmed with lace and cut- work, and the Tree of
Knowledge, the Holy Dove (Fig. 123), or the Flowerpot of
the Annunciation (Fig. 124), was worked in " hollie-work "
on the crown of the infant's cap or " biggin."

Fig. 123.

1 Iff

liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiM

H -^^

-lif°"*fiii=^iiif-?ip=^l^l5H

^^' '^^\ ^-Sm

K::i,i, ^s;«^--^*l■

'••ii^* %^H

"C""'v,. 1 ^1!^» IB

*^*--- '^^1

''— -- .^'^•<i«jia.'^'''*'' il

1 ^ '

1 ::

"^^:.||:-^' 1

»^H

/•"""""•■- ■ ^•'■"'"";* 5^H

^BflKsrV"

^ ^ - v^^ii ^^>^ - - -sB

litsl

rT=:-r=i^iir=^£=.= = ^_; =: = ^ = := = -^ ^. ^ :.^^^9^^^M

Fig. 124.

Christening Caps, Needle-made Brussels.— Eighteenth century.

Aprons, too, of lace appeared in this reign. The Queen, as
we have mentioned, wears one in her portrait at Gripsholm.''''

" Those aprons white, of finest thread,
So choicelie tied, so dearly bought ;
So finely fringed, so nicely spread ;
So quaintly cut, so richly wi'ought,"

writes the author of Pleasant Quippes for Upstart Gentle-

Lady Souche. " A smock of canie-
ryke, the ruffs and collar edged with a
bone lace of gold."

The Lady Marquis of Winchester.
" A smock of cameryke ^vrought with
tanny silk and black, the ruffs and
collar edged with a bone lace of silver."
—New Year's Gifts. 1578-9.

^* " A bearing cloth," for the Squire's
child, is mentioned in the Winter s
Tale.

^^ Many of these Christening robes
of lace and point are preserved as heir-
looms in old families ; some are of old
guipure, others of Flanders lace, and
later of Valenciennes, or needle-point.
The bib formed of guipiu-e padded,
with tiny mittens of lace, were also
furnished to complete the suit.

''^ In 1584-5 Queen Elizabeth sends
a most wonderful apron to be washed
and starched, of cambric, edged with

3IO

HISTORY OF LACE

ivomen, in 1596. The fashion continued to the end of the-
eighteenth century.

Laced handkerchiefs now came into fashion. " ]\Iaydes>
and gentlewomen," writes Stowe, " gave to their favourites,,
as tokens of their love, little handkerchiefs of about three or
four inches square, wrought round about," with a button at
each corner. *^^ The best were edged with a small gold lace.
Gentlemen wore them in their hats as favours of their
mistresses. Some cost sixpence, some twelvepence, and the
richest sixteenpence.

Of the difference between purles and true lace it is diffi-
cult now to decide. The former word is of frequent occur-
rence among the New Year's Gifts, where we have " sleeves
covered all over with purle," '^'^ and, in one case, the sleeves
are offered unmade, with " a piece of purle upon a paper to
edge them." ^"^ It was yet an article of great value and
worthy almost of entail, for, in 1573, Elizabeth Sedgwicke,
of Wathrape, widow, bequeaths to her daughter Lassells. of
Walbron, " an edge of perlle for a remembrance, desirying
her to give it to one of her daughters." '^'^

We now^ turn, before quitting the sixteenth century, to that
most portentous of all fabrications — Queen Elizabeth's ruff.

In the time of the Plantagenets Flemish tastes prevailed.
With the Tudors, Katherine of Aragon, on her marriage witln
Prince Arthur, introduced the Spanish fashions, and the
inventories from Henry VIII. downwards are filled with
Spanish work, Spanish stitch, and so forth. Queen Elizabeth
leant to the French and Italian modes, and during the
Stuarts they w^ere universally adopted.

The ruff was first introduced into EnG'lan'd about the
reign of Philip and Mary. These sovereigns are both repre-
sented on the Great Seal of England with small ruffs almut

lace of ^old, silver, and in-grain carna-
tion silk, " operat' super oss'," with
" peail buttons pro ornatione diet'
apron."~G. AV. A. Eliz. 26 & 27.
'^' " A handkerchief she had,

All wrought A\ith silke and gold.
Which she, to stay her trickling
tears,
Before her eyes did hold."
— " Ballad of George Barwell."
"■- New Year's Gift of Lady liad-
cliffe. 1561.

«3 New Year's Gift of Lady St.
Lawrence.

"^ Surtees' T'F';7Zs cfjifZJnv. "Though
the luxury of the court was excessive,
the nation at large were frugal in their
habits. Our Argentine of Dorset was
called ' Argentine the Golden,' in con-
sequence of his buckles, tags, and
laces being of gold. Such an extrava-
gance being looked on as a marvel in
the remote hamlets of the southern
coimties."

QUEEN ELIZABETH 31 1

their necks, and with diminutive ones of the same form
encircling the wrists.**' This Spanish ruff was not orna-
mented with lace. On the succession of Queen Elizabetli
the ruft" had increased to a large size, as we see portrayed on
her Great Seal.

The art of starching, though known to the manufacturers
of Flanders, did not reach England until 1564, when the
(v^ueen first set up a coach. Her coachman, named Gw}dlam
Boenen, was a Dutchman ; his wife understood the art of
starching, a secret she seems exclusively to have possessed,
and of which the Queen availed herself until the arrival,
some time after, of Madame Dinghen van der Plasse, who^
with her husband, came from Flanders " for their better
safeties," '*'* and set up as a clear-starcher in London.

" The most curious wives," says Stowe, " now made
themselves rulfs of cambric, and sent them to Madame
Dinghen to be starched, who charged high prices. After a
time they made themselves ruffs of lawn, and thereupon
arose a general scoff, or by-word, that shortly they woukl
make their ruffs of spiders' webs." Mrs. Dinghen at last
took their daughters as her pupils. Her usual terms were
from four to five pounds for teaching them to starch, and
one pound for the art of seething starch.'*^ The nobility
patronised her, but the commonalty looked on her as the
evil one, and called her famous liquid " devil's broth."

To keep the ruff erect, be wired ^"^ and starched though it
be, was a troublesome affair — its falling a cause of agony to the
wearer.

" Not so close, thy breath will draw my ruff,"

exclaims the fop. The tools used in starching and fluting'

®^ Hence ruffles, diminutive of rufts. (Leicester's device. Ihid. 29 & 30.)

" Euft" cuffs "they are called in the A diploid' (doublet) of cut- work llour-

G. W. A. of James I., 11 & 12. ished " cum auro et spangles " {Ibid.),

'^'^ Stowe's Chron. and more wonderful still, in the last

•'■' Endless are the entries in the Gt. year of her reign she has washed and

W. Ace. for washing, starching and starched a toga " cum traine de la

mending. The court laundress can lawne operat' in auro et argento in

have had no sinecure. We find " le forma caudarum pavorum," the iden-

Jup de lawne operat' cum stellis et tical dress in which she is portrayed in

aristis tritici Anglice wheateares " one of her portraits.
(Eliz. 42 & 43), sent to be washed, "* " Eidem pro un ruft'bon pynned

starched, etc. A network vail " sciss' sup' le wier Franc' cu rhet' aur'

totum desuper cum ragged staves." spangled, 70s." — Eliz. 42 & 43.

312 HISTORY OF LACE

ruffs were called setting-sticks, struts and poking-sticks :
the two first were made of wood or bone, the poking-stick
of iron, and heated in the fire. By this heated tool the fold
acquired that accurate and seemly order which constituted
the beauty of this very preposterous attire. It was about
the year 1576, according to Stowe, the making of poking-
sticks began. They figure in the expenses of Elizabetli,
who, in 1592, pays to her blacksmith, one Thomas Larkin,
" pro 2 de lez setting-stickes at 2.s. 6(i.," the sum of 5.9.'^

We have frequent allusion to the article in the plays of
the day : —

" Your ruff must stand in print, and for that purpose, get poking-sticks
-with fair long handles, lest they scorch your hands."'"

Again, in Laugh and Lie Doion — "'^

" There she sat with her poking-stick, stiffening a fall."

When the use of starch and poking-sticks had rendered
the arrangement of a ruff easy, the size began rapidly to
increase. " Both men and women wore them intolerably
large, being a quarter of a yard deep, and twelve lengths
in a ruft'." '^ In London this fashion was termed the French
rulf ; in France, on the other hand, it was called " the
English monster." '* Queen Elizabeth wore hers hioher and
stiffer than anyone in Europe, save the Queen of Navarre,
for she had a " yellow throat," and was desirous to conceal
it.'^ Woe betide any fair lady of the court who dared let
her white skin appear uncovered in the presence of majesty.
Her ruffs were made of the finest cut-work, enriched with
gold, silver, and even precious stones. Though she con-
sumed endless yards of cut-work, purle, needlework lace,
bone lace of gold, of silver, enriched with pearls, and bugles,

«•' Gt. W. Ace. Eliz. 33 & 34. " Middleton's Comedy of Blurt,

™ "B.: Where's my ruff" and poker?" Master Constable.

" K. : There's vour ruff", shall I poke ^^ Or, the World's Folly. 1605.

it?" ^ '^ Stowe.

"B. : So poke my ruff now." — Old "* Ibid.

Play by P. Dekker. ' 1602. ^» Therefore she wore " chin " ruffs.

Autol3'cus, among his wares, has " Eidem pro 2 sutes de lez chinne

" poking-sticks of steel." ruff's edged cu' arg., 10s." — Eliz. 42 &

*' Poked her rebatoes and surveryed 43.
her steel."— La;<; Trichs. 1608.

QUEEN ELIZABETH 313

and spangles in the fabrication of the " three-piled ruff," '"^
she by no means extended such liberty to her subjects, for
she selected grave citizens and placed them at every gate
of the city to cut the ruffs if they exceeded the prescribed
depth. These " pillars of pride " form a numerous item
among the New Year's Grifts. Each lady seems to have
racked her brain to invent some novelty as yet unheard of
to gratify the Queen's vanity. On the new year 1559-60,
the Countess of Worcester offers a ruff of lawn cut-work set
with twenty small knots like mullets, garnished with small
sparks of rubies and pearls."

The cut- work ruft' is decorated or enriched with ornament
•of every description. Nothing could be too gorgeous or too
extravagant.'** Great was the wrath of old Philip Stubbes ''''
at these monstrosities, which, standing out a quarter of a
yard or more, " if ^Eolus with his blasts or Neptune with his
stormes chaunce to hit upon the crazie bark or their bruised
rufies, then they goe flip flap in the winde like ragges that
Hew abroade, lying upon their shoulders like the dishclout
of a slut. But wot ye what ? the devill, as he, in the
fulnesse of his malice, first invented these great ruffes," etc.,
with a great deal more, which, as it comes rather under
the head of costume than lace, we omit, as foreign to our
subject.

La(;e has always been made of human hair, and of this
we have frequent} mention in the expenses of Queen Eliza-
])eth. AVe believe the invention to be far older than her
reign, for there is frecjuent allusion to it in the early
romaunces. In the Chevalier aux ij Epees (MS. Bib. Nat.),
a, lady requires of King Ris that he should present her with
a mantle fringed with the beards of nine conquered kings,
and hemmed with that of King Arthur, who was yet to
conquer. The mantle is to have " de sa barbe le tassel."

"'^ Ben Jonson. Every Man Out of and there with the sunne, the naoone,

His Humoitr. 1599. the starres, and many other antiques

" Lady Cromwell. " Three sutes of strange to beholde. Some are wrought

ruffs of white cutwork edged with a with open worke donne to the midst

passamayne of white." of the ruffe, and further some with

Lady Mary Se'm'. " 3 ruffs of close worke, some witli purled lace so

lawne cutwork of flowers." closed and other gewgawes so pestered,

78 "They are either clogged with as the ruff is the leest parte of itself."

gold, silver, or silk laces of stately — Stubbe's Description of the Cut-work

price, wrought all over with needle- Euff.

worke, speckeled and sparkeled here '^ Anatomie of Abuses. 1583.

314

HISTORY OF LACE

The entries of Elizabeth, however, are of a less heroic nature ;■
and thouo;h we are well aware it was the custom of old ladies
to weave into lace their silver-grey locks, and much as the
fashion of hair bracelets and chains prevails, in Queen
Elizabeth's case, setting aside all sentiment, we cannot help
fancying the "• laquei fact' de crine brayded cum lez risinge
puffs," ^° as well as the " devices fact' de crine similiter les
scallop shells," ^'^ to have been nothing more than " stuff-
ings " — false additions, to swell the majesty of the royal
" pirrywygge."

That point tresse, as this hair-lace is called, was known,
in her day, we have evidence in the Chartley inventory of
Mary Stuart, in wdiich is mentioned, " Un petit quarre fait
a point tresse ouvre par la vieille Comtesse de Lennox elle
estant a la Tour " ; a tribute of affection the old countess
would scarcelv have offered to her daughter-in-law had she

•J o

regarded her as implicated in the murder of her son. The
writer saw at Chantilly an aged lace-maker employed in
making a lace ground of hair on the pillow, used, she was
informed, by wig-makers to give the parting of the hair ;
but the fabric must be identical with the point tresse sent
by the mother of Darnley to the Queen of Scots. Point
tresse, when made out of the hair of aged people, is occasion-
ally to be met with on the Continent, where, from its rarity,
it fetches a high price. Some districts gained a reputation-
for their work, according to Turner : — " And Bedford's
matrons wove their snowy locks." It may be detected by
the glittering of the hair when held up to catch the sun-
beams, or by frizzing when exposed to the test of fire,
instead of blazing;.

With this mention of point tresse we conclude the reign
of Queen Elizaljeth.

"^ " Eidem pro 3 dozin laquei fact'
de crine brayded ciiin lez rising puffs
de crine, ad 36s. le dd., £.5 8s." — Eliz.
31 & 32.

The entry occurs frequentlj'.

In Ihicl. 37 & 38 is a charge " pro 4
pirrywigges de crine," at 16s. 8(7. each.

*^ In the G. W. A. of the last year
of her reign, Elizabeth liad a variety
of devices in false hair. "We have : —

" Eidem pro 200 invencionibus factis
de crine in forma lez lowpes et tuftes,"
at 6c/. each ; the like number in the
form of leaves at 12c/. ; 12 in form of
" lez Peramides," at 3s. 4c7. ; 24 of
Globes, at 12c/., with hair by the yard,
made in lowpes, " crispat' curiose
fact'," curie rotund', and other won-
derful "inventions."

315

CHAPTEE XXIV.

JAMES I. TO THE RESTORATION.

JAMES I.

" Now i;p aloft I mount unto the Euffe,
AVhich into foolish mortals pride doth puffe ;
Yet Kufte's antiquity is here but small :
Within tliese eighty years not one at all.
For the 8th Henry, as I miderstand,
Was tlie first king that eyer wore a Band,
And but a falling band plaine with a hem,
All other people knew no use of them."

Taylor, "Water-Poet." 1640.

The ruff single, double, three piled, and Daedalian,^ to the
delight of the satirists, retained its sway during the early
days of King James I. It was the "commode" of the
eighteenth — the crinoline of the nineteenth century. Every
play teems with allusions to this monstrosity. One compares
it to

" A pinched lanthorn
Which schoolboys made in winter ; " ^

while a second ^ talks of a

" Starched ruff, like a new pigeon-house."

The lover, in the play of the Antiquary,'^ complains to
his mistress in pathetic terms —

" Do you not remember \\o\\ you fooled me, and set me to pin pleats in your
ruft' two hours together ? "

^ " Your trebble-quadruple Daedalian ZjooAy', bj^ T. Deckar. London, 1609.
ruffes, nor your stiffe necked liebatoes - Beaumont and Fletcher. Nice

that haye more arches for pride to Valour.

row under than can stand under five '' IhU. The Blind Lachj. 1661.

London Bridges."— T/zr GiiVs Home * 1641.

1 6 HISTORY OF LACE

Stubbes stood not alone in bis anatbemas. Tbe digni-
taries of tbe Cburcb of England waxed wrotb, and violent
^Yere tbeir pulpit invectives.

" Fasbion," empbatically preaebed Jobn King,^ Bisbop of
London, " bas brougbt in deep ruffs'^ and sballow ruffs,
tbick rutfs and tbin ruffs, double rufts and no ruffs. Wben
tbe Judge of quick and dead sball appear, be will not know
tbose wbo bave so defaced tbe fasbion be batb created."
Tbe Bisbop of Exeter, too, Josepb Hall, a good man, but no
propbet, little wotting bow lace-making would furnisb bread
and comfort to tbe women of bis own diocese for centuries
to come, in a sermon preaebed at tbe Spitel, after a long
A'ituperation against its profaneness, concludes witb tliese
w^ords : " But if none of our persuasions can prevail, bear
tbis, ye garisb popinjays of our time, if ye will not be
^sbamed to clotbe yourselves after tbis sbameless fasbion,
Heaven sball clotbe you witb sbame and confusion. Hear
tbis, ye plaister-faced Jezabels, if ye will not leave your
■daubs and your wasbes, Heaven will one day wasb tbem
off witb fire and brimstone." Wbetber tbese denunciations
bad tbe effect of lessening tbe ruffs we know not ; probably
it only rendered tbem more exaggerated.

Of tbese offending adjuncts to tbe toilet of botb sexes
we bave fine illustrations in tbe paintings of tbe day, as
well as in tbe monuments of our catbedrals and cburcbes.^
Tbey were composed of tbe finest geometric lace, sucb as
we see portrayed in tbe works of Vinciolo and otbers. Tbe
artists of tbe day took particular pleasure in depicting tbem
witb tbe most exquisite minuteness.

Tbese ruffs must bave proved expensive for tbe wearer,
tbougb in James I.'s time, as Ben Jonson bas it, men
tbougbt little of " turning four or five bundred acres of
tbeir best land into two or tbree trunks of apparel."^

''' Called by James I. " the King of of the Queen of Bohemia, by Mirevelt,

Preachers." Ob. 1621 and of the Countess of Pembroke, by

^ In the Dumb Kniglit, 1608, a Mark Geerards. In Westminster

woman, speaking of her ruff, says : — Abbey, the effigies of Queen Elizabeth

" This is but sliallow. I have a ruff and Mary Queen of Scots, on their

is a quarter deep, measured by the tombs.

yard." ** Every Man Out of His Humour,

'' See the portraits in the National 1599.

Portrait Gallery of Sir Dudlej' and Again, in his Silent Woman, he

Lady Carleton, by Cornelius Janssens, says : —

Plate LXXIX.

^Mauy Sidney, Countess op Pembkoke, in 1614. 1555?-1G21. — Probably by Marc
Gheeraedts. National Portrait Gallery.

Photo by Walker and Cockerell.

To face page 316.

JAMES I 317

According to the Wardrobe Accounts,^ " twenty-five yards
of fyne bone lace " was required to edge a ruff, witliout
counting the ground, composed either of lace squares or
cut-work. Queen Anne, his consort, pays £5 for her wrought
ruff, for " shewing " which eighteen yards of fine lace are
purchased at 5<§. Sc/."

The ruffs of the City ladye were kept downe by the old
sumptuary law of Elizabeth.

"See, now, that you have not your 'city ruff' on,
Mistress Sue," says Mistress Simple in the City Matcli}^

The Overbury murder (1613), and hanging of Mrs. Turner
at Tyburn in 1615, are usually said, on the authority of
Howel,^^ to have put an end to the fashion of yellow ruffs,,
but the following extracts show they were worn for some
years later.

As late as 1620 the yellow starch, supposed to give
a rich hue to the lace and cut-work of which ruffs were
" built," gave scandal to the clergy. The Dean of AYest-
minster ordered no lady or gentleman wearing yellow rufts
to be admitted into any pew in his church ; but finding this
"ill taken," and the King " moved in it," he ate his own
words, and declared it to l)e all a mistake. ^^ This fashion,
again, gave great oftence even in France. Since the English "

" She must have that — Extraordinary Expenses. 1622-6.

Eich gown for such a great day, a new P. R. O.

one "' State Papers Dom., Jac. I. YoL

For the next, a richer for the third ; iii., No. 89. P. R. 0.

have the chamber filled with '^ Jasper Maj'ne. 1670.

A succession of grooms, footmen, ^'^ " Mistris Turner, the first inven-

ushers, . tresse of j'ellow starch, was executed

And other messengers ; besides em- in a cobweb lawn ruff of that color

broiderers, at Tyburn, and with her I believe that

Jewellers, tire-women, semsters, yellow starch, which so much dis-

feather men, figured our nation and rendred them

Perfumers ; whilst she feels not how so ridiculous and fantastic, will receive

the land its funerall." — HoiucVs Letters. 164;").

Drops away, nor the acres melt; nor '^ State Papers Dom., James I. Vol.

foresees cxiii. No. 18.

The change, when the mercer has '* We read that in 1574 the Venetian

your woods ladies dyed their lace the colour of

For her velvets ; never weighs what saffron. The fasliion may therefore

her pride be derived from them.

Costs, Sir." " He is of England, by his j-ellow

'•' " Second Ace. of Sir John Yilliers, band." — Notes from Blach Fryers.

1617-8." P. R. O. Henry Fitzgeffery. 1617.

" 150 yards of fyne bone lace for six " Now ten or twenty eggs will hardly

extraordinary rufts provided against suffice to starch one of these yellow

his Majesty's marriage, at 9s., 67s. lOfZ." bandes." — Barnaby Rich. The Irish

3i8 HISTORY OF LACE

alliance, writes the Courtlsane a la Mode, 1625/^ " cette
mode Anglaise sera cause qu'il pourra advenir une cherte
sur le safran qui fera que les Bretons et les Poitevins seront
contraints de manger leur beurre blanc et non pas jaune,
comme ils sont accoutumes."

The Bishops, who first denounced the ruff, themselves
held to the fashion long after it had been set aside by all
other professions. Folks were not patriotic in their tastes,
as in more modern days ; they loved to go " as far as Paris
to fetch over a fashion and come back ao^ain." ^"^

The lace of Flanders, with the costly points and cut-works
of Italy, ^^ now became the rage, and continued so for nigh
two centuries. Ben Jonson speaks of the " ruffs and cuffs of
Flanders," ^* while Lord Bacon, indignant at the female
caprice of the day, writes to Sir George Villiers : — " Our
English dames are much given to the wearing of costly
laces, and if they may be brought from Italy, or France, or
Flanders, they are in much esteem ; whereas, if like laces
were made by the English, so much thread would make a
yard of lace, being put into that manufacture, would be five
times, or perhaps ten or twenty times the value." ^^ But
Bacon had far better have looked at home, for he had
himself, when Chancellor, granted an exclusive patent to
Sir Giles Mompesson, the original of Sir Giles Overreach, for
the monopoly of the sale and manufacture of gold and silver
thread, the abuses of which caused in part his fall.-"

James had half ruined the commerce of England by the
granting of monopolies, which, says Sir John Culpepper, are
" as numerous as the frogs of Egypt. They have got posses-
sion of our dwellings, they sip in our -cups, they dip in our

Huhhiih, or the English Hue and Cry. Paris, 1625.

1622. ^^ Carlo, in Everij Man Out of His

liilligrew, in his play called The Humour. 1599.

Parson's Wedding, published in 1664, '" " Eideni pro 29 virg' de ojoere

alludes to the time when " yellow sciss' bon' Italic', ad 35s., £68 5s." —

starch and wheel verdingales were Gt. W. A. Jac. I. 5 & 6.

cried down"; and in Th,e Blind Lady, '* The Neiu Inn.

a play printed in 1661, a serving-man '" Advice to Sir George Villiers.

says to the maid : " You had once -'■* See Parliamentary History of

better opinion of me, though now you England.

wash every day your best handkerchief Sir Giles was proceeded against as

in yellow starch." " a monopolist and patentee," and

"' La Courtisane a la Mode, selon sentenced to be degraded and banished

r Usage de la Coiir de ce Tenijis. for life.

JAMES I 319

dish. They sit by our fire. We find them in the dye-vat,
wash-l)Owl, and powdering- tub, etc. ; they have marked and
sealed us from head to foot."-^ Tlie boue-hice trade suffered
alike with other handicrafts.^^ In 1606 James had already
given a license to the Earl of Suffolk "'^ for the import of gold
and silver lace. In 1621, alarmed by the general complaints
throughout the kingdom,"* a proposition was made " for the
erection of an Office of Pomp, to promote home manu-
factures," and to repress pride by levying taxes on all
articles of luxury.'-^ AVhat became of the Pomp Office we
cannot pretend to say : the following year we are somewhat
taken aback by a petition "^ from two Dutchmen, of Dort,
showing " that the manufacture of gold and silver thread,
purle, etc., in England '' was " a great waste of bullion," the
said Dutchmen being, we may infer, of opinion that it was
more to their advantage to import such articles themselves.
After a lapse of three years the petition is granted."^ In the
midst of all this granting and rescinding of monopolies, we
hear in the month of April, 1623, how the decay of the bone-
lace trade at Great Marlow caused great poverty." '^

Though the laces of Flanders and Italy were much
patronised by the court and high nobility, Queen Anne of
Denmark appears to have given some protection to the
fabrics of the country. Poor Queen Anne ! When, on the
news of Elizabeth's death, James hurried off" to England, a
correspondence took place between the King and the English
Privy C^ouncil regarding the Queen's outfit, James consider-

^^ Speech in Parliament. Rusliout a re-grant to the Earl of Suffolk of the

Pajjers. Vol. xi., p. 916. moiety of all seizures of Venice gold

•22 It rpj^g office or grant for sealing and silver formerly granted in the

bone lace was quashed by tlie King's fifth year of the King. — Ibid. Vol.

proclamation, 1639, dated from his Ixiv. 66.

manour of York." — Verney Papers. In 1622 a lease on the customs on

-^ B. M. Bih. Lands. 172, No. 59. gold and silver thread lace is given to

-* 1604. Sept. 27. Patent to Kic. Sir Edward Villiers. — -I&wZ. Vol.

Dike and others to make Venice gold cxxxii. 34.

and siher thread for 21 years. — State -■' Ibid. Vol. cxxi. 64.

Papers Dom., Jas. I. Vol. ix. 48. -'' Ibid. Vol. cxxxii. 34.

1604. Dec. 30. Lease of the cus- '-' In 1624 King .Tames renews his
toms on gold and silver thread. — Ibid. prohibition against tlie manufacture
Vol. X. of " gold purles," as tending to the

1605. Feb. 2. The same. Ibid. consumption of the coin and bullion
Vol. xii. of the kingdom. — Farlera, Vol. xvii.,

1611. May 21. Patent to Ric. p. 605.

Dike renewed.— Ibid. Vol. Ixiii. 9. -** Petition. April 8, 1623. — State

In tlie same year (.June 30) we find Papers, Vol. cxlii. 44. See Chap. xxx.

320 HISTORY OF LACE

ing, and wisely — for the Scotch court was always out of
elbows — that his wife's wardrobe was totally unfit to be
produced in London. To remedy the deficiency, the Council
forwarded to the Queen, l)y the hands of her newly-named
ladies, a quantity of Elizabeth's old gowns and ruffs, where-
with to make a creditable appearance on her arrival iu
England. Elizabeth had died at the age of seventy,,
wizened, decayed, and yellow — Anne, young and comely,
had but just attained her twenty-sixth year. The rage of
the high-spirited dame knew no bounds ; she stormed with
indignation — wear the clothes she must, for there were no
others — so in revenge she refused to appoint any of the
ladies, save Lady Bedford, though nominated by the King,
to serve about her person in England. On her arrival she
bought a considerable (j[uantity of linen, and as with the
exception of one article,"'' purchased from a " French mann,"
her " nidell purle worke," her " white worke," her " small
nidell worke," her " pece of lawin to bee a ruffe," with
" eighteen yards of fine lace to shewe (sew) the ruffe," the
" Great Bone " lace, and " Little Bone " lace were purchased
at Winchester and Basing, towns bordering on the lace-
making counties, leading us to infer them to have been of
English manufacture.^"

The bill of laced linen purchased at the " Queen's lying
down" on the birth of the Princess Sophia, in 1606, amounts
to the sum of £614 5<s'. 8f/.^^ In this we have no mention of
any foreign-made laces. The child lived but three days.

20 " Twoe payer of handerebayters," " Item, for 18 yeards of fine lace to-

i.e., cuffs. shewe the nift'e,- at 6s. the yearde,

^"^ In the P. R. O. (State Papers £5 8s.

Dom., James I. 1603, Sept. Vol. iii. " Item, 68 purle of fair needlework,

No. 89) is "A Memorandum of that at 20 pence the purle, i'o 15s. 4(/.

Misteris Jane Drumonde her recyte " Item, at Winchester, the 28th of

from Ester Littellye, the furnishinge September, one piece of cambrick, £'4.

of her Majesties Linen Cloth," a long " Item, for 6 yai'ds of fine purle, at

account, in which, among numerous 20s., £6.

other entries, we find : — " Item, for 4 yards of great bone

"It. at Basinge. Twenty four yeardes lace, at 9s. the yard, 36s.

of small nidle work, at 6s. the yearde. Queen Anne has also a fair wrought

j£7 4s. sark costing £6, and a cut-work liand-

" More at Basinge. One ruffe cloth, kerchief, ^12, and 2 pieces of cut-

cumbinge cloth and apron all shewed work, ell wide and 2 j-ards long, at £1.

with white worke, at 50s. the piece, the length, etc.

jg7 10s. ^' Lady Aiidrye Walsingliam'' s Ac-

" It. one pece of fine lawin to bee a count. 1606. — P. E. O.
ruffe, £5.

Plate LXXX.

Henky Wbiothesley, Third Earl of Southampton, 1573-1624. — Probably painted in
Holland about 1620, by ]\Iichiel Van Miereveldt. National Portrait 0(111 cry.

Plioto by Walker and Cockerell.

'I'u J'dcf puijf 320.

JAMES I

321

Her little monument, of cradle-form, with lace- trimmed
coverlets and sheets (Fig. 125), stands close to the recum-
l)ent effigy of her sister Mary^'- (Fig. 126), with ruff, collar,

Fig. 125.

MllXU.MKXT of THK PRINCESS SOPHIA. + 1006. FOUKTH DAIOHTEI; ciI' .lAMKS I.

(Westminster Abbey.)

and cap of geometric lace, in the north aisle of Henry VH.'s
Chapel.^^

After a time— epoch of the Spanish marriage ^^ — the ruff

•"■- Mavy, her third daughter, died
1607. not two years of age. Mrs.
Greene quotes from the P. E. O. a
note of the " necessaries to be provided
for tlie child," among which are six
Large cambric handkerchiefs, whereof
one is to be edged witli " fair cut-work to
lay over the child's face " ; six Aeils of
lawn, edged witli fair bone lace; six
" gathered bibs of fine lawn with ruffles
edged with bone lace," etc. The total
value of the lace and cambric required
for the infant's garments is estimated

at £'300. — Lives of the Pi'incesscs of
England. Vol. vi., p. 90.

^^ England is rich in monumental
effigies decorated A\ith lace — too many
to enmnerate. Among them we would
instance that of Alice, Countess of
Derby, died 1636, in Harefield Church,
Middlesex, in which the lace is very
carefully sculptured. — Communicated
bj- Mr. Albert Hartshorne.

'31 1620-1. We have entries of " fall-
ing bands " ofi good cambric, edged
with beautiful bone lace, t\\o dozen

322

HISTORY OF LACE

gave way to the " falling band," so familiar to us in the
portraits of Rubens and Vandyke.

" There is such a deal of pinning these ruffs, when a fine
€lean fall is worth them all," says the Malcontent. " If you
should chance to take a nap in the afternoon, your falling
band requires no poking-stick to recover it."^^ Cut-work
still continued in high favour ; it was worn on every article
of linen, from the richly-wrought collar to the nightcap.
The Medicean ruff or gorget of the Countess of Pembroke

Fiff. 12G.

Monument of the Princess Mary. + 1607. Third daughter of James I.

(Westminster Abbey.)

(" Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother "), with its elaborate
border of swans (Fig. 127), is a good illustration of the
fashion of her time.

Among the early entries of Prince Charles, we have four
nightcaps of cut-work, £7,^" for making two of which for his

stitched and shagged, and cut-work company exported a large quantity of

nightcaps, purchased for James I., in gold and silver lace to India for the

the same account, with 28s. for " one King of Golconda.

load of hay to stuff the woolsacks for ^^ Malcontent. 1600.

the Parliament House." — G. AV. Ace. -""^ Extraordinary expenses, 1622-26.

Jac. I. 18 to 19. P. E. 0.
In the same year, 1620, an English

JAMES I

Z'^l

Hio-hness, garnished with gold and silver lace, Patrick Burke
receives £15 ; ^' but these modest entries are quite put to
shame by those of his royal father, who, for ten yards of
needlework lace " pro le edginge " of his " galiriculis vulgo

Fig. 127.

Mary, Countess of Pembroke. + 1G21.
(From her portrait In Walpole's Royal and Noble Authont.)

nightcaps," pays £16 135. 4d'' Well might the Water-
Poet exclaim — •

" A nightcap is a garment of high state." ^^

When Queen Anne died, in 1619, we have an elaborate

3- " 2na Ace. of Sir J. Villier?. 1617-
18." P. R. O.
3« GL W. A. Jac. I. 6 to 7.
^' Taylor. 1640:—

" The bean would feign sickness

To show his nightcap fine,
And his wrought pillow overspread
with lawn." — Davies. Epigrams.

Y 2

324

HISTORY OF LACE

account of her funeral /° and of tlie sum paid to Dorothy
Speckart for dressing a hearae ettigy with a large veil, wired
and edged with peak lace and lawn, curiously cut in flowers,
etc. Laced linen, however, was already discarded in
mournino- attire, for we find in the charges for the kino-'s
mourning ruffs, an edging at 14r/. the piece is alone
recorded."

Towards the end of James I.'s reim a sinoular custom
came into fashion, brought in by the Puritan ladies, that of
representing religious subjects, l:)oth in lace, cut-work, and
em])roidery, a fashion hitherto confined to church vestments.
We find constant allusions to it in the dramatists of the day.
Thus, in the City MatcJi,^' we read —

" She works religions petticoats, for tiowers
She'll make church histories. Her needle doth
So sanctify \nx cushionets. besides
M3' smock sleeves have svich holy embroideries,
And are so learned, that I fear in time
All my apparel will be quoted by
Some pious instructor."

Again, in the Custom of the Country-

" Sure you should not be
Without a neat historical shirt."

*' Ace. of Sir Lyonell Cranfield (Jiow
Earl of IMiddlesex), late Master of the
Great Wardrobe, touching the funeral
of Queen Anne, who died 2nd March,
1618 (i.e. 1619 N. S.). P. E. O.

■*' About this time a complaint is
made by tlie London tradesmen, of
the influx of refugee artizans, "who
keepe theire misteries to themselves,
which hath made them bould of late
to device engines for workinge lace.
&c., and sucli wherein one niiin doth
more among them than seven English-
men can doe, soe as theire cheape sale
of those eonnnodities beggaretli all
our English artificers of that trade
and eniicheth them," which becomes
" scarce tolleruble," they conclude.
Cecil, in consequence, orders a census
to be made in 1621. Among the
traders appears " one satten lace
maker."

Colchester is bitterly irate against
the Dutch strangers, and complains of
one " Jonas Snav, a Bay and Say
maker, whose wife selleth blacke,

browne, and white thredde, and all
sorts of bone lace and vatuegardes,
M'hich they receive out of Holland.
One Isaac Bowman, an Alyen born,
a chii'urgeon and merchant, selleth
hojipes, bone lace, and such like, to
the great grievance of the free bur-
gesses."

A nest of refugee lace-makers, " who
came out of France by reason of the
late ' trebles ' yet continuing," were
congregated at Dover (1621-2). A list
of about five-and-twenty " widows,
being makers of Bone lace," is given,
and then ]\Iary Tanyer and Mar-
garett Le IMoj-ne, " maydens and
makers of bone lace," wind up the
catalogue of the Dover " Alyens."

The ]\Iaidstone authorities complain
that the thread-makers' trade is much
decayed by the importation of thread
from Flanders. — List of Foreign Pro-
testants resident i)i England. 1618-88.
Printed by the Camden Society.

*- Jasper Mayne.

■'° Beaumont and Fletcher.

•JAMES I 325

We find in a Scotch inventory '* of the seventeentli
•century : " Of HoUancl scheittes ii pair, quhairof i pair
schewit (sewed) with hollie work,"^'^

The entries of this reion, bevond the " hollie work."
picked ^*^ and seaming ^' lace, contain little of any novelty ;
all articles of the toilet were characterised by a most reckless
■extra vao;ance.

" There is not a oentleman now in the fashion," savs
Peacham/** " whose band <jf Italian cut-work now standeth
him not in the least three or four pounds. Yes, a semster
in Holborn told me that there are of threescore pounds."
We read how two- thirds of a woman's dower was often
expended in the purchase of cut-work and Flanders lace.

In the warrant of the Great Wardrobe for the marriage
■expenses of the ill-fated Princess Elizabeth, on which occasion
it is recorded of poor Arabella Stuart, the " Lady Arabella,
though still in the Tower, has shewn her joy by buying four
new gowns, one of which cost £1,500,"^''' in addition to
" gold cheine laze, silver spangled, silver looped, mylleu
bone lace, drawneworke poynte, black silk Naples lace," etc.,
all in the most astonishing quantity, we have the astounding
entry of 1,G92 ounces of silver bone lace.'" No wonder, in

*■' " Valuables of Glenurquliy, 1640." oaken linen chest, containing a pillow-

Innes' STictclics of Early Scotch His- case and a very large sheet made of

tory. homespun linen. Down tlie middle of

*'^ Collars of Hollie worke appear in the sheet is an ornamental open or

the Inventories of INIary Stuart. cut-work insertion, about an inch and

46 i.i Thomas Hodges, for making a half deep, and the pillow-case is

ruffe and cuffes for his Highness of similarly ornamented. They are

cuttworke edged with a fayre peake marked E. H., and ha^•e always been

purle, .£7." — 2nd Account of Sir J. used by the Hathaway family on

Villiers. Prince Charles. 1617-18. special occasions, such as births,

P. R. 0. deaths, and marriages. This is still

" 40 yards broad peaked lace to edge a conmion custom in Warwickshire ;

6 cupboard cloths, at 4s. a 3'ard, £"8." — and many families can proudly show

Ibid. embroidered bed linen, which has been

" " Seaming" lace and spacing lace used on state occasions, and cai-efully
appear to have been generally used at preserved in old carved chests for three
this period to unite the breadths of centuries and more." — A SJiaksjycn re-
linen, instead of a seam sewed. We Memorial. 1864.

find them employed for cupboard ^"^ The Truth of the Times. AV.

cloths, cushion cloths, sheets, shirts, Peacham. 1638.

etc., throughout the accounts of King ■*■' State Papers Dom. Jas. I. Vol.

James and Prince Charles. Ixxii. No. 28.

"At Stratford-upon-Avon is pre- '•' Warrant on the Great Wardrobe,
served, m the room where Shakspeare's 1612-13. Princess Elizabeth's mar-
wife, Anne Hathaway, was born, an riage.

326 HISTORY OF LACE

after days, the Princess caused so much anxiety to the
Palatine's Privy Purse, Colonel Schomberg, who in vain
implores her to have her linen and lace bought beforehand,
and paid at every fair.^^ " You brought," he writes, " £3,000
worth of linen from England, and have bought £1,000 worth
here," and yet " you are ill provided.""

CHARLES I.

" Embroider' iT stockings, cut-work smocks and shirts."

— Ben Jonson.

Kuffs may literally be said to have gone out with
James I. His son Charles is represented on the coins of the
two first years of his reign in a stiff starched ruff ; ^^ in the
fourth and fifth we see the ruff unstarched, falling down on
his shoulders,^* and afterwards, the falling band (Fig. 128)
was generally adopted, and worn by all classes save the
judges, who stuck to the ruff as a mark of dignity and
decorum, till superseded by the peruke. ^^

Even loyal Oxford, conscientious to a hair's-breadth —
always behind the rest of the w^orld — when Whitelock, in
1635, addresses the Quarter Sessions arrayed in the new
fashion, owned " one may speak as good sense in a falling
l)and as in a ruff." The change did not, however, diminish
the extravagance of the age. The bills for the King's lace
and linen, which in the year 1625 amounted to £1,000, in

^^ Frankfort fair, at which most of Point coupe handkerchiefs seem to

the German princes made their pur- have been greatly in fashion. Ben

chases. Jonson, " Bartliolomew Fair," 1614,

^^ German Correspondence. 1614- mentions them : —

;,. A V ■ ii, i f ri 1 "A cut-work handkerchief she gave

We find among the accounts oi Col. ^^^^ „ °

Schombercr and others :

me.

■-e

" To a merchant of Strasbourg, for *^ See Sncllimjs Coins. PI. ix. 8,

laces wliich she had sent from Italy, 9, 10.

288 rix-dollars." And, in addition to " Ihid PI. ix. 5, 6, 11.

numerous entries of silver and other ^^ Evelyn, describing a medal of

laces : — King Charles I., struck in 1633, says

" Pour dentelle et linge kare pour he wears " a falling band, which new

Madame, 115 florins." mode succeeded the cumbersome ruff;

" Donne Madame de Caus pour but neither did the bishops or the

des mouchoirs ft point couppee pour judges give it up so soon, the Lord

Madame, M." Keeper Finch being, I think, the very

" Une petite dentelle A point couppe, first."
^3," etc.

I'LATE LXX^I.

Elizabeth, Princess Palatine, Granddaitghter op James I., 1618-1 G80.—
Probably about 1638. By Gerard Honthorst. National Portrait Gallery.

Photo by Walker and Cockerell.

'I'd/arr /xi'ii- .S26.

CHARLES I

Z^7

course of time rose to £1,500.^'^ Falling bands of Flanders
l)one lace and cut-work appear constantly in the accounts."
As the foreign materials are carefully specified (it was one of
these articles, then a novelty, that Queen Anne of Denmark
" bought of the French Mann "), we may infer much of the

Fig. 128.

Falling Collar of the Seventeenth Century.— (After Abraham Bosse.)

bobbin or bone lace to have been of home produce. As Ben
Jonson says, " Rich apparel has strong virtues." It is, he
adds, " the birdlime of fools," There was, indeed, no article
of toilet at this period which was not encircled with lace —
towels, sheets, shirts, caps, cushions, boots (Fig. 129), cuffs
(Fig. 130) — and, as too often occurs in the case of excessive
luxury, when the bills came in money was wanting to

^ In 1633, the bills having risen to
i91,500 a year, a project is made for
reducing the charge for the King's fine
linen and bone lace, "for his body,"
again to ^1,000 per annum, for which
sum it " may be very well done." — ■
State Papers, Chas. I. Vol. ccxxxiv.
No. 83.

°' " Paid to Smith Wilkinson, for
420 yards of good Flanders bone lace
for 12 day ruffes and 6 night ruffes
' cum cuffes eisdem,' ^87 15s.

" For 6 falling bands made of good
broad Flanders lace and Cuttworks
with cuffs of the same, £'52 16s." —
Gt. W. A. Car. I. 6 = 1631.

\28

HIS TOR V OF LACE

discharge tliem, Julian Elliott, tlie royal lace mercliant,
seldom receiving more than half her accomit, and in 1630 —
nothing."^ There were, as Shakespeare says,

" Bonds entered into
For gay apparel against the triumph day." ''

The quantity of needlework purl consumed on the king's
hunting collars, " colares pro venatione," scarcely appears
credible. One entry alone makes 994 yards for 12 collars
and 24 pairs of cuffs."" Again, 600 yards of fine bone lace
is charged for trimming the ruffs of the King's night-
clothes."

The art of lace-making was now carried to great per-

Fig. 129.

Fis. 130.

t'loni an Engraving of Abraham Bosse.

From an Engravinj; of Abraham Bosse.

fection in England ; so much so, that the lease of twenty-one
years, granted in 1627 to Dame Barbara Villiers, of the
duties on gold and silver thread, became a terrible loss to
the holder, who, in 1629, petitions for a discharge of
£437 106'. arrears due to the Crown. The prayer is favour-
ably received by the officers of the Customs, to whom it was
referred, who answer they " conceive those duties will decay,
for the invention of making Venice gold and silver lace
within the kingdom is come to that perfection, that it will
be made here more cheap than it can be brought from

•'' See G. W. A., Mich., 1629, to April, '" G. W. A. Car. I. The Annuncia-
1630. tion 9 to Mich. 11.

Tiodftli-Nifjld.

Ihid. 8 and 9.

To fact- ]Hi(je 328.

CHARLES I 329

beyond seas." *^" The fancy for foreign articles still prevailed.
" Among the goods l)rought in by Tristram Stephens," writes
Sir John Ilippisley, from Dover Castle, " are the bravest
French. Ijandes that ever I did see for ladies — they ])e fit
for the Queen." "^

Gold lace was exported in considerable (juantities to
India in the days of James I. ;'^^ and now, in 1631, w^e find
the " riband roses," edged witli lace, notified among the
articles allowed to bfe exported. These lace rosette-trimmed
shoes were in vos^ue in the time of James I., and when first
brought to that monarch he refused to adopt the fashion,
asking, " If they wanted to make a rufte-footed dove of
him." They were afterwards worn in all the extravagance
of the French court. (See France to Louis XIV.). Mr.
Brooks, in his speech in the House of Commons against costly
apparel (18 James I.), says, "Nowadays, the roses worn by
Members of the House on their shoes are more than tlieir
father's apparel." Peacham speaks of " shoe ties, that goe
under the name of roses, from thirty shillings to three, four,
and five pounds the pair. Yea, a gallant of the time, not
long since, paid thirty pounds for a pair."^ Well might
Taylor say they

" Wear a farm in shoe-strings edged with gold.
And spangled garters worth a copyhold."

It was not till the year 1635 that an effort was made for

^- State Papers Dom. Charles I. deare for that wh would 'make no

Vol. cxlix. No. 31. better show ; if you like either of these.

'^^ In a letter to Mr. Edward Nicho- you shall have it sone desptch, for I

las, Sec. of the Admhalty, March 7th, am promise to have it made in a fort-

1627 (afterwards Sec. of State to Chas. night. I have received the monie from

II.). — St. P. D. Chas. I. Vol. cxxiii. 62. mycousson Hunton. Heare is no news

xlmong the State Papers (Vol. cxxvi. to wi-ight of. Thus with my best love

70), is a letter from Susan Nicholas to remembred unto yoii, I rest your very

her " loveing Brother," 1628. About loving sister, " Susanne Nicholas.

lace for his band, she writes : " I have " I have sent ye the lase ye foyrst

sent you your bootehose and could bespoke, to compare them together, to

have sent your lase for your band, but see which ye like best."

that I did see these lasees which to "* In 1620 an English company

my thought did do a greddeale better exported a large quantity- of gold and

then that wh you did bespeake, and silver lace to India for the King of

the best of them will cost no more Golconda.

then that which is half a crowne a ^'^ W. Peacham, Truth of fhr Times.

yard, and so the uppermost will cost 1638.

you, and the other will cost 18 pence ; Hamlet says there are

I did thinke you would rather staye " Two Provencal roses on my regal

something long for it then to pay so shoes."

330 HISTORY OF LACE

the protection of our home fabrics, " at the request and for
the benefit of the makers of those goods in and near London,
and other parts of the realm, now brought to great want and
necessity, occasioned by the excessive importation of these
foreign wares." Foreign " Purles, Outworks, or Bone-laces,
or any commodities laced or edged therewith," are strictly
prohibited. Orders are also given that all purles, cut-works,
and bone laces English made are to be taken to a house near
the sign of the " Red Hart " in Fore Street, without Oripple-
gate, and there sealed by Thomas Smith or his deputy.*^"

An Act the same year prohibits the use of " gold or silver
purles " except manufactured in foreign parts, and especially
forbids the melting down any coin of the realm.

The manufacture of bone lace in England had now much
improved, and was held in high estimation in France. We
hear of Henrietta Maria sending ribbons, lace, and other
fashions from England, in 1636, as a present to her sister-in-
law, Anne of Austria ; '^' while, in a letter dated February 7th,
1636, the Cbuntess of Leicester writes to her husband, then
in France, who had requested her to procure him some fine
bone lace of English make : — " The present for the Queen of
France I will be careful to provide, l)ut it cannot be hand-
some for that proportion of money which you do mention ;
for these bone laces, if they be good, are dear, and I will send
the best, for the honor of my nation and my own credit."

Referring to the same demand, the Oountess again writes
to her lord," May 18th, 1637, Leicester House :—" All my
present for the Queen of France is provided, which I have
done with great care and some trouble ; the expenses I
cannot yet directly tell you, but I think it will be about
£120, for the bone laces are extremely dear. I intend to

" When roses in the gardens grow, pectecl of secret correspondence with

And not in ribbons on a shoe ; Spain and England, Richelieu sent the

Now ribbon-roses take such place, Chancellor to question the Abbess of

That garden roses want their grace." the Val-de-Grace with respect to the

■ — " Friar Bacon's Prophesie." 1604. casket which had been secretly brought

"I like," says Evelyn, "the boucle into the monastery. The Abbess {Vie

better than the formal rose." — Tyran- de la Mere cVArhouse) declared that

nus, or the Mode. this same casket came from the Queen

"" This proclamation is dated from of England, and that it only contained

" our Honour of Hampton Court, 30th lace, ribbons, and other trimmings of

April, 1635." — Rymer'si^cec^cra. T.19, English fashion, sent by Henrietta,

p. 690. Maria as a present to the Queen.^

^'^ When Anne of Austria was sus- GaJcrie de VAncienne Cour. 1791.

CHARLES I 331

send it by Monsieur Euvigny, for most of the things are of
new fashion, and if I should keep them they would be less
acceptable, for what is new now will quickly grow common,
such things l)eing sent over almost every week."

We can have no better evidence of the improvement in
the English lace manufacture than these two letters.

An Act of 1638 for reforming abuses in the manufacture
of lace, by which competent persons are appointed, whether
natives or strangers, " who shall be of the Church of England,"
can scarcely have been advantageous to the community.

Lace, since the Reformation, had disappeared from the
o-arments of the Church, In the search warrants made after
Jesuits and priests of the Roman faith, it now occasionally
peeps out. In an inventory of goods seized at the house of
some Jesuit priests at Clerkenwell, in 1627, we find — " One
faire Alb of cambric, with needle worke purles about the
skirts, necke, and bandes."

Smuggling, too, had appeared upon the scene. In 1621
information is laid how Nicholas Peeter, master of the
" Greyhound, of Apsom," had landed at Dover sundry
packets of cut-workes and bone laces without paying the
Customs.'^'

But the

" Eebatoes, ribbands, cuffs, ruffs, falls,
Scarfes, feathers, fans, maskes, muffs, laces, cauls," ^'

of King Charles's court were soon to disperse at the now
outbreaking Revolution. The Herrn Maior Frau (Lady
Mayoress), the noble English lady depicted by Hollar,'" must
now lay aside her whisk, edged with broad lace of needle
point, and no longer hie to St. Martin's for lace : ''^ she must
content herself with a plain attire.

" Sempsters with ruffs and cuffs, and quoifs and caules
And falls," '^

must be dismissed. Smocks of three pounds a-piece,'^

•^^ state Papers Dom. Vol. cxxiii. lace." — Westioard Ho. 1607.

No. 65. "A copper lace called St. Martin's

"■' " Rhodon and Iris, a Pastoral." lace." — Strype.

1631. ^2 Taylor, " Whip of Pride." 1640.

™ " Ornatus Muliebris Anglicanus." " In Eastward Ho, 1605, proud

1645. Gertrude says : " Smocks of three

" " You must to the Pawn (Ex- pound a smock, are to be born with

change) to buy lawn, to St. Martin for all."

zz^

HISTORY OF LACE

wrought smocks,'* are no longer worn by all — much less
those " seam'd thro' with cutwork," '^ or " lace to her smocks,
broad seaming laces," '^ which, groans one of the Puritan
writers, " is horrible to think of."

The ruff and cuffs of Flanders, gold lace cut-work and
silver lace of curie," needle point, and tine gartering with
blown roses,'* are now suppressed under Puritan rule.

The "fop" whom Henry Fitz-Geoftrey describes as

having

"An attractive lace
And whalebone bodies for the better gi'ace,"

must now think twice before he wears it.'"'

The officer, whom the poor soldier apostrophises as
shining —

" One blaze of plate about you, which pvits out
Our eyes when we march 'gainst the sunne, and amies you
Compleatly with yoiu' own gold lace, which is
Laid on so thick, that j'our own trimmings doe
Render you engine proof, without more arms " — '^

must no lonoer boast of

" This shirt five times victorious I have fought under,
And cut through squadrons of your curious Cut-work,
As I will do through mine." ^^

In the Eoundhead army he will scarce deign to comb his
cropped locks. All is now dingy, of a sad colour, soberly in
character with the tone of the times.

l[ "Bartholomew Fair." 1614.
"'''' " She shewed ine gowns and head
tires,
Embroidered waistcoats, smocks seam'd
thro' with cut-works."

— Beaumont and Fletcher, " Four

Plays in One." 1647.

TO 41 "Who would ha' thought a woman

so well harness'd.

Or rather well caparison'd, indeed,

That wears such petticoats, and lace

to her smocks,
Broad seaming laces." — Ben Jonson,
The Devil is an Ass. 1616.

'" A suite of russet " laced all over
with silver curie lace." — " Expenses of
Robt. Sidnev, Earl of Leicester. Temp.
Chas. 1." '

"'^ " This comes of wearing

Scarlet, gold lace and cut-works ; your

fine gartering
With your blown roses."

— The Devil is an Ass.

"'"^ Notes from Blacl- Fryers.

"' Jasper Mavne. " Amorous War."
1659.

8' " The Little French Lawyer."

Plate LXXXII.

James Harrington, Author of "Oceana," 1611-1677. Between 1630-1640.
By Gerard Honthorst. National Portrait Gallery,

Photo by Walker and Cockerell.

'J'd face jiKijc :i:i'l.

THE COMMONWEALTH 33:

THE COMMONWEALTH.

The rule of the Puritans was a sad thiie for lace-makers,
as regards the middle and lower classes : every village
festival, all amusement was put down, bride laces and
Mayings — all were vanity.

With respect to the upper classes, the Puritan ladies, as
well as the men of birth, had no fancy for exchanging the
rich dress of the Btuart Court for that of the Roundheads.
Sir Thomas Fairfax, father of the General, is described as
wearing a buff coat, richly ornamented with silver lace,
his trunk hose trimmed with costly Flanders lace, his
breastplate partly concealed by a falling collar of the same
material. The foreign Ambassadors of the Parliament
disdained the Puritan fashions. Lady Fanshaw describes
her husband as wearins; at the Court of jMadrid,*on some
State occasion, " his linen very fine, laced with very rich
Flanders lace."^'

Indeed, it was not till the arrival of the Spanish envoy,
the first accredited to the Protectorate of Cromwell, that
Harrison befroed (\)lonel Hutchinson and Lord AVarwick to
set an example to other nations at the audience, and not
appear in gold and silver lace. C-olonel Hutchinson, though
he saw no harm in a rich dress, yet not to appear offensive,
came next day in a plain black suit, as did the other gentle-
men, when, to the astonishment of all, Harrison appeared in
a scarlet coat so laden with " clinquaint " and lace as to hide
the material of which it was made, showing, remarks Mrs.
Hutchinson, " his godly speeches were only made that he
might appear braver above the rest in the eyes of the

strangers."

Nor did the mother of Cromwell lay aside these adorn-
ments. She wore a handkerchief, of which the broad point
lace alone could be seen, and her green velvet cardinal was
edged with broad gold lace.^^ C^-omwell himself, when once
in power, became more particular in his dress ; and if he
lived as a Puritan, his body after death was more gorgeously
attired than that of any deceased sovereign, with purple
velvet, ermine, and the richest Flanders lace.*"* His eftigy.

^- Memoirs. 84 gj„ pj^^Up Warwick. 1640.

''" The Cromwell Family.

334 HISTORY OF LACE

carved by one Symonds, was clad in a line shirt of Holland,
richly laced ; he wore bands and cuffs of the same materials,
and his clothes were covered with Q-old lace.^""

The more we read the more we feel convinced that the
dislike manifested by the Puritan leaders to lace and other
luxuries was but a political necessity, in order to follow the
spirit of the age. •

As an illustration of this opinion we may cite that in the
account of the disbursements of the Committee of Safety,
1660, a political jeu d esprit which preceded the Restoration,
we find entered for Lady Lambert —

" Item, for seven new whisks lac'd with Flanders lace of
the last Edition, each whisk is valued at fifty pound, £350."

Followed up by —

" Six new Flanders lac'd smocks, £300."

The whisk, as the gorget was now termed, was as great
an object of extravagance to the women as was the falling
band to the men. It continued in fashion during the reign
of Charles IL, and is often mentioned as lost or stolen
among the advertisements in the public journals of the day.
In the Mercurius Publicus, May 8th, 1662, we find : " A
cambric whisk with Flanders lace, about a quarter of a yard
broad, and a lace turning up about an inch broad, with a
stock in the neck, and a strap hanging down before, was
lost between the new Palace and Whitehall. Reward, 305."
Again, in The Newes, June 20th, 1664: "Lost, a Tiffany
whisk, with a great lace down, and a little one up, large
Flowers, and open Work, with a Roul for the head and
Peak."

^■"^ At the Restoration, it was re- of the window at Whitehall, and then
moved from the Abbey and hung out broken up and destroyed.

-» -» r

jo5

CHAPTER XXV.

CHAELES II. TO THE HOUSE OF HANOVER.

CHARLES II.

" The dangling knee-fringe, and the bib-cravat."

— Dryden. Prologue. 1674.

The taste for luxury only required the restoration of the
Stuarts to burst out in full vigour.

The following year Charles II. issued a proclamation ^
enforcing the Act of his father prohibiting the entry of foreign
bone lace ; but, far from acting as he preached, he purchases
Flanders lace at eighteen shillings the yard, for the trimming
of his fine lawn " collobium sindonis," ^ a sort of surplice worn
during the ceremony of the anointment at the coronation.

The hand-spinners of gold wire, thread lace, and span-
gles of the City of London, no longer puritanically inclined,
now speak out boldly. " Having heard a report the
Parliament intend to pass an Act against the wearing of
their manufacture, they hope it intends the reform, not the
destruction of their craft, for by it many thousands would be
ruined. Let every person," say they, " be prohibited from
wearing gold, silver, and thread lace— that will encourage
the gentry to do so." ^

In 1662 is passed an Act prohibiting the importation of
foreign bone lace, cut-works, etc., setting forth, " Whereas
many poor children have attained great dexterity in the

1 1661, Nov. 20. State Papers.
Dom. Charles II. Vol. xliv. P. R. O.

^ " To William Briers, for making
the Colobimn Sindonis of fine la^vn
laced with fine Flanders lace, 33s. 4f?.

" To Valentine Stucky, for 14 yards
and a half of very fine Flanders^ lace
for the same, at 18s. per yard, ^12
•6s. 6fZ."— " Ace. of the E. of Sandwich,

Master of the G. W. for the Coronation
of King Charles II. 23 April, 1661."
P. R. O.

2 In the G. W. A. for 29 and 30
occui's a curious entry b}' the Master
of the Great Wardrobe : — " I doe here-
by charge myself with 5,000 Li\Tes
by me received in the realm of France
for gold and silver fringes by me there

136

HISTORY OF LACE

making thereof, the persons so employed hav^e served most
parts of the kingdom with bone lace, and for the carrying
out of the same trade have caused much thread to be brought
into the country, whereljy the customs have been greatly
advanced, until of late large quantities of bone lace, cut-work,
etc.,wej-e brought into the kingdom and sold contrary to the
former Statutes and the proclamation of November last ; all
such bone lace is to be forfeited, and a penalty of £100 paid
by the offender." ■"

This same Act only occasioned the more smuggling of
lace from Flanders, for the point made in England had never
attained the Ijeauty of Brussels, and indeed, wherever fine
lace is mentioned at this period it is always of foreign fabric.
T]iat Charles Inmself Avas of this opinion there can be no
doubt, for in the very same year he grants to one John
Eaton a license to import such quantities of lace '" made
beyond the seas, as may be for the wear of the Queen, our
dear Mother the Queen, our dear brother James, Duke of
York," and the rest of the royal family. The permission is
softened down by the words, " And to the end the same may
be patterns for the manufacture of these commodities here,
notwithstanding the late Statute forbidding their importa-
tion."^ Charles had evidently received his lessons in the
school of Mazarin. As the galleries of the cardinal were filled
with sculptures, paintings, and majolica — rich produce of
Italian art, as patterns for France, " per mostra di fame in
Francia " — so the king's " pilea nocturna," pillow-beres,
cravats, were trimmed with the points of Venice *^ and
Flanders, at the rate of £600 per annum, for the sake of
improving the lace manufacture of England. .

The introduction of the flowing wig, with its long curls
covering the shoulders, gave a final blow to the falling ])and ;

sold, belon= to a rich embroidered Bed
of his said IMajesty, which at one
shilHng and sevenpence ^ lib. English,
Being the value of the Exchange at
that time, amounts to J6395 16s. 8f7.

" (Signed) R. Montague.

" May 28, 1678."

* 14 "Car. II. c. 13. Statutes at
large. The Acts of Charles II. date
from tlie death of his father ; so the
year of the Restoration, 1660, is

counted as the thirteenth of his reign.

''"' 1662. State Papers Dom. Charles
II. Vol. Iv., No. 25. P. R. O.

^ He pays i'194 to his Laceman
(Teneatori) for 3 Cravats " de poynt
de Venez," and 24.s. per yard for 57
yards of narrow point " tenise poynt
augustae," to trim his falling ruffles,
" manicis cadentibus," etc. — G. W. A.
Car. II. 24 and 25.

Later (1676-7) we find charged for
" lui par manicarum, le poynt, .£14."

CHARLES II 337

the ends Hoatino- and tied in front could alone l)e visible. In
time they diminished in size, and the remains are still seen
in the laced bands of the lawyer, when in full dress, and the
homely bordered caml)ric slips used by the clergy. Tlie
laced cravat now introduced continued in fashion until about
the year 1735.'

It was at its height when Pepys writes in his diary :
"Lord's Day, Oct. 19, I662!. Put on my new lace band, and
so neat it is that I am resolved my great expense shall be lace
bands, and it will set oil" any thing else the more." The band
was edged with the broadest lace. In tlie Newes, January
7th, 1663, we find : " Lost, a laced band, the lace a quarter of
a yard deep, and the band marked in the stock with a B."

Mrs. Pepys — more thrifty soul — " wears her green petti-
coat of Florence satin, with white and black gimp lace of her
own putting on (making), which is very pretty."

The custom, alreadv common in France, of ladies making:
their own lace, excites the ire of the writer of Britannia Lan-
f/ik'iis, in his " Discourse upon Trade." ^ "The manufacture
of linen ,"^ he says, " was once the huswifery of English ladies,
gentlewomen, and other women ;" now "' the huswifery women
of England employ themselves in making an ill sort of lace,
which serves no national or natural necessity."

The days of Puritan simplicity were at an end.

" Instead of homespun coifs were seen
Good })inners edged with Colberteen." ^"

The laced cravat succeeded the falling collar. Lace
handkerchiefs " were the fashion, and

"Gloves laced and trimmed as fine as Nell's. " '-

" AVhen it was replaced by a black ^" Swift. Baucis and Philemon.

ribbon and a bow. ^^ Intelligencer. 1665,Jmie5. "Lost,

" London, 1(J80. six handkerchers wrapt up in a brown

" Authors, however, disagree like the jjaper, two laced, one point-laced set

rest of the world. In a tract called on tiffanj^ ; the two laced ones had

The Ancient Trades Decaijed Repaired been worn, the other four new."

J.gfai?;., by Sir Roger L'Estrange (1678), London Ga.~ettc. 1672, Dec. .5-9.

we read : "Nay, if the materials used "Lost, a lawn pocket handkercher

in a trade be not of the growth of with a broad hem, laced round with a

England, yet, if the trade be to employ fine Point lace about four fingers broad,

the poor, we should have it bought marked with an R in red silk."

without money, and brought to us '- Evelyn. It was the custom, at a

from beyond the seas where it is made Maiden Assize, to present the judge

as ' Bone lace.' " with a pair of " laced gloves." Lord

338 HISTORY OF LACE

Laced aprons, which even found their way to the homes of
the Anglican clergy, and appear advertised as " Stolen from
the vicarage house at Amersham in Oxfordshire : An apron
of needlework lace, the middle being Network, another Apron
laced with cut and slash lace,"^^

The newspapers crowd with losses of lace, and rarer —
finds. ^*

Thev o•i^'e us, however, no clue to the home manufacture.
"" A pasteboard box full of laced linen, and a little portman-
teau with some white and grey Bone lace," '^ would seem to
signify a lace much made two hundred years ago, of which
we have ourselves seen specimens from Dalecarlia, a sort of
guipure, upon which the pattern is formed by the introduc-
tion of an unbleached thread, which comes out in full relief
— a fancy more curious than pretty.

The petticoats of the ladies of King Charles's court have
received due honour at the hands of Pepys, whose prying
eyes seem to have been everywhere. On May 21 of the
same year he so complacently admired himself in his new
lace band, he writes down : " My wife and I to my Lord's
lodo-ino; • where she and I staid walkino- in White Hall
Gardens. And in the Privy Garden saw the finest smocks
and linnen petticoats of my Lady Castlemaine's, laced with
rich lace at the bottom, that ever 1 saw ; and it did me
good to look at them."

Speaking of the ladies' attire of this age, Evelyn says : —

" Another quilted white and red,

. With a broad Flanders lace below ;

Campbell in 18.>6, at the Lincoln Lent musling neck laced at the ends with a

Assizes, received from the sheriff a narrow Point about three fingers broad,

pair of white gloves richly trimmed and a pair of Point cuffs of the same,

with Brussels lace and embroidered, Avorn foul and never washt, was lost on

the citv arms embossed in frosted Mondav last."

silver on the back. Ibid'. 1677, Oct. 22-25. " Found

'^ London, Ga.^ette. 1677, Jan. 28- in a ditch. Four laced forehead cloths.

31. Again, Oct. 4-8, in the same year. One laced Pinner, one laced Quoif, one

'• Stolen or lost out of the Petworth pair of laced ruffels. . . . Two point

waggon, a deal box directed to the aprons and other laced linen."

Lady Young of Burton in Sussex ; InteUiffcncer. 1664, Oct. 3. " Lost,

there was in it a fine Point Apron, A needle work point without a border,

a suit of thin laced Night clothes," with a great part of the loups cut out,

etc. and a quarter of it new loupt witli the

'^ London Ga.vcffc. 1675, June 14- needle. £'j reward."

17. "A right Point lace with a long ''^ Lo7idon Gazette. 1677, Oct. 8-11.

CHARLES II 339

Four pairs of bas de sove shot through

With silver ; diainoml buckles too,

For garters, and as rich for shoe.

Twice twelve day smocks of Holland fine,

AVith cambric sleeves rich Point to joyn

(For she despises Colbertine) ;

Twelve more for night, all Flanders lac'd,

Or else she'll think herself disgrac'd.

Tlie same her night gown must adorn,

AVith two Point waistcoats for the morn ;

Of pocket mouchoirs, nose to drain,

A dozen laced, a dozen plain ;

Three niglit gowns of rich Indian stuff;

Four cushion-cloths are scarce enough

Of Point and Flanders," '" etc.

It is difficult now to ascertain what description of lace
was that styled Collier tine. ^' It is constantly alluded to by
the writers of the period. Eandle Holme (1688) styles it,
"A kind of open lace AAdth a square grounding. "^^ Evelyn
himself, in his Fops Dictionan/ (1690), gives, " Colbertine,
a, lace resembling net-work of the fabric of Monsieur Colbert,
superintendent of the French King's manufactures ; '" and the
Ladles Diationarj/, 169 4, repeats his definition. This is
more incomprehensiljle still, point d'AIencon being the lace
that can be specially styled of " the falnic " of Colbert, and
Colbertine appears to have been a coarse production. ^^ Swift
talks of knowinor

" Tlie difference between
Piich Flanders lace and Colberteen."-^

Congre\^e makes LadA^ AVestport sav — -^

" Go hang out an old Frisonier gorget with a yard of yellow Colberteen."

And a traveller, in 1691," speaking of Paris, AATites : — " You
shall see here the finer sort of people Haunting it in tawdry
gauze or Colbertine, a parcel of coarse staring ribbons ; but
ten of their holy day habits shall not amount to Avhat a
■citizen's wife of London Avears on her head eA^ery day."

'" Tyrannus, or tlic Mode. 1661. was square and coarse, it had a fine

'" It is written Colberteen, Colber- edge, with a round mesh, on which

tain, Ciolbertain, Colbertine. the pattern was woven. It was an in-

^* Colberteen, a lace resembling net- ferior lace and in every-day wear."

work, being of the manufacture of M. '■'■^ Cadcniis and Vanessa. See also

Colbert, a French statesman. Young, p. 111.

''•' A writer in Notes and Queries -' Waij of the World.

says: "I recollect this lace worn as - Six Weels in. France. 1691.
& ruffle tiftv years ago. The ground

z 2

340 HISTORY OP LACE

JAMES II.

Tlie reign of James II., short and troubled, brought but
little change in the fashion of the day ; more prominence^
however, was given to the lace cravats, which were worn
loosely round the throat, and with their ends hanging down
over the upper part of the vest.

Charles II., in the last year of his reign, spends £20 12.y..
for a new cravat to be worn "on the birthday of his dear
brother," ^^ and James expends £29 upon one of Venice point
to appear in on that of his queen. Frequent entries of lace
for the attendants of the Chapel Royal form items in the
Eoyal Wardrobe Accounts.

Ruffles, night-rails, and cravats of point d'Espagne and
de Venise now^ figure in Gazettes,^* but "Flanders lace i&
still in high estimation," writes somebody, in 1668, "and
even fans are made of it."

Then James 11. Hed, and years after M-e find him dying
at St. Germains in — a laced nightcap. "This cap was called
a ' toquet,' and put on when the king was in extremis, as a
compliment to Louis XIV." " It was the court etiquette for
all the Royals," writes Madame, in her Memoirs, " to die
with a nightcap on." The toquet of King James may still
be seen by the curious, adorning a wax model of the king's
head, preserved as a relic in tlie Museum of Dunkirk.^"

Out of mingled gratitude, we suppose, for the hospitality
she had received at the French court, and the protection of
the angels, which, she writes, " I experienced once when I

■-•' Gt. W. A. Car. II. 35-86 = 1683-4 i:36 10s. for the cravat of Venice

-* Gazette, July 20. 1682. Lost, a lace to wear on the day of his Coro-

portmanteau full of women's clothes, nation," etc. — G.i W. A. Jac. II.

among which are enumerated "two 1685-6.

pairs of Point d'Espaj^ne ruffles, a -° A writer in the GentJcmans

laced night rail and waistcoat, a pair Magazine (October, 1745), mentions :

of Point de Venise ruffles, a black " In the parlour of the monastery of

laced scarf," etc. — Malcolm's AiiccdofcH English Benedictines at Paris, I was

of London. sliown the mask of the king's face,

The lace of James II. 's cravats and taken ofi' inunediately after he was

ruffles are of point de Venise. dead, together with the fine laced

Sex preelant cravatts de lacinia Ve- nightcap he died in." The cap at

netiarum, are charged i;141, and 9 Dunkirk is trimmed with Flemish

\ards lace, for six more cravats, i:45. lace (old Mechlin). It must have

WILLIAM in 341

set fire to my lace night cornet, which was burned to the
very head without singeing a single hair" — good (^)ueen
Mary of Modena, who shone so brightly in her days of
adversity, died, ."^eloii les regies, coefted in like fashion.

With this notice we finish the St. Germaius reign of King-
James the Second.

WILLIAM III.

" Long wigs,
Steinkirk cravats."

— Congreve. Love for Love.

In William TII.'s reign, the full shirt-sleeves, with their
lace ruffles, were shown at- the wrists, and the loose neck-
cloths had long pendent ends terminating in lace, if they
were not entirely made of that material. The hat, too, was
edged with gold lace, and for summer wear the gloves were
edged with lace.

Women's sleeves, at first shorr, wide and lace-edged,
showino; the delicate sleeves of the under oarment, soon
became tight, and were prolonged to the wrists, where they
terminated in deep and wide upturned cuffs, whence drooped
a profusion of lace lappets and ruffles.

The hair, combed up, and with an inclination backwards
from the forehead, was surmounted by a strata of ribl)on and
lace, sometimes interminoied with feathers, and a kerchief
or scarf of some very light material was permitted to hang-
down to the waist, or below it.

In 1698 the English Parliament passed another Act
^' for rendering the laws more efiectual for preventing the
importation of foreign Bone lace. Loom lace, Needlework
Point, and Outwork," "" with a penalty of 20.s'. per yard, and
forfeiture. This Act caused such excitement among the
convents and l)eo;uinaQ;es of Flanders that the Government,
at that time under the dominion of Spain, prohibited, by
way of retaliation, the importation of English wool. In
consequence of the general distress occasioned by this edict

passed from Paris to the convent of Museum. — Comimmicated by M. deni,

English Benedictines at Dunkirk, who Forcade, Conservator of the ]\Iuseu la

left that city in 1793. There is no Dvmkirk.

record how it became deposited in the -" 9 & 10 Will. III. = 1697-.S.

342

HISTORY OF LACE

among the woolstaplers of England, the Act prohibiting the
importation of foreign lace into England was repealed,"' so
far as related to the Spanish Low Countries. England was
the loser by this Custom-House war.'^

Dress, after the Ee volution, partook of the stately
sobriety of the House of Nassau, l)ut lace was extensively
worn. Queen ^lary favoured that wonderful erection,
already spoken of in our chapter on France,''' the tower or
fontange, more generally called, certainly not from its
convenience, the " commode," with its piled tiers of lace and
ribbon, and the long hanging pinners, celebrated by Prior in
his " Tale of the Widow and her Cat " : —

" He scratch'd the maid, he stole the cream,
. He tore her best lac'd pinner."

Their Flanders lace heads, with the eno;ao;eantes ^" or

to"&'

ruffles, and the dress covered with lace frills and Hounces —
" every part of the garment in curl " — caused a lady, says
the Spectator, to resemble "a Friesland hen."^^

Never yet were such sums expended on lace as in the
days of AYilliam and Mary. The lace bill of the Queen,
signed by Lady Derby, Mistress of the Robes, for the year
1694, amounts to the enormous sum of £1,918.^' Among
the most extravagant entries we find : —

21 yards of lace for 12 pillow beres, at 52s.

16 yards of lace for 2 toylights (toilets), at £12

24 yards for 6 handkerchiefs, at £4 10>'.

30 yards for 6 night shifts, at 62^

6 yards for 2 combing cloths, at £14 .

£.

192

108

27 11 & 12 Will. III. = 169S-9.

2« Smith's Wealth of NatioiiH.

'^'■' See Louis XIV.

30 See Louis XIV.

=^1 Spectator, No. 129. 1711.

" Lost, from behind a Hackney
coach, Lombard Street, a grounded
lace night rail." — Lovdon Gazette.
■ Aug. 8, 1695.

" Lost, two loopt lace Pinners and
a pair of double laced ruffles, bundled
up together."— liifZ. Jan. 6-10, 1697.

" Taken out of two boxes in Mv.

Drouth's waggon . . . six cards of
piece lace looped and purled, scolopt
lieads to most of thein ... a fine
Flanders lace head and ruffles, ground-
work set on a wier,"etc. — Ibid. A^oril
11-14, 1698.

" Fiu'belows are not confined to
scarfs, but. they must have furbelow'd
gowns, and furbelow'd petticoats, and
turbelow'<l aprons ; and, as I have
heard, furbelow'd smocks too." — Flea-
savt Art of Money-catching. 1730.

■'- B. I\r.' Add. MSS. No. 57r)l.

WILLIAM III

j4:

3^ yards for a combing cloth at £17 . . . 53 2 6

3| do. at £14 . ^ . 42

An apron of lace 1700

None of the lace furnished by Mr. Bampton, thread lace
provider and milliner to the court, for the Queen's engage-
antes and ruffles, however, seems to have exceeded £5 lOs.
the yard. There is little new in this account. The lace is
entered as scalloped, ^^ ruffled, loopt : lace purle "^ still lingers
on ; catgut, too, appears for the first time,^^ as well as raised
point ^'^ and needlework.^' The Queen's pinners are men-
tioned as Mazzarined ; ^^ some fashion named in honour of the
once fair Hortense, who ended her exiled life in England.

" What do you lack, ladies fair,
Mazzavine hoods, Fontanges, girdles '? " ^■'

King William himself, early imbued with the Dutch taste
for lace, exceeded, we may say, his wife in the extravagance
of his lace bills : for thoueh the lace account for 1690 is
noted only at £1,603, it increases annually until the year
1695-6, when the entries amount to the astonishing sum of
£2,459 19.5.^" Among the items charged will be found : —

To six point cravats

To eio;ht do. for huntino; ,
54 yds. for 6 barbing cloths .
63 yds. for 6 combing cloths .
117 yards of " scissse teniae" (cut-work)
for trimming 12 pockethandfs

78 yds. for 24 cravats, at £8 lO-v.

£.

r/.

158

270

283

485

663

^3 " Bought of John Bishop k Jer.
Peirie, att a" Golden Ball, in Ludgatc
Hill, 26 April. 1693 :

'•3 yards 1/2 of Rich silver rufl'd
scollop lace falbala, with a Rich broad
silver Tire Orris at tlie head, at 7s. M.
a yard, ^625 O.s'. 6f7.

" 8 yards of broad seollopped thread
lace, at 25s.

" 3 vards Rich Paigning (?) Lace,
48s. 8f?.. ^8 14s."

=** " 9 1/2 Fine purle to set on the
pinner, at 3s."

^■' "5 3/4 of line broad cattgutt
border, at 20s."

s« " 1 yard 7/16 Raised Point to put
on the top of a pair of sleeves, at 30s."

^" " 8 yards of Broad Needlework
Lace, at 30s."

^^ " 3 yards of lace to Mazzarine y°
pinners, at 25s."

Probably the same as the French
" campanner."

^' The Milliner, in S]uT.dweirs Bury
Fair. 1720.

^ ' G. AV. A. AVill. III. 1688 to 1702.
P. R. O.

J44 HISTORY OF LACE

In this right royal account of expenditure we find
mention of " coclvscomlje hicini^e,'' of which the King con-
sumes 344 yards/^ What this may be we cannot say, as it
is described as " green and white " ; otherwise we might
have supposed it some kind of Venice point, the little pearl-
edged raised patterns of which are designated by Eandle
Holme as " cockscombs." More coquet than a w^oman, we
find an exchange effected with Henry Furness, " ]\lercatori,"
of various laces, purchased for his handkerchiefs and razor
cloths, which, laid by during the two years of " lugubris "
for his beloved consort, the Queen — during which period he
had used razor cloths with broad hems and no lace — had
become "obsolete" — quite out of fashion. To effect this
exchange the King pays the sum of £178 12.y. 6c/., the lace
purchased for the six new razor cloths amounting to £270.
In the same page we find him, now out of mourning,
expending £499 lO.'-'. for lace to trim his twenty-four new
nightshirts, " indusiis nocturnis."

With such royal patronage, no wonder the lace trade
prospered, and that, within ten years of William's death,
Defoe should quote the point lace of Blandford as selling
at £30 the yard.

AVe have already told how the fashion of the laced
Steinkirk found as much favour in Enoland^" as in France.
Many people still possess, among their family relics, long
oval-shaped Ijrooches of topaz or Bristol stones, and wonder

*^ Ihid. vii. & -\iii. 1694. Prologue to First Part of Don

*'^ " I hope your Lordship is pleased Quixote.

with your Steinkerk." — Sir John Van- Frank Osbaldestmi, in Bob Boy, is

brngh. TJic Bela^isr. deprived by tlie Highlanders of his

In Coll ey Gibber's Careless Husband, cravat, *' a Steinkirke richly laced."

Lady Easy takes the Steinkirk off her At Ham House was the portrait of

neck and lays it on Sir Charles's head a Countess of Dysart, temp. Anne, in

when he is asleep. three-cornered cocked hat, long coat,

In Love's Last Shift, by the same flapped waistcoat, and Mechlin Stein-
author (1695), the hero speaks of being kirk.
" Strangled in my own Steinkerk." In the Account Book of Isabella,

In Love for Love, by Congre^-e, Sir IH;chess of Grafton, daughter of Lord

Novelty enumerates the Steinkirk, the Arlington, Evelyn's " sweet child " — •

large button, with otJier fasliions, as her portrait hangs in Queen Mary's

created by him. Iloom, Hampton Court — we have :

" I have heard the Steinkirk arrived " 1709. To a Stinkirk, £1 12s. 3f7."

but two months ago." — Spectator, No. They appear to have been made of

129. other stuffs than lace, for in the same

The " modish spark " wears " a huge account, 1708, we have entered : " To

Steinkirk, tAvisted to the waist." — a green Steenkirk, £1 Is. 6(7."

Platk LXXXIII.

James, the Old Pretender, 1G88-1766, with his sister Princess Louisa, 1692-1712.
In 1695. By Nicolas de Largilliere. National Portrait Gallery.

Photo by Walker and Cockerell.

Til face paiji' 344.

WILLIAM III 345

what tliey were used for. These old-fashioned articles of
jewellery were worn to fasten (when not passed through the
button-hole) the lace Steinkirk, so prevalent not only among
the nobility, l)ut worn by all classes. If the dialogue
between Sir Nicholas Dainty and Major-General Blunt, as
given in Shadwell's play, be correct, the volunteers of King
William's day were not behind the military in elegance : —

" Sir Nicholas. — I must make great haste, I shall ne'er get my Points and
Laces done up time enough.

" Maj. Gen. B. — What say'st, young fellow? Points and Laces for camps ?

" Sir Nich. — Yes, Points and Laces ; why, I carry two laimdresses on
pm-pose. . . . Would you have a gentleman go undress'd in a camp '? Do you
think I would see a camp if there was no dressing ? Why. I liave two campaign
suits, one trimmed with Flanders lace, and the other with rich Point.

'' Maj. Gen. B. — Campaign suits with lace and Point ! " ^^

In AYestminster Abliey, where, as somewhat disrespect-
fully, say the Brothers Poppleweil,^^ the images of AYilliam
and ]Mary

" Stand upright in a press, with their bodies made of wax,
A globe and a wand in either hand and their robes upon their backs " —

the lace tucker and douljle sleeves of (^ueen Mary are of
the finest raised Venice point, resembling Fig. 29 ; King-
William likewise wears a rich lace cravat and ruttles.^^

In a memorandum (carta d' informazione) given to the
Venetian ambassadors about to proceed to England, 1696,
they are to be provided with very handsome collars of the
finest Venetian point, which, it is added, is also the best
present to make.^''

Before concluding the sul\ject of the lace-bearing heroes,
we may as well state here that the English soldiers rivalled
the cavaliers of France in the richness of their points till the
extinction of hair-powder (the wearing of which in the army
consumes, says some indignant writer. Hour enough to feed
600,000 persons per annum), when the lace cravat was
replaced by the still" and cumbersome stock. Speaking of

*'^ The Volunteers, or the Stock as that of Queen ]\Iary. The Duchess

Jobbers. of Buckingham (the "mad" Duchess,

44 a rpj^g Tombs in Westminster Ab- daughter of James* II.) has also very

bey," sung by the Brothers Popplewell. line raised lace.

Broadside, 1775. — B. ]M. Koxburgh ^'^ Venice, Bib. St. Mark. Contarini

Coll. Miscellany. Communicated by ^Mr.

*■' King Charles II. 's lace is the same Piawdon Brown.

346 HISTORY OF LACE

these military dandies, writes the World : " Nor can I
behold the lace and the waste of finery in their clothing
but in the same light as the silver plates and ornaments on
a coffin ; indeed, 1 am apt to impute their going to battle
so trimmed and adorned to the same reason a once fine, lady
painted her cheeks just before she expired, that she might
not look frightful when she was dead."

" To wai- the troops advance,
Adorned and trim like females for the dance.
Down sinks Lothario, sent by one dire blow,
A ^\ell-dress'd hero to the shades below."

As the justice's daughter says to her mamma, in Sheri-
dan's St. Patrick's Day : —

" Dear ; to think how the sweet fellows sleep on the ground, and fight in
silk stockings and lace ruffles."

Lace had now become an article worthy the attention of
the light-fingered gentry. The jewels worn by our great-
grandmothers of the eighteenth century, though mounted in
the most exquisite taste, were for the most part false —
Bristol or Alencon " diamonds," paste, or " Strass." Lace,
on the other hand, was a sure commodity and easily disposed
of. At the robbery of Lady Anderson's house in Eed Lion
Square during a fire, in 1700, the family of George Heneage,
Esq., on a visit, are recorded to have lost — "A head with
fine loopt lace, of very great value ; a Flanders lace hood ; a
pair of double ruffles and tuckers ; two laced aprons, one
point, the other Flanders lace ; and a large black lace scarf
embroidered in gold,"

Again, at an opera row some years later, the number of
caps, ruffles, and heads enumerated as stolen by the pick-
pockets is quite faluilous. So expert had they become, that
v/hen first the ladies took to wearing powdered wigs, they
dexterously cut open the leather Ijacks of the hack coaches
and carried off wig, head and all, before the rifled occupant
had the slightest idea of their attack.'^' To remedy the evil,
the police recjuest all ladies for the future to sit with their
.backs to the horses. '*''

*^ Wccldy Jourual. Marcli. 1717. *" Tltc Moilcrn Warrior. 1756.

OUEEN ANNE

347

QUEEN ANNE.

"Parley. — Oh, Sir, there's the prettiest fashion lately come over ! so airy,
so French, and all tliat ! The Pinners are double ruffled with twelve plaits of
a side, and open all from the face ; the hair is frizzled up all round head, and
stands as stiff as a bodkin. Then the Favourites hang loose upon the temple
with a languishing lock in the middle. Then the Caule is extremely wide, and
over all is a Cornet rais'd very high and all the Lappets behind." — Farquhar.
Sir Harry Wildair.

Queen Anne, tliough less extravagant than her sister,
was scarcely more patriotic. The point purchased for her
coronation,^^ though it cost but £64 13.9. 9ri., was of Flanders
growth. The bill is made out to the royal laceman of King-
William's day, now Sir Henry Furnesse, knight and
merchant.

The Queen, too, in her gratitude, conferred a pension
of £100 upon one Mrs. Abrahat, the royal clear-starcher ;
" because," writes the Duchess of Marlborough, " she had
washed the Queen's heads for twenty pounds a year when
she was princess."

In 1706 Anne again repeals the Acts which prohibit
Flanders lace, with the clear understanding that nothing be
construed into allowing the imjDortation of lace made in
"the dominions of the French King";'°an edict in itself
sufficient to bring the points of France into the highest
fashion. °^

" France," writes an essayist, " is the wardrol)e of the
world ; " nay, " the English have so great an esteem for the
workmanship of the French refugees, that hardlv a thing
vends without a Gallic name." '"-

To the refugees from Alencon and elsewhere, expelled by
the cruel edict of Louis XIV., we owe the visible improve-
ment of our laces in the eighteenth century.

Up to the present -time we have had mention only of

*' Ace. of Pialph, Earl of Montague.
Master of the G. W., touching "the
Funeral of William III. and Coronation
of Queen Anne. P. Pi. O.

^ Statutes at large. — Anne 5 & 6.

^^ This edict greatlj' injured the lace
trade of France. In the Atlas Mari-
time ct Commercial of 1727, it states :
" I might mention several other articles

of French manufacture which, for want
of a market in England where their
chief consumption was, are so much
decayed and in a manner quite sunk.
I mean as to exportation, the English
having now set up the same among
themselves, such as bone lace."

^- Hisfonj of Trade. London,
1702.

34« HISTORY OF LACE

" Flanders lace " in general. In the reign of Queen Anne
the points of " Maeklin " and Brussels are first noted down
in the Eoyal Wardrobe Accounts. In 1710 her Majesty
pays for 26 yards of fine edged Brussels lace £151."" " Mais,
rappetit vient en mangeant." The bill of Margareta Jolly,
for the year 1712, for the furnishing of Mechlin and Brussels
lace alone, amounts to the somewhat extravagant sum of
£l,418 145. Taking the average price of the " Lace chanter
on Ludgate Hill," articles of daily use were costly enough.
" One Brussels head is valued at £40 ; a grounded Brussels
head, £30 ; one looped Brussels, £30." These objects, high
as the price may seem, lasted a woman's life. People in the
last century did not care for variety, they contented them-
selves with a few good articles ; hence among the objects
given in 1719, as necessary to a lady of fashion, we merely
find : —

£ s. (I
A French point or Flanders head and ruffles . 80
A ditto handkerchief . , . . 10

A black French laced hood . . . .550

^\llen the Princess Mary, daughter of George II.,
married, she had but four fine laced Brussels heads, two
loopt and two grounded, two extremely fine point ones, with
ruffles and lappets, six French caps and ruffles. ^^

Two point lace cravats were considered as a full supply
for any gentleman. Even young extravagant Lord Bedford,
who, at eighteen years of age, found he could not spend less
than £6,000 a year at Eome, when on the grand tour,
only charges his mother, Pachel Lady Russell, with that
n umber. ^^

The high commode,^^ with its lace rising tier upon tier,
which made the wits al)Out town declare the ladies '' carried
Bow steeple upon their heads," of a sudden collapsed in
Queen Anne's reign. It had shot up to a most extravagant
height, " insomuch that the female part of our species were

r)3 u Pj.q j^ virgis lautae Finibr' •'■' Memoirs of Lady B. Biisscll.

Bruxeir laciniie et 12 virgis diet' la- ''" " My liigh coniniode, iny damask

cinias pro Eeginae persona, £151." — gown,

G. W. A. 1710-11. My "^laced shoes of Spanish

^ Letters of the Countess of Hart- leather."

ford In the Countess of Pomfret. 1740. — D'Urfey. ThcYoung Maid'sPortion.

QUEEN ANNE

349

much taller than the men. We appeared," says the Spec-
tator 'f "as grasshoppers before them."^^

In 1711 Anne forbade the entry of gold and silver lace,^*
of which the consumption had become most preposterous,'^"'
under pain of forfeiture and the fine of £100. Ladies wore
e^'en cherry-coloured stays trimmed with the forbidden
fabric. *^^ The point of Spain had the preference over thread
lace for state garments, heads and ruffles excepted ; and as
late as 1763, when the Dowager Lady Effingham was robbed
of her coronation robes, among the wonderful finery detailed
there is no mention of thread lace.

The commerce of Flanders, notwithstanding the French
taste, seemed now on a comfortable footino:. " The Flander-
kins," writes the British Merchant in 1713, "are gone off

from wool, which we have got, to lace and linen.

have learned better, I hope, by our unsuccessful attempt
to prohibit the Flanders laces, which made the Flemings
retaliate upon us, and lessened our exportation of woollen
manufactures by several £100,000 per annum." '^"

Men looked upon lace as a necessary article to their
wives' equipment. Addison declares that when the China
mania first came in, women exchanged their Flanders point
for punch-bowls and mandarins, thus picking their husbands'
pockets, who is often purchasing a huge china vase when he
fancies that he is buying a fine head for his w^ife.''^ Lideed,
they could scarcely grumble, as a good wig cost from forty
to fifty guineas — to say nothing of their own lace ties and

'-'' No. 98. 1711.

^' After fifteen years' discontinuance
it shot up again. Swift, on meeting
the Duchess of Grafton, dining at Sir
Tliomas Haniner's. tlius attired, de-
clared slie " looked like a mad woman."

*"'■' Statutes at large.

^'' In 1712 ]\Irs. Beale had stolen
from her '• a green silk knit waistcoat
with gold and silver flowers all over it,
and about 14 yards of gold and silver
thick lace on it " ; while another lady
was robbed of a scarlet cloth coat so
overlaid with the same lace, it might
ha\e been of any other colour. — Mal-
colm's Anecdotes of the Manners and
Customs of London in the Ei()Jitecnt]i
Century.

"1 Post Boy. Kov. 15, 1709. Ar-
ticles Lost.

"- A Discourse on Trade, by John
Cary, merchant of Bristol. 1717.

Again : " "What injiu'y was done by
the Act 9-10 Will. III. for the more
effectual preventing of importation of
foreign bone lace, doth sufficient!}'
appear by the preamble to that made
10-12 of the same reign for repealing
it three months after the prohibition
of our woollen manufactures in Flan-
ders (which was occasioned bj-it) should
be taken oft'; but I don't understand
it be yet done, and it maj- prove an
inevitable loss to the nation."

«3 Lover. No. 10. 1714.

350 HISTORY OF LACE

riiffle.s. Only an old antiquary like Sir Thomas Ulaj'ton
could note down in his accounts : — " Lace and fal-lalls,'^^ and
a large looking-glass to see her old ugly face in — frivolous
expenses to please my jDroud lady. '

'^* The ornamental ribbons worn the term appears applied to the Fon-
about the dress : " His dress has bows, tanges or Commode. We read (1691)
and fine fallals." — Evelyn. Sometimes of " her three-storied Fladdal."

351

CHAPTER XXVI.

GEOEGE I. AXD II.

GEOEGE I.

" Wisdom with periwigs, with cassocks grace,
Courage with swords, gentilitj' with lace." — Connoisseur.

The accession of the House of Hanover brouo;lit but little
change either in the fashions or the fabrics. In 1717 the
King published an edict regarding the hawking of lace, but
the world was too much taken up with the Old Pretender
and the court of St. Germains ; the King, too, was often
absent, preferring greatly his German dominions.

We now hear a great deal of lace ruffles ; they were worn
long and ftilling. Lord Bolingbroke, who enraged Queen
Anne by his untidy dress — " she supposed, forsooth, he
would some day come to court in his nightcap " — is described
as having his cravat of point lace, and his hands hidden by
exao-oerated ruffles of the same material. In o-ood old
Jacobite times, these weeping ruffles served as well to con-
ceal notes — " poulets " — passed from one wary politician to
another, as they did the French sharpers to juggle and cheat
at cards.

Lace continued the mania of the day, " Since your
fantastical geers came in with wires, ribbons, and laces, and
your furbelows with three hundred yards in a gown and
petticoat, there has not been a good housewife in the
nation," ^ writes an indignant dramatist. The lover was
made to bribe the Abigail of his mistress with a piece of
Flanders lace ^ — an ojQTering not to be resisted. Lace appeared

^ Tnnhridge Wells. 1727. Lucy the maid says :" Indeed, Madam

^ In The Recruiting Officer (1781), the last bribe I had from the Captain

352

HISTORY OF LACE

at baptisms,^ at marriages, as well as at burials, of which
more hereafter — even at the Old Bailey, where one Miss
Margaret Caroline Rucld. a beauty of the day, tried for
forgery, quite moved her jurors to tears, and nigh gained
her acquittal by the taste of her elegantl}' -laced stomacher,
the lace rol)ings of her dress, and single lace flounce, her
long pendulous ruffles, hanging from the elbow, heard,
ff uttering in her agitation, by the court; but, in spite of
these allurements, Maro-aret Caroline Rudd was hanged.
Every woman, writes Swift,* is

" In choosing lace a critic nice,
Knows to a groat the lowest price."

Together, they

" Of caps and ruffles hold the grave debate.
As of their lives they would decide the fate."

Again, he says : —

" And when vou are amono; vourselves, how naturallv,
after the first compliments, do you entertain yourselves with
the price and choice of lace, apply your hands to each other's
lappets and ruffles, as if the whole business of your life and
the puljlic concern depended on the cut of your petticoats."^

Even wise Mrs. Elizal)eth Montague, who wrote epistles
about the ancients, and instead of going to a ball, sat at
home and read Sophocles, exclaims to her sister — " Surely

was only a small piece of Flanders lace
for a cap." Melinda ans-\\ers : " Ay,
Flanders lace is a constant present
from officers. . . . They everj- year
bring over a cargo of lace, to cheat
the king of his duty and his subjects
of their honesty." Again, Silvio, in
the bill of costs he sends in to the
\vidow Zelinda, at the teiinination of
his unsuccessful suit, makes a charge
for "a piece of Flanders lace" to
Mrs. Abigail, her woman. — Addison,
in Guardiav, No. 17. 17l;-5.

■' " In the next reign, George III.
and Qiieen Charlotte often conde-
scended to become sponsors to the
children of the aristocracy. To one
child their presence was fatal. In
1778 they ' stood ' to the infant
dauglitor of the last Duke and Puchess

of Chandos. Cornwallis, Archbishop of
Canterbury, officiated. The baby, over-
whelmed by whole mountains of lace^
lay in a dead faint. Her mother was
so tender on the point of etiquette,
that she would not let the little inci-
dent trouble a ceremony at which a
king and queen were about to endow
her child with the names of Georgiana
Charlotte. As Cornwallis gave back
the infant to her nurse, he remarked
that it was tlie quietest baby he had
ever held. Poor victim of ceremony I
It was not quite dead, but dying ; in a
few unconscious hours it calmly slept
away." — "A Gossip on Royal Christen-
ings." Cornliill Magazine. April,
1864.

* " Furniture of a AVoman's Mind."
•"' " Dean Swift to a Young Ladv."

Plate LXXXIV.

John Law, the Paris Banker, Author of the Mississippi Scheme, 1671-1729.—

In cravat of Point de France, between 1708-20. Painted by Belle.

National Portrait Gallery.

Photo by Walker and Cockerell,

T(i faro paiji' 352,

GEORGE I 353

your heroic spirit will prefer a lieau's hand iu Brussels lace
to a stubborn Sc?evola without an arm."

In the middle of the nineteenth century it was the
fashion that no young lady should wear lace previous to
her marriage. In the reign of (jleorge 11. etiquette was
<lifferent, for we find the Duchess of Portland presenting
Mrs, Montague, then a girl, with a lace head and ruffles.

WrathfuUy do the satirists of the day rail against the
expense of

" The powder, patches, and the pins,
The ribbon, jewels, and the rings,
The lace, th§ paint, and warlike things
That make up all their magazines,"'^

and the consequent distress of the lace merchants, to whom
ladies are indebted for thousands. After a drawing-room, in
which the fair population appeared in " borrowed," i.e.,
unpaid lace,' one of the chief lacemen became well-nigh
bankrupt. Duns l)esieged the houses of the great : —

"By mercers, lacemen, mantua-makers press'd;
But most for ready cash, for play distress'd,
Where can she turn ? " **

The Connoisseur, describing the reckless extravagance of
■one of these ladies, writes : — " The lady played till all her
ready money was gone, staked her cap and lost it, afterwards
her handkerchief. He then staked both cap and handker-
chief against her tucker, which, to his pique, she gained."
When enumerating the various causes of suicide, he proposes
" that an annual bill or report should be made out, giving
the different causes which have led to the act." Among
others, in his proposed " Bill of Suicide," he gives French
claret, French lace, French cooks, etc.

The men, though scarcely coming up to the standard of
Sir Courtly Nice,'* who has all his bands and linen made in
Holland and washed at Haarlem, were just as extravagant as
the ladies.

^ Cowley. And this is many a lady's case

'' 1731. Simile for the Ladies, allud- Who flaunts about in borrowed

ing to the laces wprn at the last Birth- lace."

day and not paid for. ^ :ienyn^. "The Modern Fine

" In Evening fair you may behold Lady."

The Clouds are fringed with borrowed '•* Crown. Sir Courtly Nice, or It

gold, Ca)inot Be, a Comedy. 1731.

2 A

354 HISTORY OF LACE

GEORGE II.

" ' How well this ribband's glass becomes your face,'
She cries in rapture ; ' then so sweet a lace !
How cbariningly you look ! ' "

— Lady M. W. Montagu. Town Eclogues.

For court and state occasions Brussels lace still held
its sway.

In the lemn. of George II. we read how, at the drawino-
room of 1735, fine escalloped Brussels laced heads, triple
ditto laced ruffles,^" lappets hooked up with diamond soli-
taires, found favour. At the next the ladies wore heads
dressed Eng;lish. i.e., bow of fine Brussels lace of exceedino-
rich patterns, with the same amount of laced ruttles and
lappets. Gold flounces were also worn.

Speaking of the passion for Brussels lace, Postlethwait
indignantly observes : — " 'Tis but a few years since England
expended upon foreign lace and linen not less than two
millions yearly. As lace in particular is the manufacture of
nuns, our British ladies may as well endow monasteries as
wear Flanders lace, for these Popish nuns are maintained by
Protestant contributions." ^^

Patriotism, it would appear, did come into vogue in the
year 1736, when at the marriage of Frederick, Prince of^
Wales, the bride is described as wearino; a nio;ht-dress of
superb lace, the bridegroom a cap of similar material. All
the laces worn by the court on this occasion are announced
to have been of English manufacture, with the exception of
that of the Duke of Marlborough, who appeared in point
d'Eapagne. The bride, however, does not profit l)y this high
example, for shortly after we read, in the Memoirs of
Madame Palatine, of the secretary of Sir Luke Sehaub being
drugged at Paris by an impostor, and robbed of some money
sent to defray the purchase of some French lace ruffles for
the Princess of Wales.

10 ii 1748_ Euffles of tw:elve pounds great-grandmother's I that has been

a yard." — Apolofju for Mrs. T. C. worn but twice these forty years, and

Pliilijps. 1748. my mother told me cost almost four

Lace, however, might be had at a pounds when it was new, and reaches

more reasonable rate : — down hither.' " — " Miss Lueyin Town.",

" ' I have a fine lac'd suit of pinners,' Fielding,

says Mrs. Thonras, 'that was my '^ Dictionary of Commerce. 1763.

GEORGE II

355

It was of native-made laces, we may infer, Mrs. Delany
writes in the same year : — " Thanks for your apron.
Brussels nor Mechlin ever produced anything prettier."

It appears somewhat strange that patriotism, as regards
native manufactures, should have received an impulse during
the reign of that most uninteresting though gallant little
monarch, the second George of Brunswick. ^'^ But patriotism
has its evils, for, writes an essayist, " some ladies now
squander away all their money in fine laces, because it sets
a great many poor people to work." ^^

Ten years previous to the death of King George II. was
founded, with a view to correct the prevalent taste for
foreign manufactures,^* the Society of Anti-Gallicans, who
held their quarterly meetings, and distrilmted prizes for
Lone, point lace, and other articles of English manufacture.^"

This society, which continued in great activity for many
years, proved most beneficial to the lace-making trade. It
excited also a spirit of emulation among gentlewomen of
the middle class, who were glad in the course of the year
to add to a small income by making the finer kinds of
needle-point, which, on account of their elaborate work-
manship, could be produced only in foreign convents or by

'^ He was a martinet about his own
dress, for his biographer relates during
the last illness of Queen Caroline ( 1737 ) .
though the King was "visibly affected,"
remembermg he had to meet the
foreign ministers next day, he gave
particular directions to his pages " to
see that new ruffles were sewn on liis
old shirt sleeves, whereby he might
wear a decent air in the eyes of the
representatives of foreign majesty."

'^ " By a list of linen furnished to
the Princesses Louisa and Mary, we
find their night-dresses were trimmed
with lace at 10s. per yard, and while
their Royal Highnesses were in bibs,
they had six suits of broad lace for
aprons at from j650 to ^60 each suit." —
Corr. of the Countess of Sit ff oik, Lady
of the Bedcliamher to Queoi Cayoline.

Observe also the lace-trimmed
aprons, ruffles, tuckers, etc., in the
pretty picture of the family of
Frederick, Prince of Wales, at
Hampton Court Palace.

'* The laws regarding the introduc-
tion of lace during this reign continued
much the same until 1749, when the
royal assent was given to an Act pre-
venting the importation or wear of
gold, silver, and thread lace manu-
factiu-ed in foreign parts.

^° In the meeting of Nov. 10. 1752,
at the " Crown, behmd the Royal Ex-
change," the Hon. Edward Vernon,
grand president, in the chair, it was
agreed that the following premiums
should be awarded : " For the best
pair of men's needlework ruffles, to be
produced to the committee in the first
week of May next, five guineas ; to
the second, three guineas ; to the
third, two guineas. And for the best
pair of English bone lace for ladies'
lappets, to be produced to the com-
mittee in August next, fifteen guineas ;
to the second, ten guineas ; to the
third, five guineas." — Gentleman's
Magazine.

^ K ''

^j ,<rx .^

;56

HISTORY OF LACE

persons wliose raaintenuiice did not entirely depend upon
the work of tlieir hands.

Towards the year 175G certain changes in the fashion of
the day now again mark the period, for —

" Dress still varying, most to form confined,
Shifts like the sands, the sport of every wind."

" Long lappets, the horse-shoe cap, the Brussels head,
and the prudish mob pinned under the chin, have all had
their day," says the Connoisseur in 1754. Now w^e have
iirst mention of lace cardinals ; trollopies or slanimerkins ^^
come in at the same period, with treble ruffles to the cuffs ;
writers talk, too, of a " gentle dame in blonde lace," blonde
being as yet a newly-introduced manufacture.

Though history may only be all false, ^' as Sir Robert

♦Valpole said to that " cynic in lace ruffles," his son Horace,

yet the newspapers are to be depended upon for the fashion

of the day, or, as Lady Mary would say, " for what new

whim adorns the ruffle." ^^

The lace apron, ^^ worn since the days of Queen Elizabeth,
continued to hold its own till the end of the eighteenth
century, though some considered it an appendage scarcely
consistent w4th the dignity of polite society. The anecdote
of Beau Nash, who held these articles in the strongest
aversion, has been often related. "He absolutely excluded,"
says his l»iographer, "' all who ventured to appear at the
Assembly Room at Bath so attired. I have known him at
a ball night strip the Duchess of Queensberry, and throw
her apron on one of the hinder benches among the ladies'
women, observing that none but Abigails appeared in white
aprons ; though that apron was of the costliest point, and
•cost two hundred guineas." ""

'° " Cardinal," a loose cloak after
the fashion of a cardinal's " troUopec,''^
a loose flowing gown open in the front,
worn as a morning dress. — Fairholt.
" Slammerkin," a sort of loose dress.
This ugly word, in coiu'se of time, was
used as an adjective, to signify untidy.
F6rtunately it is now obsolete.

" " Don't read history to me, for
that I know to be false," said Sir R.
Walpole to his son Horace, when lie

offered to read to liim in his last ill-
ness.

^» Lady M. W. Montagu. " Letter
to Lord Harvey on the King's Birth-
day."

lii u rpj^g working apron, too, from
France,
With all its trim appurtenance."
— " Mundus Muliebris."
-' Goldsmith. Life of Bichard Nash ,
of Bath. London, 1762.

GEORGE II 357

George 11. did his best to promote the fal)rics of his
country, but at this period smuggling increased with fearful
rapidity. It was a war to the knife between the revenue
officer and society at large : all classes com1»ined, town ladies
of high degree with waiting-maids and the common sailor,
to avoid the obnoxious duties and cheat the Government.
To this subject we devote the following chapter.

358 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XXVIT.

SMUGGLING.

" May that mistaken taste be stavv'd to reason,
That does not think French fashions — Englisli treason.
Souse their cook's talent, and cut short their tailors ;
Wear your own lace; eat beef like Vernon's sailors."

—Aaron Hill. 1754.

We have had occasional mention of this kindly-looked-upon
offence, in the carrying out of which many a reckless seaman
paid the penalty of his life in the latter part of the
eighteenth century.

From 1700 downwards, though the edicts prohibiting the
entry of Flanders lace were repealed, the points of France,
Spain and Venice, with other fabrics of note, were still
excluded from our ports. " England," writes Anderson,'
" brings home in a smuggling w^ay from France much fine
lace and other prohiljited fopperies." Prohibition went for
iiothino- ; foreio;n lace ladies would have, and if thev could
not smuoo-le it themselves, the smuoo-ler brouoht it to
them. It was not till 1751 that the Customs appear to have
used undue severity as regards the entries, prying into
people's houses, and exercising a surveillance of so strict a
nature as to render the chance to evade their watchfulness a
very madness on the part of all degrees. In short, there
was not a female within ten miles of a seaport, writes an
essayist, that was in possession of a Mechlin lace cap or
pinner but they examined her title to it.

Lord Chesterfield, whose opinion that " dress is a very
silly thing, but it is much more silly not to be dressed
according to your station," was more than acted up to,
referring to the strictness of the C-ustoms, writes to his son

1764.

SMUGGLING

359

in 1751, when comiDg over on a short visit: "Bring only
two or three of your laced shirts, and the rest plain ones."

The revenue officers made fre(|uent visits to the tailors'
shops, and confiscated whatever articles they found of foreign
manufacture.

On January 19tli, 1752, a considerable cjuantity of
foreign lace, gold and silver, seized at a tailor's, who paid
the penalty of £100, was publicly burnt. "^

George III., who really from his coming to the throne
endeavoured to protect English manufactures, ordered, in
1764, all the stuti's and laces worn at the marriage of his
sister, the Princess Augusta, to the Duke of Brunswick, to
be of English manufacture. To this decree the nobility paid
little attention. Three days previous to the marriage a
•descent was made by the (Customs on the court milliner of
the day, and nearly the whole of the clothes, silver, gold
stuffs and lace, carried off, to the dismay of the modiste, as
well as of the ladies deprived of their finery. The disgusted
French milliner retired with a fortune of £11,000 to Ver-
sailles, where she purchased a villa, which, in base ingrati-
tude to the English court, she called '' La Folic des Dames
Anglaises." In May of the same year three wedding
garments, together with a large seizure of French lace,
weighing nearly 100 lbs., were burnt at Mr. Coxe's refinery,
conformably to the Act of Parliament. The following birth-
day, warned by the foregoing mischances, the nolulity
appeared in clothes and laces entirely of British manu-
facture.

Every paper tells how lace and ruffles of great value,
sold on the previous day, had been seized in a hackney
coach, between St. Paul's and Covent Garden ; how a lady
of rank was stopped in her chair and relieved of French lace
to a large amount ; or how a poor woman, carelessly picking
a quartern loaf as she walked along, was arrested, and the
loaf found to contain £200 worth of lace. Even ladies when
walking had their black lace mittens cut off their hands, the
officers supposing them to be of French manufacture ; and
lastly, a Turk's turban, of most Mameluke dimensions, was
found, containino- a stuffino; of £90 worth of lace. Books,

Gentlcmaii's Magazine.

36o HISTORY OF LACE

bottles, babies, false-bottomed boxes, umbrellas, daily poured
out their treasures to the lynx-eyed officers.

In May, 1765, the lace-makers joined the procession of
the silk-workers of Spitalfields to Westminster, bearing flags
and banners, to which were attached long floating pieces of
French lace, demanding of the Lords redress, and tJ:ke total
exclusion of foreign goods. On receiving an answer that it
was too late, they must wait till next Session, the assemblage
declared that they would not be put ofl' by promises ; they
broke the Duke of Bedford's palings on their way home, and
threatened to burn the premises of Mr. Carr, an obnoxious
draper. At the next levee they once more assembled before
St. James's, but, finding the dresses of the nobility to be
all of right English stuff", retired satisfied, without further
clamour.

The papers of the year 1764 teem with accounts of
seizures made by the Customs. Among the confiscated
effects of a person of the highest quality are enumerated :
"16 black a-la-mode cloaks, trimmed with lace; 44 French
lace caps ; 1 1 black laced handkerchiefs ; 6 lace hats ; 6 ditto
aprons ; 10 pairs of ruffles; 6 pairs of ladies' blonde ditto,,
and 25 gentlemen's." Eleven yards of edging and 6 pairs
of ruffles are extracted from the pocket of the footman.
Everybody smuggled. A gentleman attached to the Spanish
Embassy is unloaded of 36 dozen shirts, with fine Dresden
ruffles and jabots, and endless lace, in pieces, for ladies'
wear. These articles had escaped the vigilance of the
officers at Dover, but were seized on his arrival by the
coach at Southwark. Though Prime Ministers in those days
accepted bribes, the Custom-house officers seem^ to have done
their duty.^

When the body of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire was
brought over from France, where he died, the officers, to the
anger of his servants, not content with opening and searching
the coffin, poked the corpse with a stick to ascertain if it was
a real body ; but the trick of smuggling in coffins was too-

^ 1767. " An oflficer of the customs Begistcr.

seized nearly £'400 worth of Flanders 1772. " 27,000 ells of French (Blois?)

lace, artfully concealed in the hollow lace were seized in the port of Leigh

of a ship's buoy, on board a French alone." — Gentleman'' s Magazine.
trader, lying off Iron Gate." — Annual

SMUGGLING 361

old to be attempted. Forty years before, when a deceased
clergyman was conveyed from the Low Countries for inter-
ment, the body of the corpse was found to have disappeared,
and to have been replaced by Flanders lace of immense
value — the head and hands and feet alone remaining. This
discovery did not, however, prevent the High Sheriff of
Westminster from running — and that successfully — £6,000
worth of French lace in the coffin of Bishop Atterbury,* when
his body was brought over from Calais for interment.

Towards the close of the French war, in the nineteenth
century, smuggling of lace again became more rife than ever.
It was in vain the authorities stopped the travelling carriages,
on their road from seaport towns to London, rifled the
baggage of the unfortunate passengers by the mail at
Rochester and Canterbury ; they were generally outwitted,
though spies in the pay of the Customs were ever on the
watch.

Mrs. Palliser had in her possession a Brussels veil of
great beauty, which narrowly escaped seizure. It belonged
to a lady who was in the habit of accompanying her husband,
for many years member for one of the Cinque Ports. The
day after the election she was about to leave for London,
somewhat nervous as to the fate of a Brussels veil she had
purchased of a smuggler for a hundred guineas ; when, at a
dinner-party, it was announced that Lady Ellenborough, wife
of the Lord Chief Justice, had been stopped near Dover, and
a large quantity of valuable lace seized concealed in the
lining of her carriage. Dismayed at the news, the lady
imparted her trouble to a gentleman at her side, who imme-
diately offered to take charge of the lace and convey it to
London, remarking that " no one would suspect him, as he
was a bachelor." Turning round suddenly, she observed one
of the hired waiters to smile, and at once settling him to be
a spy, she loudly accepted the offer ; but that night, before
going to bed, secretly caused the veil to be sewn up in the
waistcoat of the newly-elected M.P., in such a manner that
it filled the hollow of his back. Next morning they
started, and reached London in safety, while her friend,
who remained two days later, was stopped, and underwent

* The turbulent Bisliop of Eoche«ter, intrigues, and died in exile at Paris.,
who was arraigned for his Jacobite 1731.

362 HISTORY OF LACE

a rigrorous but unsuccessful examination from the Custom-
house officers.

The free trade principles of the nineteenth century put
a more effectual stop to smuggling than all the activity
of revenue officers, spies, and informers, or even laws framed
for the punishment of the offenders.

3^5

CHAPTER XXVIII.

GEORGE III.

■' In clothes, cheap handsomeness doth bear the bell,
Wisdome's a tninmer thmg than shop e'er gave.
Say not then, This with that lace will do well ;
But, This with my discretion will be brave.
Miich cm-iousnesse is a perpetual wooing,
Nothing with labour, fully long a doing."

—Herbert, " The Church Porch."

In 1760 commences the reign of Cxeorge III. The Kmg
Avas patriotic, and did his best to encourage the faljrics of
his country.

From the year 1761 various iVcts were passed for the
benefit of the lace-makers : the last, that of 1806, " increases
the duties on foreign laces." ^

Queen Charlotte, on her first landing in England, wore,
in compliment to the subjects of her royal consort, a fly cap
richly trimmed, with lappets of British lace, and a dress of
similar manufacture.

The Englishman, however, regardless of the Anti-
Gallicans, preferred his " Macklin " and his Brussels to all
the finest productions of Devonshire or Newport-Pagnel.

Ruffles,^ accordino; to the fashion of Tavistock Street and
St. James's, in May, 1773, still continued long, dipped in the
sauce alike by clown and cavalier.^

"The beau,
A critic styled m point of dress.
Harangues on fashion, point, and lace."

' If imported in smaller quantities ^ " And dip your wristbands

than twelve yards, the duty imposed (For cuffs you've none) as comely in

was £2 per yard. the sauce

- •• Let the ruffle grace his hand. As any courtier."

Ruffle, pride of Gallic land." — Beaumont and Fletcher.
— " The Beau." 1755.

364 HISTORY OF LACE

A man was known by bis " points " ; be collected lace,
as, in tbese more atbletic days, a gentleman prides bimself
on bis pointers or bis borses. We read in tbe journals of
tbe time bow, on tbe day after Lord George Gordon's riots,,
a report ran tbrougb London tbat tbe Earl of Effingbam,
baving joined tbe rioters, bad been mortally wounded, and
bis body tbrown into tbe Tbames. He bad been recognised,,
folks declared, by bis point lace ruffles/

Mr, Darner, less known tban bis wife, tbe talented
sculptor and friend of Horace Walpole, appeared tbree
times a day in a new suit, and at bis deatb ^ left a
wardrobe wbicb sold for £15,000.'^ Well migbt it bave-
been said of bim —

" We sacrifice to dress, till household joys
And comforts cease. Dress drains our cellars dry,
And keeps our larder bare ; puts out our fires,
And introduces hunger, frost, and woe.
Where peace and hospitality might reign," '^

Tbere was " no difference between tbe nobleman and
city prentice, except tbat tbe latter was sometimes tbe
greater beau," writes tbe Female Spectator.^

"His hands must be covered with fine Brussels lace."^

Painters of tbe eigbteentb century loved to adorn tbeir
portraits witb tbe finest fabrics of Venice and Flanders ;
modern artists consider sucb decorations as far too mucli
troul)le, " Over tbe cbimney-piece." writes one of tbe
essayists, describing a citizen's country box, " was my
friend's portrait, wbicb was drawn bolt uprigbt in a full-
bottomect periwig, a laced cravat, witb tbe fringed ends
appearing tbrougb tbe l)utton-bole (Steinkirk fasbion).
Indeed, one would almost wonder bow and w^bere people
managed to afibrd so ricb a selection of laces in tbeir days,,
did it not call to mind tbe demand of tbe Vicaress of
Wakefield ' to bave as many pearls and diamonds put into^
ber picture as could be given for tbe money,' "

*■ He had retired to the coiuitry to estimated at the same sum.

be out of the way, '^ Cowper,

" August, 1776, * 1757,

« The wardrobe of George IV, was *• " Monsieur a la Mode," 1753.

GEORGE III 365

Ruffles were equally worn 1 )y the ladies :-

'• Frizzle your elbows with ruffles sixteen ;
Furl oft' your lawn apron with flounces in rows." ^^

Indeed, if we may judge by the intellectual conversation
overheard and accurately noted down by Miss Burney/'" at
Miss Monckton's (Lady Cork) party, court ruffles were incon-
venient to wear : —

" ' You can't think how I am encumbered with these
nasty ruffles,' said Mrs. Hampden.

" ' And I dined in them,' says the other. ' Only think ! '

" ' Oh ! ' answered Mrs. Hampden, ' it really puts me out
•of spirits.' "

Both ladies were dressed for a party at Cumberland
House, and ill at ease in the costume prescribed by etiquette.

About 1770 the sleeves of the ladies' dresses were tight
on the upper arm, where they suddenly became very large,
and, drooping at the elbow, they terminated in rich fringes
of lace ruffles. A few years later the sleeves expanded from
the shoulders till they became a succession of constantly
enlarging ruffles and lappets, and again, before 1780, they
became tio;ht throuohout, with small cuffs and no lace at the
elbows, when they were worn with long gloves.

Our history of English lace is now drawing to a close ;
but, before quitting the subject, we must, however, make
some allusion to the custom prevalent here, as in all
countries, of using lace as a decoration to grave-clothes.
In the chapter devoted to Greece, we have mentioned
how much lace is still taken from the tombs of the
Ionian Islands, washed, mended, or, more often, as a proof
■of its authenticity, sold in a most disgusting state to the
purchaser. The custom was prevalent at Malta, as the lines
•of Beaumont and Fletcher testify : —

" In her best habit, as the custom is,
You know, in Malta, with all ceremonies,
She's buried in the family monument,
I' the temple of St. John."'«

" " Let of ruffles many a row " " Receipt for jVIodern Dress."

Guard your elbows white as snow." 1753.

— " The Belle." 1755. ^- Recollections of Madame d'Arhl a ij.

•" Gone to a lady of distinction with a " Beaumont and Fletcher. The

Brussels head and ruffles." Knight of Malta.
—The Fool of Quality. 1766.

365

HISTORY OF LACE

At Palermo you may see the mummies thus adorned \vc
the celebrated catacombs of the Capuchin convent."

In Denmark/^ Sweden, and the north of Europe ^^ the
custom was general. The mass of lace in the tomb of the
once fair Aurora Konigsmarck, at Quedlenburg, would in
itself be a fortune. She sleeps clad in the richest point
d'Angleterre, Malines, and guipure. Setting aside the jewels
which still glitter around her parchment form, no daughter
of Pharaoh was ever so richly swathed. ^^

In Spain it is related as the privilege of a grandee : all
people of a lower rank are interred in the habit of some
relimous order. ^^

Taking the grave-clothes of St. Cuthbert as an example,
we believe the same custom to have prevailed in England
from the earliest times. ^''

" In coffins with glass tops. Some
of them date from 1700.

^^ In the vault of the Schleswig-Hol-
stein family at Sonderburg.

^® In the church of Revel lies the
Due de Croy, a general of Charles XII.,
arrayed in full costume, with a rich
flowing tie of fine guipure ; not that he
was ever interred — his body had been
seized by 'his creditors for debt, and
there it still remains.

The author of Letters from a Lady in
Russia (1775), desci'ibing the fimeral
of a daughter of Prince Menzikoff, states
she was dressed in a nightgown of silver
tissue, on her head a fine laced mob,
and a coronet ; round her forehead a
ribbon embroidered with her name and
age, etc.

'■^ Alluding to this custom of inter-
ring ladies of rank in full dress,
Madame de Sevigne writes to her
daughter: — " Mon Dieu, ma chere
enfant, que vos femmes sont sottes,
vivantes et mortes ! Vous me faites
horreur de cette fontange ; quelle pro-
fanation ! cela sent le paganisme, ho !
cela me degouteroit bien de mourir en
Provence ; il faudroit qxie du moins je
fusse assure qu'on ne ni'iroit pas cher-
cher line coeffeuse en meme temps
qu'un plombier. Ah ! vraiment ! fi !
ne parlez plus de cela." — Lettre 627.
Paris, IB Dec, 1688.

'* Laborde. Itiv. de VEspagne.
Again, the Due de Luynes says : " The

Cure of St. Sulpice related to me the
fashion in which the Duke of Alva,
who died in Paris in 1739, was by his
own will interred. A shirt of the finest
Holland, trimmed with new point lace,
the finest to be had for money ; a new
coat of Vardez cloth, embroidered in
silver ; a new wig ; his cane on the
right, his sword on the left of his
coffin. ' ' — Mniwircs.

'" That grave-clothes were lace-
trimmed we infer from the following
strange announcement in the London
Gazette for August 12th to 15th, 1678 :
"Whereas decent and fasliionable lace
shifts and Dressings for the dead, made
of woollen, have been presented to his
Majesty by Amy Potter, widow (the
first that put the" making of such
things in practice), and his Majesty
well liking the same, hath upon her
humble Petition, been graciously
pleased to give her leave to insert this
advertisement, that it may be known
she now wholly applies herself in
making both lace and plain of all sorts,
at reasonable prices, and lives in Crane
Court in the Old Change, near St.
Paul's Church Yard." Again, in No-
vember of the same year, we find
another advertisement : — " His Ma-
jesty, to increase the woollen manu-
facture and to encourage obedience to
the late act for burying in woollen,
has granted to Amy Potter the sole
privilege of making all sorts of \\'Oollen

GEORGE III 367

Mrs. Oldfiekl, the celebrated actress, who died in 1730,
caused herself to be thus interred. The lines of Pope have
long since immortalised the story : —

" Odious ! in woollen ! 'twould a saint pro^'oke !
(Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke.)
No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace
Wrap nij- cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face ;
One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead —
And — Betty — give this cheek a little red."

" She was laid in her coffin," says her maid, " in a very
fine Brussels lace head, a Holland shift with a tucker of
double ruffles, and a pair of new kid gloves." Previous to
her interment in Westminster Abbey she lay in state in the
Jerusalem Chamber."" For Mrs. Oldfiekl in her lifetime
was a great judge of lace, and treasured a statuette of the
Earl of Stratford, finely carved in ivory by Grinling Gibbons,
more, it is supposed, for the beauty of its lace Vandyke
collar ^^ than any other sentiment.

In 1763 another instance is recorded in the London
Magazine of a young lady buried in her wedding clothes,
point lace tucker, handkerchief, ruffles and apron ; also a fine
point lappet head. From this period we happily hear no
more of such extravagances.

Passing from interments and shrouds to more lively
matters, we must quote the opinion of that Colossus of the
eighteenth century. Dr. Johnson- who was too apt to talk
on matters of taste and art, of which he was no competent
judge. " A Brussels trimming," he declaims to Mrs. Piozzi,
" is like bread sauce ; it takes away the glow of colour from
the gown, and gives you nothing instead of it : but sauce
was invented to heighten the fiavour of our food, and trim-
minor is an ornament to the manteau or it is nothing." ^- A
man whose culinary ideas did not soar higher than bread
sauce could scarcely pronounce on the relative effect and
beauty of point lace.

If England had leant towards the products of France, in

laces for the decent burial of the dead alite of Gibbons ; for we find among

or otherwise, for fourteen years, being the treasures of Strawberry Hill: "A

the first inventor thereof." beautiful cravat, in imitation of lace,

2" Bettertoi-i''s History of the English carved b^- Gibbons, very masterly." —

Stage. Her kindness to the poet Hist, and Antiquities of Twickenham.

Savage is well kno^^•n. London, 1797.

This seems to have been a speci- -^ Mrs. Piozzi's Memoirs.

\68

HISTORY OF LACE

1788, an Anglomania ran riot at Paris. Ladies wore a cap
of mixed lace, English and French, which they styled the
" Union of France and England." On the appearance of the
French Eevolution, the classic style of dress — its India
muslins and transparent gauzes — caused the ancient points
to fall into neglect. From this time dates the decline of the
lace fabric throughout Europe.

Point still appeared at court and on state occasions, such
as on the marriage of the Princess Caroline of Wales, 1795,
but as an article of daily use it gradually disappeared from
the wardrobes of all classes, iV scrupulous feeling also arose
in ladies' minds as to the propriety of wearing articles of so
mostly a nature, forgetting how many thousands of women
gained a livelihood hy its manufacture. Mrs. Hannah More,
among the first, in her Coelehs in Search of a Wife, alludes to
the frivolity of the taste, when the little child exclaiming
"at the beautiful lace with which the frock of another was
trimmed, and which she was sure her mamma had given her
for being good," remarks, " A profitable and, doul)tless, lasting
and inseparable association was thus formed in the child's
mind between lace and goodness."

Whether in consequence of the French Revolution, or
from the caprice of fashion, " real " lace — worse off than the
passements and points of 1634, when in revolt — now under-
went the most degrading vicissitudes. Indeed, so thoroughly
was the taste for lace at this epoch gone by, that in many
families collections of great value were, at the death of their
respective owners, handed over as rubbish to the waiting
maid.^^ Many ladies recollect in their youth to have tricked
out their dolls in tlie finest Alencon point, which would now
sell at a price far beyond their purses. Among the few who,
in Englaiid, unseduced by frippery blonde, never neglected
to preserve their collections entire, was the Duchess of

^^ A lady, who had very fine old lace,
bequeathed her " wardrobe and lace"
to some yoiang friends, who, going
after her death to take possession of
their legacy, were surprised to find
nothing but new lace. On inquiring
of the old faithful Scotch servant what
liad become of the old needle points,
she said : " Deed it's aw there, 'cept
a wheen auld Dudds, black and ragged,
I Hinged on the fire."

Another collection of old lace met
with an equally melancholy fate. The
maid, not liking to give it over to the
legatees in its cofiee-coloured hue,
sewed it carefully together, and put it
in a strong soap lye on the fire, to
simmer all night. When she took it
out in the morning, it was reduced to
a jelly! Medea's caldron had' not
been more effectual !

GEORGE III 369

•Gloucester, wliose lace was esteemed among the most
magnificent in Europe.

When the taste of the age again turned towards the rich
fabrics of the preceding centuries, much lace, both black and
white, was found in the country farm-houses, preserved as
remembrances of deceased patrons by old family dependants.
Sometimes the hoard had been forgotten, and was again
routed out from old wardrobes and chests, where it had lain
unheeded for years. Much was recovered from theatrical
wardrobes and the masquerade shops, and the Church, no
longer in its temporal glory, both in Italy, Spain and
Germany, gladly parted with what, to them, was of small
value compared with the high price given for it by amateurs.
In Italy perhaps the finest fabrics of Milan, Genoa, and
Venice had fared l)est, from the custom which prevailed
of sewing up family lace in rolls of linen to ensure its
preservation.

After years of neglect lace became a " mania." In
England the literary ladies were the first to take it up.
Sydney Lady Morgan and Lady Stepney quarrelled weekly
on the respective value and richness of their points. The
former at one time commenced a historv of the lace fabric,
though what was the ultimate fate of the MS. the author is
unable to state. The Countess of Blessington, at her death,
left several chests filled with the finest antique lace of all
descriptions.

The " dames du grand monde," both in England and
France, now l^egan to wear lace. But, strange as it may
seem, never at any period did they appear to so little
advantage as during the counter-revolution of the lace
period. Lace was the fashion, and wear it somehow they
would, though that somehow often gave them an appearance,
as the French say, du dernier ridicule, simply from an igno-
rance displayed in the manner of arranging it. That lace
was old seemed sufficient to satisfy all parties. They covered
their dresses with odds and ends of all fabrics, without
attention either to date or texture. One English lady
appeared at a ball given by the French Embassy at Rome,
boasting that she wore on the tablier of her dress every
description of lace, from point coupe of the fifteenth to
Alencon of the eighteenth century. The Count of Syracuse
was accustomed to say : " The English ladies buy a scrap

2 B

o HISTORY OF LACE

of lace as a souvenir of every town they pass throuoh, till
they reach Naples, then sew it on their dresses, and make
one orande toilette of the whole to honour our first ball at
the Academia Noljile."

The taste for lace has again l)ecome universal, and the
quality now produced renders it within the reach of all classes
of society ; and though by some the taste may be condemned,
it gives employment to thousands and ten thousands of
women, who find it more profitable and Ijetter adapted to
their strens^th than the field laljour which forms the occu-
pation of the women in agricultural districts. To these last,
in a general point of view, the lace-maker of our southern
counties, who works at home in her own cottage, is superior,
both in education, refinement, and morality : —

" Here the needle plies its busy task ;
The pattern grows, the well-depicted flower,
Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn,
Unfolds its bosom ; buds, and leaves, and sprigs,
And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos'd,
Follow the nimble fingers of the fair —
A wreath that cannot fade, of flowers that blow
With most success when all besides decay." -*

^* Cowper. " The Winter Evening."

571

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE LACE MANUFACTURERS OF ENGLAND.

" Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door,
Pillow antl bobbins all her little store ;
Content though mean, and cheerful if not gay,
Shuffling her threads about the livelong day :
Just earns a scanty pittance, and at night
Lies down secure, her heart and pocket light." — Cowper.

The bone luce maDufaetures of England in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries appear to have extended over a much
wider area than they occupy in the present day. From
Cambridge to the adjacent counties of Northampton and
Hertfordshire, by Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Oxford-
shire, the trade spread over the southern counties ^ of Wiltshire,
Somersetshire,-^ Hampshire, and Dorset, to the more secluded
valleys of Devon — the county which still sustains the ancient
reputation of " English point" — terminating at Launceston,
on the Cornish coast.

Various offsets from these fabrics were established in
AVales.^ Eipon,* an isolated manufactory, represented the

' Bishop Berkeley, in .4 Word to the Pont-Ardawe, Llanwrtyd, Dufynock,
Wise, writes of the English labourers and Brecon, but never of any beauty,
in the South of England on a suunuer's some not inilike a coarse Valenciennes,
evening " sitting along the streets of "It was much made and worn," said
the town or village, each at his own an aged Weslejan lady. "' by our ' con-
door, with a cushion before him, nexion,' and as a child I had all my
making bone lace, and earning more frocks and pinafores trimmed with it.
in an evening's pastime than an Irish It was made in the cottages ; each
family would in a whole day." lace-maker had her own pattern, and

^ "Wells, bone lace and knitting carried it out for sale in the country."
stockings." — Anderson. * At what period, and by whom the

^ "Lavmceston, where are two schools lace manufactory of Ripon was foun-

for forty-eight children of both sexes. ded, we have been unable to ascertain.

The girls are taught to read, sew, and It was probably a relic of conventual

make bone lace, and they are to have days, whicli, after having followed the

their earnings for encouragement." — fashion of each time, has now gradu-

Magna Britannia. 1720. ally died out. In 1842 broad Trolly

Welsh lace was made at Swansea, laces of French design and fair work-

2 B 2

HISTORY OF LACE

lace industry of York ; while the dependent islands of Man,^
AVight " and Jersey,' may be supposed to have derived their
learning from the smugglers who frequented their coast,
rather than from the teaching of the Protestant refugees*
who sought an asylum on the shores of Britain.

Many of these fabrics now belong to the past, consigned
to oblivion even in the very counties where they once
flourished. In describinp; therefore, the lace manufactures
of the United Kingdom, we shall confine ourselves to those
which still remain, alluding only slightly to such as were

manship were fabricated in the old
cathedral city ; where, in the poorer
localities near the Bond and Blossom-
gate, young women might be seen
working their intricate patterns, with
pillows, bobbins, and pins. In 1862
one old woman alone, says our inform-
ant, sustains the memory of the craft,
her produce a lace of a small lozenge-
shaped pattern (Fig. 132), that earliest
of all designs, and a narrow edging
known in local parlance by the name
of " fourpenny spot."

^ Till its annexation to the Crown,
the Isle of Man was the great smug-
gling depot for French laces. The
traders then removed en onasse to the
Channel Isles, there to carry on their
traffic. An idiot called " Peg the
Fly" in Castletown (in 1842) was
seen working at her pillow on a
summer's evening, the last lace-maker
of the island. Isle of Man lace was a
simple Valenciennes edging.

* Isle of Wight lace was honoured
by the patronage of Queen Victoria.
The Princess Royal, reports the Illus-
trated Ncivs of May, 1856, at the
drawing-room, on her first presenta-
tion, wore a dress of Newport lace,
her train trimmed with the same.

The weariness of incarceration, when
at Carisbrook, did not bring on Charles
I. any distaste for rich apparel. Among
the charges of 1648, Sept. and Nov.,
we find a sum of nigh £800 for
suits and cloaks of black brocade
tabby, black unshorn velvet, and black
satin, all lined with plush and trimmed
with rich bone lace.

Some bobbin lace was made in the
island, but what is known as " Isle of

Wight " resembles " Nottingham " lace.
It is made in frames on machine net,
the pattern outlined with a run thread
and filled in with needle-point stitches.
Queen Victoria had several lace tippets
made of Isle of Wight lace for the
Royal children, and always chose the
Mechlin style of rose pattern. Now
(1901) there are only two or three old
women workers left.

'' Lace-making was never the staple
manufacture of the Channel Islands ;
stockings and garments of knitted
wool afi'orded a livelihood to the
natives. W^e have early mention of
these articles in the inventories of
James V. of Scotland and of ]\Iary
Stuart. Also in those of Henry VIII.
and Queen Elizabeth, in which last we
find (Gt. Ward. Ace, 28 & 29) the
charge of 20s. for a pair of " Caligarum
nexat' de factura Garneseie," the upper
part and " lez clocks " worked in silk.
At the beginning of the nineteenth
century, when the island was inundated
with French refugees, lace-making was
introduced with much success into the
Poor-House of St. Heliers. It formed
the favourite occupation of the ladies
of "the island, some of whom (1863)
retain the patterns and pillows of their
mothers, just as they left them. Of
late years many of the old raised
Venetian points have been admirably
imitated in " Jersey crochet work."

* The Puritans again, on tlieir part,
transferred the fabric to the other side
of the Atlantic, where, says a writer
of the eighteenth century, " very much
fine lace was made in Long Island by
the Protestant settlers."

THE LACE MANUFACTURERS OF ENGLAND 373

once of note, and of which the existence is confirmed by the
testimony of contemporary writers.

The " women of the mystery of thread- working " would
appear to have made lace in London,® and of their com-
plaints and grievances our public records bear goodly
evidence. Of the products of their needle we know little or
nothing.

Various Flemings and Burgundians established themselves
in the City ; and though the emigrants, for the most part,
betook themselves to the adjoining counties, the craft, till

Fis. 132.

RiPON.

the end of the eighteenth century, may be said to have held
fair commerce in the capital.

The London fabric can scarcely be looked upon as a staple
trade in itself, mixed up as it was with lace-cleaning and
lace-washing — an occupation first established by the ejected
nuns.'" Much point, too, was made by poor gentlewomen, as
the records of the Anti-Gallican Society testify. " A strange
infatuation," says a w^riter of the eighteenth century, "prevailed
in the capital for many years among the class called demi-
fashional)les of sendino- their daug-hters to convents in France
for education, if that could be so termed which amounted to
a learaing to work in lace. The Revolution, however, put

» See Chap. XXII.

'" The richly-laced corporax cloths
and church linen are sent to be washed
by the " Lady Ancress," an ecclesias-
tical washerwoman, who is paid by the
churchwardens of St. Margaret's, West-

minster, the smn of 8d. ; this Ladj^
Ancress, or Anchoress, being some
worn-out nun, who, since the disso-
lution of the religious houses, eked oub
an existence by the art she had once
practised within the convent.

374 niSTORY OF LACE

an end U) this practice." It is owing to tliis French educa-
tion that the fine needle points were so extensively made in
England ; though this occupation, however, did not seem to
belong to any one county in particular ; for the reader who
runs his eye over the proceedings of the Anti-Gallii.-an Society
will find prizes to have been awarded to gentlewomen from
all parts — from the town of Leominster in Herefordshire U)
Broughton in Leicestershire, or Stourton in (xloucester."
Needle point, in contradistinction to l)one lace, was an
occupation confined to no special locality.

In 1764 the attention of the nobility seems to have been
first directed towards the employment of the indigent poor,
and, indeed, tlie better classes in the metropolis, in the
making of bone lace and point ; ^'^ and in 1775, sanctioned
by the patronage of (^)ueen Charlotte, the Princesses, the
Princess Amelia, and various meml)ers of the aristocracy,
an institution was formed in Marvlebone Lane, and also in
James Street, Westminster, " for employing the female
infants of the poor in the blond and ])lack silk lace-making
and thread laces." More than 300 girls attended the school.
" They gave," says the Annual Register, such a proof of their
capacity that many who had not been there more than six
months carried home to their parents from bs. to 7-^'. a month,
with expectation of getting more as they improve."

From this time we hear no more of tlu,' making of lace,
either point or bone, in the metropolis.

" In 1753 prizes were awarded for guineas upon a " gentlewoman for an

14 pairs of curious needlework point improvement in manufacture by

ruffles. finishing a piece tif lace in a very

'- One society confers a prize of ten elegant manner with knitting-needles."

Plate LXXXV.

English, Buckinghamshire. Bobbin lace. — First half of nineteenth century.
Widths : 3, 3, 3, 4 in. The property of Mrs. Ellis, The Vicarage, Much Wenlock.

To /ace page 374.

375

CHAPTER

BEDFOEDSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIKE, AND
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.'

BEDFORDSHIRE.

" He wears a stuff whose thread is coarse and round
But trimmed with curious lace." — -Herbert.

It would he a difficult matter now to determine when and
by whom lace-making was first introduced into the counties
of Bedfordshire and Buckino;ham. xVuthors, for the most
part, have been glad to assign its introduction to the
Fleminos,^ a nation to whose successive emio;rations Enoland
owes much of her manufacturino; o-reatness. (Jrio;inallv the
laces were of old, wavy, graceful Flemish designs.

On the other hand, certain traditions handed down in the
county villages of a good Queen who protected their craft,
the annual festival of the workers — in the palmy days of the
trade a matter of oreat moment — combined with the
residence of that unhappy Queen, for the space of two years ^
at her> jointure manor of Ampthill,* lead us rather to infer

' The hice of the three counties is Stoney Stratford, and Newport-Pagnel,

practically equal — that is, it is all whence the manufacture extended

made in a similar fashion, and the gradually over Oxford, Northampton,

same patterns are met with in each and Cambridge. Many Flemish names

county. The " point " or " net " are still to be found in the villages

ground is met with in all, and worked of Bedfordshire,

level with the pattern in the same ^ Queen Katherine died 1536.

way with bobbins. "• She retired to Ampthill early in

- Who fled from the Alva perse- 1531 while her appeal to Rome was

cutions, and settled, first at Cranfield pending, and remained there till the

in Bedfordshire, then at Buckingliam, sunnner of 1533.

1-J6 HISTORY OF LACE

that the art of lace-making, as it then existed, was first
imparted to the peasantry of Bedfordshire, as a means of
subsistence, through the charity of Queen Katherine of
Aragon. In the chapter devoted to needlework we have
already alluded to the proficiency of this Queen in all arts
connected with the needle, to the " trials of needlework "
established by her mother, Queen Isabella, at which she, as
a girl, had assisted. It is related, also, that during her^
sojourn at Ampthill, " she passed her time, when not at her
devotions, with her gentlewomen, working with her own
hands something wrought in needlework, costly and artifi-
cially, which she intended for the honour of God to bestow
on some of the churches." '^

" The country people," continues her contemporary,
" began to love her exceedingly. They visited her out of
pure respect, and she received the tokens of regard they
daily showed her most sweetly and graciously." The love
borne by the peasantry to the Queen, the sympathy shown
to her in her days of trouble and disgrace, most likely met
with its reward ; and we believe Katherine to have taught
them an art which, aided no doubt by the later introduc-
tion of the pillow and the improvements of the refugees,,
has now, for the space of nigh three centuries, been the
staple employment of the female population of Bedford-
shire and the adjoining counties. Until the latter half of
the nineteenth century — though, like all such festivals in
the present age, gradually dying out — the lace-makers still
held " Cattern's day," ' November 25th, as the holiday of
their craft, kept, they say, " in memory of good Queen
Katherine, who, when the trade was dull, burnt all her
lace and ordered new to be made. The ladies of the court

■"' Lace of the heavy Venetian point " The feast of St. Katherine is no

was ah-eady used for ecclesiastical pur- longer kept. In the palmy days of

poses, though scarcely in general use. the trade both old and young used to

The earliest known pattern-books date subscribe a sum of money and enjoj'

from fifteen years previous to the a good cup of Bohea and cake, which

death of Katherine (1536). they called ' Cattern ' cake. After tea

" Dr. Nicolas Harpsfield. Douay, they danced and made merry, and

1622. (In Latin.) finished the e\ ening with a supper of

Again we read that at Kimbolton boiled stuffed rabbits smothered with

" she plied her needle, drank her onion sauce." The custom of sending

potions, and told her beads." — Dul^e about Cattern cakes was also ob-

of Manclirstcr. K'ivihoJfoii Pajn'rs. served at Kettering, in Kovthampton-

' A lady fromA mpthill writes (1863) : shire.

BEDFORDSHIRE 377

followed her example, and the fabric once more revived."
" Ainsi s'ecrit I'histoire " ; and this garbled version may
rest on as much foundation as most of the folk-lore current
throughout the provinces. '

Speaking of Bedfordshire, Defoe writes : " Thro' the whole
south part of this country, as far as the borders of Bucking-
hamshire and Hertfordshire, the people are taken up with
the manufacture of bone lace, in which they are wonderfully
exercised and improved within these few years past " ^ —
probably since the arrival of the French settlers after the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. At the same period the
author of the Magna Britannia^ states that at Woburn,
" lace of a high price is made in considerable quantities."
Savary and Peuchet l)oth declare the town of Bedford alone
to have contained 500 lace- workers.

In 1863, as Mrs. Palliser wrote: "The lace schools of
Bedfordshire are far more considerable than those in
Devonshire. Four or live may frequently l)e found in
the same village, numljering from twenty to thirty children
each, and they are considered sufficiently important to be
visited by Government inspectors. Their work is mostly
purchased by large dealers, who make their arrangements
with the instructress : the children are not bound for a
term, as in the southern counties. Boys formerly attended
the lace schools, but now they go at an early age to the
fields."

These lace-schools are now things of the past. In
some cases, however, in the lace counties, the C-ounty
Council Technical Education Committee have supplemented
private etiorts with grants for classes to teach the lace
mdustry.

The wages of a lace-worker average a shilling a
day ; under press of business, caused by the demand
for some fashionable article, they sometimes rise to one
shilling and sixpence.

* Tour tliroucjh tli. whole Island of by a gentleman of eminence in the

G-rta^ iJri^aiji, by a Gentleman. 3 vols. literary world."

1724-27. Several subsequent editions " Magna Britannia et Hibernia, or

of Defoe were published, with additions, a New Survey of Great Britain, eol-

by Eichardson the novelist in 1732, lected and comjwsed by an imjjartial

1742, 1762, 1769, and 177K. The last hand, hy the Rev. Tlios. Owen. Lond,

is " brought down to the present time 1720-31.

5/8 HISTORY OF LACE

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

Though the first estaljlishment of the fabric may have
l)een in the sister county, the workers of Buckingham appear
early to have gained the lion's share of public estimatiou for
the produce of their pillows, and the manufacture flourished,
till, suffering from the monopolies of James L, we read how
— In the year 1G23, April 8th, a petition was addressed
from Great Marlow. to the High Sheriff of Bucks, repre-
senting the distress of the people from " the bone-lace
making being much decayed. " ^"

Three years later, 1626, Sir Henry Borlase founds and
endows the free school of Great Marlow for twenty-four l)oys
to read, write, and cast accounts ; and for twenty -four girls "'to
knit, spin, and make bone lace " ; and here at Great Marlow
the trade flourished, all English, and even French authors ^^
citing its "manufactures de dentelles au fuseau " as the
staple produce of the town, and its surrounding villages,
whicli sold lace, however, they pronounce as " inferieure a
celle de Flandres."

During the seventeenth century the trade continued to
advance, and Fuller testifies to its once more prosperous
condition in Bucks, towards the year 1640. " No handi-
crafts of note," he writes, " (save what are common to other
countries) are used therein, except any will instance in l>one
lace, much thereof being made about Owldney, in this
county, though more, I believe, in Devonshire, where we
shall meet more properly therewith." ^^ Olney, as it is now
written, a small market town, for many years' the residence
of Cowper, known by its twenty-four-arched bridge, now no
more, " of wearisome but needful length " spanning the
Ouse — Olney, together with the fellow towns of Newport-
Pagnel and Aylesbury, are much quoted by the authorities
of the last century, though, as is too often the case in books
of travels and statistics, one writer copies from another the
information derived from a preceding author. Defoe, h«;>w-
ever, who visited each county in detail, quotes " Ouldney
as possessing a considerable manufacture of bone hu-e ' ;

'" State Papers Dom. Jac. I. Vol. " Savary and Peuchet.

142. P. R. O. ^^ Worthies. Vol. i., p. 134.

B UCKINGHA M S HIR E 3 79

while a letter from the poet Cowper to the Rev. John
Newton, in 1780, enclosing a petition to Lord Dartmouth in
favour of the lace-makers, declares that " hundreds in this
little town are upon the point of starving, and that the most
unremitting industry is barely sufficient to keep them from
it." A distress caused, we may infer, by some caprice of
fashion.

" The lace manufacture is still carried on," says Lysons,^^
" to a great extent in and about Olney, where veils and
other lace of the finer sorts are made, and great fortunes are
said to be acquired by the factors. Lace-making is in no
part of the country so general as at Hanslape and in its
immediate vicinity ; but it prevails from fifteen to twenty
miles round in every direction. At Hanslape not fewer than
800 out of a population of 1275 were employed in it in the
year 1801. Children are put to the lace-schools at, or soon
after, five years of age. At eleven or twelve years of age
they are all al)le to maintain themselves without any
assistance ; l)otli girls and boys are taught to make it, and
some men when grown up follow no other employment ;
others, when out of work, find it a good resource, and can
earn as much as the generality of day labourers. The lace
made in Hanslape is from sixpence to two guineas a yard in
value. It is calculated that from £8000 to £9000 net profit
is annually brought into the parish by the lace manufacture."

The bone lace of Stoney Stratford ^^ and Aylesl)ury are
both quoted by Defoe, and the produce of the latter city is
mentioned with praise. He writes : " Many of the poor
here are employed in making lace for edgings, not much
inferior to those from Flanders ; but it is some pleasure to
us to observe that the English are not the only nation in the
world which adnfires foreion manufactures above its own,
since the French, who gave fashions to most nations, buy
and sell the finest laces at Paris under the name of ' dentelles
d'AuQ-leterre ' or ' Enolish laces.' " ^^

In the southern part of Buckinghamshire the hundreds
of Burnham and Desborough were especially noted for the

'^ Magna Britannia, Daniel and Stoney Stratford the first, and Great

Samuel Lvsons. 1806-22. Marlow the last." — The Complete Eng-

'■* Describing the " lace and edoings " lish Tradesman. Dan. Defoe. 1726.

■of the tradesman's wife, slie has"fvoin '° Edition 1762.

380 HISTORY OF LACE

art, the lace-workers producing handsome lace of the finest
quality, and al>out the year 1680 lace-making was one of the
principal employments in High Wycombe.^"

But Newport-Pagnel, wdiether from its more central
position, or being of greater commercial importance, is the
town w^hich receives most praise from all contemporary
authors. "This town," says the Magna Britannia in 1720^
" is a sort of staple for bone lace, of which more is thought
to be made here than any town in England ; that commodity
is brought to as great perfection almost as in Flanders."
" NeW'port-Pagnel," writes Defoe, " carries on a great trade in
bone lace, and the same manufacture employs all the neigh-
bouring; villag;es " ; w^hile Don Manuel Gonzales, ^^ in 1730^
speaks of its lace as little inferior to that of Flanders, which
assertion he may have probably copied from previous writers.

At one of the earliest meetings of the Anti-Gallican
Society, 1752, Admiral Vernon in the chair, the first prize
to the maker of the best piece of English bone lace was
awarded to Mr. William Marriott, of Newport-Pagnel.
Bucks. The principal lace-dealers in London were invited
to give their opinion, and they allowed it to be the best ever
made in England. Emboldened by this success, we read
how, in 1761, Earl Temple, Lord Lieutenant of Bucks,
having been requested l)y Richard Lowndes. Esq., one of the
Knights of the Shire, on liehalf of the lace-makers, to present
to the King a pair of line lace ruffles, made by Messrs.
Milward and Company, at Newport-Pagnel, in the same
county, his Majesty, after looking at them and asking many
questions respecting this Ijranch of trade, was most graciously
pleased to express himself that the inclination of his own

'" In SlirahcDi'n History of Buds, ford, Loiightoii, Melton Keynes,

published in 1862, the followmg places Moulsoe, Newton Blossoniville, Olney,

are mentioned as being engaged in the Sherrington, and the adjoining villages,

industry: — " Bierton (Ijlack and white Stoke Hammond, Wavendon, Great

lace), Cuddington, Haddenham, Great and Little Kindde, Wooleston, Aston

Hampden, Wendover, Gawcott (black). Abbots, Swanbourne, Winslow, Kod-

Beachampton, Marsh Gibbon, Preston nage."

Bisset, Claydon, Grendon, Dorton, " The Voyage to Great Britain of

Grandborough, Oving (black and white), Bon Manuel Gonzales, late Merchant

"Vyaddesdon, New[jort-Pagnell, Bletch- of the City of Lisbon. — " Some say

ley, Hopton, Great Horwood, Bon Defoe wrote tliis book hiniself ; it is

Buckhill, Fenny Stratford, Hanslope evidently from the pen of an English-

(where 500 women and children are man." — Lowndes' Bibliographers^

employed — about one-third of the Manual. Bohn's Edition,
population), Levendon, Great Sand-

B UCKINGHAMSHIRE

381

lieart naturally led liim to set a high value on every
endeavour to further English manufactures, and whatever
had such recommendation would be preferred by him to

CO
CO

O
!«

works of possibly higher perfection made in any other
country. ^^ From this period Newport-PaQ;nel is cited as

'^ Annual Register.

382

HISTORY OF LACE

one of the most noted towns in the kinodom for makino;
bone lace.^^

As in other places, much complaint was made of the
unhealthy state of the lace-working population, and of the
injury sustained l)y long sitting in the vitiated air of the
cottajxes.^"

In Pennant's Journey from Chester to London (in 1782),

Fig. 184.

Buckinghamshire " Point."

he notices in Towcester that, " this town is supported by
the great concourse of passengers, and by a manufacture of
lace, and a small one of silk stockino-s. The first was im-

^^ See Britannia Dejdcta, by John
Owen, Gent. Lond. 1764, and others.

-" In 1785 there ap[)ears in the
Gentleman'' s Magazine * " An essay
on the cause and prevention of defor-

mity among the lace-makers of Bucks
and North Hants," suggesting mi-
proved ventilation and various other
remedies long since adopted by the
lace- working population in all countries.

* In 1761 appeared a previous paper, " to prevent the effects of stooping
and vitiated air," etc.

B UC KING HA M SHIRE

383

ported from Flanders, and carried on with mucli success in
this place, and still more in the neighl)ouring county "
(Buckinghamshire).

At the end of the eighteenth century, the Revolution
again drove many of the poorer French to seek refuge on
our shores, as they had done a century before ; and we
find stated in the Annual Register of 1794 : "A number

Fig. 135.

Buckinghamshire "Point.

of ingenious French emigrants have found employment in
Bucks, Bedfordshire, and the adjacent counties, in the manu-
facturing of lace, and it is expected, through the means of
these artificers, considerable improvements will be introduced
into the method of makinsc Eno-lish lace."

igs. 134 and 135 represent the "point" ground, which
won the laces of the midland counties their reputation. (See
Northamptonshire for additional matter.)

;84 HISTORY OF LACE

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

The laces of Northampton do not appear to have
attracted the notice of the writers of the eighteenth century
so much as those of the sister counties.

Anderson mentions that Kettering has " a considerable
trade in lace " ; and Lysons, later, observes that lace is
made at Cheney. Certainly, the productions of this county
a century l)ack were of exquisite beauty, as we can bear
testimony from the specimens in a pattern-book inherited
by Mr. Card well, the well-known lace merchant of North-
ampton, from his predecessor in the trade, which we have
had an opportunity of examining. We have also received
examples from various localities in Bedfordshire and
Buckinghamshire, and as there is much similarity in the
products of the three counties, we shall, perhaps, better
describe them by treating of them all collectively.

The earliest English lace was naturally the old Flemish,
the pattern wavy and graceful, the ground well executed.
Fig. 136, which we select as an example, is a specimen we
received, with many others, of old Newport-Pagnel lace,
given by Mrs. Bell, of that town, where her family has
been established from time immemorial. Mrs. Bell could
■carry these laces back to the year 1780, when they were
bequeathed to her father by an aged relative who had long
been in the lace trade. The packets remain for the most
part entire. The custom of " storing " lace was common
among the country-people.

Next in antiquity is Fig. 137, a lace of Flemish design,
with the fine Brussels ground. This is among the North-
amptonshire laces already alluded to.

Many of the early patterns appear to have been run or
worked in with the needle on the net ground (Fig. 138).
'ff In 1778, according to M'Culloch,"^ was introduced the
"point" ground, as it is locally termed, from which period
dates the staple pillow lace trade of these counties. This
ground is beautifully clear, the patterns well executed : we
■ dou))t if Fig. 139 could be surpassed in l)eauty by lace of

Diet, of Commerce,

Plate LXXXVI.

English, Nobthamptonshire. Bobbin lace.— End of nineteenth century.

Widths '- -- ' - ■

If, 5| and 2 in.

Photo by A. Drydeu from a private collection.

To face page 384.

NOR THA MP TON SHI RE

385

any foreign manufncture. Much of this point ground was
made by men.

The principal Ijranch of the lace trade was the making
of " baby lace," as those narrow laces were called, most
specially employed for the adorning of infants' caps (Figs.

Fig. 136.

Old Flemish.— (Newport-Pagnel.) J

140, 141, 142). The '* point" ground was used, the patterns
taken from those of Lille and Mechlin — hence the laces
of Buckingham and Bedfordshire have often been styled

the fashion in thel mother-

English Lille."

Though

Fig. 137.

Old Brussels.— (Northampton.)

country passed away, the American ladies held to the
trimmed infant's cap until the breaking out of the Civil
War ; and up to that date large quantities of " baby lace "
were exported to America, the finer sorts varying from five
shillings to seven shillings and sixpence a yard, still retain-
ing their ancient name of " points."

2 c

3^6

HISTORY OF f LACE

Many other descriptions of grounds were made — wire
(Fig. 143), double, and trolly, in every kind of quality and

Fi-. 13P.

■ ItDN " Lace.— (Newpoit-Pagnel.)

width. In the making of the finer sorts of edging as many
as 200 threads would be employed.

Fig. 139.

English " Point."— (Noitliampton.);

On the breaking out of the war with France, the closing
of our ports to French goods gave an impetus to the trade,
and the manufacturers undertook to supply the English

NOR TEA MP TON SHIRE

387

•market with lace similar to that of Normandy and the
, sea-coast villages of France ; hence a sort of " fausse "
Valenciennes, called the " French ground." But true

Fig. 140.

"Baby " Lack.— (Northampton.)

Valenciennes was also fcibricated so fine (Fig. 144) as to
..rival the products of French Hainault. It w^as made in

Fig. 141.

Fig. 142.

'Baby" Lace.— (Beds.

"Baby Lace —(Bucks.)

considerable quantities, until the expertness of the smuggler
and the cessation of the war caused it to be laid aside.

One-third of the lace-workers of Northampton were

2 c 2

388

HISTORY OF LACE

employed, previous to tlie introduction of macliine-made
net, in making quillings on the pillow.

During the Regency, a " point " lace, with the " cloth "
or " toile " on the edge, for many years was in fashion,
and, in compliment to the Prince, was named by the loyal
manufacturers " Regency Point." It was a durable and
handsome lace (Fig. 145).

Fig. 143.

Wjke Grouxk.— (Northaiuptoii.)

Towards the year 1830, insertions found their way to
the public taste {Fig. 146).

Till the middle of the nineteenth century, in lace-making
districts, almost the only schools were the lace schools — and
there were several in most villages — where lace-making was

Fig. 144.

^■AI.^;NC^ENNES.— (Noi'thaniptoii.)

the principal thing taught and a little reading added. I am
indebted to Mrs. Roberts, formerly of S23ratton, near North-
ampton, for the following description, which she kindly allows
me to reprint.

" The following are the few particulars of the old . lace
school for which this village was at one time famous.
Indeed, it may be borne in mind that, owing to the great

NOR THA MP TON SHIRE

389

interest taken in education by a former squire and a former
vicar, Spratton fifty years ago was far ahead of its neigh-
bours in the matter of education ; and the Spratton school

Fis. 145.

^SW' !i v-*-' •^'■''' » % ■%ff*^ «>■''• '^.''^^^^ ,'JSSsa^^^^^M

Regency Point.— (Bedford.)

and Mr. Pridmore, the Spratton schoolmaster, with his some-
what strict discipline, were well known, not only to the
children of Spratton, Imt to the boys and girls of most of

146.

Insertion.— (Bedford.)

the adjacent villages. But the lace school was, no doubt, a
commercial institution, and I think it will be admitted that

the hours were long and the work severe.

The girls left the

390 HISTORY OF LACE

day school at the age of eight years, and joined the lace
school, and here the hours were from 6 A. M to 6 p.m. in the
summer, and from 8 a.m. to 8 P.M. in the winter. Half an.
hour was allowed for breakfast and for tea, and one hour for
dinner, so that there were ten hours for actual work. The
girls had to stick ten pins a minute, or six hundred an hour ;.
and if at the end of the day they were five pins behind, they
had to work for another hour. On Saturdays, however,,
they had a half-holiday, working only to the dinner-hour.
They counted to themselves every pin they stuck, and at
every fiftieth pin they called out the time, and the girls used
to race each other as to who should call out first.

" They paid twopence a w^eek (or threepence in winter)
for lights, and in return they received the money realised
from the sale of the lace they made, and they could earn
about sixpence a day. Pay-day w^as a great event ; it came
once a month.

" In the evenings eighteen girls worked by one tallow
candle, value one penny ; the ' candle-stool ' stood about as-
high as an ordinary table with four legs. In the middle of
this was what was known as the ' pole-l)oard,' with six holes-
in a circle and one in the centre. In the centre hole was a
long stick with a socket for the candle at one end and peg-
holes through the sides, so that it could be raised or lowered
at will. In the other six holes were placed pieces of wood
hollowed out like a cup, and into each of these w^as placed a
bottle made of very thin glass and filled with water. --^ These
bottles acted as strong condensers or lenses, and the eighteen
girls sat round the table, three to each bottle, their stools
being upon different levels, the highest nearest the bottle,,
which threw the light down upon the work like a burning-
glass. In the day-time as many as ''thirty girls, and some-
times boys, would work in a room aljout twelve feet square,,
with two windows, and in the winter they could have no fire
for lack of room." The makers of the best laces would sit
nearest the light, and so on in order of merit.

A " down " in Northamptonshire is the parchment

22 j^ Flandei's also these glasses poor Flemish Hax-thread spinners and

were made and used. The " mediaeval lace makers." Old Eriyjlish Glasses..

' ourinals ' are alike the retorts of the A. Hartshorne.
alchemist and the water-globe.-i of the

NOR THA MP TONS HI R E 391

pattern, generally about twelve inches long. In Bucking-
hamshire they have two " eachs " ten inches long, and putting
one in front of the other, so work round the pillow, which to
many commends itself as a l)etter plan than having one
" down " and moving the lace back on reaching the end of
the "down." The pillow is a hard round cushion, stuffed
with straw and well hammered to make it: hard for the
bobbins to rattle on. It is then covered w^ith the butcher-
blue " pillows-cloth " all over ; a " lace cloth " of the same,
for the lace to lie on, goes over the top ; then follows the
lace-paper to pin it in as made, covered with the " lacing,"
which is a strip of bright print. The " hinder " of blue
linen covers up all behind, the " worker " keeping the parch-
ment clean in front where the hands rest. A bobbin bag
and scissors are then tied on one side and a pin-cushion on
the top; a cloth " heller " is thrown over the whole when
not used.

The pins are fine brass ones made on purpose ; "^ the
bobbins are of various sizes and makes — very fine for fine
lace, heavier and twisted round with strips of brass for coarser
laces and gimp for the threads, which are the tracing ones,
dividing the different characters of patterns ; some are of
bone with words tattoed round in columns. , The usual
bobbin is plain turned wood, with coloured beads at the end
for the necessary weight. The number varies from twenty to
five hundred, according to the width of the pattern. "^^

^^ The larger pins had heads put .to coat button and a few coral beads

them with seeds of galium locally brought from overseas, a family relic

called Hariffe or goose-grass ; the in the shape of an old copper seal, or

seeds when fingered became hard and an ancient and battered coin — such

polished. things as these were often attached to

'^* Bobbins are usually made of bone, the ring of brass wire passed through

wood or ivory. English bobbins are a hole in the bobbin. The inscriptions

of bone or wood, and especially in the on the bobbins are sometimes burned

counties of Bedford, Bucks, and and afterwards stained, and sometimes.

Hvuitingdon, the set on a lace pillow "pegged" or traced in tiny leaden

formed a homely record of their studs, and consist of such mottoes as.

owner's life. The names of her family, "Love me Truley " {sic), " Buy the

dates and records, births and marriages Ring," "Osborne for Ever," "Queen

and mottoes, were carved, burnt, or Caroliiie," " Let no false Lover win

stained on the bobbin, while events of my heart," " To me, my dear, you may

general interest were often commem- come near," " Lovely Betty," " Dear

orated by the addition of a new Mother," and so forth. — R. E. Head,

bobbin. The spangles, juiglrs (or " Some notes on Lace-Bobbins." The

ginglcs) fastened to the end of the Ecliquanj, July, 1900.
bobbin have a certain interest ; a waist-

392

HISTORY OF LACE

The Exhibition of 1851 gave a sudden impulse to the
traders, and from that period the lace industry rapidly
developed. At this time was introduced the Maltese
guipures and the " plaited " laces, a variety grafted on the
old Maltese (Fig. 147). Five years later appears the first
specimen of the raised plait, now so thoroughly established
in the market. At the time Queen Victoria's trousseau was
made, in which only English lace was used, the prices paid
were so enormous that men made lace in the fields. In
those days the parchments on whicli the patterns were

Fie-. 147.

pricked were worth their weight in gold ; many were
extremely old and their owners were very jealous of others
copying their patterns. But, of late years, we hear of so
little store being set by these parchments that they were
actually boiled down to make glue.

The decay which threatened almost total extinction of
the industry belongs to the last twenty years. The con-
tributory causes were several, chiefiy the rapid development
of machinery, which enabled large quantities to be sold at
lower rates than the hand-workers could starve on, while the
quality of the manufactured goods was good enough for the

NOR THA MP TON SHIRE

393

laroe pul)lic that required lace to last but a short time.
Foreign competition, the higher wages required by all, and
the many new employments opening to women took away
the young people from the villages. In 1874 more than
thirty young lace- women left a village of four hundred
inhabitants to seek work elsewhere. The old workers gave
up making good laces and supplied the popular demand with
Maltese, which grew more and more inferior both in design
and quality of thread, and gradually the old workers died
out and no new ones took their places. The Lace Associa-
tion has been started with the object of stimulating and

Fig. 148.

RAISED Plait.— Bedford.

improving the local manufacture of pillow lace, of providing
lace-workers with greater facilities for the sale of their work
at more remunerative prices. Its aim is also to save the old
designs of the " point " lace and discourage the coarse Maltese,
to get new designs copied from old laces, and insist on only
the best thread being used,"^ and good workmanship, and
finally, to bring the lace before the public, and send it direct
from worker to the purchaser, thus enabling the former to
get the full value, saving the large profits which the dealers,
buying for the shopkeepers, intercept for their own advantage.
Pillow lace was also made to some extent in Derbyshire.

^^ Too much stress cannot be laid on thread. Many well-meant efforts are
the importance of using fine linen entirely ruined by the coarse woolly

394

HISTORY OF LACE

SUFFOLK.

Suffolk lias produced bobbin-made laces of little artistic
value. The patterns in most of the specimens in the Victoria
and Albert Museum collection are derived from simple
Mechlin, Lille, and Valenciennes patterns. " The make of the
lace resembles that of BuckinQ;hamsliire laces, and that of the
Norman laces of the present time. The entire collection
displays varied combinations of six ways of twisting and
plaiting thread."'""

cotton thread used for what ought to be
a fine make of lace. That good thread
can be got in Great Britam is evident
from the fact that the Brussels dealers
employ English thread, and sell it to
Venice for the exquisite work of

Burano. Needless to say, no English-
man has attempted to make a bid for
the direct custom of the 8,000 lace-
workers there employed.

'-•' Catalogue of lace (Victoria and
Albert Museum).

Plate LXXXVII.

English, Suffolk. Bobbin lace. — Nineteenth century. Resembling inferior Buckingham-
shire, also Normandy and Saxony laces. Victoria and Albert ^luseum.

To face page 39i.

395

CHAPTER XXXI.

WILTSHIRE AND DORSETSHIRE.

From Wiltshire and Dorset, counties in the eighteenth century
renowned for their lace, the trade has now passed away ; a
few workers may yet be found in the retired sea-side village
of Charmouth, and these are diminishing fast.

Of the Wiltshire manufactures we know but little, even
from tradition, save that the art did once prevail. Peuchet
alludes to it. When Sir Edward Hungerford attacked
Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, Lady Arundel, describing the
destruction of the leaden pipes by the soldiers, says, " They
cut up the pipe and sold it, as these men's wives in North
Wiltshire do bone lace, at sixpence a yard."

One Mary Hurdle, of Marlborough, in the time of
Charles H., tells us in her "Memoirs " ^ that, being left an
orphan, she was apprenticed by the chief magistrate to a
maker of bone lace lor eight years, and after that period of
servitude she apprenticed herself for five years more.

Again, at the time of the Great Plag-ue, cautions are
issued by the Mayor of Marlborough to all parents and
masters how they send their children and servants to school
or abroad in making bone lace or otherwise, in any public
house, place, or school used for that purpose.^

In the proceedings of the Anti-Gallican Society it is-
recorded that the second prize for needle point ruffles was, in
1751, awarded to Mrs. Elizabeth Waterman, of the episcopal
city of Salisbury. Such are the scanty notices we have been
able to glean ol the once flourishing lace trade in Wiltshire.

^ The Conversion and Experience of town, by the Rev. — Hughes, of that
Mary HiirlV, or Hurdle, of Marl- town.
borough, a maker of bone lace in tJiis '^ Vs^&ylems History of Marlborough..

396 HISTORY OF LACE

Dorset, on the other hand, holds a high place in the
annals of lace-making, three separate towns, in their day
— Blandford, Sherborne, and Lyme Regis — disputing the
palm of excellence for their productions.

Of Blandford the earliest mention we find is in Owen's
Magna Britannica of 1720, where he states : " The manu-
facture of this town was heretofore ' band-strings,' which
were once risen to a good price, but now times hath brought
both bands themselves and their strings out of use, and so
the inhabitants have turned their hands to making straw
works and bone lace, which perhaps may conae to nothing,
if the fickle humour of fashionmongers take to wearing;
Flanders lace."

Only four years later Defoe writes of Blandford : — " This
city is chiefly famous for making the finest bone lace in
England, and where they showed us some so exquisitely fine
as I think I never saw better in Flanders, France, or Italy,
and which, they said, they rated above £30 sterling a yard ;
but it is most certain that they make exceeding rich lace in
this county, such as no part of England can equal." In the
edition of 1762, Defoe adds, "This was the state and trade
of the town when I was there in my first journey ; but on
June 4, 1731, the whole town, except twenty-six houses, was
consumed by fire, together with the church."

Postlethwayt,^ Hutchins,* Lysons, and Knight {Imperial
Cyclopaedia) all tell the same story. Peuchet cites the
Blandford laces as " comparables a celles qu'on fait en
Flandres (excepte Bruxelles), en France, et meme dans les
Etats de Venise " ; and Anderson mentions Blandford as " a
well-built town, surpassing all England in fine lace." More
reliance is to be placed on the two last-named authorities
than the former, who have evidently copied Defoe with-
out troubling themselves to inquire more deeply into the
matter.

It is generally supposed that the trade gradually declined
after the great fire of 1731, when it was replaced by the

^ " At Bland, on the Stour, between and the finest point in England, equal,

Salisbury and Dorchester, they made if not superior, to that of Flanders,

the finest lace in England, valued at and valued at <£30 per yard till the

i£30 per yard." — Universal Diet, of beginning of this century." — Hutcliins'

Trade and Commerce. 1774. Hisi. of the County of Dorset. 2nd

* " Much bone lace vi'as made here, Edition, 1796.

'^^■■:

■■i" /.-• ■iifiV •••■•.■. _ ...'■:■ '

^iii

mr^

Tu face iKige 396.

WILTSHIRE AND DORSETSHIRE 397

manufacture of buttons, and no record of its former existence
can be found among the present inhabitants of the place. ^

Fig. 149 represents a curious piece of lace, preserved
as an heirloom in a family in Dorsetshire. It formerly
belonged to Queen Charlotte, and, when purchased by
the present owner, had a label attached to it, " Queen
Elizabeth's lace," with the tradition that it was made in
commemoration of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, as the
ships, dolphins, and national emblems testify. At this we
beg to demur, as no similar lace was made at that 23eriod ;
but we do not doubt its having been made in honour of
that victory, for the building is decidedly old Tilbury Fort,
familiar to all by the pencil of Staufield. But the lace is
point d'Argentan, as we see by the hexagonal " bride "
ground and the workmanship of the pattern. None but the
best lace-workers could have made it ; it was probably the
handiwork of some English lady, or the pattern, designed in
England, may have been sent to Argentan to execute, per-
haps as a present to Queen Charlotte.

" Since the Reformation the clothing trade declined,"
writes Defoe, of Sherborne. " Before 1700, making buttons,
haberdashery wares, and bone laces employed a great many
hands " ; which said piece of information is repeated word
for word in the Imperial Cyclopaedia. Other authors, such
as Anderson, declare, at a far later date, Sherborne to carry
on a good trade in lace, and how, up to 1780, much blonde,
both white and black, and of various colours, was made
there, of which a supply was sent to all markets. From
the latter end of the eighteenth century, the lace trade of
Sherborne declined, and gradually died out.

The points of Lyme Regis rivalled, in the eighteenth
century, those of Honiton and Blandford, and when the trade
of the last-named town passed away, Lyme and Honiton laces
held their own, side by side, in the London market. The fabric
of Lyme Regis, for a period, came more before the public
eye, for that old, deserted, and half- forgotten mercantile
city, in the eighteenth century, once more raised its head as
a fashionable watering-place. Prizes were awarded by the

® "What this celebrated point was geometric pattern resembling the sam-
we cannot ascertain. Two samplars plar, Fig. 5.
sent to us as Blandford point were of

398 HISTORY OF LACE

An ti- Galilean Society '^ to Miss Maiy Cliannon, of Lyme
Regis, and her fellow-townswoman, Miss Mary Ben, for
ruffles of needle point and bone lace. The reputation of the
fabric, too, of Lyme Regis reached even the court ; and when
Queen Charlotte first set foot on English ground, she wore a
head and lappets of Dorset manufacture. Some years later
a splendid lace dress was made for her Majesty by the
workers of Lyme, which, says the annalist of our southern
coast,' gave great satisfaction at court. The makers of this
-costly product, however, received but fourpence a day for
their work.

The laces of Lyme, like all good articles, were expensive.
A narrow piece set quite plain round an old woman's cap
would cost four guineas, nor was five guineas a yard
considered an exorbitant price.

It was a favourite custom at Lyme for lovers to have
their initials entwined and worked together on a piece of
ornamental lace.

: The making of such expensive lace being scarcely found
remunerative, the trade gradually expired ; and when the
order for the marriage lace of Queen Victoria reached the
southern counties, not one lace-maker was to be found to aid
in the work in the once flourishing town of Lyme Regis.

^ In 1752. '^ Roberts' Hist, of Lyme Begis.

399

CHAPTER XXXII.

DEVONSHIRE.

" Bone lace and Cycler." — Anderson.

" At Axuiinster, you may be furnished with fyne tlax thread there spunne.
At Honyton and Bradninch with bone lace much in request." — Westcote.

HONITON.

'The lace industry found its way to Devonshire, if the
generally-accepted theory be correct, by the Flemish refugees
flying from the persecutions of the Duke of Alva. There is
much probability to support the theory, and some names, ^ of
undoubted Flemish origin, appear among the entries of the
church registers still preserved at Honiton, towards the
latter end of the sixteenth century — names all handed down
to their descendants in the present generation, and in these
families the fabric has continued for a long lapse of years.
On the other hand, if there had been any considerable
number of Flemings in Devonshire, they would surely have
founded a company of their Reformed Church, and no refer-
ence is found in the published books of the archives of the
London Dutch Church of any such company in Devonshire,
whereas references abound to places in the Eastern Counties
and Midlands where Fleminos were settled. Lace was made
on the pillow in the Low Countries by the middle of the
sixteenth century, so by the date of the Alva persecution
(1568-77) the people might have learned it in sufficient
numbers to start it wherever they set up their new home.
Up to that date in England lace was made with the needle,"

^ Burd, Genest, Raymunds, Brock, silk and coarse thread were already

Couch, Gerard, Murck, Stocker, May- fabricated in Devonshire, as elsewhere ;

nard, Trump, Groot, etc. and that the Flemings, on their arrival,

^ " We may rather infer that laces of having introduced the fine thread,

400 HISTORY OF LACE

and it was not till we read of " bone-lace " that it may be
taken to mean pillow-lace. The term " bone," according to
Fuller, was applied from the custom of using sheep's trotters
as bobbins. In Devonshire, however, the tradition is that,
owing to the high price of pins, the lace-makers, being
w^ithin reach of the sea, made use of fish-bones, and thus
pillow-lace became " bone-lace." The term " bobbin " came
into use soon afterwards, but was not so universal as
" bone " ; it occurs in the Wardrobe Accounts and Eoyal
inventories (where one entry runs, " In ye shoppe, 4 oz. and
^ of Bobbing lace, Qs. 4(r/.").

Althouoh the earliest known MS. ^ o-ivina; an account of
the different towns in Devon makes no mention of lace, we
find from it that Mrs. Minifie,* one of the earliest-named
lace-makers, was an Englishwoman.

(^)ueen Elizabeth was much addicted to the collecting and
wearino; of beautiful clothes : but no mention of Eno;lish lace
by name seems to occur in the inventories and accounts, and
the earliest mention of Honiton lace is by Westcote, who,
writing about 1620, speaks of " bone lace much in request "
being made at Honiton and Bradninch ; and again referring
to Honiton. " Here," says he, " is made abundance of bone
lace, a pretty toye now greatly in request ; and therefore the
town may say with merry Martial —

" In praise for toj^es such as this
Honiton second to none is."

The oft-cited incription let into a raised tombstone, near
the wall of old Honiton church, together with AVestcote,

then spun ahnost exclusively in their Jerom Minify, of Burwash, Sussex,

own country, from that period the who married his only daughter." —

trade of bone-lace-making flourished Prince's PFor^/wes o/ Devon. 1701.
in the southern as well as in the Up to a recent date the Honiton

midland counties of England " (Mrs. lace-niakers were mostly of Flemish

Palliser, 1869). origin. Mrs. Stocker, ob. 1769; Mr.

^ Ker's Synopsis, wriiiQw about the J. Stocker, + 1783, and four daughters ;

year 1561. Two copies of this jNIS. Mrs. Mary Stocker, + 179- ; Mr.

exist, one in the library of Lord Gerard, + 1799, and daughter ; Mrs.

Haldon at Haldon House (Co. Devon), Lydia Maynard (of Anti-Gallican cele-

the other in the British Museum. This brity), -f- 1786 ; Mrs. Ann Brock,

MS. was never printed, but served as -f 1815 ; Mrs. Elizabeth Humphrey,

an authority for Westcote and others. -f 1790, whose family had been in the

' * " She was a daughter of John Flay, lace manufacture 150 years and more.

Vicar of Buckrell, near Honiton, who The above list has been furnished to

by will in 1614 bequeaths certain the author by Mrs. Frank Aberdein,

lands to Jerom Minify (sic), son of whose grandfather was for many years

HO NITON 401

prove the industry to have been well established in the reign
of James I. The inscription runs —

" Here lyeth y" body of James Eodge, of Honinton', in y" County of
Devonshire (Bonelace Siller, hath given unto the poore of Honinton P'ishe, the
benyfitt of ^100 for ever), who deceased y" 27 of July A" D' 1617 AETATAE
SVAE 50. Remember the Poore."

There have ])een traditions that Rodge was a valet who
accompanied his master abroad, and there learning the fine
Flemish stitches, taught some Devonshire women on his
return home, and was enabled to make a comforta1)le com-
petence by their work, bequeathing a sum of money to the
poor of Honiton : but it is more probable that he was an
ordinary dealer.

Westcote,Svho wrote about the year 1620, when noticing
bone lace, does not speak of it as a new manufacture ; the
trade had already taken root and flourished, for, including
the above-mentioned Rodge, the three earliest bone lace
makers of the seventeenth century on record all at their
decease bequeathed sums of money for the benefit of their
indigent townspeople, viz., Mrs. Minifie,'' before mentioned,
who died in 1617, and Thomas Humphrey, of Honiton, lace-
man, who willed in the year 1658 £20 towards the purchase
of certain tenements, a notice of which benefaction is recorded
on a painted board above the gallery of the old parish
church.

By this time English lace had advanced in public esti-
mation. In the year 1660 a royal ordinance of France
provided that a mark should be afiixed to thread lace
imported from England as well as on that of Flanders ; and we
have already told elsewhere how the Earl of Essex procures,
throuo'h his countess, bone lace to a considerable amount as
a present to Queen Anne of Austria.

Speaking of bone lace, writes Fuller in his ^Vorthies :
" Much of this is made in and about Honyton, and weekly
returned to London. . . . Modern is the use thereof in
England, and that not exceeding the middle of the reign of

in the trade. Mrs. Treadwiu, of Exeter, in the same familj^ from generation to

found an old lace-worker using a lace generation.

" Turn " for winding sticks, having the "' View of Devon. T. Westcote.

date 1678 rudelj' carved on the foot, " Her bequest is called " Minifie's

showing how the trade was continued Gift."

2 D

402 HISTORY OF LACE

Queen Elizabeth. Let it not be condemned for a super-
fluous wearing because it doth neither hide, nor heat, seeing
it doth adorn. Besides, though private persons pay for it,
it stands the State in nothing ; not expensive of bullion like
other lace, costing nothing save a little thread descanted on
by art and industry. Hereby many children, who other-
wise would be burthensome to the parish, prove beneficial
to their parents. Yea, many lame in their limbs and
impotent in their arms, if able in their fingers, gain a liveli-
hood thereby ; not to say that it saveth some thousands of
pounds yearly, formerly sent over seas to fetch lace from
Flanders."

The English were always ready to protect their own
trades and manufactures, and various were the Acts passed
to prohibit the importation of foreign lace, for the encourage-
ment of home workers. In 1698 it was proposed to repeal
the last preceding prohibition ; and, from the text of a
petition sent to the House of Commons, some interesting
iio'ht is thrown on the extent of the trade at that time.

" The makinsf of Bone-lace has Ijeen an ancient Manu-
facture of England, and the Wisdom of our Parliaments all
along thought it the Interest of this Kingdom to prohibit its
Importation from Foreign Parts. . . . This has revived the
said Languishing Manufacture, and there are now above
one hundred thousand in England who get their living by it,
and earn by mere Laljour £500,000 a year, according to the
lowest computation that can be made ; and the Persons
employed on it are, for the most part, Women and children
who have no other means of Subsistence. The English are
now arrived to make as good lace in Fineness and all other
respects as any that is wrought in Flanders, and particularly
since the last Act, so great an improvement is made that
way that in Buckinghamshire, the highest prized lace they
used to make was about eight shillings per yard, and now
they make lace there of above thirty shillings per yard, and
in Dorsetshire and Devonshire they now make lace worth six
pound per yard. . . .

" . . . . The Lace Manufacture in England is the
greatest, next to the woollen, and maintains a multitude
of People, which otherwise the Parishes must, and that
would soon prove a heavy burthen, even to those concerned
in the Woollen Manufacture. On the Resolution, which

Plate LXXXVlll.

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To ,/«(•(' imrfe 402.

HONITON 403

shall 1)6 taken in this affair depends the Well-being, or ruin
of numerous families in their Country. Many laws have been
made to set our Poor on Work, and it is to be hoped none
will be made to take away work from Multitudes who are
•already employed." '

Even in 1655, when the variety of points furnished
matter for a letter from the members of the Baptist Church
assembled at Bridgewater, the " Beleeven men," unwilling to
injure so flourishing a commerce, merely censure " points and
more laces than are required on garments," and these they
desired might be proceeded against " with all sweetness and
tenderness" and long-suffering."^ The conciliatory measures
of the Puritans, mayl)e, affected the trade less than the
doing of Lord Cambury and Lord Churchill's dragoons in the
.suppression of Monmouth's rebellion in 1680, by which time
the lace-making art was carried on in many small country
places in Devon. They pillaged the lace-makers right and
left, and, when quartered at Colyton,** these unruly soldiers
broke into the house of one William Bard, a dealer in
bone lace, and there stole merchandise to the amount of
£325 17.§. 9r/.'"

" The valuable manufactures of lace, for which the inhabi-
tants of Devon have long been conspicuous, are extending
;now from Exmouth to Torbay," ^^ writes Defoe in 1724.

' Here follows the numbers of the daughter of Eoger How, merchant of
people in a few places who get then- London, ob. 1623," wears a splendid
living by making lace. Among those cape of three rows of bone lace de-
quoted in Devonshire as interesting scending to the waist. Her cap is
to compare with the present day trimmed with the same material. As
are : — this lace may be of Devonshire fabric,

" Coumbraligh 65, Sidniont 302, we give a wood-cut of the pattern

Axmouth 73, Sidbury 321, Buckerall (Fig. 150).

90, Farway 70, Utpotery 118, Brans- Sundry Flemish names may still be

combe Beare and Seaton 326, Honyton seen above the shop-windows of Colyton

1341, Axminster 60, Otery St. Marv, similar to those of Honiton — Stocker,

.814." " Murch, Spiller, Rochett, Boatch,

^ Church Book of the Baptist Chapel Kettel, Woram, and others,
of Ljane Eegis. ^" Don Manuel Gonzales mentions

•' Colyton and Ottery St. Mary were "bone lace " among the commodities

among the first. Wherever the say of Devon.

or serge decayed, the lace trade planted " The lace manufacture now extends

itself. along the coast from the small watering-

In the churcli of Colyton, under a place of Seaton, by Beer, Branscombe,

fine canopied tomb, repose back to Salcombe, Sidmouth, and Ollerton,

back in most unsociable fashion the to Exmouth, including the Vale of

recumbent figures of Sir John and Honiton and the towns above men-

Lady Pole. " Dame Elizabeth, tioned.

2 D 2

404

HISTORY OF LACE

These must, however, have received a check as res'arcls the
export trade, for, says Savary, who wrote al)Out the same
date, " Depuis qu'on imite les deiitelles nommees point
d'Aiigleterre en Flaudres, Picardie et Champagne, on n'en
tire plus de Londres pour la France."

Great distress, too, is said to have existed among ihe
Honiton lace-makers after the two great fires of 1756 and
1767. The second was of so devastating a character that
the town had to be rebuilt. Shawe declares, writing at the
end of the eighteenth century : " For its present condition
Honiton is indebted to that dreadful lire which reduced
three parts of it to ashes. The houses now wear a pleasing

Fig. 150.

aspect, and the principal street, extending from east to west,
is paved in a remarkable manner, forming a canal, w^ell
shouldered up on each side with pebbles -and green turf,
which holds a stream of clear water with a square dipping
place opposite each door, a mark of cleanliness and con-
venience I never saw before."

Three years previous to the Great Fire,'"^ among a
number of premiums awarded by the Anti-Gallican Society
for the encouragement of our lace trade, the first prize of
fifteen guineas is bestowed upon Mrs. Lydia Maynard, of
Honiton, " in token of six pairs of ladies' lappets of unprece-
dented beauty, exhibited by her." About this time we read

1753.

HONITON 405

in Boweii's Geography ^^ that at Honitoii •' the people are
chiefly employed in the manufactory of lace, the broadest
sort that is made in England, of which great quantities are
sent to London." " It acquired," says Lysons, " some years
since, the name of Bath Brussels lace."

To give a precise description of the earliest Devonshire
lace would now be impossible. The bone or bobbin lace at first
consisted of a small and simple imitation of the beautiful
Venetian geometrical cut-works and points, mere narrow strips
made by coarse threads plaited and interlaced. They became
wider and more elaborate as the workers gained experience.
Specimens may be seen on two Devonshire monuments,
thouo-h whether the lace of the district is imitated on the
efiigies is another matter ; in any case similar patterns were
probably made there at the time. One is on the monument
of Lady Pole, in Colyton Church, where tlie lady's cape is
edged with three rows of bone lace. The other, which is in
excellent preservation, is on the recumbent effigy of Lady
Doddridge (a member of the Bampfylde family) in Exeter
C^athedral, her cufls and tucker being adorned with geometric
lace of a good pattern. Both belong to the first part of the
seventeenth century.

In tlie same Cathedral is the monument of Bishop
Staftbrd.^* His collar appears to be of a net-work,
embroidered in patterns of graceful design (Fig. 151).

Belgium was noted for her linens and delicately spun flax.
In consequence the Flemings soon departed from the style
of their Italian masters, and made laces of their own fine
threads. They w^orked out their own designs also, and being
great gardeners and fond of flowers, it naturally came about
that they composed devices of blossoms and foliage.

These alterations in course of time found their way to
England, there being much intercourse between their
brethren here established and tliose remaining in Flanders.
The lace continued to get finer and closer in texture, the
flax thread being required so fine that it became necessary
to spin it in damp underground cellars. That the workers
in England could not compete successfully against the

'^ Complete Sijsiem of Geography. in UnfjlaiuVs Gazetteer, by Philip
i:manuel Bowen. 1747. Lnckoiube. London, 1790.

This extract is repeated verbatim '■* Died 1398.

4o6

HISTORY OF LACE

foreio;ner with their home-made threads we find over and
over again. They also altered the Brussels designs, and
instead of the beautiful "fillings" and open-work stitches,
substituted heavy guipure bars. By this period " cordonnet "
or "gimp" had come into use in Brussels lace. The '' vrai
reseau,'' or pillow-net ground, succeeded the " bride " about
the end of the seventeenth century. This fashion enabled
the fiowers to be made separately and worked in with the
net afterwards, or rather the net was worked into the fiowers-

Fis. 151.

[Monument of Bishop Stafford, Exeter Cathedral.

on the pillow. It was from the introduction of these-
separate sprigs that Honiton lace was able to compete with
Brussels. The pattern in Fig. 153 is sewn on the plain
pillow ground,^' which was very beautiful and regular,
but very expensive. It was made of the finest thread procured
from Antwerp, the market price of which, in 1790, was £70'
per pound, ^" and an old lace-maker told the author her father

'■"■ The best reseaii, was made by formed Mrs. Palliser that her father
hand with the needle, and was much often paid ninety-five guineas per lb-
more expensive.

'" Mrs. Aberdein, of Honiton, in-

fer tlie thread from Antwerp (1869).

HONITON

407

had, during the war, paid a hundred guineas a pound to the
smugglers for this highly-prized and then almost unattainable
commodity.

Nor were the lace- worker's gains less remunerative. She
would receive as much as eighteen shillings a yard for the
workmanship alone of a piece of this elaborate net, measuring
scarce two inches in width ; ^^ and one of the old lace-dealers
showed Mrs. Treadwin a piece of ground eighteen inches
square, for the making of which she was paid fifteen pounds

Fi" 152.

ilONUJiE.NT OF Lady Doddridge. + 1G14. (Exeter Cathedral.)

shortly before the establishment of the machine net manu-
facture.^* The price of lace was proportionately high. A

Honiton veil would often cost a hundred guineas.

The Flemish character of Fio;. 158 is unmistakable.

The

" The manner of payment was
somewhat Phoenician, reminding one
of Queen Dido and her bargain. The
lace groimd was spread out on the
counter, and the worker herself desired
to cover it with shillings ; and as many
coins as found place on her work she
carried away as the fruit of her labour.
The author once calculated the cost,
after this fashion, of a small lace veil
on real ground, said to be one of the
first ever fabricated. It was 12 inches
wide and 30 inches long, and, making
allowance for the shrinking caused by
washing, the value amounted to d£20.

which proved to be exacth' the sum
originally paid for the veil. The
ground of this veil, though perfect in
its workmanship, is of a much wider
mesh than was made in the last days
of the fabric. It was the property' of
Mrs. Chick.

18 II rpj^g jjj^g^ specimen of ' real '

ground made in Devon was the marriage
veil of Mrs. Marwood Tucker. It was
with the greatest difficulty workers
could be procured to make it. The
price paid for the ground alone was
30 guineas" (1869).

4o8

HISTORY OF LACE

desio;n of the flower vase resembles those of the old Anojleterre
a bride, and in execution this specimen may fairly warrant
a comparison with the productions of Brabant. If really of
English make, we should place its fabrication at the beginning
of the eighteenth century, for it was long before the Devon-
shire lace-makers could rival in beauty the " cordonnet '
of the Flemish workers.

Fig. 154 is an example of the pattern worked in, the
favourite design of the butterfly and the acorn, already
familiar to us in the old point d'Angleterre and in the
smock of Queen Elizabeth.

The American AVar had an evil effect upon the lace trade,
and still worse was the French Revolution, which was followed

Fitr. 153.

by the fashion of classical dress. Lace became no longer
necessary to a lady's wardrobe, and the demand for it declined
to a serious extent for the workers. Worse than these,
however, was the introduction of the machine net, the first
factory being set up at Tiverton in 1815. Lysons writes
shortly afterwards in 1822 : "The manufactory of lace has
much declined, although the lace still retains its superiority.
Some years ago, at which time it was much patronised by
the Royal family, the manufacturers of Honiton employed
2,400 hands in the town and in the neighbouring villages,
but they do not now empjoy above 300." For twenty years
the lace trade suffered the greatest depression, and the
Honiton lace-workers, forsaking the designs of their fore-
fathers, introduced a most hideous set of patterns, designed.

'?>/:'.'

" ! SSSRSS&SSSS.tSS.'ttftM.^'

To face page 408.

HON 1 TON 409

as they said, " out of their own heads." " Turkey tails,"
" frying pans," " bullocks' hearts," and the most senseless
sprigs and borderings took the place of the graceful com-
positions of the old school. Not a leaf, not a Hower was
copied from nature. Anxious to introduce a purer taste.
Queen Adelaide, to whom a petition had been sent on behalf
of the distressed lace-makers, gave the order for a dress to
be made of Honiton sprigs/^ and commanded that the flowers
should all be copied from nature. The order was executed
by j\irs. Davey, of Honiton. The skirt was encircled with a
wreath of elegantly designed sprigs, the initial of each flower
forming the name of her Majesty.""

The example of the Queen found new followers, and
when, in the progress of time, the wedding lace was required
for Queen Victoria, it was with difficulty the necessary numl)er
of workers could be ol)tained to make it. It was undertaken
by Miss Jane Bidney, who caused the work to be executed
in the small fishino- hamlet of Beer "^ and its environs. The
dress cost £l,000. It was composed entirely of Honiton
sprigs, connected on the pillow by a variety of open-work
stitches ; but the patterns were immediately destroyed, so it
cannot be described.

The bridal dresses of their Royal Highnesses the Princess
Royal, the Princess Alice, and the Princess of Wales were all
of Honiton point, the patterns consisting of the national
flowers, the latter with prince's feathers intermixed with
ferns, and introduced with the most happy eflect.

The application of Honiton sprigs upon bobl)in net has
been of late years almost entirely superseded by the modern
guipure (Fig. 155). The sprigs, when made, are sewn upon
a piece of blue paper, and then united either on the pillow
by " cut- works " or " purlings," or else joined with the needle
by various stitches — lacet point, reseau, cut-work, and button-
hole stitch (the most eftective of all). Purling is made by
the yard. The Honiton guipure has an original character
almost unique. The large pieces surpass in richness and

'■' With the desh-e of combinmg the Lilac, Auricula, 7vy, -Dahlia, I^glan-

two interests, her Majesty ordered it tine.

to be made on the Brussels (machine- -' The workers of ]}eer, Axmoutli,

made) ground. and Branscoiube, have always been

-'Amaranth, Daphne, Eglantine, considered the best in the" trade.

4IO HISTORY OF LACE

perfection any lace of the same kind made in Belgium. The
reliefs are embroidered with the greatest delicacy, and the
beauty of the workmanship is exquisite ; and whereas the
guipure applications of Belgium require to be whitened with
lead, the Honiton workers give up their lace in all its original
brilliancy and whiteness. '-^'^ The fault in the Honiton lace
has been its crowded and spiritless designs, but in these
great improvement was manifested in the Exhibition of
1867.

Captain Marryat took much pains during a residence at
Sidmouth to procure for the lace-makers new patterns of
flowers, insects, and other natural objects. The younger
members of the community accepted with gratitude these
new patterns, and one even reproduced a piece of braidwork
in imitation of Spanish point, and also a collar from
Vecellio's book, in a manner most creditable to her
ingenuity. In consequence of this movement, some gentle-
men connected with the Bath and West of England
Society '^ proposed that an exhibition should take place at
the Annual Agricultural Show, held at Clifton, of Honiton
lace, " designs strictly after nature." Prizes to the amount
of £100 were given. The exhibition was most successful.
Queen Victoria expressed a desire that the articles exhibited
should be sent to Windsor for her inspection, and graciously
commanded that two flounces with a corresponding length of
trimming lace should be made for her. A design executed
by Miss Cecilia Marryat having been approved of by her
Majesty, the order for the lace was given to Mrs. Hayman,
of Sidmouth. (Fig. 156 is from one of the honeysuckle
sprigs selected.)

The Honiton lace-makers show great aptitude in imitating
the Brussels designs, and "* through the efibrts of Mrs.
Treadwin have succeeded in reproducing the ancient lace in

2^ Exposition Universelle de 1867. Fruits, Leaves, or Insects, strictly

Rapport du Jury International, " Den- designed from nature." Three prizes

telles," par Felix Aubry. were awarded for each description of

'^•^ For the encouragement of Agri- article. The Society also offered prizes

culture, Arts, Manufactures, and Com- for small application sprigged veils,

merce. The prizes were offered for the and for the best specimens of braid-

,best Sprigs, Nosegays, Borders for work, in imitation of Spanish point.

sliawls, veils, or collars, Lappets, -* Honiton Lace, by Mrs. Treadwin.

collars and cuffs, Pocket-handkerchiefs, London, 1874. Honiton Lace-making,

etc., " of good workmanship and by Devonia, London, 1874.
design, worked either in Flowers,

Fig. 155.

HoNiTON Guipure.

To face page 410,

HONITON

41 1

the most wonderful manner. Fig. 158 is a lappet in the
Brussels stvle shown in the International Exhibition of 1874.
Mrs. Treadwin produced admirable specimens after the
pillow-made lace of Genoa and Flanders, and also a repro-
duction of the Venetian point in relief.

A new branch of industry has lately opened to the

Fig. 156.

Honeysuckle Spkig of Modern Honiton.

Devonshire lace-maker — that of restoring or re-making old
lace. The splendid mantles, tunics, and flounces which
enrich the shop-windows of the great lace-dealers of London
are mostly concocted from old fragments by the Devonshire
lace-workers. It is curious to see the ingenuity they display
in re-arranging the " old rags " — and such, they are — sent
from London for restoration. Carefully cutting out the

412

HISTORY OF LACE

designs of the old work, they sew them upon a paper pattern
of the shape required. The " modes," or fancy stitches, are

Fig. 157.

Old DEvostJHiKE Point.

dexterously restored, any deficient flower supplied, and the
whole joined together on the pillow.

TROLLY LACE.

Trolly lace conies next in order. It was quite different
from anything else made in Devonshire, and resembled many
of the laces made in the midlands at the present time. It
was made of coarse British thread, and with heavier and
larixer bobbins, and worked strai2;ht on round and round the

t'ig. l5d.

Lappet mai>k by the late Mrs. Treadwin, ok Exeter. 1864.

To face page 412,

TROLLY LACE 413

pillow. The origin of " Trolly " was undoubtedly Flemisli,
but it is said to have reached Devonshire at the time of the
French Revolution, through the Normandy peasants, driven
by want of employment from their own country, where lace
was a great industry during the eighteenth century. The
origin of " trolly ' is from the Flemish " Trolle Kant," where
the design was outlined with a thick thread, or, possibly, it
may be derived from a corruption of the French toiU, applied
to distinguish a flat linen pattern from the ground or tve'dle,
a general term for a net ground. It is now almost extinct
in Devonshire, remaining in the hands of the midland
counties, '"^^ where it more properly l)elongs.'"

Trolly lace was not the work of women alone. In the
flourishing days of its manufacture, every boy, until he had
attained the age of fifteen, and was competent to work in
the fields, attended the lace schools daily.'' A lace-
maker of Sidmouth, in 1869, had learned her craft at the
village dame school,'"** in company with many boys. The
men, especially the sailor returned from sea, would again
resume the employment of their boyhood, in their hours of
leisure, and the labourer, seated at his pillow on a summer's
evening, would add to his weekly gains.

Mrs. Treadwin, in her younger days, saw some tw^enty-
four men lace-makers in her native village of Woodbury, two
of whom. Palmer by name, were still surviving in 1869, and
one of these worked at his pillow so late as 1820.

Captain Marryat also succeeded in finding out a man of
sixty, one James Gooding, dweller in Salcombe parish, near
Sidmouth, who had in his day been a lace-maker of some
reputation. " I have made hundreds of yards in my time,"
he said, " both wide and narrow, Ijut never worked regularly
at my pillow after sixteen years of age." Delighted to
exhibit the craft of his boyhood, he hunted out his patterns,

^' Lappets and scarfs were made of the Continent. The author has seen

trolly lace from an early date. Mrs. specimens of this fabric in a lace-

Delarey, in one of her letters, dated maker's old pattern-book, once the

1756, speaks of a "trolly head." property of her mother " (Mrs. Palliser,

Trolly lace, before its do\vnfall, has

been sold at the extravagant price of -" Though no longer employed at

five guineas a yard. lace -making, the boys in the schools

'^" "Fifty years since Devonshire at Exmouth are instructed in crochet

workers still make a 'Greek' lace, work (1869).

as they termed it, similar to the ' den- -* Of Otterton.
telles torchons ' so common through

414 HISTORY OF LACE

and, setting to work, produced a piece of trolly edging,
which soon found a place in the albums of sundry lace-
collecting ladies, the last specimen of man-worked lace likely
to l3e fabricated in the county of Devon. "^

The lace schools of this time were a great feature, there
being many in every village, and as few other schools
existed, l)oys in addition to the girls of the place attended
and learnt the industry. The usual mode of procedure was
this. The children commenced attendincr at the aofe of five
to seven, and were apprenticed to the mistress for an average
of two years, who sold all their work for her trouble : they
then paid sixpence a week for a time and had their own lace,
then threepence, and so on, according to the amount of
teaching they still required. The young children went first
from ten to twelve in the morning, to accustom them to
work by degrees. At Honiton the full hours were from
eight to eight in the summer and in the depth of winter,
but in the spring and autumn less, on account of the light,
as candles were begun only on September 3rd^ — -Nutting day
— till Shrovetide. The old rhyme runs : —

" Be the Shrovetide high or low,
Out the candle we will blow."

At Sidbury it was de rigneur that directly a young girl
married, however young, she wore a cap, but till then the
lace-makers were famous for the beautiful dressino^ of their
hair. When school began they stood up in a circle to read
the "verses." If any of them read " jokily," they were
given a penalty, and likewise for idleness — so much extra
work. In nearly all schools they were taught reading from
the Bible, and in some they learnt writing; but all these are
now things of the past.

Speaking of the occupation of lace-making, Cooke, in his
Topograpliy of Devon, observes : " It has been humanely
remarked as a melancholv consideration that so much health

^° In Woodbury will be found a facility and precision. Among the

small colony of lace-makers who are various cheaj:) articles to which the

employed in making imitation Maltese Devonshire workers have of late

or Greek lace, a fabric introduced into directed their labours is the tape or

Devon by order of her late Majesty braid lace, and the shops of the

the Queen Dowager on her return country are now inundated with their

from Malta. The workers copy these productions in the form of collars and

coarse geometric laces with great cuffs (1869.)

Fig. 159.

Venetian Relief in Point.— Reproduced j by tlie late Jlrs. Treadwin.

To face page 414.

TROLLY LACE 415

and comfort are sacrificed to the production of this beautiful
though not necessary article of decoration. The sallow
■complexion, the weakly frame and the general appearance of
languor and debility of the operatives, are sad and decisive
proofs of the pernicious nature of the employment. The
small unwholesome rooms in which numbers of these females,
especially during their apprenticeship, are crowded together
are o-reat ao;o;ravations of the evil." He continues at some
length, as indeed do many writers of the eighteenth century,
to descant on this evil, but times are changed, sanitary
laws and the love of fresh air have done much to remedy
the mischief.^" The pillows, too, are raised higher than
formerly, by which means the stooping, so injurious to health,
is avoided. Old lace-makers will tell stories of the cruel
severities practised on the children in the dame schools of
their day — of the length of time they sat without daring to
move from the pillow, of prolonged punishments imposed
on idle apprentices, and other barbarities, but these are now
tales of the past.^^

Ever since the Great Exhibition of 1851 drew attention
to the industry, different persons have been trying to
encourage both better design and better manufacture, but

^' The Honiton pillows are rather things of smooth, close-grained wood,
smaller than those for Buckingham- their length averaging about three and

^o^

shire lace, and do not have the a half inches. They have no " gingles,"
multiplicity of starched coverings — and none of the carving and relief
•only three " pill cloths," one over the inlayings of the Buckinghamshire and
top, and another on each side of the Bedfordshire bobbins ; but some of
lace in progress ; two pieces of horn them are curiously stained with a
called " sliders " go between to take brown pigment in an irregular pattern
the weight of the bobbins from drag- resembling the mottlings of clouded
ging the stitches in progress ; a small bamboo or those of tortoise-shell,
square pin-cushion is on one side, and ^^ " The author has visited many
stuck into the pillow is the " needle- lace-schools in Devon, and though it
pin " — a large sewing needle in a might be desired that some philan-
wooden handle, and for picking up thropist would introduce the infant
loops through which the bobbins are school system of allowing the pupils
placed. The pillow has to be fre- to march and stretch their limbs at
quently turned round in the course of the expiration of every hour, the chil-
the work, so that no stand is used, and dren, notwithstanding, looked ruddy
it is rested against a table or doorway ; as the apples in their native orchards ;
and formerly, in the golden days, in and though the lace-worker may be
fine weather there would be rows of less robust in appearance than the
workers sitting outside their cottages farm-servant or the Cheshire milk-
resting their " pills " against the back maid, her life is more healthy far than
of the chair in fi-ont. the female operative in our northern

The bobbins used in Honiton lace- manufactories" (1875).
making are delicately-fashioned slender

4i6

HISTORY OF LACE

the majority of the people have sought a livelihood by
meeting the extensixe demand for cheap laces. Good
patterns, good thread, and good work have been thrown
aside, the workers and small dealers recking little of the fact
that they themselves were ruining the trade as much as the
competition of machinery and machine-made lace, and
tarnishina- the fair name of Honiton throug-hout the world,
among those able to love and appreciate a ])eautiful art.
Fortunately there are some to lead and direct in the right
path, and all honour must be given to Mrs. Treadwin, who
started reproducing old laces. She and her clever workers
turned out the most exquisite copies of old Venetian rose
point, Valenciennes, or Flemish. Her successor. Miss
Herbert, carries it on ; and while we have Msr. Fowler and
her school at Honiton, and Miss Radford at Sidmouth, it
would be easier to say what the heads and hands of the
Devon lace-workers could not do than to enumerate the
many beautiful stitches and patterns they achieve ; needle-
point or pillow, tape guipure or vrai reseau — there are able
fingers to suit all tastes.^"

Mrs. Fowler, of Honiton, has made a spirited attempt to
teach some young people. ^^ She employs women and
girls all the year round, who work under the Factory Acts.
The girls are taught needlework in addition, and to put
together the sprigs made by the out-workers, the arrange-
ment of which requires great taste and careful superintend-
ence. The County Council grants courses of lessons in
various places, some for all ages, others for children.^^ The

32 "A good lace-maker easily earns
her shilling a day, but in most parts
of Devonshire the work is paid by the
truck system, many of the more
respectable shops giving one-half in
money, the remaining sixpence to be
taken out in tea or clothing, sold often
considerably above their value. Other
manufacturers — to their shame, be it
told — pay their workers altogether in
grocery, and should the lace-maker,
from illness or any other cause, require
an advance in cash, she is compelled
to give work to the value of fourteen-
pence for every shilling she receives.
Some few houses pay their workers in
money" (1875).

^^ Medals were won at the Chicago
World's Fair for Devonshire lace by
Mrs. Fowler and Miss Radford, of
Sidmouth. The latter has also received
the freedom of the City of London
for a beautiful lace fan, her sprigs
being the finest and most exquisite
models of flowers and birds it is
possible to produce in lace. A third
medal was won by the Italian laces
at Beer.

^* Those held at Sidbury and Sidford
are very successful, and the children,
ranging in age from nine to fifteen,
come regularly for their " lace.'' It is
interesting to watch the improvement
in the work of the " Ays," the first

Plate LXXXIX.

CD
'T3

-A

<X>

ptj

'-+^

f-H

—1

-*J

Q
<

To /hf^c /Jrt^c ill).

JAPAN 417

Italian laces made at Beer i.s a new bianeli, established b}^
Miss Bowdon,and ably carried on by Miss Audrey Trevelyan
of Seaton. Tins Italian lace is made entirely on the pillow,
and the way in which the women of Beer have picked up the
stitches and mode of making speaks volumes for their
skilfulness and adaptability. There are still a good number
of workers left in this most picturesque village. ^^

A beautiful county and a beautiful art have come down
to us hand in hand. Let us do our best to prevent the one
being marred and the other lost, and keep them both together
to be a joy and a pleasure for all time,

JAPAN.

The versatile Japanese have copied the Honiton method
of makine^ bobbin lace. The Government have encouraged
a school at Yokohama for pillow lace making, under the
supervision of an English lady, where they turn out lace of
a distinctive Japanese character.

lesson, and as a rule each child makes and at Honiton m the hard winter of

forty to fifty before going on to any- 1895 the lace-makers kept themselves

thing further. and their families, and were spared

^^ At Beer, where fishing is the applying for relief — all honour to their

staple industry, in bad fish seasons the skill and self-helpfuhiess.
women can earn more than the men :

2 E

-4 1 8 HISTORY Oh LACE

CHAPTER XXXIII.

SCOTLAND.

" ^\ itli the pearlin above lier brow." — Old Scotch Song.
" Pearlin-lace as fine as spiders' webs." — Heart of Midlothian.

From her constant intercourse witli France, lace must have
been early known in Scotland.

Of its use for ecclesiastical purposes, at a period when it
was still unknown to the laity, we have evidence in the
mutilated effigy of a crosiered ecclesiastic which once stood
in a niche of the now ruined abl)ey church of Arbroath.
The lace which adorns the robes of this figure is very
elaborately and sharply chiselled, and when first discovered,
still preserved some remains of the gold leaf with which it
had been ornamented.

In the Inventories of King James V. we find constant
mention of " pasment '' of gold and silver,^ as well as an
entry of — " Ane gown of fresit clayth of gold, with
pasment of perle of gold smyth wark lynit with cramasy
sating."" And we have other proofs,^ in addition to the
testimony of Sir Walter Scott, as given in the Monasten/,^
that pasments of gold and silver as well as " purle," were
already in daily use during King James's rei-gn.

' " 1539. Ane uther gowne of pur- ley, 1511-12, there is mention of

ponr satyne with ane braid pasment dresses " passamente d'or."

of gold and silver," etc. * Chap. X., note.

" Twa Spanye cloikis of black freis 1537. .Tames Y. and Lord Somer-

with ane braid pasment of gold and \il\e at Holyrood : — " Where are all

silver." \our men and attendants, my Lord ? "

" 1542. Three peces of braid pas- " Please, your Majesty, they are

mentes of gold and silver." — Inven- here" — pointing to the lace which was

torics of the Boijal Wardrobe and on his son and two pages' dress. The

Jeivel House. 1488-1606. l^'^dinb. King laughed heartily and surveyed

1815. the tinery, and bade hhn "Away with

~ 1542. Same Inv. it all, and let him have his stout band

In the Inv. of tlie Earl of Hunt- of spears again.

SCOTLAND 419

Indeed, as early as 1575 the General Assembly of
Scotland found necessary, as did the bishops in Denmark, to
express its mind as to the style of dress befitting the clergy,
and prohibit "all begares (gardes) of velvet on gown, hose,
or coat, all superfluous cut-out work, all sewing on of
pasments and laces."

A parchment, too, found in the cabinet of the Countess of
Mar,^ entitled " The Passement Bond," signed by the Duke of
Lennox and other nobles, by which they engaged themselves
to leave off wearing " passement," as a matter of expense and
superfluity, shows that luxury in dress had early found its
way into Scotland.

Notwithstandino- these entries, it was not until the
arrival of Mary Stuart in her northern dominions that lace
in all its varieties appears. The inventory of the Queen's
effects in 1567, printed by the Bannatyne Club, gives entries
of passements, guimpeure d'or, and guimpeure d'argent,*^ with
which her " rol)es de satin blanc et jaune " were '* bordees "
and " chamarces." Each style of embroidery and lace is
designated by its special name. There is the " natte d'argent
faite par entrelatz, passement d'or et d'argent fait a jour,
chamarre de bisette," ' etc.

The word dentelle, as told elsewhere,^ occurs but once.

We have also alluded to the will made by the Queen
previous to the birth of James VL, and her bequest of her
" ouvrages masches." ^ A relic of this expression is yet found
in the word '' mawsch," or " masch," as the pinking of silk and
muslin is termed in Scotland, an advertisement of which

^ Croft's Exccrptd Aiifujiia. cordons d'or et d'argent, et bordee

The Countess of Mar, daughter of d'un passement de nieme.
the first Duke of Lennox and grand- " Une robe vehiat cramoisi bandee

daughter by her mother's side to Marie de broderie de guimpeure d'argent.

Touchet. She was daughter-in-law to " Une robe de satin blanc chamarree

the preceptress of James VI., and in de broderie faite de guimpeure d'or.

1593 had the honour, at the baptism '• Id. de satin jaune toute couverte

of Prince Henry, of lifting the child de broderye gumpeure, etc.

from his bed and delivering him to "Robe de weloux noyr semea de

the Duke of Lennox. A portrait of geynpevu-s d'or." — Inv. of Lillehourg.

this lady, in the high Elizabethan 1561.

ruff, and with a " forepart " and tucker "^ " Chamarree de bisette."— Znv. of

of exquisite raised Venice point, hung LiUehourg. 1561.

(circ. 1870) in the drawing-room of the " Ane rabbat of wolvin thread witli

late Miss Katherine Sinclair. passmentet with silver."

•^ '• Une robe de velours vert cou- * Chap. III.

verte de Broderies, gimpeures, et '' See Lacis, Chap. II.

2 E 2

420 HISTORY OF LACE

accomplishment " clone here " was seen a few years ago in
the shop-windows of the old town of Edinhnrgh.

In the Palace of Holyrood is still exhibited a small basket
lined with blue silk, and trimmed with a bone lace of rudely-
spun flax, run on with a ribbon of the same colour, recorded
to be an offering sent l)y Queen Elizabeth to her cousin
previous to the birth of her godchild. Antiquaries assert
the story to be a fable. Whether the lace V)e of the time or
not, as a work of art it is of no credit to any country.

How Queen Mary, in her youth, was instructed in the
arts of point coupe and lacis, according to the works of
Vinciolo, has l)een already related.^" Of her talents as a
needlewoman there is ample proof in the numerous beds,
screens, etc., treasured as relics in the houses of the nobles
where she was held captive. She knitted head-dresses of
gold " reseille," with cuffs and collars ^^ en suite,^^ to say
nothing of nightcaps, and sent them as presents to
Elizabeth, ^^ all of which, we are told, the Queen received
most graciously. Mary, in her early portraits as Dauphine
of France, wears no thread lace. Much fine gold embroidered
with passament enriches her dresses ; her sleeves are of gold
rezeuil. In those of a later date, like that taken when in
Lochleven Castle, her veil is bordered with a narrow bone
lace — as yet a rarity —may be one of the same noted in the
Inventory of 1578, as " Fyve litell vaills of wovin rasour
(reseau) of threde, ane meekle twa of thame, passmentit with
perle and black silk." ^*

When the Queen of Scots ascended the scaffold " she wore

'» See Needlework. Chap. I. for I judse there will be some such"

" Her lace ruffs Mary appears to matter discovered, which was the cause

have had from France,' as we may why I did the more willingly grant the

infer from a letter written by Walsing- passport."

ham, at Paris, to Burleigh.' when the '- In 1575.

Queen was captive at Slieffield Castle, '^ Tliere was some demur about

1578 : " I have of late granted a pass- receiving the nightcaps, for Elizabeth

]iort to one that conveyeth a box of declared "that great commotions had

linen to the Queen of Scots, who taken place in the Privy Council

leaveth not this town for three or four because slie had accepted the gifts of

days. I think your Lordship shall the Queen of Scots. They therefore

see somewhat written on some of the remained for some time in the hands

linen contained in the same, that shall of La Mothe, the ambassador, but

be worth the reading. Her Majesty, were finally accepted."— Miss Strick-

Under colour of seeing the fashion of land.

the rujfes, may cause the several " " Liventaire of our Soveraine Lord

parcels of the linen to be held to the and his dearest moder. 1578."— Record

fire, whereby the writing may appear ; Office, Edinburgh.

SCOTLAND 421

■on lier head," writes Burleigh's reporter, " a dressing of hxwn
edged with bone lace," and " a vest of lawn fastened to her
■caul," edged with the same material. This lace-edged veil
was long preserved as a relic in the exiled Stuart family,
until Cardinal York bequeathed it to Sir John Cox Hippisley.
Miss Pigott^^ describes it of "transparent zephyr gauze,
with a light check or plaid pattern interwoven with gold ;
the form as that of a long scarf." ^'^ Sir John, when
exhibiting the veil at Baden, had the indiscretion to throw
it over the Queen of Bavaria's head. The (^ueen shuddered
at the omen, threw off the veil, and retired precipitately
from the apartment, evidently in great alarm.

" Cuttit out werk," collars of " hollie crisp," quaifts of
woven thread,^' cornettes of layn (linen) sewit with cuttit
out werk of gold, wovin collars of threde, follow in quick
^succession. The cuttit out werk is mostlv wrouoht in gold.
Sliver, cramoisi, or black silk/^ The Queen's " to well claiths "
are adorned in similar manner. ^^

The Chartley Inventory of 1568^° is rich in works of
point coupe and rezeuil, in which are portrayed with the
needle figures of birds, fishes, beasts, and flowers, " couppes
<:;hascune en son carre." The Queen exercised much ingenuity
in her labours, varying the pattern according to her taste.
In the list are noted fifty- two specimens of flowers designed
ixfter nature, "tire's au naturel ; " 124 birds; as well as
sixteen sorts of four-footed beasts, " entre lesquelles y ha un
lyon assailant un sanglier ; " with fifty-two fishes, all of

^^ Records of Life, by Miss H. '^ " Ane rabbat of cuttit out werk

Pigott. 1839. and gold and cramoisie silk with the

^'^ Similar to the New Year's Gift of handis (cuffs) thereof,

the Baroness Aletti to Queen Eliza- " Ane rabbat of cuttit out werk of

beth : — gold and black silk.

" A veil of lawn cutwork flourished " Ane rabbat of cuttit out werk with

with silver and divers colours." — purpura silk with the handis of the

Nichols' Boy at Progresses. same." — Ibicl.

'" " Twa quaiffs ane of layn and '^ '' Twa towell claiths of holane

uther of woving thread. claith sewitt with cuttit out werk and

" Ane quaiff of layn with twa cor- gold.

nettes sewitt with cuttit out werk of " Four napkinnes of holane claith

gold and silver. and cammaraye sewitt with cuttit out

" Twa pair of cornettes of layn werk of gold and silver and divers

sewitt with cuttit out werk of gold. " cullours of silk." — Ihid.

" Ane wovin collar of thread passe- -' Published by Prince Labanoff.

mentit with incarnit and blew silk and " Eecueil de Lettres de Marie Stuart."

silver." — Inv. o/ 1,578. T. vii., p. 247.

422 HISTORY OF LACE

divers sorts — giving good proofs of the poor prisoner's,
industry. As to the designs after nature, with all respect to
the memory of Queen Mary, the lions, cocks, and fishes of
the sixteenth century which have come under our notice,
require a student of mediaeval needlework rather than a
naturalist, to pronounce upon their identity.

James VI. of Scotland, reared in a hotbed of Calvinism,
liad not the means, even if he had the inclination, to indulge
in much luxury in dress. Certain necessary entries of braid
pasmentis of gold, gold clinquant, braid pasmentis, cramoisi,
for the ornamenting of clokkis, coittis, l)reikis, and roobes of
the King, with " Twa unce and ane half pasmentis of gold and
silver to werk the headis of the fokkis," made up the amount
of expense sanctioned for the royal wedding ; -^ while 34 ells
braid pasmentis of gold to trim a robe for " his Majesties
darrest bedfellow the Queue for her coronation,""^ gives but
a poor idea of the luxury of the Scottish court.

Various enactments'^ were passed during the reign of
James VI. against " unnecessary sumptuousness in men's
apparel," by which no one except noblemen, lords of session.
prelates, etc., were allowed to wear silver or gold lace.
Provosts were permitted to wear silk, but no lace pearlin or
pasmenterie, only a " watling silk lace " on the seams. "^ No
one but the above same privileged persons were to have
pearlin on their ruffles, sarkis, napkins, and sokkis, and that
pearlin to be made in the kingdom of Scotland. This Act,
dated 1621, is the first mention we have found of
Scottish-made lace.

James VI. having granted to one James Bannatyne of
Leith a patent for the " importing of foraine pearlin" into
the country, in consequence of the great complaint of the
embroiderers in 1G39, this patent is rescinded, and the King
forbids the entry of all " foraine pearlin."

The word lace does not exist in the Scotch lano-uaoe.
" Pearlin "is the term used in old documents, defined in the

2' Marriage Expnisrs of James VI., 23 j^-^ iggj^ jgyy^ .^„j 1^21.

1589. Published by the BannatAne -^ The same pvi\ilege was extemleil

Club. ' to their wives, their eldest sons \\ith

^'^ Accounts of file Great CJiamher- their wives, and their eldest daughters,.

lain of SeotJand. ir)90. -Bannatvne biit not to tlie vounger children.
Club. ■

SCOTLAND 425

dictionaries to ]>e " a species of lace made with thread." In
the old Scotch songs it frequently occurs : — '^'

"Then round the ring she dealt them ane by ane,
Clean in her pearlin keck, and gown alane."

— i?oss H('J(>)i(ii-ii.

Again —

We maun hae pearlins and mabbies and cocks.
And some other things that ladies call smocks.'

As the latter articles may appear more familiar to the
world in general than " kecks," and '" mabbies," and " cocks,"
we may as well explain a " pearlin keck " to signify a linen
cap with a lace border ; a ''mabbie," a mob ; a " cock," or
cock-up, no more eccentric head-dress than the lofty
fontanges or commode of the eighteenth century.

Again, in lioh Bof/ we have the term " pearlin : "
wdien Bailie Nicol Jarvie piteously pleads to his kinswoman,.
Helen Macgregor. he says —

" I hae been serviceable to Kob before no\\-, forbye a set of pearlins I
sent yoursell when you were gaun to be married."

The recollection of these delicate attentions, however, has
little effect on the Highland chieftainess, who threatens to
have him chopped up, if ill l)efalls her lord, into as many
square pieces as compose the ]Macgregor tartan, or throw him
neck and heels into the Hiohland loch.

Montrose, we read, sent his lace ruffles to be starched
a)id dressed before they were sewn on the eml)roidered
sark he had made only to w^ear at his execution. " Pearlin "
was provided for him which cost £10 an ell.

The close-fitting velvet cap, enriched with lace, appears
in the seventeenth century to have been adopted by the
lawyers of the Scotch courts. An example may be seen in
the portrait of Sir Thomas Hope, Lord Advocate of
Scotland, who died in 1646, which hano-s in the Hall of the
Advocates of Edinburgh. Another (Fig. ,160) appears in the
engraving of Sir Alexander Gi])son, Bart., Lord Durie, one of
the Lords of Session, who died two years previously.

In 1672, when lace — "point lace made of thread" —

^^ 163.S. Inthe Account of Exju-tises "2 ells of Perling at 30s., the uther

for the young Lord ofLornr, we find : — at 3i)s. 4r/.. ^3 3s. 4r?." — Innes' SJxcfrIic)>

"2 ells Cambridg' at 8s. tlie ell for of Early Scotch History.
ruffles, 16s.

424

HISTORY OF LACE

came under the ban of the Covenanters, with a penalty of
" 500 merks toties (juoties," the wearing such vanities on
liveries is strictly forbidden ; servants, however, are allowed
to wear out their masters' and mistresses' old clothes.

In 1674, his Majesty, understanding that the manufacture
of '' pearlin and whyt lace made of thread (whereby many
people gain their livelihood) was thereby much prejudiced
and impaired, declares that from henceforth it shall Ije free to
i\\\ and every person within this kingdom to wear ' whyt

Fio. 160.

v« >» \»

Sir Alexaniikr (Iibson, Kakt. (Lord Duiie, Loul of Session. + 1C44.)

lace,' as well as the privileged persons above mentioned."
Finding these exclusions of little or no avail, in January,
1685, the Act remits the wearing of lace, both native and
foreign, to all folks living.

The dead now came under the scrutiny of the Scotch
Parliament, who order all lace or poynt, gold or silver, to
be disused at interments, under the penalty of 300 pounds
Scots.=^«

From the united effects of poverty. Covenanters and

^'' .T;iniiiir\-, 16Sfi.

SCOTLAND

425

leo-islatioii, after the departure of the court for England,
luxury, small tliough it was, declined in Edinburgh.

It was not till 1680, when James II., as Duke of York,
accompanied by Mary of Modeua and his " duteous " daughter
Anne, visited the Scotch capital, that anything like gaiety or
dress can be said to have surprised the strait-laced population.

Dryden, sneering at the barbarism of the Scotch capital,
writes, in the prologue to a play delivered at Oxford,
referring to a portion of the troop that accompanied the
court to Scotland —

"Laced linen there would be a dangerous thing;
It might perhaps a new rebellion bring —
The Scot wlio wore it would be chosen king."

The Highlander, however, when in full dress, did not
disdain to adopt the falling band and ruffles of guipure or
Elanders lace.

The advertisements and inventories of the first years of
the eighteenth century give us little reason to imagine any
change had been effected in the homely habits of the people.

At the marriage of a daughter of Thomas Smythe, of
Methuen, in 1701, to Sir Thomas Moncrieffe, the bride had
a head-suit and ruffles of cut-work which cost nearly six
pounds ten shillings."^ Few and scanty advertisements of
I'oups of " white thread lace ' appear in the journals of
the day."*

And in such a state matters continued till the Jacobites,

-" " In 1701, when Mistress Margaret,
(laughter of the Baron of I'Qlravock.
naarried, ' flounced inuslin and lace for
combing cloths,' appear in her outfit."
— Innes' Sketches.

^* In a pamphlet published 1702,
entitled, An Acconipt carried hetireeii
E7igland and Scotland, alluding to
the encouragement of the yarn trade,
the author says : " This great improve-
ment can be attested by the industry
of many young gentlewomen that have
little or no portion, by spinning one
poimd of fine lint, and then breaking
it into fine fiax and wliitening it. One
gentlewoman told me herself that, bj-
making an ounce or two of it into fine
bone lace, it was worth, or she got.
twenty pounds Scots for tliat part of

it ; and might, after same manner,
tire or eight pounds sterling out of a
pound of lint, that cost her not one
shilling sterling. Now if a law were
made not to import any muslin (her
Grace the Duchess of Hamilton still
wears our finest Scots muslin as a
pattern to others — she who may wear
the finest apparel) and Holland lace,
it would induce and stir up many of
all ranks to wear more fine ' Scots
lace,' which would encourage and give
bread to many young gentlewomen
and help their fortunes." Then, among
the products of Scotland by which " we
may balance any nation," the saine
writer mentions " our white thread,
and making laces."

" On Tuesday, the 16tli inst., will

426

HIS TORY OF LACE

going and coming from St. Germains, introduced French
fashions and luxuries as yet unheard of in the then aristo-
cratic Canongate.

It sounds strange to a traveller, as he wanders among
these now deserted closes of Edinburgh, to read of the gay
doings and of the grand people who, in the last century,
dwelt within these poor-looking abodes. A difficult matter
it must have been to the Jacobite beauties, whose hoop (from
1725-8) measured nine yards in circumference, to mount the
narrow wdndino- staircases of their dwellinos • and this verv
difficulty gave rise to a luxury of underclothing almost
unknown in England or elsewhere. Every lady wore a
petticoat trimmed with the richest point lace. Nor was it
only the jupe that was lace-trimmed. Besides

" Twa lappets at her head, that tlauuted gallantlie,"

ladies extended the luxury to finely-lacecl garters.

In 1720 the bubble C^ompany " for the trading in Flanders
laces " appears advertised in the Scotch papers in large and
attractive letters. We strongly doubt, however, it having
gained any shareholders among the prudent population of
Edinburgh.

The prohibition of lace made in the dominions of the
French king -^ was a boon to the Jacobites, and many a lady,
and gentleman too, became wondrous loyal to the exiled
family, bribed by a packet from St. Germains. In the first
year of George II., says the Gaztftr^'^ a parcel of rich lace
was secretly brought to the Duke of Devonshire, by a mistake
in the similarity of the title. On being opened, hidden
among the folds, was found a miniature portrait of the
Pretender, set round with large diamonds. The packet was
addressed to a noble lord high in office, one of the most
zealous converts to loyalty. ^^

begin the roup of se\eral sorts of mer-
chants' goods, in the first story of tlie
Tnrnpvke, above the head of Bells
Wynd^ from 9 to 12 and 2 till f).
'White thread lace.'" — Edinhvrgh
Con rant. 1706.

-•' See Chap. XXV., Qneen Anne.

=*" Ediiilvrgli Advrriisrr. 1764.

•" 1745. The following description
of T>ady Lovat, wife of the rebel

Siiiioi), is a charming picture of a
Sc®tcli gentlewoman of the last cen-
tury : —

" When at liome lier dress ^\■as a red
silk gown with ruffled cuft's and sleeves
puckered like a man's shirt, a fly cap
of lace encircling her head, with a mol)
cap laid across it. falling down on the
cheeks ; her liair dressed and powdered ;
a lace lumdkerchief round the neck

SCOTLAND 427

Smuairlino- was imiversal in Scotland in the rei2;ns of
(leorge I. and George II., for the people, unaccustomed to
imposts, and regarding them as an unjust aggression upon
their ancient liberties, made no scruple to elude the customs
whenever it was possible so to do.

It was smuojorlino- that orioinated the Porteous riots of
1736 ; and in his description of the excited mob, Sir Walter
Scott makes Miss Grizel Dalmahoy exclaim — '' They have
ta'en awa' our Parliament. They hae oppressed our trade.
Our gentles will hardly allow that a Scots needle can sew
ruffles on a sark or lace on an owerlav."^-

and bosom (termed by the Scotch a are invariably- drawn from memory, in
Brfoiig) — a white apron edged with his Ch ran ides of tJic C a nougat e, de-
lace .... Anj' one who saw her scribes the dressing-room * of Mrs.
sitting on her chair, so neat, fresh, and Bethnne Balliol as exhibiting a superb
clean, would have taken her for a mirror framed in siher filigree -work,
queen in wax-work placed in a glass a beautiful toilet, the cover of which
case," — Heart of MidlotUlan,. was of Flanders lace.
Sir Walter Scott, whose descriptions ^- Heart of Midlothian.

428 HISTORY OF LACE

CHAPTER XXXIV.

LACE MANUFACTURES OF SCOTLAND.

'• Sae put on your pearlins, Clarion.
And kirtle o' the cramasie." — Scottish Song.

During" the treasonable year of 1745 Scotland was far too
occupied with her risings and executions to give much atten-
tion to her national industry. Up to that time considerable
jDains had been taken to improve the spinning of fine thread,
prizes had been awarded, and the art taught in schools and
•other charitable institutions.

It was not till the middle of the eighteenth century that
Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, known to Society by tradition
as " one of the beautiful Miss Gunnings," seeing lace-makers
a,t work when travelling on the Continent, thought employ-
ment might be given to the women of her own country by
introducing the art into Scotland. The Duchess therefore
brought over women from France, and caused them to teach
the girls in her schools how to make " bunt lace," as it was
termed.

Sir John Sinclair thus notices the fabric : — " A small
manufacture of thread lace has lono- been carried on here.
At an early period it was the occupation of a good many
"Women, but, from the fluctuation of fashion, it has fallen
greatly into disuse. Fashion again revived the demand, and
the late Duchess of Hamilton, afterwards of Argyle, found
still some lace-workers remaining, to whom her own demand,
and that of those who followed her example, gave employ-
ment. To these her Clrace added twelve orphan girls, who
,were clothed, maintained, and taught at her expense. Others
learned the art, and wliile the demand lasted, the manufacture
employed a good many hands. Though the number is again
diminished, there are still above fortv at tlie business, who

LACE MANUFACTURES OF SCOTLAND 429

make handsome laces of different patterns, besides those who
work occasionally for themselves or their friends. Perhaps,
under the patronage of the present respectable duchess, the
manufacture of Hamilton lace may again become as flourishing
as ever." ^

" The Duchess of Hamilton," says the Edinburgh Amuse-
ment of 1752, " has ordered a home to be set up in Hamilton
for the reception of twelve poor girls and a mistress. The
girls are to be taken in at the age of seven, clothed, fed,
taught to spin, make lace, etc., and dismissed at fourteen."

The work of the fair Duchess throve, for, in 1754, we
read how — " The Duchess of Hamilton has now the pleasure
■to see the good effects of her charity. Her Grace's small
orphan family have, by spinning, gained a sum of money,
and lately presented the Duke and Duchess with a douljle
piece of Holland, and some suits of exceeding fine lace rufHes,
of their own manufacture, which their Graces did them the
honour to wear on the Duke's birthday, July 14, and which
vied with anything worn on the occasion, though there was
a splendid company present. The yarn of w^hich the ruffles
were made weighed only ten drops each hank." '

It was probably owing to the influence of this impulsive
Irishwoman that, in the year 1754, was founded The Select
Society of Edinburgh for encouraging the arts and manu-
factures of Scotland, headed by the Duke of Hamilton.
This society was contemporary with the Anti-Gallican in
England and the Dublin Society, though we believe, in this
case, Dublin can claim precedence over the capital of North
Britain.

At a meeting of the society it was moved that "The
annual importation of worked ruffles and of bone lace and
edging into this country is considerate. By proper
encouragement we might be supplied at home with these
ornaments. It was therefore resolved —

" That a premium l)e assigned to all superior merit in
such work ; such a one as may be a mark of respect to
women of fashion, and may also be of some solid ad-
vantage to those whose laudable industrv contributes to
their own support.

1 StnflHtical Account of Scotland. \o\. ii.. 198.
Sir .Tolm Sinclaiv. Edinbuvgh, 1792. - Edinhurgh Amnsoitcnt.

430 ^ HISTORY OF LACE

" For the Ijest imitation of Dresden work, or a pair of
men's ruffles, a prize of £5 5.y.

"For the best bone lace, not under twenty yards, £5 5.y.
The gainers of these two best articles may have the money
or a gold medal, at their option."

As may be supposed, the newly-founded fabric of the
Duchess was not passed over by a society of which the Duke
himself was the patron. In the year 1757 we have among
the prizes adjudged one of two guineas to Anne Henderson,
of Hamilton, " for the whitest and best and finest lace,
commonly called Hamilton lace, not under two yards " A
prize had already been offered in 1755,^ but, as stated the
following year, " no lace was given in.' Prizes continued
in 1758 and 1759 to be given for the produce of Hamilton :
in the last year to the value of four guineas.'*

The early death of the Duke of Hamilton, and the second
marriage of the Duchess, did not in any way impede the
progress of Hamilton lace, for, as late as 1778, we read in
Locke's Essai/s or the Scotch Commerce — " The lace manu-
factory, under the patronage of the amiable Duchess of
Hamilton (now Argyle), goes on with success and spirit."

AVith respect to the quality of this Hamilton lace, laud-
able as were the eftbrts of the Duchess, she succeeded in
producing but a very coarse fabric. The specimens which
have come under our notice are edgings of the commonest
description, of a coarse thread, always of the lozenge pattern
(Fig. 161) ; being strong and firm, it was used for nightcaps,
never for dresses, and justified the description of a lady
who described it as of little account, and spoke of it as
"only Hamilton."

It appears that the Edinburgh Society died a natural
death about 1764, but, notwithstanding the untimely demise
of this patriotic club, a strong impetus had been given to the

3 1755. Premium ^2 offered. "For gold, silver, and even livery lace, eacli

the whitest, best, and finest lace, met with its due reward,

commonly called Hamilton lace, and 1758. For imitation of lace done

of the best pattern, not under two on catgut, for ruffles, a gold medal to

■yards in length and not under three Miss Anne Cant, Edinburgh,

inches in breadth." For a piece of livery lace done to

■* The Edinburgh Society did not perfection to .T. ]3owie, 2 guineas,

confine their rewards to " Hamilton To AV. Bowie for a piece of gold

lace ; imitation of Dresden, catgut lace, and silver lace, 2 guineas.

LACE MANUFACTURES OF SCOTLAND 431

lace-makers of Scotland.'' Lace-makino- was introduced into
the schools, and, what was better far, many daughters of the
smaller gentry and scions of noble Jacobite houses, ruined l)y
the catastrophe of 1745, either added to their incomes or
supported themselves wholly by the making of the finer
points. This custom seems to have been general, and, in
alluding to it, Mrs. Calderwood speaks of the " helplessness "
of the English women in comparison to the Scotch.

In the journals of the day we have constant advertise-
ments, informing the public of the advantages to be gained
by the useful arts imparted to their offspring in their

Fig. 161.

Hamilton.

■establishments, inserted by ladies of gentle Ijlood— for the
Scotchwomen of the last century no more disdained to
employ themselves in the training of youth than does now
a French dame de qualit(' to place herself at the head of the
Sacre-Coeur, or some other convent devoted to educational
purposes.''

Tlie entry of all foreign laces was excluded by law. The

'•' 1769. Pennant, in his To ?u-, men-
tions among the manufactures of
Scotland tlirearl laces at Leith, Hamil-
ton and Dalkeith.

^ In 1762, Dec. 9, a schoolmistress
in Dundee, among thirty-one accom-
plislnnents in which she professes to
instruct her pupils, such as " waxwork,
boning fowls without cutting the back,"
etc., enumerates, No. 21, " True point
or tape lace," as well as '"washing
Flanders lace and point."

Again, in 1764, Mr. and :\lrs. :vritchell

advertise in their boarding-school
" lacework and the washing of blonde
laces ; the pupils' own laces washed
and got up at horue. Terms £'24. "

At Miss Glen's boarding-school in
the Trunk Close, 1768, young ladies
are taught " white and coloured seam
and washing of lace " — gratis.

These lady-teachers were not ap-
pointed in Scotland without giving
due proofs of tlieir capacity. In 1758
tlie magistrates and council of Aber-
deen, being unanimous as to the " strict

432

HISTORY OF LACE

Scotch nation of the Hanoverian persuasion were wrath
at the frivolity of the Jacohite party. " £400,000 have
been sent out of the country during the last year," writes
the Edinhurgh Advertiser of 1764, "to support our exiled
countrymen in France, where they learn nothing but folly
and extravagance." English laces were not included in the
prohibition. In 1763, that "neat shop near the Stinking-
Style, in the Lukenbooths," held by Mr. James Baillie^
advertises " Trollies, English laces, and pearl edgings." Four
year later, black silk lace and guipure are added to the stocky
" mennuet," and very cheap bone lace.'

Great efforts, and .with success, were made for the
improvement of the thread manufacture, for the purchase
of which article at Lille £200,000 were annually sent from
Scotland to France. Badl}'-spun yarn was seized and
burned by the stamp master ; of this we have frequent
mention.^

Peuchet, speaking of Scotland, says : — " II s'est forme-
pres d'Edinbourg une manufacture de fil de dentelle. On
pretend que le fil de cette manufacture sert a faire des den-
telles qui non-seulement egalent en beaute celles qui sont
fabriquees avec le fil de l^'tranger, mais encore les surpassent
en duree. Get avantage serait d'autant plus grand que
I'importation de ce fil de I'etranger occasionne aux habitans
de ce royaume une perte annuelle de £100,000." '^

Whether about the year 1775 any change had taken place
in the legislation of the customs of Scotland, and they liad
become regulated by English law, we cannot say, but
suddenly constant advertisements of Brussels lace and fine
point appear in the Gazette, and this at the -very time Loch

morality, Dresden -work, modesty, and
catgut lace-making," etc., of Miss
Betsey Forbes, elected her to the
office of schoolmistress of the cit3'.

In Tlic Cottagers of Glenburnie
a lady, Mrs. Mason, tells a long story
of the young laird having torn a suit
of lace she was busied in getting up.

"^ Edinbtirgh Advertise]-.

^ 1774. " Several punds of badly-
spun yarn -was burnt by the stamp
master in Montrose." This announce-
ment constantly occurs.

'•' About this period a Mr. Brother-

ton, of Leith, seems to have made a
discovery which was but a prelude to
the bobbin net. It is thus described
in the Wcclcli/ Magazine of 1772: —
" A new in\ention has lately been
discovered by Mr. Brotherton, in Leith,
for working black silk lace or white
thread lace on a loom, to imitate any
pattern whatever, and the lace done
in this way looks fully as well as if
sewed, and comes much cheaper. It
is done any breadth, from three inches
to three-quarters of a yard wide."

LACE MANUFACTURES OF SCOTLAND 433

was doing his ])est to stir up once more Scotch patriotism
with reix^arcl to manufactures. ^"^

The Scotch Foresters set the example at their meeting in
1766, and then — we hear nothing more on the matter.

The Wceldi/ Magazine of 1776 strongly recommends the
art of lace-making as one calculated to Hourish in Scotland,
youno- orirls heoinnino; to learn at eio^ht vears of aafe, addino- :
'• The directors of the hospital of Glasgow have already sent
twentv-three o-irls to be tauo-ht bv Madame Puteau/^ a native
of Lisle, now residing at Renfrew ; you will find the lace of
Renfrew cheaper, as good and as neat as those imported from
Brussels, Lisle, and Antwerp.' David Loch also mentions
the success of the young Glasgow lace-makers, who made
lace, he says, from 10c/. to 4.9. iSd. per yard. He adds : " It
is a pleasure to see them at work. I saw them ten days
ago." He recommends the managers of the Workhouse of
the Canongate to adopt the same plan : adding, they need
not send to Glasgow for teachers, as there are plenty at the
Orphan Hospital at Edinburgh capable of undertaking the
office. Of the lace fabricated at Glaso^ow we know nothino-
save from an advertisement in the Caledonian Meixury of
1778, where one William Smith, "Lace-maker," at the
Greenhead. Glasgow, informs the public he has for some
years '" made and bleached candle wicks." Anderson and
Loch did not agree on the subject of lace-making, the
former considerino- it an unstable fabric, too easilv affected
by the caprices of fashion. ^^

'" In 1775 Dallas, Barclay & Co., has her husband in the making of fine

advertise a selling off" of fine point, thread. This he manufactures of such

Brussels thread, blond, and black laces a fineness as to be valued at =£10 the

of all kinds, silver double edged lace, pound weight." — Essays on the Trade,

etc. — EcJinbtd-gJi Advertiser. Coimnerce, Manufactures, Fisheries,

1775. "Black blonde and thread etc., of Scotland. David Loch. 1778.

laces, catguts of all sorts, just arrived '■' " If you look at the wardrobes

from the India House in London in of your grandmother, you will perceive

the Canongate." — Caledonian Mer- what revolutions have happened in

curij. taste of mankind for laces and other

" Fashions for January ; dresses fineries of that sort. How many suits

trimmed with Brussels point or ]\lig- of this kind do you meet with that

nonette." — Ibid. Same year. cost amazing sums, which are now,

^' " Madame Puteau carries on a and have long since been, entirely

lace manufacture after the manner of useless. In our own day did we not

Mechlin and Brussels. She had lately see that in one year Brussels laces

twenty-two apprentices from the Glas- are most in fashion and purchased at

gow Hospital Mrs. Puteau any price, while the next perhaps they

has as much merit in this branch as are entirelv laid aside, and French

2 F

434 HISTORY Oh LACE

Be that as it may, the manufacture of thread for lace
alone employed five hundred machines, each machine occupy-
ing thirty-six persons : the value of the thread produced
annually £175,000. Loch adds, that in consequence of the
cheapness of provisions, Scotland, as a country, is l)etter
adapted to lace-making than England. In consequence of
Loch's remarks, his Majesty's . Board of Trustees for the
Fisheries and Manufactures, after asking a number of ques-
tions, determined to give proper encouragement and have
mistresses for teaching the different kinds of lace made in
England and France, and oblige them to take girls of the
poorer class, some from the hospitals, and the mistress for
five years to have the benefit of their work. A girl might
earn from lOf/. to \s. per day. They gave a salary to an
experienced person from Lisle for the purpose of teaching
the making of thread ; his wife to instruct in lace-making.
With the records of 1788 end all mention of lace-making in
vScotland.^'

or other thread laces, or fine sewings, ^^ Lace-making at Hamilton is now

the names of which I know not, a thing of the past, replaced in the

highly prized."- -06s«-?;aiio/(s o« the nineteenth century by a tambour net-

Nationial Industry of Scotland. An- work for veils, scarfs and Hounces.
derson. 1778.

435

CHAPTER XXXV.

IEEL.\XD.

•• The undoubted aptitude for lace -making of the women of Iieland."

— Juror's Bejiort. Int':rnatiottaI Exhibition. 1S62.

" It is peculiai-ly interesting to note the various foreign influences which have
done their pai-t in the creation of Irish lace. Italian and Flemish. Greek,
French and English, all have lent their aid."

—A. Lovd. The Queen, Feb. 6th. 1897.

Little is known of the earlv state of manufactures in
Ireland, save that the art of needlework was held in hiofh
estimation.

By the siimptuarv laws of King Mosha Xuadhad, killed
at the Battle of Maylean, a.d. 192, we learn that the value
of a queens raiment, should she brinsr a suitable dowrv.
ought to amount to the cost of six cows : but of what the
said raiment consisted history is dark.

The same record, however, informs us that the price of
a mantle, wrought with the needle, shoidd be •'' a voung
Itullock or steer." ^ This hoode«l mantle is described by
Giraldus C'ambrensis as composed of ^ arious pieces of cloth,
striped, and worked in sijuares l>y the needle ; maybe a
species of cut-work.

Morjjan. who wrote in 158S, declares the saffron-tinted
shirts of the Irish to contain from twenty to thirty ells of
linen. Xo wonder they are described —

•• With pleates on pleates they pleated are.
As thick as pleates may lie." -

It was in such guise the Irish appeared at court before
<^>ueen Elizabeth," and from them the yellow starch of Mrs.
Turner mav have derived its oricrin. The Irish, however,

Essay on the Dress of the Early Derricke. 1578.
Irish. .J. C. Walker. 178S. ^ In 1562. See Camden. Hist.

- The Image of Irelande, by Jhon Eliz.

o p 2

436 HISTORY OF LACE

produced the dye not from saffron, 1 >iit from a lichen gathered
on the rocks. Be that as it may. the Government prohibited
its use, and the shirts were reduced in (|uantity to six ells,*
for the making of which " new-fangled pair of Gally-cushes,"
i.e., English shirts, as we find l)y the Corporation Book of
Kilkenny (1537), eighteenpence was charged if done with
silk or cut- work. Ninepence extra was charged for every
ounce of silk worked in.

An Irish smock wrought with silk and gold was con-
sidered an o))ject worthy of a king's wardrobe, as the
inventory of King Edward IV. ^' attests : — " Item, one Irishe
smocke wrouo;ht with oold and silke."

The Rebellion at an end, a friendly intercourse, as
regards fashion, was kept up between the English and the
Irish. The ruff of geometric design, falling band, and cravat
of Elanders lace, all appeared in due succession. Tlie Irish,
always lovers of pomp and show, early used lace at the
interments of the great, as appears from an anecdote related
in a letter of Mr. O'Halloran : — '' The late Lord Glandore
told me," he writes, " that when a boy, under a spacious
tomb in the ruined monastery at his seat, Ardfert Al)bey
(Co. Kerry), he perceived something white. He drew it
forth, and it proved to be a shroud of Flanders lace, the
covering of some person long deceased."

In the beginning of the eighteenth century a patriotic
feeling arose among the Irish, who joined hand in hand to
encourage the productions of their own country. Swift was
hmong the first to support the movement, and in a prologue
he composed, in 1721, to a play acted for the benefit of the
Irish weavers, he says : —

" Since waiting- women, like exacting jailes,
Hold up the prices of their old brocades.
We'll dress in manufactures made at home."

Shortly afterwards, at a meeting, he proposed the
following resolution : —

" That the ladies wear Irish manufactures. There is

■» Henry VIII. 1537. Against Irish more than seven yards of linen in their

fashions. Not " to weare any sliirt, shirts or smocks.

smock, kerchor, bendel, neckerchour. ^' 4 Edw. 1\., Harl MSS. No. 1419.

mocket, or linen cappe colored or h.-fj. 494.
dyed with saffron," and not to use

Plate XC.

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rjl

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-73

To /ace page 436.

■ IRELAyD 437

brought aiiimally into this kingdom near £1)0,000 worth of
silk, whereof the greater part is manufactured ; £30,000
more is expended in muslin, holland, cambric, and calico.
What the price of lace amounts to is not easy to be collected
from the Custom-house book, being- a kind of goods tli^it,
taking up little room, is easily run ; ])ut, considering the
prodigious price of a woman's head-dress at ten, twelve,
twenty 23ouuds a yard, it must l)e very great."

Though a club of patriots had been formed in Ireland
since the beginning of the eighteenth century, called the
Dublin Society, they were not incorporated by charter until
the year 1749 ; hence many of their records are lost, and
we are unable to ascertain the precise period at which they
took upon themselves the encouragement of the bone lace
trade in Ireland. From their Transactions we learn that, so
early as the year 1743, the annual value of the bone lace
manufactured by the children of the workhouses of the city
of Dublin amounted to £164 14s'. lO^d.^ In consequence of
this success, the societv ordain that £34 2.s. 6(/. be given to
the Lady Arabella Denny to distribute among the children,
for their encouragement in making bone lace. Indeed, to
such a pitch were the productions of the needle already
brought in Ireland, that in the same year, 1743, the Dublin
Society gave Rol)ert Baker, of Rollin Street, Dublin, a prize
of £10 for his imitation of Brussels lace ruffles, which are
described as being most exquisite both in design and work-
manship. This Brussels lace of Irish growth was much
prized by the patriots.' From this time the Dublin Society
acted under their good genius, the Lady Arabella Denny.
The prizes they awarded were liberal, and success attended
their efforts.

In 1755 we find a prize of £2 15s. 6;:/. awarded to

•^ That lace i-uti's soon appeared in court of King James, 1614, and in y"

Ireland may be proved by the effigy 140th year of her age." Thither she

on a tomb still extant in the Abbe^' of went to endeavour to reverse the at-

Clonard, in which the Dillon arms tainder of her house,

are conspicuous, and also by paintings ' At the end of the last century

of the St. Lawrence family, cii-c. 1511, there lived at Creaden, near "Waterford,

X^reserved at Howth Castle. a lady of the name of Power, lineal

In the portrait at Muckruss of the descendant of the kings of ]\Iunster,

Countess of Desmond she is repre- and called the Queen of Creaden. She

sented with a lace collar. It was affected the dress of the ancient Irish,

taken, as stated at the back of the The border of her coif was of the finest

portrait, " as she appeared at the Irish-made Brussels lace ; lier jacket

438 HISTORY OF LACE

Susamia Hunt, of Fishamble Street, aged eleven, for a piece
of lace most extraordinarily well wrought. Miss Elinor
Brereton, of Eaheenduff, Queen's County, for the best
imitation of Brussels lace with the needle, £7. On the
same occasion Miss Martha M'( Adlow. of Cork Bridge, gains
the prize of £5 for " Dresden point." Miss Mary Gibson
has £2 for " Cheyne Lace," ^ of which we have scarcely heard
mention since the days of Queen Elizabeth.

Bone lace had never in any quantity Ijeen imported
from England, In 1703 but 2,333 yards, valuing only
£116 13.V., or l.S'. per yard, passed through the Irish Custom
House. Ireland, like the rest of the United Kingdom,
received her points either from France or Flanders.

The thread used in the Irish fabric was derived from
Hamburg, of which, in 1765, 2,573 11 )S. were imported.

It was in this same year the Irish club of young gentle-
men refused, by unanimous consent, to toast or' consider
beautiful anv ladv who should wear French lace or indulsfe
in foreign fopperies.

During the two succeeding years the lace of various
kinds exhibited by the workhouse children was greatly
approved of, and the thanks of the Society offered to the
Lady Arabella Denny."

Prizes oriven to the children to the amount of £34 2^. 6c/. :
the same for l)one lace made by other manufacturers ; and
one half the sum is also to be applied to " thread lace made
with knitting needles.'

A certain Mrs. Rachel Armstrong, of Inistioge (Co.
Kilkenny), is also awarded a prize of £11 7s. 6cl. "for
having caused a considerable quantity of bone lace to be
made Ijy girls whom she has instructed and employed in the
work." Among the premiums granted to " poor gentle-
women " we find : To Miss Jane Knox, for an apron of
elegant pattern and curiously wrought, £6 16.5'. 6d., and
silver medals to two ladies who, we supj^ose, are above

of the finest brown cloth trimmed witli '' " The freedom of the city of Dublm

gold lace ; her petticoat of the finest was also conferred upon her, presented

scarlet cloth bordered with a row of in due form in a siher box as a mark

broad gold lace ; all her dress was of of esteem for her great charities and

Irish manufacture. constant care of the Foundling chil-

** Gentleman's and Citiznis Alman- dren in the city workhouse." — Diihlin

acTc, by G. Watson. Dublin, 1757. Frccmaii's Journal, July 30th, 1765.

IRELAND 439

receiving money as a reward. The Society recommend that
the bone hxce made be exposed for sale in the warehouses of
the Irish Silk Company. In consequence of the emulation
excited among all classes, advertisements appear in the
Dublin News of ladies " very capal)le of instructing young
misses in fine lace-making, needlework point, broderie en
tambour, all in the genteelest taste."

Lady Arabella stood not alone as a patroness of the art.
In 1770 we read how "a considerable quantity of bone lace
of extraordinary fineness and elegance of pattern, made at
(^astlel)ar in the Co. of INIayo, being produced to the Society,
and it appearing that the manufacture of bone lace was
founded, and is at present supported there by Lady
Bingham, it was ordered that the sum of £25 be paid into
the hands of her ladyship, to be disposed of in such
encouragements as she shall judge will most effectually
conduce to the carrying on and improvement of the said
manufacture at Castlel)ar." The thanks of the Society are
at the same time voted to her ladyship. In consequence of
the large quantity fabricated, after the lapse of a few years
the Society, in 1773, found themselves compelled to put
some bounds to their liberality. No prizes are given for any
lace exhibited at less than \\s. \\d. the yard, and that only
to those not resident in the city of Dul)liu or within five
miles of it. Twenty per cent, will be given on the value of
the lace, provided it shall not exceed £500 in value. The
Society do not, however, withdraw the annual premium of
£30 for the products of the " famishing children " of the city
of Dublin workhouse.^" always directed by the indefatigable
Lady Arabella Denny. ^^ From that period we hear no more
of the Dublin Society and its prizes awarded for point,
Dresden, Brussels, or bone lace.

The manufacture of o-old and silver lace havino- met with
considerable success, the Irish Parliament, in 1778, gave it
their protection by passing an Act prohibiting the entry of
all such commodities either from England or foreign parts.

^" Gentleman s and Citizen's Alma n- nient of her j^atriotic exertions, offered

arl-, by Samuel Watson. 1773. a prize of 100 guineas for the best

'^ " The Lady Arabella Dennj' died nionody on her death. It was gained

1792, aged 85 ; she was second daughter by John Macaulay, Esq." — Z)?/6-

of Thomas Fitzniain-ice, Eavl of Kerry. lin Freeman's Journal, July 20th,

The Irish Academy, in acknowledg- 1766.

440 HISTORY OF LACE

And now for forty years and more history is silent on
the subject of lace-making by the " famishing children " of
the Emerald Isle.^'

No existing Irish lace industry is as old as the appli4n(''
lace which has been made in the neighbourhood of Carrick-
macross since the year 1820. The process of its manufacture
is simple enough, for the pattern is cut from cambdc and
applied to net with point stitches. ]\rany accounts have
been given of its origin. Some assign its genesis to India or
to Persia, while the Florentine historian, Vasari, claims the
artist Botticelli as its inventor. In any case, there can be no
doubt that vast quantities were produced in Italy from the
thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Such a specimen it
was that Mrs. Grey Porter, wife of the then rector of Dunna-
moyne, taught her servant, Anne Steadman, to copy, and
also spread the art amongst the peasant women in the
neighbourhood with such success that Miss Peid, of Pahans,
gathered together the vounfj; women round Culloville and
taught them to make lace on the same model. The girls
flocked in from the surrou]iding districts to learn the w^ork.
It was, however, only dependent on private orders, and
gradually suft'ered from over-production, and threatened to
die out, until it was revived after the great famine of 1846.
By Mr. Tristram Kennedy, the manager of the Bath estate,
and Captain Morant, the agent of the Shirley estate, a vacant
house was turned into a school, and this gave rise to the
Bath and Shirley School, which has done so much to hand
down this industry to the present day. Some samples of
Brussels and guipure lace were brought to the school, where
the teacher had them remodelled and placed in the hands of
the best workers : and CVirrickmacross became identified with
some of the finest " guipure" that Ireland has produced. ^^

In the year 1829 the manufacture of Limerick tambour
lace was first established in Ireland. Tambour work is of
Eastern orimn, and was knowjj in Cliina, Persia, India and

^'^ Wakefield writes in 1812 : " Lace the art. At Abbey-leix there is a lace

is not manufactured to a large extent manufacture, but the quantity made

in Ireland. I saw some poor children is not of any importance." — Account

who were taught weaving by the of Ireland. Statistical and Political.

daughters of a clergyman, and Mr. Edw. Wakefield. 1812.

Tighe mentions a school in Kilkenny '^ Pall Mall Ga-ctte, May 8th,

where twelve girls were instructed in 1897.

IRELAND 441

Turkey long before it spread to the United Kingdom. This
work is still extensively carried on in the East, where it is
much appreciated for its varied colours, as well as the labour
expended upon it. Until the middle of the last century,
taml)our lace was unknown in Europe, with the exception of
Turkey. It was about that time it was introduced into
Saxony and Switzerland, but the knowledge of the art of
makino; the lace did not reach Eno-land until 1820. Lace,
in the strictest sense of the word, it cannot l)e termed. It is
called tambour from the fact that the frame on which it
is worked bears some resemblance to a drum-head or tam-
bourine. On this is stretched a piece of Brussels or
Nottingham net. A Hoss thread or cotton is then drawn
by a hooked or taml)Our needle through the meshes of the
net, and the design formed from a paper drawing which is
placed before the worker. Run lace is of a finer and lighter
character. The pattern is formed on the net with finer
thread, which is not drawn in with the tambour, Ijut run in
with the point needle, (This description of lace was made
in Nottinghamshire during the eighteenth century, and
appears to have been copied from foreign designs, chiefly
from those of Lille.) It came into fashion after Nottingham
machine net had made the work possible, and is still called
by old people Nottingham lace. This fal)ric was first intro-
duced into Ireland by one Charles AValker,^^ a native of
Oxfordshire, who brought over twenty-four girls as teachers,
and commenced manufacturing at a place in Limerick called
Mount Kennet. His goods were made entirely for one house in
St. Paul's Churchyard, until that house Ijecame l)cinkrupt in
1834, after which a traveller was sent through Eng;land,
Scotland and Ireland to take orders. Her Excellency
Lady Normanlty, wife of the Lord Lieutenant, gave great
encouragement to the falnic, causing dresses to be made, not
only for herself, but also for Her Majesty the Queen of the

" Walker was a man of literary bankrupt, he never received the pur-
and artistic tastes, and educated for chase money, and died 1842, his in-
the Church, but, marrying the daughter genuity and industr3' ill-rewarded. In
of a lace-manufacturer, he set up in some work (we have lost the refer-
that business in Essex, working for ence) it is stated that " Coggeshall,
the London v.holesale trade. He in Essex, made a tambour lace, a
removed next to Limerick, where he sort of medium between lace and em-
continued till 1841, when he sold the broidery." Could this be Walker's
business, but his successor becoming manufacture ?

442 HISTORY OF LACE

Belgians, and the (irand Duchess of Baden. The subsequent
history of Limerick laces hears a close resemhlance to that of
the other Irish lace industries. Mr. Charles Walker died in
1842. Many of his workers returned to England ; ^^ the
stimulus of constant supervision was gone ; old designs
deteriorated from inferior copying, and new designs were not
forthcoming. It was mainly due to the Convent of the
Good Shepherd that this lace industry was saved from abso-
lute extinction. Mrs. li. V. O'Brien has, however, done
valuable service in its revival by her energy in establishing
and maintainino' the Limerick lace training; school, which
may be said to owe its origin to a lecture delivered by
Mr. Alan S. Cole at the Limerick Chamber of Commerce in
September, 1888, where photographs of ancient and modern
lace and a loan collection of Limerick lace was shown. In
this collection the work of the early days of Limerick, when
the design was of the highest order, was contrasted with the
more modern specimens.^''

The first attempt to adapt the point de Venise to the
necessities of the Irish people w^as made at Tynan, in C*o.
Armao;h, on the borders of Tvrone. Mrs. Maclean, the wife
of the Eev. William Maclean, then rector of the parish, was
the owner of some old point de Venise, and she resolved
to turn her collection to some practical use. " The lace was
examined and re-examined, until the secret workings under-
lying every stitch, every picot, every filling, and every relief,
had been grasped and understood. Steps w^ere taken in
1849 to teach the people this industry, and l)y 1851 a

'^ In 1855 the number of workers some reference to the work of the

employed numbered 1,500. In 1S69 Sisters of Mercy at Ivinsale, Co. Cork,

there were less than 500. In 1H69 where so much is now being done to

Mrs. Palliser writes of the tambour revive those industries which were

lace industry :" The existing depression originally started with the object of

of the trade has been partly caused by coping with the famine of 1846. This

the emigration of girls to America and revival is largely due to Mr. A. S.

the colonies, while glove-making and Cole, who originally suggested tlieestab-

army clothing employ the rest ; and lishment of an art class in connection

indeed the manufacture aiming only with South Kensington, with Mr.

at cheapness had produced a lace of Brennar, of the Cork School of Art, as

inferior quality, without eitlier novelty its master. The studio is in connection

or beauty of design, from which with tlie workroom, which secures

cause Limerick lace has fallen into constant touch between the designing,

disrepute." alteration, and adaptation of patterns

^^ No account of Limerick lace would and their execution. (FaJl Mali

be complete whicli docs not make Gazette, May 8th, 1897.)

Plate XCI.

Irish, Carrickmacross. Insertion and border of appliquk lace, made at the Bath
and Shirley Schools. End of nineteenth century. Width of insertion, 6 in. ; border, 9| in.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

Plate XCII.

Irish. Limerick lace. Tambour embroidery on net, made at Kinsale. End of

nineteenth century. Width, 17 in.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

To face pai/c 442.

IRELAND 443

handsome flounce was ready, which was purchased by Lord
John George Beresford. then Archbishop of Armagh and
Primate of Ireland. It was exhibited at the OTeat exhiljition
of that year in London, and attracted a large amount of
attention, and brought many orders in its train. The busi-
ness was thus considerably extended and enlarged, and the
Primate and his nieces, ]\Irs. Eden and Mrs. Dunljar, did all
they could to promote the sale of the work. The good
fortune and prosperity of Tynan was, however, but of a
temporary character. The Kev. William Maclean died in
1865, and, with his death, the local industry died out from
want of supervision and organisation.

Irish point ^' also owes its genesis to the failure of the
potato crop in 1846, and its original inspiration was given
Ity a piece of jDoint de JMilan which fell into the hands of
Mother Marv Ann Smith, of the Presentation Convent at
Youghal, Co. Cork. 8he there conceived the idea of setting
up an industry for the children attending the convent school.
8he studied the lace which had come into her possession,
examined the process by which it had been made, unravelled
the threads one by one, and at last succeeded in mastering
its many details. She then selected some (jf the convent
children who had shown a taste for fine needlework, and
taught them separately what she herself learned. The
convent school was opened in 1852. The main characteristic
of this lace is that it is worked entirelv with the needle.

Though Irish point lace owes its origin to Youghal
Convent, its workers have done much to spread their art
in other parts of Ireland, and in few districts more effectually
than in the neighbourhood of Kenmare, Co. Kerry, where
the late Mother Abbess U'Hagan introduced the industry
into the Convent of the Poor Clares in 1861. The work is

" Various schools have been estab- to Brussels. The fabric is known by

lislied throughout Ireland. Lady de the name of " Irish " or " Curragli

Yere taught the mistress of a school point."

on her own demesne at Curragh, Co. Tlie school set up at Belfast by the

Limerick, the art of making appli- late Jane Clarke exhibited in 1851

cation flowers, giving her own Brussels beautiful imitations of the old Spanish

lace as patterns. The work was so and Italian points ; amongst others a

good as soon to connnand a high price. specimen of the fine raised Venetian

and the late Queen of the Belgians point, M'hich can scarcely be distin-

actually purchased a dress of it at guished from the original. It is now

Harding's, and took it back with lier in the Vict, and Albert Museum (1869 j.

444 HISTORY OF LACE

based upon the same lines, thou oh the Kenmare work claims
as its speciality that it is entirely vv^orked in linen thread,
while at Youghal cotton is occasionally used. The Convent
of the Poor (Glares devote themselves chiefly to the produ('-
tion of flat point, applique, and guipure laces. Many other
convents and lace centres in Ireland have had their teachers
from Youghal and Kenmare. Flat point has heen made for
fifty years under the supervision of the Carmelite convent
at New Eoss, Co. Wexford, though the workers are now
better known for their adaptation of Venetian rose point
and the perfection to which they have brought their crochet
than for their plain Irish point. For the flrst ten years the
Carmelite nuns confined their attention to cut-work, flat
point, and net lace. As the workers grew more expert, a
heavy rose point was introduced. This style proved too
heavy for the fashion ; hence it was that, in 18 05, the
nuns turned their attention to finer work.

It was about that time that a travelling Jewish pedlar
called at the convent with a miscellaneous assortment of
antique vestments, old books, and other curiosities, among
which were some broken pieces of old rose point lace. The
then Prioress, the late Mother Augustine Dalton, purchased
the specimens from the Jew, as she realised that they would
give her the opportunity she wanted of varying the cjuality
of the lace, and making tlie design finer and lighter in the
future than it had been in the past. For weeks and for
months she devoted herself to the task of ripping up
portions, stitch by stitch, until she had mastered every
detail. From this time dates the production of that fine
rose point for which the convent at New Poss has deservedly
earned so high a reputation. This rose point has gone on
increasing in fineness of quality and in lieauty of design.
The defects in the earlier specimens were mainly due to the
want of artistic culture in the girls, who could neither
appreciate nor render the graceful sweeps and curves, nor
the Ijranching stems,

Irish crochet is another widespread national industry.
Its main centres have been ( -ork in the South and Monaohan
in the North of Ireland. The industry can be traced as far
back as 1845, when the sisters of the Ursuline convent at
Blackrock, Co. Cork, received £90 for the work done by the
poor children in their schools. It may indeed be said that

I RE LAX D 445

the growth of this great industry spread from this centre ;
so much so, that within the space of a few years it formed
part of the educational system of ahnost every convent in the
land, and spread from the southern shores of Co. Cork to
Wexford, to Monao-han and to Slio;o.

Cork City was itself the natural centre of the industry,
which extended so far and wide throuo-h the countrv that
some thirty years ago there were no less than 12,000 women
in the neighbourhood of Cork eno;a2;ed in makino- crochet,
lace collars, and edgings after Spanish and Venetian patterns.
On the outbreak of the Franco-Grerman war a further impetus
was given to the industry, when the supply of Continental
laces was cut off. Several years of unique prosperity
followed, until the competition of the machine-made work
of Nottino'ham and Switzerland ousted the Irish crochet from
the market. At the present there has Ijeen a reaction
against the usurpation by machinery of the place that art
ought to occupy, and the Cork work is now once more
coming to the fore.

As Cork has been the centre on the South, so is Clones
in the North, and yet the industry which has for so many
years done so much for the people of Monaghan owes its
origin to the philanthropic efforts of Mrs. W. C. Roberts, of
Thornton, Co. Kildare, who helped the poor to ward off the
worst attacks of the famine of 1847 by the production of
guipure and point de Venise crochet. iVfter a few years of
prosperity, the industry languished and disappeared from
the neighbourhood, Ijut twenty -four of the best- trained and
most efficient of Mrs. Roberts's workers were sent out to
other centres. One of these came to Mrs. Hand, the wife
of the then Rector of Clones. This parish is the biggest in
the county, and the poor from the surrounding mountains
flocked down to learn the crochet ; and knotted and lifted
as well as ordinary guipure, Greek and Spanish, and also
Jesuit lace ^^ has been produced with the crochet-needle in
Clones, which still continues to be the most important centre
of the industry.

At the Killarney Presentation Convent at Newton
Barry," and CVxppoquin, drawn linen work in the style of

'^ From the tradition that a Jesuit used in Ireland.
procured the first Venetian lace pattern ^^ It was in the famine period that

446

HISTORY OF LACE

the ItaliaD reticella, and at Parsoristown pillow laces of the
same character as Honiton are made. In Ardee, a novel lace
is made with braid and cord.-"

The rose point lace is often called " Innishmacsaint "
from the village in the county of Fermanagh where the
industry was transplanted on the death of the Re^^ AV.
Maclean, of Tynan, by his daughter, who went to live with
her sister, Mrs. George Tottenham, the wife of the rector.
AVhat was Tynan's misfortune proved a boon to Innish-
macsaint, and it became the chief centre of the Irish rose
point industry. Both the heavier and finer kinds are
made there. As at Tynan, the art of making the lace has
been learnt by the unravelling and close examination of
Venetian point.

As in English work, some of the Irish is spoilt by the
woolly cotton thread. Foreign lace likewise in these days
suffers from the same fault. The workmanship at the present
time can be so good that every effort ought to be made to
use only fine silky linen thread. In Ireland, where fiax can
l)e grown, there should be no excuse for employing any
other.

the Rector of Headford, Co. Gahvay,
brought about a revival of the pillow
lace, which was known to a few women
in the county — taught, according to
the tradition, by a soldier from foreign
parts at some unlinown date. This
work is now reviving, thanks to the
energetic care of Mrs. Dawson.

-' Mr. A. S. Cole gives the follow-
ing classification of Irish laces : —

There are seven sorts of Irish lace.

1. Flat needle-point lace.

2. Raised needle-point lace.

3. Embroidery on net, either darning
or chain-stitch.

4. Cut cambric or linen work in the
style of guipure or applique lace.

5. Drawn tliread-work in the style
of Reticella and Italian cut points.

6. Pillow lace in imitation of Devon
lace.

7. Crochet.

Plate XCIII.

Irish. Crochet lace. — End of nineteenth century. Width of cutf, 5 in. ; length of
plastron, 12 in. Victoria and Albert ^Museum.

Tij /((CI' pnijc 446.

447

CHAPTER XXXVI.

liOBBIN NET AND MACHINE-MADE LACE.
Fig. 162.

Akms of thk 1""kame-\voek Knitters' Company.
BOBBIN NET.

A SKETCH of the history of hice would be incomplete without
;x few words on bobbin net and machine lace, manufactures
which have risen to so much importance both in England and
France, and have placed lace within the reach of all classes of
society. The subject has been so ably treated by Mr. Felkin
that we refer our readers to his excellent work for its full
history.^

This manufacture has its epochs : —

1768. Net first made by machinery.

1809. Invention of bobbin net.

1837. The Jacquard system applied to the bobbin net
machine.

It has been already told how Barbara Uttmann made a
plain thread net in Germany three centuries before any
attempt was made to produce it by machinery."

This invention is usually assigned to Hammond, a
stocking framework knitter of Nottingham, who, examining
one day the broad lace on his wife's cap, thought he could

' History of Marldne-Wrottght Ho- Felkin. London, 1867.
slcnj and Lace Mann f act ariK W. - See Germany.

448 HIS TORY OF LACE

apply his machine to the production of a similar article.*
His attempt so far succeeded that, by means of the stocking-
frame invented the previous century/ he j)roduced, 1768, nob
lace, but a kind of knitting, of running loops or stitches, like
that afterwards known as " Brussels ground," In 1777, Else
and Harvey introduced at Nottingham the " pin " or point
net machine, so named because made on sharp pins or points.
"Point net" was afterwards improved, and the "barley-
corn" introduced: " sfjuare " and "spider net" appear in
succession.

But with all these improvements machinery had not yet
arrived at producing a solid net, it was still only knttting, a
single thread passing from one end of the frame to the
other ; and if a thread broke the work was unravelled ; the
threads, therefore, required to be gummed together, to give
stiffness and solidity to the net. To remedy this evil, the
warp or chain machine was invented, uniting the knitter's
and the weaver's machanism. Vandyke,"^ a Flemish work-
man, and three Englishmen dispute the invention. This new
machine was again improved and made " Mechlin net," from
which the machine took its name.

For forty years from Hammond's first attempt on the
stockino'-frame, endless efforts were made to arrive at
imitating the ground of pillow lace, and there are few
manufactures in which so much capital has been expended,
and so much invention called forth. Each projector fancied

^ An open stitcli on i^tockings, and the Regent withdrawing her pro-
called the " Derby rib," had been tection, Lee died of grief and dis-
invented by Jedediah Strutt, in 1758. appointment. The arms of the Frame-

■* By Eev. William Lee, of Calverton work Knitters' "Company (Fig. 162)
(Nottinghamshire). The romantic are a stocking-frame, having for sup-
story is well known ; but whether porters William Lee in full canonicals
actuated, as usually stated, by pique and a female holding in her hand
at the absorbing attention paid to her thread and a knitting-needle. After
Imitting by a lady, when he was urging Lee's death his brother returned to
his suit — or, as others more amiably England, where Lee's invention was
affirm, by a desire to ligliten the labour then appreciated. Stocking-making
of his wife, who was obliged to con- became the fashion, everyone tried
tribute to their joint support by knit- it, and people had their portraits taken
ting stockings — certain it is that it with gold and silver needles suspended
was he who first conceived tlie idea of round their necks.

the stocking-frame, and completed it ■' Vandyke had also appended the

about 1589. His invention met with chain to his stocking-frame, and the

no support from Queen Elizabeth, so zigzags formed by the ribs of his stock-

I^ea Avent to France, where he was ings were called " Vandyke,"' lience

■well received by Henry IV. ; but the the term now generally applied to all

same year Hem-y a\ as assassinated, indented edges.

BOBBIN NET AND MACHINE-MADE LACE 449

he had discovered the true stitch, and patents after patents
were taken out, resulting mostly in disappointment.

The machine for making " bobbin " net was invented by
John 'Heathcoat, son of a farmer at Longwhatton (Leicester-
shire). After serving his apprenticeship he settled at
Nottingham, and while occupied in putting together stocking
and net machines, gave his attention to improving the
Mechlin net frame. *^ In 1809, in conjunction with Mr. Lacy,
he took out a patent for fourteen years for his new and
highly ingenious bobbin net machine, which he called Old
Loughborough, after the town to which he then removed.

"Bobbin net" was so named because the threads are
wound upon bobbins.' It was " twisted " instead of " looped "
net. Heathcoat began by making net little more than an
inch in width ,^ and afterwards succeeded in producing it a
yard wide. There are now machines which make it three
yards and a half in width. ^

In 1811 that vandal association called the Luddites^-
entered his manufactory and destroyed twenty-seven of his
machines, of the value of £8,000. Indignant at their conduct
he removed to Tiverton," in Devonshire.

^ Mechlin net was disused in 1819 Tlie exchange of linen to cotton thread

Ci^

from its too great elasticity. was the source of great regret to the

"^ The "bobbins" on which the Eoman Catholic clergy, who by eccle-

thread is wound for the weft consist siastical law can only wear albs of

of two circular copper plates riveted flax.

together, and fixed upon a small ^" This association was formed by

carriage or frame which moves back- Ludlam, or General Ludd, as he was

wards and forwards like a weaver's called, a stocking-frame worker at

shuttle. Nottingham in 1811, when prices had

* The Old Loughboro' employed fallen. The Luddites, their faces
sixty movements to form one mesh — covered with a black veil, armed with
a result now obtained by twelve. It swords and pistols, paraded the streets
produced 1,000 meshes a minute — then at night, entered the workshops, and
thought a wonderful achievement, as broke the machines with hammers,
by the pillow only five or six can be A thousand machines were thus de-
obtained. A good circular machine stroyed. Soon the net-workers joined
now produces 30,000 in the same time. them and made a similar destruction

The quality of bobbin net depends of the bobbin net machines. Although

upon the smallness of the meshes, many were punished, it was only with

their equality in size, and the regu- the retm-n of work that the society

larity of the hexagons. disappeared in 1817.

^ Bobbin net is measm-ed by the ^^ Heathcoat represented Tiverton

" rack," which consists of 240 meshes. from 1834 to 1859, colleague of Lord

This mode of counting was adopted to Palmerston.

avoid the frequent disagreements Steam power was first introduced by

about measure which arose between Mr. J. Lindley in 1815-16, but did not

the master and the workmen in con- come into active operation till 1820 ;

sequence of the elasticity of the net. it became general 1822-23.

2 G

450

HISTORY OF LACE

In 1818 the first power machines were put to work, and
the year 1823 is memorable for the "bobbin net fever."
Mr. Heathcoat's patent liaving expired, all Nottingham went
mad. Everyone wished to make bobbin net. Numerous
individuals, clergymen, lawyers, doctors, and others, readily
embarked capital in so tempting a speculation. Prices fell in
proportion as production increased ; but the demand was
immense, and the Nottingham lace frame became the organ of
general supply, rivalling and supplanting in plain nets the most
finished productions of France and the Netherlands.^^ Dr. Ure
says : " It was no uncommon thing for an artisan to leave his
usual calling and betake himself to a lace frame, of which he
was part proprietor, and realize, by working upon it, twenty,
thirty, nay, even forty shillings a day. In consequence of
such wonderful gains, Nottingham, with Loughborough and
the adjoining villages, became the scene of an epidemic
mania. Many, though nearly void of mechanical genius or
the constructive talent, tormented themselves night and day
with projects of bobbins, pushers, lockers, point-bars, and
needles of every various form, till their minds got perma-
nently bewildered. Several lost their senses altogether, and
some, after cherishing visions of wealth as in the olden time
of alchemy, finding their schemes abortive, sank into despair
and committed suicide." Such is the history of the bobbin
net^^ invention in England.^*

'2 McCulloch.

'* The most extraordinary changes
took place in the price of the finished
articles. Lace which was sold by
Heathcoat for 5 guineas a yard soon
after the taking out of his patent can
now be equalled at eighteenpence a
yard ; quillings, as made by a newly-
constructed machine in 1810, and sold
at 4s. 6<f., can now be equalled- and
excelled at l^d. a yard ; while a
certain width of net which brought
£11 per piece 20 years ago is now sold
for 7s. (1843). Progressive value of a
square yard of plain cotton bobbin net :

£ s.

s. d.

1809 .

1830 .

. 2

1813 .

1833 .

. 1 4

1815 .

1 10

1836 .

. 10

1818 .

1842 .

. 6

1821 .

1850 .

. 4

1824 .

1856 .

. 3

1827 .

1862 .

. 3

Histoire

dto Tulle et dcs

Dentelles

mecaniques en Angleterre et en France,
par S. Ferguson fils. Paris, 1862.

" Bobbin net and lace are cleaned
from the loose fibres of the cotton by
the ingenious process of gassing, as it
is called, invented by the late Mr.
Samuel Hall, of Nottingham. A flame
of gas is drawn through the lace by
means of a vacuum above. The sheet
of lace passes to the flame opaque and
obscured by loose fibre, and issues
from it bright and clear, not to be
distinguished from lace made of the
purest linen thread, and perfectly
uninjured by the flame." — Jotirnal of
the Society of Arts. Jan., 1864.

^* In 1826 Mr. Huskisson's reduction
of the duty on French tulle caused so
much distress in Leicester and Not-
tingham, that ladies were desired to
wear only English tulle at court ; and
in 1831 Queen Adelaide appeared at
one of her balls in a dress of English
silk net.

BOBBIN NET AND MACHINE-MADE LACE 451
We now pass on to

FRANCE.

" To the great trading nation, to the great manufacturing nation, no progress
which any portion of the human race can make in knowledge, in taste for the
conveniences of hfe, or in the wealth by which these conveniences are produced,
can be matter of indifference." — Macaulay.

Since the failure ^^ of Lee, in 1610, to introduce the
stocking-frame into France, that country remained ignorant
of a manufacture which was daily progressing in England, on
whom she was dependent for stockings and for net.

In 1778 Caillen attempted a kind of net " tricot den telle,"
for which he obtained a gratuity from the Academy of £40,
hut his method did not succeed ; it was, like the first efforts
of our countrymen, only knitting.

In 1784 Louis XVL sent the Duke de Liancourt to
England to study the improvements in the stocking and net
machinery, and to bring back a frame. He was accompanied
by Rhumbolt, who worked in a manufactory at Nottingham,
and having acquired the art, returned to France. Monarchy
had fallen, but the French Republic, 1793-4, granted Rhum-
bolt the sum of 110,000 francs (£4,400). The machine he
brought with him was the point net.^*^

The cessation of all commercial intercourse prevented
France from keeping pace with the improvements making
in England ; yet, singularly enough, at the beginning of the
nineteenth century more net was manufactured in France
than in Eno-land. At the time of the Peace of Amiens
(1802) there were 2,000 frames in Lyons and Nimes, while
there were scarcely 1,200 in England ; but the superiority of
the English net was incontestable, so, to protect the national
manufacture. Napoleon prohibited the importation. This of
course increased its demand ; the net was in request in pro-
portion as it was prohibited. The best mart for Nottingham
was the French market, so the Nottingham net trade took
every means to pass their produce into France.

'^ John Hindres, in 1656, first estab- de Vienne." The net was single loops,
lished a stocking-frame in France. hence the name of " single press,"

^^ The net produced was called given to these primitive frames.
" Tulle simple et double de Lyon et

2 G 2

452 HISTORY OF LACE

Hayne, one of the proprietors of the " barley-corn " net,
had gone to Paris to make arrangements for smuggling it
over, when the war broke out, and he was detained.
Napoleon proposed that he should set up a machine in
France ; but he preferred continuing his illicit trade, which
he carried on with great success until 1809, when his own
agent informed against him, his goods were seized and
burned, and having in one seizure lost £60,000 (1,500,000 fr.),
he was completely ruined, and fled to England/'^

The French manufacturers took out various patents for
the improvement of their " Mechlin " machines, and one
was taken, in 1809, for making a crossed net called '■' fond
de glace " ; but the same year Heathcoat producing the
bobbin net machine, the inventors could not sustain the
competition.

Every attempt was made to get over bobbin net machines ;
but the export of English machinery was punished by trans-
portation, and the Nottingham manufacturers established at
their own expense a line of surveillance to prevent the
bobbin net machines from going out. In spite of all these
precautions, Cutts, an old workman of Heathcoat's, con-
trived to elude their vigilance, and, in 1815, to import a
machine to Valenciennes, whence he removed it to Douai,
where he entered into partnership with M. Thomassin. In
1816 they produced the first bobbin net dress made in
France. It was embroidered by hand by a workwoman of
Douai, and presented by the makers to the Duchesse
d'Angouleme. About the end of the year 1816 James
Clark introduced a machine into Calais, which he passed in
pieces by means of some French sailors. These two were
the first bobbin net machines set up in France.

It is not within our limits to follow the Calais lace
manufacturers through their progress ; suffice it to say
that it was in 1817 that the first bobbin net machine
worked, concealed from all eyes, at Saint-Pierre-lez-Calais,
now, if not the rival of Nottingham, at least the great

" In 1801 George Armitage took a Hayne left him no hope of success.

" point net "machine to Antwerp, and He afterwards went to Prussia to set

made several after the same model, up net and stocking machines. At the

thus introducing the manufacture into age of eighty-two he started for Aus-

Belgium. He next went to Paris, but tralia, where he died, in 1857, aged

the wholesale contraband trade of eighty-nine.

BOBBIN NET AND MACHINE-MADE LACE 453

centre of the bobbin net and machinery lace manufactures
in France.^®

St, Quentin, Douai, Cambrai, Eouen, Caen, have all in
turn been the seats of the tulle manufacture. Some of these
fabrics are extinct ; the others have a very limited trade
compared with Saint-Pierre and Lyons.

At Lyons silk net is mostly made.^^ Dating from 1791,
various patents have been taken out for its manufacture.
These silk nets were embroidered at Condrieu (Rhone), and
were (the black especially for veils and mantles) much
esteemed, j^articularly in Spain.

Li 1825 the " tulle bobine grenadine," black and white,
was brought out by M. Doguin, who afterwards used the fine
silks, and invented that popular material first called
'•' zephyr," since "illusion." His son, in 1838, brought out
the " tulle Bruxelles."

BELGIUM.

In 1834 ■"eight bobbin net machines were set up in
Brussels by Mr. Washer, for the purpose of making the
double and triple twisted net, upon which the pillow flowers
are sewn to produce the Brussels application lace. Mr.
Washer devoted himself exclusively to the making of the
extra fine mesh, training up workmen specially to this
minute work. In a few years he succeeded in excelling the
English manufacture ; and this net, universally known as
" Brussels net," has nearly superseded the expensive pillow
ground, and has thereby materially decreased the price
of Brussels lace. It is made of English cotton, stated,
in the specimens exhibited in 18G7, as costing £44 per
pound.

^^ The great difficulty encountered
by the French manuf actui'ers consisted
in the cotton. France did not furnish
cotton higher than No. 70 ; the English
ranges from 160 to 200. The pro-
hibition of English cotton obliged
them to obtain it by smuggling imtil
1834, when it was admitted on paying
a duty. Now they make their own,
and are able to rival Nottingham

in the prices of their productions. A
great number of Nottingham lace-
makers have emigrated to Calais.

'^ The Caen blond first suggested
the idea.

-'^ The first net frame was set up at
Brussels in 1801. Others followed at
Termonde, 1817 ; Ghent, 1828 ; Sainte
Fosse, etc.

454

HISTORY OF LACE

MACHINERY LACE.

" Qui sait si le metier a tulle ne sera pas un jour, en quelque sorte, un vrai
coussin de dentelliere, et les bobines de veritables fuseaux manoeuvres par des
mains mecaniques." — Aubry, in 1851.

If England boasts the invention of bobbin net, to France
must be assigned the application of the Jacquard system to
the net-frame, and consequently the invention of machinery
lace. Shawls and large pieces in " run lace," as it is termed,
had previously been made after this manner at Nottingham
and Derby. The pattern proposed to be " run in " is printed
by means of engraved wood blocks on the ground, which, if
white, is of cotton ; if black, of silk. The ground is stretched
on a frame ; the " lace-runner " places her left hand under
the net, and with the right woi^ks the pattern. The filling
up of the interior is termed either " fining " or " open-
working," as the original meshes of the net are brought to a
smaller or larger size by the needle. ^^

In 1820 Symes, of Nottingham, invented a pattern which
he called " Grecian " net. This was followed by the " spot,"
or " point d'esprit," and various other fancy nets — bullet-
hole, tattings, and others.

The Jacquard system had been used at Lyons with the
Mechlin frame in 1823-4 for making patterned net and
embroidered blondes. This suggested the possibility of
applying the Jaccjuard cards to making lace, and in 1836 to
1838 Mr. Ferguson,^^ by applying it to the circular bobbin
net frame, brouo-ht out the black silk net called " dentelle de
Cambrai," an imitation of Chantilly. The pattern was woven
by the machine, the brode or relief " run in."^

Various patents -^ were immediately taken out in England
and France. Nottingham and Saint-Pierre-lez-Calais rival

21 D. Wyatt.

-2 Mr. Ferguson, the inventor of
the bullet-hole, square net (tulle carre),
and Vi'ire-ground (point de champ ou
de Paris), had transferred his manu-
facture, in 1838, from Nottingham to
Cambrai, where, in partnership with
M. Jourdan, he made the " dentelle
de Cambrai," and in 1852 the " lama "
lace, which differs from the Cambrai
inasmuch as the weft {trame) is made
of mohair instead of silk. Mr. Fer-

guson next established himself at

Amiens, where he brought out the

Yak, another mixed lace.
'■^^ The first patents were : —
1836. Hind and Draper took out

one in France, and 1887 in England.

1838. Ferguson takes a patent at
Cambrai under the name of his partner
Jourdan.

1839. Crofton.

1841. Houston and Deverill, for the
application of the Jacquard to the

BOBBIN NET AND MACHINE-MADE LACE 455

each other in the variety of their productions. At the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1867 Nottingham exhibited Spanish
laces, most faithful copies of the costly pillow-made Barcelona ;
imitations of Mechlin, the brode and picot executed by hand ;
Brussels needle-point ; Caen blondes, and Valenciennes
rivalling those of Calais ; also Cluny and the black laces of
Chantilly and Mirecourt.

The French, by adopting what is technically termed eight
" motives," produce their lace of a finer make and more
complex pattern. The Calais lace is an admirable copy of
the square-grounded Valenciennes, and is the staple trade of
the manufacture. Calais also produces blondes, black and
white, silver and gold, the white nearly approaching in
brilliancy and whiteness the famed productions of Caen,
which, by their cheapness, they have expelled from com-
petition. She also imitates the woollen laces of Le Puy,
together with black and white laces innumerable.

" Broadly speaking, lace-making by machinery is more
nearly like the pillow lace-making process than that of
needle-point. The machine continues to twist any desired
threads around one another. In pillow lace-making, besides
twisting, we have plaiting, and this plaiting has not been
reproduced by the majority of lace machines. Quite
recently, however, a French machine, called the ' Dentel-
liere,' has been invented to do the plaiting. A description
of this machine has been published in La Nature (March
3rd, 1881).

"Whilst the ordinary lace-making machine belongs to the
family of weaving machines, the Dentelliere more nearly
resembles the pillow of a lace-worker with the threads
arranged over the pillow. In general appearance it looks
somethino; like a large semicircular frame-work of iron —
with thousands of threads from the outer semicircle con-
verging to the centre, representing the table or pillow.
Over this central table is the apparatus which holds the
end threads side by side, and which regulates the plaiting
of them. The cost of producing lace in this manner is said
to be greater at present than by hand." ^*

Leaver machine. The great manu- 1780, by R. Frost, the embroidery

factures of Nottingham and Calais are made by hand.

made on the Leaver Jacquard frame. '^* Cantor Lectures on the Art of

The first patterned net was produced, Lace-Making. A.S.Cole. 1880.

456 HISTORY OF LACE

Almost every description of lace is now fabricated by
machinery ; ^^ and it is often no easy task, even for a
practised eye, to detect the difference. Still, we must ever
be of opinion that the most finished productions of the frame
never possess the touch, the finish, or the beauty of the
laces made by hand. The invention of machine-made lace
has this peculiarity — it has not diminished the demand for
the finer fabrics of the pillow and the needle. On the
contrary, the rich have sought more eagerly than ever the
exquisite works of Brussels and Alencoii, since machinery

Fi^. 163.

The Lagetta, or Lace-bark Thee.

has brought the wearing of lace within the reach of all
classes of society.

!'^^ The inner bark of the Lagetta, or Lace-bark tree ^"^ of
Jamaica, may be separated into thin layers, and then into
distinct meshes, bearing some resemblance to lace (Fig. 163).
Of this material a cravat and ruffles were presented to King
Charles IL by the Governor of Jamaica ; and at the Ex-
hibition of 1851 a dress of the same fibre was presented to
Queen Victoria, which her Majesty was graciously pleased
to accept.

^ The machines now in use are the 2,448 were at Nottingham. "^Jw^er-

Circular, Leaver, Transverse Warp 7iational Exhibition, Juror's Eeport.

and Pusher. Out of 3,552 machines -*' Daphne lagetta.
computed to be in England in 1862

BOBBIN NET AND MACBIINE-MADE LACE 457

Caterpillars have been made to spin lace veils by the
ins^enious contrivance of a o;entleman of Munich.^' These
veils are not strong, but surprisingly light — one, a yard
square, would scarcely weigh five grains, whilst a patent net
veil of the same size weighs 262.

Asbestos has also been woven into lace : and a specimen
of this mineral lace is, we have been told, in the Cabinet of
Natural History at the Garden of Plants, Paris.

^" He makes a paste of the plant to leave open. The stone bemg placed

which is the usual food of the cater- in an inclined position, the caterpillars*

pillar, and spreads it thinlj^ over a are laid at the bottom, and the animals

stone or other flat substance ; then eat and spin their way up to the top,

with a camel's-hair pencil dipped in carefully avoiding every part touched

olive oil he draws upon the coating of by the oil, but devouring the rest of

paste the pattern he wishes the insects the paste. — Encijclopoedia Britannica.

* Phahi'ua jjandilla.

APPENDIX.

The Notes marked with an * show that the works referred to have been

examined by the Author}

Eyn new kunstlich boich, clair yn. C. vnd. xxxviij. figuren, 1527.
monster ad' stalen befonden, wie man na der rechter art, Lauffer Culo<jiie.
werck, Spansche stich, mit der nalen, vort vp der Eamen, vnd ' t^i]^
vp der laden, borden wirckenn sail, wilche stalen all etzo samen
verbessert synt, vnd vyl kunstlicher gemacht, da dye eirsten,
&c. Sere nutzlich alien wapen sticker, frauwen, ionfteren, vnd
met ger, dair uns soldi kunst lichtlicli tzu leren.

I) Gedrnckt tzii Collen vp dem Doemhoff dwreh Peter
Qnentell.

Anno. M. D. XXXVJJ.^

Small 8vo, 22 ff., 42 plates.

Title in Gothic letters ; beneath, woodcuts representing women at
work. On the back of the leaf, a large escutcheon, the three crowns of
Cologne in chief; supporters, a lion and a griffin. Below, "0 Fcelix
Colonia. 1527."

The patterns consist of mediaeval and arabesque borders, alphabets,
etc., some on white, others on black grounds. Some with counted
stitches.

Quentell refers to a previous edition. Brunet and the Marquis d'Adda
mention a copy, 1529, with the portrait of Charles V., and a second
edition 1532.

Liure noveau et subtil touchant lart et sciece tant de 1527.
brouderie fronssures, tapisseries come aultres mestiers quo fait p i"^"^: ,
alesguille, soit au petit mestier, aultelisse ou sur toille clere,
tresvtile et necessaire a toutes, gens usans des mestiers et ars

^ Two interesting papers were de tapisseries, patrons de broderies

published in the Gazette des Beaux et publies le xvi. et le xvii. siecle,"

Arts for 1863 and 1864, entitled, &c., by the Marquis Gu-olamo

" Essai bibliographique sur les an- d'Addo, of Milan,
ciens dessins de dentelles, modeles ^ Cambridge University Library.

460

HISTORY OF LACE

dessuld, ou semblables, ou il y ha C. et. xxxviij patrons de
diuers ouvraiges faich per art et proportion.

En primere a culoge (Cologne) par inatrepiere quinty
demorat denpre leglie de iii roies.^

The same cut as the preceding, with the arms of Cologne, which
seems to have been engraved for a great Bible printed by Quentell, in
1527, and is no guide for the date. Figs. 164, 165.

Fig. 164.

Metre P. Quinty.— Cologne, 1527

Fig. 165.

Metre P. Quinty.— Cologne, 1527.

1530. Opera nuova che insegna a le Done a cuscire : a raccamare :

Venice, e a disegnar a ciascuno : Et la ditta opera sara di grande utilita
"1 ■( r " ^^ ^^^^ artista : per esser il disegno ad ogniimo necessario : la
qual e ititolata esempio di racami.*

4to, 23 ft'., 36 plates.

Title in red Gothic letters ; beneath four woodcuts representing
women at work. Two pages of dedication to the ladies, by Giovanni
Antonio Taglienti, in which he says his book is for the instruction of
each " valorosa donna & tutte altre donzelle, con gli huomini insieme &
fanciulli, liquali si dilettarano de imparar a disegnar, cuscir, & raccammar."

^^ Paris, 'Bibliotheque Nat. Gra-
vures, L. h. 13 d.*

* Bib. Nat. Y. 1897.*- -Genoa.
Cav. Merli, 1528 (?).

APPENDIX 461

Then follows a most miscellaneous collection of what he terms, in his
dedication, " fregi, frisi, tondi maravigliosi, groppi moreschi et arabeschi,
ucelli volanti, fiori, lettere antique, maiuscoli, & le francesche," etc., three
pages very much like the pictures in a child's spelling book, rounds
(tondi) for cushions, and two pages representing hearts and scrolls ;
hearts transfixed, one with an arrow, another with a sword, a third torn
open by two hands, motto on the scroll : —

" La virtu al huomo sempre li resta
Ne morte nol p6 privar di questa."

On the other page hearts transfixed by two arrows, with two eyes
above : " Occhi piangete accompagnete il core. Inclita virtus." Then
follow six pages of instructions, from which we learn the various stitches
in which these wonderful patterns may be executed, " damaschino,
rilevato, a filo, sopra punto, ingaseato, Ciprioto, croceato, pugliese,
scritto, incroceato, in aere, fatto su la rate, a magliata, desfilato, & di
racammo," to be sewn in various coloured silks, gold and silver thread,
or black silk, for " collari di huomo & di donna, camisciole con pettorali,
frisi di contorni di letti, entemelle di cuscini, frisi di alcun boccassino, &
scufie," etc. On the last page, " Stampa in Vineggia per Giovan Antonio
Tagliente & i Fratelli de Sablbio. 1530." Brunet gives an edition dated
1528.

La fleiir de la science de pourtraicture et patrons de broderie. i.'iso.
Facon arabicque, et ytalique. Cum priviligio regis. ^'^^^^

Frontispiece. Title in Gothic letters. A large figure of Sol (?), with f/'"'"-
a yoke, his feet chained, a ball, maybe the Earth, at the end of the chain.
In one hand he holds a scroll with the legend, " Exitus acta probat."
Privilege of " Francoys par la grace de Dieu roy de France," to " Fran-
cisque pelegrin de Florence," to publish " unglivre de fueillages, entrelatz
et ouvraiges moresques, et Damasquins," for six years. "Done a bor-
deaulx le xvii. jour de Jiaing. L'an de grace mil cinq cens trete Et de
nostre regne le seiziesme."

Ce present livre a este imprime a paris par jaques nyverd.
Le iv. jour daoust. Lan de grace mil cinq ces xxx. Pour
noble home messire Francisque Pelegrin de florence.

On les vend a paris En la grant rue sainct Anthoyne devant
les tournelles. Au logis de monseigneur le comte de Carpes.
Par messire Fracisque pelegrin de florence.^

Small fol., 62 ff., 58 plates, consisting of graceful moresque patterns,
no animals or natural objects represented. At plate 33, surrounded by
arabesques, is an N, the initial of the printer.

Esemplario di lavori : dove le tenere fanciulle & altre donne ].')29.

nobile potranno facilment imparare il modo & ordine di lavorare, yenice.
cusire, racamare, & finalmente far tutte quelle gentillezze & 'i^^'
lodevon opere, le quali p6 fare una donna virtuosa con laco m

s Paris, Bib.de I'Arsenal. 11,952.

462 HISTORY OF LACE

mano, con li siioi compasse & misure. Vinezia, per Nicolo
D'Aristotile detto Zoppino mdxxix. Svo.*^ 46 plates.

The Cav" Merli quotes another edition, date 1530, in the possession of
the Awocato Francesco Pianesani, and another he believes of 1529.

1532. Convivio delle belle Donne, dove con li. Nuovi raccami,

yenice. ^^ ^w fine : Finisce il convivio delle, &c. Nuovamente
mno!' stampato in Vinegia, per Nicolo d'Aristotile, detto Zoppino del
mese d'Aj^osto. mdxxxii.

JV.

In 4to, ff. 24.^

1537. Gli universali de i belli Eecami antichi, et moderni, ne i

Venice, quali nn pellegrino ingegno, si di huomo come di donna potra in
\n^' q^^esta nostra eta con I'ago vertuosamente esercitar si. Non
ancora da alcuni dati altri inluce.

Frontispiece, two ladies at work; dedication to "gli virtuosi Giovani
et gentilissime Fanciulle." At the end styles himself" Nicolo d'Aristotile
detto Zoppino." March, 1537.

In 4to, ff. 25, printed on both sides.*

Igqi. Ain New Formbiichlin bin ich gnandt

Auasbiirq Allen Kiinstlern noch vnbekandt

Schartzeni- Sih mich (lieber kauffer) recht an,

bcrger. Findst drefftlich in diser kunff stan

Schon gschnierlet, geboglet, auf gladt,
Und gold, auch schon von premen stadt,
Es gibt dir ain prem unb ain kledyt.
Wenn mans recht aussainander schneydt.
Das kanst schneyden auss der Ellen,
Von Samat, Seyden, wie manss wolle,
Ich mag braucht wern in allem landt.
Wen man mich ersucht mit verstandt.

(At the end.)
Gedruckt in der Kaiserlichen Riechstatt, Augspurg, durch

Johan Scliartzemberger. Fonischneyder. 1534.

Small obi., 20 ft"., 38 plates.

Frontispiece. Title in black Gothic letters, at the foot three subjects
of women at work, printed in red.

The patterns, consisting of graceful arabesque borders, are also in red
(Figs. 166, 167, 168).

" Oxford, Bib. Bodleian. * Venice, Library of St. Mark.

■^ Milan, Cavaliere Bertini. ^ Bib. Nat. Grav. L. h. 13. e.

<:
I
:^'

To face page 462.

APPENDIX

463

Fig. 168.

Augsburg. 1534.

A neawe treatys : as cocernynge the excellency of the nedle X D.
worcke spanisshe stitche and weavynge in the frame, very '\'|^'^^p^^.
necessary to al theyni wiche desyre the perfect knowledge of ste'rmau.
seamstry, quiltinge and brodry worke, coteinynge an cxxxviij
figures or tables, so playnli made & set tout in portrature, the
whiche is difhcyll ; and natoly for crafts me but also for gentle-
weme & and ioge damosels that therein may obtayne greater
conynge delyte and pleasure.

Tliese books be to sell at Andwarp in the golden Unycorne
at WilliTi Yorstermans.

Gheprent tot Antwerpen in die camerstrate in den gulden
eenhoren bey Willem Vorsterman.^"

8vo, 24 ff., 46 plates.

Title in Gothic letters, with figures.

P. 1, dorso : Woodcut of a woman at work and a man sitting by her

side.

Patterns mediaeval, small black squares, arabesques, etc.
Yorsterman worked from 1514 to 1542.^^

10.

Giardinetto novo di punti tagliati et gropposi, per exercitio 1542.
€t ornamento delle donne. Van. 1542, in 4to.^" Vcuice.

>« Bib. de I'Arsenal. 11,951.*
" Silvestre, Marques Typogra-
pliiques des Imprimeurs en France,

depuis 1470. Paris, 1853-61.

'^ Quoted in Cat. Cappi, of Bo-
logna, 1829.

464 HISTORY OF LACE

II.

1543. Esemplare die iusegiia alle donne el modo di cucire. Venetia,

Venice. 1543.^^

12.

1544. II Specchio di pensiere {sic), delle belle donne dove si vede

Ven'ce. yarie sorti di punti, cioe, punti tagliati, gropposi, &c. Venetia,
1544.

In 4to.i*

13-

154!:. Ornamento delle belle donne et virtuose : Opere in cni

Venice, troverai varie sorti di frisi con li quali si potra ornar ciascun
donna. Ven. 1544.^^

14.

1546. Le livre de moresques, tres utile et necessaire a tous orfevres,

Pari». tailleurs, graveurs, 'painctres, tapissiers, brodeurs, lingieres et
ormon . fg^^-^jjjgg q^j[ besongnent de I'aiguille. Paris. Gormont, 1546.
Fig. en bois.^^

1519. La fleur des patrons de lingerie, a deux endroitz, a point

v^d°% croise, a point couche, et a point picque, en fil dor, fil darget, &

iMcie. fil de soye, on aultre en quelque ouvraige que ce soit, en com-

prenant lart de broderie et tissuterie. Impriinees a Lyon, en la

maison de Pierre de saincte Lucie (diet le Prince, Pres nostre

Dame de Confort).-^''

(At the end.)

Imprime a Lyon par Piarre de saincte Lucie, diet le Prince.
1549.

8vo, 12 ff., 21 plates.

Frontispiece. Title in Gothic letters, with woodcuts representing
people at work. Below, two women sitting at frames ; above, two others ;
and between, a man with a frame in his hand. On each side a shield,
one with crowned heart, on the other a lion, three fleurs de lys in chief.
Patterns mediaeval. At the end, the device of the printer, a mountain,
on the to]) of which is a city against which a youth is placing his hand :
motto, " Spero." At the foot of the mountain a cavern in which is
seated a Fury. This device is engraved No. 616 in Silvestre, who gives
1530 to 1555 as the date of Pierre de Saincte Lucie.

'^ Quoted in Cat. Cappi, of Bo- V. 634.* Bound in one volume with

logna, 1829. the three following. (Nos. 16, 17,

^* Ihid. and 18.) — Catalogue de Livres pro-

''^ Ihid. venant de la Bibliotheque de M. L.

IS Cat. Bib. Heber., part vi., p. D. D. L. V. (Duke de La Valliere).

258. No. 3,514. Paris, 1763. T. xi., No. 2,204.

^'' Paris, Bib. Sainte-Genevieve.

APPENDIX

465

16.

Livre nouveaii, diet patrons cle lingerie, cest assavoir a deux
endroitz, a point croise, point coiiuhe & point picque, en fil dor,
dargent, de soye & autres, en quelque ouvrage que ce soit :
comprenant lart de Broderie & Tissoterie. Imprimees a Lyon,
chez Pierre de Saincte Lucie, pres nostre Dame de Confort.^*

8vo, 24 ff., 44 plates.

Frontispiece. Title in Gothic letters ; the same shields as the pre-
ceding ; two women at work. Patterns mediaeval. At the end the same
device.

The copy of the Arsenal is a different impression. Instead of
•' Imprimees," &c., we have, " On les vend," etc.

N. I).

Lyon.

P. de Ste.

Lucie.

17-

Patrons de diverses manieres
Inventez tressubtilement
Duysans a Brodeurs et Lingieres
Et a ceusy lesquelz vrayement
Veullent par bon entendement
User Dantique, et Roboesque,
Frize et Moderne proprement,
En comprenant aussi Moresque.
A tons massons, mennisiers, & verriers
Feront prouffit ces pom'traictz largement
Aux orpheures, et gentilz tapissiers
A ieunes gens aussi semblablement
Oublier point ne veuly auscunement
Cotrepointiers & les tailleurs dymages
Et tissotiers lesquelz pareillement
Par ces patrons acquerront heritages.

Imprimees a Lyon, par Pierre de Saincte Lncie, diet le
Prince, pres nostre Dame de Contort.^'

8vo, 16 ff., 31 plates. Title in Gothic letters. Patterhs mediteval.

The copy at the Arsenal is a later impression. " On les vend a Lyon,
par Pierre de saincte Lucie, en la maison du deffunct Prince, pres," etc.
It has only 12 ff., and 23 plates.

N. D.

Li/on.

P. d^ Ste.

Lucie.

18.

N. D.
Lymi.

8ensuyuent lis patrons de messire Antoine Belin, Pteclus de
sainct Martial de Lyon. Item plusieurs autres beaulx Patrons ^ ., .
nouveaulx, qui ont este inventez par Jelian Mayol Carme de
Lyon.

On les vend a Lyon, cliez le Prince.^"

"* Bib. Ste. Genevieve. V. 634.*
—Bib. de I'Arsenal. No. 11,9,53.*—
Cat. d'Estrees. Paris, 1740-46. No.
8,843. 3.

'" Bib. Ste. Genevieve. V. 634.*

—Bib. de I'Arsenal. No. 11,953.*—
Cat. d'Estrees. No. 8,843. 1.

2^ Bib. Ste. Genevieve. V. 634.'"
—Bib. de I'Arsenal. No. 11,953."

2 H

466 HISTORY OF LACE

Small 8vo, 6 fif., 85 plates. Copy at the Arsenal has 12 ff.

The same device of the printer in the frontispiece and at the end ol
the book. "Finis."

One of the patterns represents St. Margaret holding the cross to a
dragon, but in these four books the designs are copied from each other,
and are many of them repetitions of Quinty.

19.

N. I). Ce livre est plaisant et utile

Lyon. A gens qui besongnent de leguille

1>. Celle. ' Pour comprendre legerement

Damoyselle bourgoyse ou fille
Femmes qui ont I'esperit agille
Ne scauroint faillir nullement
Corrige est nouvellement

Dung honeste hoilie par bon zelle
Son nom est Dominicque Celle
Qui a tous lecteurs shumylie
Domicille a en Italic.

En Thoulouse a prins sa naissance.
• Mise il a son intelligence
A lamender subtillement
Taille il est totallement

Par Jehan coste de rue merciere
A Lyon et consequemment

Quatre vingtz fassons a ATrayement
Tous de differente maniere.^'

28 ff'., 27 plates. Title in Gothic letters. Dedication to the Reader,
in which it states the book is for the profit of " tant hommes que femmes."
Patterns mediaeval. At the end of the Preface, " Finis coronat opus."

20.

N. D. Esemplario <li lavori : die insegna alle done il modo e ordine

Venice. ^|j lavorare : cusire : e racamare : e finalmete far tutte qlle
vassore. ' <'pere degne di memoria : leqiialc po fare una donna virtuosa

con laco in mano. Et nno documento clie insegna al copratore

accio sia ben servito.'-^^

In 8vo, 25 ff., printed on both sides, 48 plates. Title in red Gothic
characters, framed round by six woodcuts similar to that of Vorsterman ;
at the foot, " fiorio Vavasore fecit."

Then follows tlie " Documento per el compratore," and an Address to
Ladies and Readers, by " Giovandrea Vavassore detto Guadagnino," saying
that he had already " fatti alcuni libri di esempli di diverse sorte."

There is no date to tliis copy ; but in the library of Prince Messimo.
at Rome, is a copy dated Venice, 18 Feb., 1546, containing 50 plates;
and Brunet quotes an edition, " Stampato in Vinezia, 1556; " Cav. Merli
also possesses an edition of the same date. Mr. E. Arnold has also a
copy with the same date.

The patterns are mediaeval, on black grounds, with counted stitches, a
large flower pot, mermaid, Paschal lamb, and a double plate representing
Orpheus playing to the beasts.

^' Paris, Bib. Baron Jerome ^^ Bib. Nat. Grav. L. h. 4.

Pichon.*

APPENDIX

467

21.

Essemplario novo di piu di cento variate mostre di qualunque
orte bellissime per cusire intitolato Fontana di gli essempli.

Oblong 8vo. No date. 16 ff., 28 plates.

In the frontispiece is a fountain with the motto, " Solicitude est mater
divitiarum," and on each side of the fountain —

N.n.

Venice.
G. A. Vu-

vassorr- .

" Donne donzelle eh
El cusir seguite

Per farvi eterne alia
Fonte venite."

On the back of the frontispiece is the Dedication, headed, "11
Pelliciolo alia molta magnifica Madona Chiara Liponiana;" the page
finished by a sonnet ; in the last leaf, " Avviso alle virtuose donne et a
cjualunque lettore Giovanni Andrea Vavassore detto Guadagnino." Says
lie has "negli tempi passati fatto imprimere molto e varie sorte d' essem-
plari di mostre," etc. At the foot, " Nuovamente stampato." -^ This
work is also described by Count Cicognara with the same title, only with
the date 1550. In the Bibliotheca Communitativa, Bologna, is a copy of
the same date. In this last edition the author writes his name Valvassore.

22.

Vavassore Gio. Andrea. Opera nova Universal intitnlata
corona di ricammi ; Dove le venerande donne e fanciulle :
troveraiio di varie opere p fare colari di camisiola & torniaenti
di letti eternelle di cuscini boccasini schufioni : cordlli di piu
sorte ; et molte opere per recamatori p dipitore poreuesi : (sic)
de lequale opere o vero esempli ciascuno le potra pore in opera
secodo el suo bisogno : con gratia novamente stampata ne la
iuclita citta di vineggia per Giovanni Andrea Vavassore detto
pp., sm. 4to.

Guadagnio,

13 ff., 52 designs, none of which are repetitions of the preceding.^*

N.I).

Venice.

G. A. Va-

vasgnre.

23.

Vavassore Gio. Andrea detto Guadagnino. Opera nova, etc.
- . . dove le venerande donne et fanciulle trovaranno di varie
opere et molte opere per recamatori et per
Nuovamente stampata, etc.^*

N. T).

Venire.

.. . . . .^ G. A. Va-

dipmton, etc. ^^,_,„^,_

Quite a different collection from the preceding. A little of everything
in this volume.

Zoan Andrea Vavassore was the pupil in drawing and engraving of
Andrea Mantegua. Towards the beginning of the sixteenth century, he
worked on his own account, and his engravings are much sought after.
So greedy was he of gain as to obtain for him the name of Guadigno, in
Venetian patois, " covetous." He lived to a great age.

^» Bib. Nat. Grav. L. h. 4. a.*—
Catalogo ragionato dei libri posse-
duti dal Conte di Cicognara. Pisa,
1S21. No. 1,818.

'^* Library V. and A. Museum.
— Venice, Lib. St. Mark. — Milan,
Bib. Marquis d'Adda.

" Milan, Bib. Marquis G. d'Adda.

2 H 2

468 HISTORY OF LACE

24.

N. D. Libro questo di recliami per el quale sie impara iu diversi

A. Paga- modi I'oidiae e il modo de recainare, cosa non mai pliu fatta n' e
stata mostrata.

By Alessandro Paganino.^®

20 plates, with a long explanation how these works are done. (Com-
municated by Prince Massimo.)

. 25.

N. D. Patrons pour P>rodeurs, Lingieres, Massons, Verriers, et

^^'■**'- autres gens d'esprit. A Paris. Pour la Veuve Jean Ptuelle,
Ruf.]it.. rue S. Jacques, a I'enseigne Saiiict Nicolas.^'^

4to, 23 £f., 32 plates of mediaeval designs. Ornamented title-page.

26.

1548. n specchio di pensieri delle belle et virtudiose donue, dove

M Ti"'? ^^ vede varie sorti di Punti, cioe punti tagliati, punti gropposi,

punti in rede, et punti in Stuora. MDXLViii. Stamp, in

Venetia, per Matliio Pagan in frezzaria, in le case nove Tien per

insegna la fede.'"^^ • , .

16 ff.

27.

1551. ■ 1. L'hone.sto Essempio del vertuoso desiderio clie lianno le

Venice, donne di nobile . ingegno circa lo imparare i punti tagliati e
agaii. fQr(\[.^^Y[i. In Venetia per Mathio Pagan in Prezaria al segno
della Fede, M.D.L.^^

In the V. and A. Museum is a copy dated 1550.

28.

1551. Giardineto novo di Punti tagliati et gropposi, per esurcitio

Venice, g^^ ornaniento delle donne. At the end, A''eiietia, Mathio Pagan

■ * in Frezzaria, in le case nove (tien per iisegna della Fede) MDLI.

Dedication, Alia signora Lucretia, Konuina Mathio Pagan,

salute.^" See also No. 38.

29.

1554. Variarum protractionura qnas vulgo Maumsias vocant

Duhms. omnium autehac excusarum libellns longe copiasissimus pic-

toribus, auiifabris, polymilariis, barbaricariis variisque'id genus

'^•^ Rome, Bib. Prince Massimo. ^^ Genoa, Cav. Merli.

" Bib.de I'Arsenal. 11,954 (with '^^ Quoted by Cav. Merli.

D. de Sera).* ^" Florence. M. Bigazzi.

APPENDIX

469

artificibus etiam acu operantibus iitilissimus mmcque primen
in lucem editus anno 1554. Baltliazar Sylvius (Dubois) fecit.
Jo. Tlieodoret, Jo. Israel de Bry excud.^\i

In 4to, £f. 23, copperplate.

30.

Triompho di Lavovi a Fogliami de i quali si puo far ponti in '•''oS-
aere ; opera d' Fra, Hieronimo da Cividal di Frioli, de I'Ordiue ^'^"J'So-
de i Servi di Osservantia. Cum gratia et privileggio per , mmo.
anni xi."'

Obi. 4to, 14 ff., 22 pi.

Ornamental title-page. On the top, a female seated in a triumphal
car drawn by unicorns, with attendants. On each side of the title are
women teaching children to work.

P. 1, dorso. Dedication of the author, " Alia Magnifica & Illustre
Signora Isabella Contessa Canossa," whose "Immortal Triompho" is
represented in the above woodcut. Fra Hieronuno speaks of preparing
" pill alte e divine imprese."

Then follow three pages of verses in terzette, and p. 3, dorso, the
impresa of the printer, a lion rampant, holding a sword in his fore paws.
Below, " In Padou per Jacobo Fabriano, ad instantia de Fra Hieronimo da
Cividal di Frioli : de 1' (h'dine de i Servi di OsserVantia 1555."

.31. ,■;,,:,;:■.; ,

Lucidario di ricami di (ruiseppe Torello. Venezia. 1556.
In 4to.

32.

1556.
Venice.
Torello.

New Modelbiich, alien Nagerin, unnd Sydenstickern sehr 1556.
nutzlich zii brancbe, vor nye in Druck aussgangen durcb Hans Stra^urci.
Hoffman, Burger und fornisclmeider zu Strassburg. At the j„„,f^
end, Zu Strassburg Tiedruckt am Kommarckt durcb Jacob
Frolicb. 1556. 4:to.^^

4to. A to G in fours. (28 leaves.)

Title printed in red and black. On it a woodcut of two women, one
engaged in embroidery, the other fringing her some stuff. The last leaf
(Giiii.) has on the recto a woodcut of a woman at a frame, the verso
blank.

33-

Niivv Modelbiich, allerley gattungen Dantelsehniir, so diser n.d.
zyt in hoch Tiitschlandeu geng und briichig sind, zu underricht p^J;''^"'\
jren Leertochteren unnd alien anderen schurwirckeren zu Zurych ' ^^^^^

31 Paris, Bib. Nat. Milan, Bib.
Belgiosa and Marqius d'Adda.

32 Bib. de I'Arsenal. 11,953.*—

Bologna, Bib. Comm.— Cat. d'Es-
trees. 8843. No. 2.
33 Mr. E. Arnold.

470 HISTORY OF LACE

unci wo die sind, yetz niiwlich ziibereit, uud erstmals in tinch
verfergket durch R. ]\I.^*

No place or date, but as appears, both from the title and preface, to
be printed at Zurich, by Christopher Froschover. The date probably
from 1530 to 1540.

4to. Signatures A to F in fours. 24 leaves. On the title a woodcut
of two women working at lace pillows.

34-

N. D. Modelbiich Welscher, Ober und Niderlandischer Arl^ait.

Franhfort. Qetruckt zii Franckfort.

No date, but probably at least as early as 1530. 4to. Signatures A
to D in fours. 20 leaves.

Title enclosed in an elegant woodcut border.

35.

i.">:{7. Modelbiich, von erhabener unud tiacher Avbait, Auff der

Frankfort. Ramen, Laden, und nach der Zale.
noiffs. Getruckt zu Franckfort, Bei Christian Egenolffs, Erben.

The date, 1537, occurs on one of the patterns. 4to. AA to HH in
fours. 32 leaves. Title in a woodcut border. 178 patterns.

1571. ]srew Modelbiich.

^""ZIm* Von allerhandt Art, Nehens und Stickens, jetzt mit viellerley

Mayn. Welscher Arbeyt, Model und Stahlen, alien Steinmetzen, Seiden-
.V. Baseus. gftickern und Neterin, sehr niitzlich und kunstlich, von neweni
zugericht.

Getruckt zu Frankfurt am Mayn, 1571.

Device and motto of Nicolas Baseus on title-page. Sni. 4to. (Librai'y
V. and A. Museum.)

37-
15(;8. Das new Modelbiich, &c.

Fr(mJ;fort
on the Franckfurt am Mayn, 1568, 4to. Printer, Nicholas Baseus, ff. 40.

Mayn.
N. Baseus.

38.

1569. Modelbiich ; Zweiter Theil : Franckfurt am Mayn, 1569.

t'raiikfort
071 the 4to, ff. 44. Nos. 36 and 37 are cited by the Marquis d'Adda. .

Mayn.

^* Royal Library, Municli.

APPENDIX

471

39-

La Gloria et 1' lionore de ponti tagliati et punti in aere 1558.
Venezia per Mathio Pagan iu Frezzeria al segno della Fede. Venice.

|k^^o35 M. Pagan.

16 plates. Dedicated to Vittoria Farnese, Duchess of Urbino.

40.

II Monte. Opera nova di recami intitolata il monte, nella
quale si ritrova varie, & diverse sorti di mostre, di punti in aiere,
a fogliami. Dove le belle & virtuose Donne protrannofare ogni
sorte di lavoro, accommodate alle vera forma misura & grandezza,
che debbono essere ne mai piu per 1' adietro da alcuno vedute.
Opera non men bella cbe utile, & necessaria.^'^

Below, the unpresa of the printer, an eagle with its young ; motto,
•• Virtu te parta sibi non tantum." In Venetia.
4to, 16 ff., 29 plates of bold scroll borders.

N.D.

Venice.

41.

II Monte (libro secondo) Opera dove ogni bella donna potra 1559
fare ogni sorte di lavori cioe culari, fazzoletti, maneghetti, aver- ^^^"*'^'':
tadure (berthes), &c., in Venetia, 15(i0.^''

G. A. Bin-
doni.

Printer's mark and motto as No. 39 : afterwards the dedication dated
1559, " a Vittoria da Cordova Gio. Ant. Bindoni," in which he states
'' Ho preso arditamente di presentarvi questo secondo Monte." 4to,
ff. 16.

42.

Bellezze de recami et dessegni opera novo non men bella che i.iss.
utile, e necessaria et non piii veduta in luce. Venezia, 1558.^* Venice.

Ob. 4to. 20 plates of patterns.

43-

Lo Splendore delle virtuose giovani con varie mostre di
fogliami e punti in aere. Venezia. Per Iseppo Foresto in calle ^emc';.
deir acqua a S. Zulian all' insegno del Pellegrino, 1558.^*

ir)58.

Venice.

16 plates.

«■' Cat. Cicognara. 1583. No. 4.
^' Bib. de I'Arsenal. No. 11,953.*
-Mr. E. Arnold.
^^ Florence, M. Bigazzi.

3^ Cat. Cico.gnara. 1583. ■ No. 1.
Bound in one volume, with six
others.

»■' Ibid. 1583. No. 5.

472

HISTORY OF LACE

44.

1559. Trionfo di Virtu Libro novo da cucir, con fogliami, ponti a

Venice, g^^ p^j^^.- cruciati, &c. Venezia, ISSO.*"

N. D.

16 plates.
Burato.

45-

Consisting of four leaves, with patterns of canvas (tela chiai-aj, in
squares, for works in " punta " of various widths, with instructions how
to increase or diminish the patterns. See Cutwoek.

On the back of the last page is printed in large characters, " P. Alex.
Pag. (Paganinus). Benacensis F. Bena. V. V."'*'

gratiose

donne, novo

46.

A'^. D. Burato .... con nova maestria,

artificio vi appoito.

A second edition without date. 4to, ff. 59 ; frontispiece, ladies at
work, verso. Triumph of Fame. Four books of designs of great elegance
and taste. The Marquis d'Adda assigns them to Vavassore.

N. D.

A. Pas-

serotti.

47-

Passerotti Aurelio Pittore Boloii^nese dissegnatore e miniature
figlio di Bartolommeo Passerotti circa al 1560. Libro Primo di
lavorieri alle molto illustre et viituosissime "entildonne Bolo"-
nesi. Libro secondo alle molto magnitici et virtuosissimi si^nori.'''-

In fol. obi.

67 ff., including two dedications and a frontispiece. Designs for
embroidery, etc., drawn with a pen. In the title-page of the first book is
the device of a sunflower, " Non san questi occhi volgere altrove."

Venice.

48.

Le Pompe. Opera nova di recami doVe trovansi varie
mostre di punto in acre. Venezia, 1557.*^

Probably an earlier impression of the following. 4to, ff. 16.

49.

1559. Le Porape, opera nova nella quale si ritrovano varie,

diverse sorti di mostre, per poter far Cordelle over Bindellc,
Oro, di Seta, di Filo, overo di akia cosa di Dove le belle
virtuose donne potranno fare ogni sorte di lavoro, cioe merli

d'
et
di

diverse sorte, Cavezzi, Colari, Maueghetti, & tutte quelle cose

*" Cat. Cicognara,
*' Ibid.

1583. No. 6.
1583. No. 7.

*2 Cat. Cicognara. No. 17
« Ibid. 1683. No. 3.

APPENDIX

473

che le piaceranno. Opera non men belJa, che utile, & necessaiia.
E non piu veduta in luce. ISSO/*

Below, the same impresa of the eagle, as in " II Monte," Nos. f59
and 40.

8vo, 16 £f., 30 plates.

A great variety of borders and indented patterns (merli). (l''ig. 169.)

" Si vendeno alia Libraria della Gatta."

Fig. 169.

Lb Pompe, 1559.

In the Cat. d'Estrees is noted, " Le Pompe, Opera nella quale si
retrovano diverse sorti di mostse per poter far cordelle, Bmdelle, d' ore
di seta, di filo. 1559, fig." Probably the same work.

50.

Le Porape, Libro secondo. Opera nuova nella quale si 1500.
ritrovana varie e diverse sorti di Mufctre, per poter fare Cordelle, Y^inicv..
ovver Biudelie, d'Oro, di Seta, di Filo, ovvero di altra cosa. Dove

" Bib. de I'Ai-senal. 11,953.

474 HISTORY OF LACE

le belle & virtuose Donne potranno far ogni sorte di lavoro, coei
Merli di diverse sorte, Cavezzi, Colari, Maueghetti & tutte quelle
cose che li piaceno. Opera lion men bello che utile & necessaria
e non piu veduta in luce.

Impresa of the printer, " Pegasus," and below. In " Venetia 1560."
Obi. 8vo, 16 ff., 29 plates."

Mrs. Stisted's copy is dated 1562, and there is one at Vienna, in the
Imperial Library, of the same date.

51.

in63. Splendore delle virtuose giovani dove si contengono molte, &

Vemee. yarie mostre a fogliami cio e puiiti in aere, et punti tagliati,

flno. ' bellissimi, «& con tale arteficio, che li punti tagliati serveno alii

punti in aere. Et da quella cli' e sopragasi far si possono,

medesimamente molte altre.

In Venetia Appresso Jeronimo Calepino, 1563.*^

8vo, 20 ff., 35 plates of scroll patterns in the style of "II Monte."
Dedication " Alia molto honorata M. Anzola ingegniera suocera mia
digniss." Francesco Calepino, wishing, he says, to " ristampare la
presente opera," he dedicates it to her. In Bib. Melzi, Milan, a copy
dated 1567.

52.

1563. Lucidario di recami, nel qual si contengono molte, & varie

Vemiie. gorti di disegni. A punti in aere et punti tagliati, & a fogliami,
& con figure & di piu altre maniere, come al presente si usano
non piu venute in luce Per lequali ogni elevato ingegno potra
in diversi modi commodiss'tnamente servirsi. In Venetia,
Appresso leronimo Calepino, 1563.*''

8vo, 16 ff., 29 plates of flowing borders like the preceding.

53-

ir)64. I Frutti opera nuova intitulata i frutti de i punti in stuora,

Vi'nict. a fogliami, nella quale si ritrova varie, et diverse sorti di mostre
di ponti in Stuora, a fogliami, & punti in gasii & in punti in
Trezola.*^ Dove ogni bella et virtuosa donna potra fare ogni
sorte di la^^oro, cioe fazoletti, colari, maneghetti, Merli, Frisi,
Cavezzi, Intimelle, overo forelle, avertadure da camise, & altre
sorti di lavori, come piu a pieno potrai vedere, ne mei per
r adietro d' alcun altro fatte & poste in luce.

.7. Cale-
phw

*5 Bib. de I'Arsenal. 11,953.*— I'Arsenal. 11,973.*— Cat. d'Estrees.

Mrs. Stisted. Bagni di Lucca. ■*** Trezola, in the Riviera dialect,

*^ Bib. Nat. V. 1901.*— Bib. de signifies a plait-tresse. " Porta i

I'Arsenal. 11,973.* — Cat. d'Esfcrees. capei in trezoli." (" She wears her

" Bib. Nat. V. 1901.*— Bib. de hair plaited.")

APPENDIX

475

Opera non men bella, che utile et iiecessaria a ciascuna

virtuosa geutildonna. In Vines:>ia,*1564.

Obi. 8vo, 16 ff., 30 plates of patterns either in dots or small squares.

54-

Pati'ons pour brodeurs, lingieres, inassons, verriers, et autres
,L>ens d'esperit ; nouvellement imprime, a Paris, rue Saint- Jacques,
a la Queue-de Regnard m.dlxiiii.^"

1564.
\'ari%.

55-

Fade (Opere nova) intitulata : Dei Recami uella quale si ^'•^^y
Gontiene varie diverse sorte di niostre di punti scritto, tagliato, ^^^^

in Stuora, in Eede, &c. In Yenetia, appresso Domenico de Frances-
Franceschi in Frezzaria, all' inse^na della Kecrina. m.dlviii. ^'"'-

In 4to, ft". 16.