i ^. PRESENTED TO THE ART DEPARTMENT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES BY THE FAMILY OF BERNICE IRENE SCHMIEDER 1973 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES )*^^ THE LACE BOOK ^^ THE LACE BOOK BY N. HUDSON MOORE AUTHOR OF "The Old China Book" " The Old Furniture Book" etc. WITH SEVENTY ENGRAVINGS SHOWING SPECIMENS OF LACE, OR ITS WEAR IN FAMOUS PORTRAITS NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY FREDEHICK A. STOKES COMPANY All rights reserved Published in October, 1904 .A .%. y. ^.'.^ j'*.^ jf. "__." "' A .* V-. *. A Contents PAGE I. THE GROWTH OF LACE 1 II. ITALIAN LACE . . 55 III. FLEMISH LACE 85 IV. FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES 115 V. ENGLISH AND IRISH LACES 165 INDEX 199 V List of Illustrations PART I Frontispiece. Queen Marie-Amelie. PLATE FACING PAGE I. Early Italian drawn-work 6 II. Cut-work, with squares of embroidery 10 III. Lucrezia Ricasoli ne Zanchino 12 IV. Lacis, and Venetian drawn-work 14 V. Donna Emilia Spinelli 18 VI. Donna Portia Rossi 20 VII. The Gonfaloniere Peretti 24 VIII. Faustina, wife of Count John of Nassau 28 IX. Bossuet 32 X. Marie-Pauline Bonaparte 36 XI. Empress Eugenie 38 XII. Cornells de Graef 42 XIII. Silver Point d'Espagne 48 XIV. George Washington 52 PART II XV. Princess Eleonora di Mantova 58 XVI. Eleanor of Toledo 60 XVII. " Punto in Aria " 62 XVIII. Gros Point de Venise . 64 XIX. Gros Point, and Punto tagliato 66 XX. "Leader of choir of Henry IV" 68 XXI. Point de Venise a Reseau 70 XXII. Gold Lace 72 XXIII. Thomas Francis Carignan 74 XXIV. Italian bobbin-made lappet 76 XXV. Italian bobbin-made flounce 78 XXVI. Marie de Medicis 80 XXVII. Bobbin-made flounce 82 XXVIII. Shawl made from pith of the Aloe 84 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE PART III FACING PAGE XXIX. " Little Princess " 88 XXX. Bobbin-made Flemish lace, and Mechlin .... 90 XXXI. Portrait of a Young Man 94 XXXII. Portion of a cap 96 XXXIII. Francis Henry of Orange 98 XXXIV. Point d'Angleterre a Reseau 100 XXXV. Rubens' Wife, by Frans Hals 102 XXXVI. " Fausse Valenciennes " 104 XXXVII. Portrait of his daughter by Cuyp 108 XXXVIII. Duchesse de Nemours 112 PART IV XXXIX. Court ball in time of Henry III of France . . . . 118 XL. Claudia, daughter of Henry II and Catherine de Medici ... 122 XLI. James Stuart and his sister Louisa 126 XLII. Point d'Alenson 130 XLIII. " Unknown Princesses " 134 XLIV. Charles de France and Marie- Adelaide 138 XLV. "Vrai Valenciennes" and Old black Chantilly . . 140 XLVI. Queen Marie- Antoinette 144 XLVII. La Duchesse d'Aumale 148 XLVIII. Spanish needle point 150 XLIX. White Spanish blonde 154 L. Chalice veil and silk Maltese bobbin lace . . . . 158 LI. Henrietta Anna, Duchesse d'Orleans 162 PART V LII. Old Honiton 168 LI 1 1. Buckinghamshire lace 174 LIV. Devonshire Trolly lace, Bedfordshire " Baby lace," and Buckinghamshire Trolly lace 178 LV. English bobbin-made lace, and Honiton . . . . 182 LVI. Irish crochet lace 186 LVII. Limerick Applique lace 190 LVI 1 1. Point de Gaze and Point d'Alen9on XX Century . 196 Part I The Growth of Lace " /JND here the needle plies its busy task, /J The pattern grows, the well-depicted flower, ^ A. w rou ght patiently into the snowy lawn, Unfolds its bosom, buds and leaves and sprigs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispersed, Follow the nimble fingers of the fair A wreath that cannot fade of flowers that blow With most success when all besides decay." COWPER. # ;#>. #:. ;$ .'* .:*:. .& '&. & #:. ;& .:& j*:^ THE LACE BOOK ^!. ."*fc .V! ^K. iv. & ."^ ?4*f !^jf Jfc $fc & ^ Par/ / The Growth of Lace " HE desire for beauty in attire which is found in even the most primitive and barbarous nations is responsible for the production of the finest and most costly trimming which can be lavished upon '. costume. The progressive steps have been slow and interesting, the first having been taken as far back as the tenth century before Christ, in the land of the Pharaohs, whose mummy-cases yield up work made on flax cloth with coloured threads, and patterns drawn and worked in geometric design or with inscriptions. The luxury-loving Greeks and Romans ornamented their togas and peplums with graceful patterns wrought in con- trasting colours or in gold. Garments, when fresh and new, needed no ornament about the immediate edge, but as they became frayed and worn the threads were twisted and stitched together, and little by little, from such humble beginnings, grew the beautiful fabric we call lace. The fancy for ornamental edges during mediaeval times sought expression in diverse ways, and by 1250 we read in various accounts of men's and women's clothes being "slittered, dagged, and jagged," which means that the 3 THE LACE BOOK edges were cut in patterns of leaves and flowers and bound about with a strip of cloth or cord, or sometimes a thread of gold, or the decoration might be cut from velvet and sewed on. Primarily the word lace signified a line or small cord of silk thread or any material which was used to tie to- gether portions of clothing, among both civilians and the military, as the doublet and hose, the sleeves to the body, or the stays and bodices of ladies' dresses. In the "Paston Letters," where so many of the fashions of the times are mentioned, in the year 1469 John Paston wrote to his brother: "I pray you bring home points and laces of silk for you and me," which referred to these laces, made of silk, for tying the clothes together. " Points" were the metal tags on the ends of the laces to keep them from ravelling. There is no reference to lace other than this in the book, although there are many references to clothes, their fashion and trimming. But Lady Paston followed the manners of the times in placing her daughters in the families of persons of high rank, who had them trained in the various accomplishments deemed necessary for well-born females, among which skill with the needle held an important place. Royal ladies wrought their endless tapestries and embroideries with needles of gold, and used up pounds of gold thread besides, some of them working merely to pass away time otherwise unoccu- pied, and others, like the unhappy Mary Stuart, who was famous for her skill at needlework, endeavouring to bridge over the tedium of a weary captivity. 4 THE GROWTH OF LACE No two languages use the same word for this fabric. In English it is lace, from lacier, to fasten. Lace in French is either passement, dentelle, or guipure. The Germans call it spitzen; the Italians, merletto or trina; pizzo is the Genoese, while the Spaniards call it encaje. Flanders calls its priceless product peerlen, while the Dutch have it kanten, and the Portuguese, renda. Two countries claim to be the birthplace of lace, Flanders ajid Italy ; and while the Dutch have contributed more to the making of thread lace, it seems undoubtedly true that Italy was first in the field with this beautiful adornment, but in its earlier form of gold and silver, and later with coarse threads of flax. It is in the Italian inventories that the earliest mention is made of lace, and Italy long sustained her supremacy in the production of superb points. She worked right on, even though other countries, envious of the immense sums which poured into her coffers, sought to prohibit the sale of her wares, and in retaliation, during the reign of Louis XIV, when her work-people were drawn to France, framed the fol- lowing laws : " If any artist or handicraftsman practices his art in any foreign land, to the detriment of the Republic, orders to return will be sent him ; if he disobeys them, his nearest kin will be put in prison, in order that through his interest in their welfare his obedi- ence may be compelled. " If he comes back, his past offence will be condoned, and employ- ment for him will be found in Venice ; but if, notwithstanding the imprisonment of his nearest of kin, he obstinately decides to con- tinue living abroad, an emissary will be commissioned to kill him, and his next of kin will be liberated only after his death." 5 1A'*'AT AT* ''^"^ THE LACE BOOK Different styles of laces may be roughly divided into the periods wherein they flourished, the dates in Flan- ders and Italy being approximately the same. From 1480 to 1590 was the Geometric or Gothic period, without brides. From 1590 to 1630 there were floral forms held by brides, these being rendered neces- sary by the heavy character of the lace. At this time "modes," as the different filling stitches were called, were introduced by various makers, and from this time until 1670 development and elaboration were constant. Not only were floral forms attempted, but figures, heads, scenes, and birds were used, and there was more lace made with meshed or net grounds. From 1720 to 1780 little bouquets, sprigs, sprays, flowers, leaves, buds, and dots were freely scattered over grounds, and these patterns we have since copied con- stantly, for their beauty cannot be improved on. Among the old cathedrals all over Europe the stores of lace are of fabulous value, being of silver, gold, and flax. The number of ecclesiastical vestments which may be trimmed with lace, and which are in use in the Church of Rome to-day, give an idea of the immense amount of this costly fabric which could be used on a single set. The dalmatic, the surplice, and the alb are those most profusely ornamented with lace, although the veil is sometimes trimmed with lace, or entirely composed of it, having sacred symbols or letters woven in it. The corporal is made of the finest and whitest linen to be obtained, and if any lace is put upon it, it 6 ~tDLA'E 1. Early Italian drawn-work. The background is formed hi/ aU r Ik '**sfcA dfr* -V"^*** LATK II. Cut-work, with squares of enibroi- ilvry. Sicteenth Century, Italian. THE GROWTH OF LACE in one of the many pageants an ancient minstrel per- formed, whose appearance and dress are minutely de- scribed in " An' Essay on the Ancient Minstrels " in " Percy's Reliques." "A person very meet seemed he for the purpose, of forty-five years old, apparelled partly as he would himself. His cap off'; his head seemly rounded Tonsterwise ; fair kembed, that with a sponge daintily dipt in a little capon's greace was finely smoothed, to make it shine like a mallard's wing. His beard smugly shaven ; and yet his shirt after the new trink, with ruffs fair starched, sleaked and glistering like a pair of new shoes, marshalled in good order with a setting stick and strut, that every ruff stood up like a wafer. A side gown of Kendal green, after the freshness of the year now, gathered at the neck with a narrow gorget, fastened afore with a white clasp and a Keeper close up to the chin, but easily, for heat to undo when he list. Seemly begirt in a red caddis girdle ; from that a pair of capped Sheffield Knives hanging sC two sides. Out of his bosom drawn forth a lappet of his napkin edged with a blue lace, and marked with a true love, a heart, and a D for Damian, for he was but a bachelor yet. His gown had side sleeves down to midleg, slit from the shoulder to the hand, and lined with white cotton. His doublet-sleeves of black worsted, upon them a pair of poynets of tawny chamlet laced along the wrist with blue threaden points, a wealt towards the hand of fustian-a-napes. A pair of red neather stocks. A pair of pumps on his feet, with a cross-cut at the toes for corns ; not new indeed, yet cleanly blackt with soot, and shining as a shoing-horn." There is a portrait of Henry VIII, showing him in a costume with ruffles at the hand, and an entry occurs in the wardrobe book, of a pair of sleeves, " ruffd at the hands with strawberry leaves and flowers of golde em- broidered with black silke." Also a pair of sleeves of "redde cloth of gold with cut workes." 11 )l(& THE LACE BOOK There had been many acts passed .during the reign of Edward IV (1461-1483) regulating wearing- apparel, and during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509) gold and silver lace as well as thread became an article of commerce from Italy. There must have been consider- able traffic in this fabric, for an act was passed prohibit- ing the sale of a packet of lace as a pound when it did not weigh twelve ounces, and that the contents of said packets should contain lace of the same goodness and colour as that displayed on the outside, the crafty Venetians considering it allowable to make more than a just profit by giving short weight and inferior quality. Queen Elizabeth of York pays in 1502 quite a sum for laces, and Friar Hercules is also paid for "gold of Venys," and " for making a lace for the King's mantell of the Garter." Queen Mary, whose thoughts were not fixed on " app'l," nevertheless continued some of the laws of Henry VIII's making, in which "ruffles made or wrought out of England, commonly called cut work, are forbidden to any one under the degree of a baron." No woman whose station was of less degree than the " wife of a knight might deck herself with lace, or passe - ment lace of gold or silver, with sleeves, partlet or linen trimmed with ptirles of gold or silver, whitework or cut work made beyond the sea." It was in the second year of Elizabeth's reign that the great ruffs came in, trimmed with the beautiful thread Guipure of the period, and requiring stiffening to keep 12 III. Lticrfizid Ricasoli n Zancfiitio. lure,, probably made at Rayimn. Six- teenth Century. THE GROWTH OF LACE them in shape. Starching became necessary, and women to do this business were brought from Holland. In 1564 Mistress Dingham Van Der Plasse, a Flem- ing, came to London and pursued the business of a starcher of ruffs, and taught the intricate process to others. The clergy fell afoul of starching, and Stubbes, besides inveighing against it, mentions also "a certain device made of wires, crested for the purpose, and whipped all over either with gold thread, silver or lace for support- ing these ruffs and called a supertasse or underpropper. . . . " Great ruffs or neckerchers, made of hollande, lawne, cambric, and such cloths," so fine and delicate that the greatest thread in them "shall not be so great as the least hair that is, starched, streaked, dried, patted, and underpropped by the supertasses, the stately arches of pride, towered over three or four minor ruffs placed one below another." The outer, or " master-devil ruff," was very rich, decked with " gold, silver, or silk lace of stately price, wrought all over with needle-work, speckled and sparkled here and there with the sun, the moon, the stars, and many other antiques strange to behold ; some are wrought with open work down to the midst of the ruff and further; some with close work, some with purled lace, and other gew-gaws, so clogged, so pestered that the ruff is the least part of itself. Sometimes they are primmed up to the ears, and sometimes they are suffered to hang over the shoul- ders like flags or wind-mill sails, fluttering in the air." In Mrs. Bury Palliser's " History of Lace," which covers the whole subject in such a comprehensive manner, the " Great Wardrobe Accounts " of Queen Elizabeth's time are freely drawn on. Abundant evi- dences are given in them of the magnificent way in which her Majesty's wardrobe was furnished forth, not only with what she bought, but with the splendid gifts 13 THE LACE BOOK from subjects, which were rather in the nature of a tax than evidence of a desire to give. In 1577 Lady Ratcliffe gave the Queen for a New Year's gift a night coif of white cut-work, flourished with silver and set with spangles. Sir Philip Sidney on the same occasion gave a pair of cuffs of cut-work. In the Wardrobe Accounts this cut-work is mentioned as being of both Flemish and Italian make, the latter being the more costly. Besides the cut-work, mention is frequently made of other kinds of lace. " Bone lace " heads the list, and was so called from the use of fish-bones, which were scraped down to the proper size, instead of pins. The bobbins were also made of bones, the small bones in pig's " trotters " being those generally chosen, in England, at any rate. Italy used, besides small bones, bobbins of wood, with sometimes a pretty bead set in or a bit of silver. Mrs. Palliser says that lead bobbins were also in use, but the weight of these would seem to be prohibi- tory. After a time the bone bobbins were replaced with those made of wood, and the term bone lace becomes less frequent. " Bobbin lace " was next in order, and afterward there was scarcely any end to the various trimmings which the Virgin Queen lavished upon herself, although she kept a stern eye on any too excessive gaudiness in the apparel of her loyal subjects. " Crown lace," as its name implies, had devices of crowns ; then there was " Hollow lace," " Parchment," "Spanish," "Fringe and Diamond" 14 THE GROWTH OF LACE lace, all mentioned in these voluminous Wardrobe Accounts, which extend from the first year of Queen Elizabeth's reign (1558) till 1781, and fill one hundred and sixty volumes. Articles of feminine attire were easily purchased at the shops of merchants by those who dwelt in cities. But the country ladies, who were quite as eager to be " brave " in their attire, were forced to buy from peddlers, who carried their wares from one end of Europe to the other, and were eagerly welcomed whenever they appeared, as they were not only expected to show their goods, but to be able to tell the latest fashions in coifs and wimples, smocks and pillow-beres, ruffs, cuffs, and passements. Needle-made lace was always more valuable than bobbin lace, and in Queen Eliza- beth's time varied from 8s. 6d. to 50*. a yard, while the bobbin ranged from 3s. Gd. to 11*. 6d. The entries in these account-books seem to show that the laces worn and most in demand were of foreign make, and imported from Venice, Lucca, Genoa, and Flanders. As early as 1454 a complaint was made by the women of London against six foreigners by whom the manufacture of cut-work, both of silk and thread, was introduced. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries lace was made in many counties of England, some of it of great beauty ; but in the early days it was the foreign lace which was worn. It seems amazing that Queen Elizabeth, herself an arch-offender in the matter of exaggeration of costume, 15 THE LACE BOOK should have been so strict in her proclamations against the " inordinate use of apparel." In 1568 the value of the lace imported into the kingdom was 775 6*. Sd., and the Queen personally was a small buyer, since she received for presents such quantities, all of the richest quality. Her very petticoats bristled with lace of " Venys gold," and none of them were so poor that they did not at least have a guarding of "Venys silver." There was hardly a garment which was not edged with lace, and christening- shirts, mittens, and mantles or "bearing-cloths" were richly laced, and aprons came into fashion. Laced hand- kerchiefs were given as love tokens. King Henry VIII himself had used " handkerchers of Holland fringed with Venys gold, red and white silk." They kept on gaining in richness with nearly every reign. In June, 1665, there are advertised as lost : "6 handkerchers, wrapt up in a brown paper, two laced, one point laced set on tiffany ; the two laced ones had been worn, the other four new." Everybody knows the sad ending of Mrs. Turner, who invented yellow starch, and expiated that crime and some others upon Tower Hill. Not only starch was needed to keep these huge ruffs in the desired shape ; there were setting-sticks and struts of either bone or wood, and the poking-stick of iron, which, being heated and drawn through the ruff, gave it the proper arch of pride. Queen Elizabeth no doubt con- sidered her huge ruff most becoming, and never dreamed that it was whispered about behind her back that she 16 C^C<&3OOKX)^^ THE GROWTH OF LACE had the " yellowest throat in all England " and wore the huge gorget to conceal it. In the face of such extravagance as we know her to pardon in her own person, Queen Bess ordered that " neither also shoulde any person use or weare such great and excessive ruffs, in or about the uppermost part of their necks, as had not been used before two yeares past; but that all persons shoulde in modest and semely sort leave off such fonde, disguised, and monstrous manner of attyring themselves as both was unsup- portable for charges and undecent to be worn." Stranger to us, in these days, would be the laces woven from human hair, the soft and silky white being that most often chosen. Mary Stuart had a small piece of hair lace given her by the Countess of Lennox, woven from her own white hair. The clergy and those rich and powerful nobles of Scotland who could receive their " passements " and guards from France and Italy, as did the rest of the world, used them no doubt according to the fashion of the times. Mary Stuart's arrival in her dominions stimulated yet further elegance of attire, and in her Wardrobe Accounts of 1567 are found records of passe- ments and Guipures, gold and silver lace, and most of the varieties of thread lace then known. The national dress of Scotland precluded the use of lace of a delicate character, and an account of the costume of the women, written by Martin in 1703, is as follows : "The plaid for women, being plaited all around, was tied with a belt below the breast. . . . They wore sleeves of scarlet cloth, closed at the end as men's vests, with gold lace round 'em, having plate buttons set with fine stones." 2 17 >C^^ THE LACE BOOK The bulk of the people not wearing lace, little was made except among the great, who worked at it them- selves and had their maidens make it, so that petticoat and apron, neckerchief and fly cap need not be without it. The quantities made by the captive Queen Mary seem almost incredible, fashioned from patterns designed by herself, "after nature," of birds, fishes, beasts, and flowers. Of the latter 52 patterns, of four-footed beasts 16, and of birds 124, were mentioned in her inventory. The sumptuary laws in England regarding dress must have been carried out in a half-hearted way, for during the early days of the reign of James I (1603) the ruff, double, single, three and four piled, was the fashion still. The clergy yet railed at them, and " deep ruffs and shallow ruffs, thick ruffs and thin ruffs, double and no ruffs " were denounced from the pulpit. In 1607, according to a play of the period called "What You Will," a gentleman's dress, as described by his servant, was as follows : " A cloak lined with rich taffeta, a white satin suit, the jerkin covered with gold lace, a chain of pearl, a gilt rapier in an em- broidered hanger, pearl-colored silk stockings, and massive silver spurs." The granting of monopolies "as numerous as the frogs of Egypt," and then the rescinding of them, occupied King James's attention for twenty years. The importation of gold and silver lace was the per- quisite of the Earl of Suffolk, and no doubt he saw to it that plenty was worn. 18 1OLATE V. Donna Emilia ^Infill. Ruff of linen trimmed with lieticella or drawn-work and edt/txl with Gothic I'oint. Sixteenth Century. >oC<>C!O^ THE GROWTH OF LACE band" came in, and was bordered by lace, embroidery, cut- work, or even pearls. It may be said that in King Charles's reign the ruff finally died, and falling bands became the mode. These latter were worn by all classes save judges, and must have been very much more comfortable than the ruffs which preceded them. With them came " band strings," so called, to tie or fasten them. These were often very rich, and were made with the collar or sold separately. Sometimes they were plaited, or made with bobbins, being finished with a medallion of lace or merely a tassel. " Snake- bone band strings " are mentioned by 1652. It is agreed that the reign of Charles I (1625-1648) was the most elegant and picturesque in the line of costume ever known in England. Because Van Dyck painted at this time and made the dress such a feature of many of his wonderful pictures, the costume has become known by his name. The perfection of this courtly costume was not reached until about the middle of the reign, for during the first decade the dress of his father's (James I's) time still prevailed. To the completed dress of the gallant of say 1630 almost every European nation had contributed its quota, and in Ben Jonson's comedy of " The New Inn," first performed in 1629, a beau observes : " I would put on The Savoy chain, about my neck the ruff, The cuff of Flanders ; then the Naples hat With the Rome hat-band and the Florentine agate, The Milan sword, the cloak of Geneva set With Brabant buttons, all my given pieces, My gloves, the natives of Madrid. 1 '' 01 THE LACE BOOK Even after the commencement of the Civil War, when Royalists were dubbed Cavaliers, and Republicans were called Roundheads, the costume still retained its ele- gance and beauty among the faction devoted to the Crown. The doublet of velvet, satin, or silk guarded with lace, had large, loose sleeves slashed up the front. The collar was covered by a falling band of richest Point lace, which, with its peculiar edging of points, became known as Vandyck's. The breeches met the long boots, which were wide, and fringed with either lace or lawn ruffles. The female dress was equally elegant and varied. " Rhodon and Iris," a play first acted in May, 1631, gives the following catalogue of the ornaments of a lady of fashion : "Chains, coronets, pendans, bracelets and earrings; Pins, girdles, spangles, embroideries and rings ; Shadowes, rebatoes, ribbands, ruffs, cuffs, falls, Scarfes, feathers, fans, maskes, muffs, laces, cauls ; Thin tiffanies, cobweb lawn and fardingals, Sweet fals, vayles, wimples, glasses, crisping pins ; Pots of ointment, combes, with poking sticks and bodkines, Coyfes, gorgets, fringes, rowles, fillets and hair laces, Silks, damasks, velvets, tinsels, cloth of gold, Of tissues with colours of a hundred fold." The varieties of falling bands are " French falls," " Geneva bands," which were worn by the clergy, and the narrow falls worn by the Roundheads. Nightcaps, which had appeared in King Henry VIII 's time, had by 1026 become valuable adjuncts to both men's and women's attire. Prince Charles carried two 22 THE GROWTH OF LACE with him on his Spanish trip, for which the gold and silver laces cost 15. These nightcaps must have been very large, for King James required ten yards of needle- work for his, which cost 16 135. 4>d. Nightcaps held their own for many years, and in 1762 we find women of fashion wearing the "French nightcap" in the day- time. It was a large and flapping garment, so that a writer of the time says : " Each lady, when dressed in this mode, can only peep under the lace border." During King Charles's reign, if the lace ruff had de- creased in size, there was no less lace worn, since it blossomed out in prodigious fashion on the boot-tops and in rosettes on the shoes. By 1627 much fine lace was made in England, but it was not till 1635 that home industries were protected by prohibiting the importation of " Purles, Outworks, or Bone-laces, or any commodities laced or edged therewith." Under Cromwell such vanities as lace were sternly suppressed, except among those like Cromwell's mother, who would not lay aside her rich lace ; but with the coming of the Stuarts such "fallals" as lace were once more brought forth and shaken out. Although Charles II issued many prohibitions, he himself loved Flanders lace, and wore it, too. The fashion of dressing the hair in flowing locks effectually killed the wide collar, as only the front could be seen, so that the cravat, richly laced and tied in front, became the mode. In the last year of Charles II's reign the expense accounts show that he paid 20 12*. " for a new cravat to be worn onthebirth- 23 THE LACE BOOK day of his dear brother." Pepys wore one of these bands to church on October 19, 1662. He was so pleased with his appearance that he notes down : " So neat it is that I am resolved my great expence shall be lace-bands." Pepys speaks many times of the lace on his and his wife's clothes, of gold lace, lace bands, lace petticoats, garments guarded with lace ; and finally, when his brother goes to Holland to seek his fortune, Pepys, in a burst of generosity, gives him an old coat trimmed with lace from off one of his wife's petticoats ! Lace cravats were popular for many years, and were only beginning to be superseded in 1735. James II wore, on his coronation, a Venice Point lace cravat and ruffles, and the cravat cost 36 10s. William III and Mary did not hesitate to have much and costly lace, both of Italian and of Flanders make, and the expense accounts duly set forth the fact. In one instance six Point lace cravats for William cost 158, and it is in this reign that the extravagance in lace reached its height, everything being trimmed with it, even such homely articles as combing-cloths, " toy- lights," pillow-beres, night shifts, razor-cloths, etc. If the Queen pays 17 for a lace apron, the King exceeds her by giving 499 Ws. for the lace to trim his new nightshirts. Nor were simple gentlemen far behind royalty, for in 1709 Mr. Gore's wedding shirts are de- scribed as " laste with lace of eight pound a yard, the nightshirt lace three pound ten a yard." " Good Queen Anne," whose name has been attached 24 /,J '/'/; 1 7 1. -Tin- Gonfalonicre 1',-Mtl. /.'/ a n/l hrveflwa of cut-work. Porirnit l>i/ l)umt-ni- v - - v ^-s^s^*^ ^^v/^y- v --^ ^'^w v THE GROWTH OF LACE to so many objects from a hoop-skirt to a house-roof, did not spend quite as much money on lace as her sister, but she, too, when she wanted it for state occa- sions,, sent to Flanders for it. Until this time we find that the term " Flanders' lace " covered all of this fabric which the Netherlands furnished. In 1710 Queen Anne paid 151 for 26 yards of fine edged Brussels lace, and two years later her bill for Brussels and Mechlin lace to one merchant alone was 1418 14?. There was no extravagance to which the ladies of the court did not go in regard to the quantity of lace lavished upon their clothes, and in an effort to stem the rising tide an embargo had been laid, in 1711, upon the importation of gold and silver lace, under pain of the forfeiture of the lace and a fine of 100. The companions of laces were the unguents, essences, and cosmetics considered neces- sary to improve the complexion. In 1730 Swift wrote : " Five hours (and who can do it less in ?) By haughty Celia spent in dressing ; The goddess from her chamber issues, Array'd in lace, brocade, and tissues." The male costume was scarcely less exacting. The long wigs necessitated a weekly shaving for the head. The ill-paved streets wrought havoc with fine clothes and the rich laces with which they were trimmed, so great cloaks, often edged with gold lace, were part of every man's costume. Each walk in life had its own dress, and each might choose to throw about him at night the Doyley, the Joseph, or the wrap-rascal. 25 THE LACE BOOK Year after year the " Great Wardrobe Accounts " teem with exorbitant sums paid for lace. During the reigns of the first two Georges we read of lappets and flounces, caps, aprons, stomachers, and handkerchiefs, and the second George was quite a martinet as to the quality of his lace and the profusion with which it was to be worn. To please him, and in deference to the prevailing Eng- lish fashions, when Queen Caroline first appeared in England she wore the dress most in vogue among Eng- lish ladies. She had on a gold brocade with a white ground, had a stomacher ornamented with diamonds, and a fly cap with richly laced lappets. During his reign English laces began to be held in greater estima- tion and more worn on high occasions, and edicts were passed prohibiting foreign importations. By 1760, with George III on the throne, much less lace was used in masculine attire, and the rich lace which had been in daily use was laid aside, appearing only on great occasions. Early in the nineteenth century collections of old lace began to be made by women of fashion, and Sydney, Lady M organ, gathered much in her travels. In 1818, at Paris, she writes to her sister : " I have had to set myself up an evening dress, and though materials are extraordinary cheap here, work is wonderfully dear, so dear that I cannot get a plain dress made up under a guinea and a half. However I have made myself a very pretty dress with my own two hands, white satin with a deep lace flounce. With the skirt I got on beautifully, but as to the corsage, fortunately there is scarcely any, what there is being covered with falls, and frills of lace, so it does not signify how the body is made." 20 THE GROWTH OF LACE From the cradle to the grave there was no place or occasion where lace was not worn in profusion, the only limit being the ability of the wearer to gain possession of it. The once beautiful Aurora von Konigsmarck, whose form has become the colour and consistency of leather, lies in her coffin completely enveloped in folds of costly lace. She left directions that no expense should be spared to purchase Point d'Angleterre, Ma- lines, or Guipure for the last adornment of her body, and the jewels which were also coffined with her are worth a fortune. Many people were anxious about the way they should be dressed for the grave, and left par- ticular instructions in regard to the matter. The Due de Luynes writes in his Memoirs : " The Cure of Saint 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 ; a new coat of Vardez cloth embroidered in silver ; a new wig ; his cane in the right, his sword in the left of his coffin." At christenings lace was always abundantly used. In 1778 the infant daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Chandos was so weighed down by the immense amount of lace on her robes that she fainted. George III and Queen Charlotte stood as sponsors, and although the child's mother observed her condition she said nothing, so that the dignity of the christening, with Majesty in attendance, should not be disturbed. As the Arch- bishop of Canterbury gave the child back to its mother he remarked that it was the quietest child he ever held. 27 THE LACE BOOK It died soon after, having never recovered from the effects of its christening. It was much the fashion for great dames to receive company upon their " uprising " a few days before the christening. Lady Chesterfield, in 1802, received the Queen and George III "reclining on a state bed, dressed in white satin with a profusion of lace, the counterpane of white satin embroidered with gold, and the bed of crimson satin lined with white." England, in her love of lace and extravagant use of it, had but followed in the path worn by her Continental neighbours. France desired to be no less brave than the rest of the world, and the sums of money she expended were even greater than those of England. It was the arrival of Catherine de Medici in France that disseminated the taste for lace through all classes, together with other luxuries that had their origin in Italy. It is true that it was at first the more primitive forms of lace which she brought with her, but, with the development of lace in Italy, France followed suit, and it was in full favour by 1550. The effeminate Valois, dissolute and extravagant, gave themselves up to every species of folly. Their dress was as costly and brilliant as could be devised, mid the last of this family, Henry III, paid so much attention to the preservation of his beauty and the details of his costume that he was well called the homme-fcmme of the Louvre. There are many portraits of him, with his dogs; receiving Guise ; at Blois ; insti- tuting the order of the "Holy Spirit;" and at balls. and 28 VIII. Faustina, wife, of Count John of Nassau. Jtujf of /aim, triple -p/ai/td, edyed with fine Gothic Point. Portrait by l-tarcs- teyn ( lf>7^-16o? ). THE GROWTH OF LACE in all of them some form of the ruff is evident. Indeed, one of his favourite amusements was to " do up " his ruffs himself, spending a world of time and pains in clear-starching them and ruffling them with poking- sticks, getting them so stiff that they cracked like paper. Finally they grew so enormous and unwieldy that they could be tolerated no longer, and ruffs sud- denly disappeared, and turned-down collars became the mode. But lace was still in demand, and Henry III led the court in the amount and costliness of that used on his own person. At the meeting of the States of Blois, the King's robes were trimmed with 4,000 yards of pure gold lace. When the French queen made her entry into the city of Lyons in 1600, the Captains of the Guard were all dressed alike, their garments being heavily trimmed with gold parchment lace. " The coronall marched before them, mounted on a mightie courser, barded and garded with gold lace, himself aparelled in blacke velvet all covered with golde parchment lace."" All this time edicts were put forth to restrain extrava- gance in dress, and during the reign of the House of Valois no less than ten were issued. With Henry IV these edicts increased, and in his own person he endeav- oured to stem the tide of extravagance. If he was plain in dress, his queen made up for it, and the accounts of the Queen of Navarre teem with items of cut-work, passements, points for handkerchiefs and rabats, for collars, towels, and lace for sheets. 29 X}LATE IX. Bossuet (1627-1704). lie wears an alb (rimmed with Point dt>, France. Portrait !>y Rigaud. ^^N^^ THE GROWTH OF LACE Point. Fine lace was produced here, and soon in other places in France. It was originally called " Point de France." Later, specific names were chosen ; and encouraged by Colbert, and fostered by the edict of Louis XIV, who forbade the use of any other kind of lace in his immediate court circle, Alen^on lace grew to great perfection and beauty, and many people were at work upon it. Drastic measures were used to see that the edicts relative to the wearing of French lace only were earned out. In 1670 the hangman publicly burned " one hundred thousand crowns' worth of Point de Venise, Flanders lace, and other foreign commodi- ties that are forbid." At the frequent balls and masques which were the diversion of the French court, the outlay for lace was immense. Louise de Querouaille had a man's dress made to wear at a ball in 1672. The bill shows it to have been a very rich court suit: "For making a dove-coloured and silk brocade coat, Rhingrave breeches and canons, the coat lined with white lutestring and interlined with camblett ; the breeches lined with lutestring ; seamed all over with a scarlet and silver lace ; sleeves and canons whipt and laced with a scarlet and silver lace and a point lace trimmed with a scarlet figured and plain sattin ribbon and scarlet and silver twist 2 "Buttons 1 " 10 yds. brocade at 28s 14 " Linings and ribbons 20 " 22 yds. of lace at 18s 1916 "Beaver hat 2 10 11 59 6" 3 33 THE LACE BOOK By 1680 it was publicly stated that the laces com- monly called Point de Venise were made in France as well as in Italy, while in 1687 the Earl of Manchester, writing from Venice, complains of the excessive price of the Point made there, and says he is sure it can be bought as cheap and in better patterns in England or Paris. Never was dress more extravagant. Since the ponderous richness of the fashions of the Renaissance had been thrown off, it was lighter and more graceful. Beauties and elegantes of both sexes gave their minds to this absorbing subject. She who could invent a new use for a bit of lace, and he who could contrive something bizarre in the cock of a bonnet, were sure of the plaudits of their friends and the satisfaction of having their ideas promptly copied. There were such fantastic trifles as " galants," " ladders," " fanfreluches," " transparents," " furbelows," " hurly-burlies," "what-nots," " Steinkirks," " Fontanges," " engageants," " roses," and " palatines," - all requiring more or less rich and beautiful lace in their composition. The skirts of the gowns were looped aside to show an under-petticoat quite as rich as the gown itself, and frequently smothered in lace in the form of whole fronts which hung from the waist, or two or three smaller flounces. The sides of the outer skirt were trimmed with lace set on in full shell-like ruches, or in " ladders," and only the purse of the wearer, or her credit with the lace merchants, limited the amount put on these sumptuous gowns. Lest, even with all this elegance of attire, life should not be sumptuous enough, " bath sets " 34 THE GROWTH OF LACE were made, trimmed with lace, and comprising a gown, towels, and a great flounce of lace to surround the bath- 4 tub itself. Changes of fashions were shown on lay figures, or dolls, dressed in costly stuffs and laces. At this time France had assumed her place as arbiter and leader in the world of dress, so these dolls were sent all about, to Italy, Flanders, Vienna, and England, and called " Courriers de la Mode." Two hundred years before, Isabella D'Este had sent to France a doll from Mantua dressed in the style she affected, which was also worn by the Milanese ladies, for Mantua was famous for its caps and its embroideries. Indeed, the well-known term " mantua-maker " comes from the name of this city, now scarcely more than a memory. With the coming to the throne of Louis XV, lace was still in great demand. None, from grisette to grandee, but squandered all they could gather together on this fragile fabric. Ruffles were an absolute necessity on day- shirts, dress-shirts, and nightshirts, Valenciennes being the proper lace for these latter garments. For other occasions the trimmings might be " Point a bride," "Point a reseau," " Point superfine," " Point brilliant," " Point d'Angleterre," " Point d'Alen9on," or " Point d'Argen- tan." The extravagance of the period in the lace put on the night garments is shown in the Wardrobe Accounts of the Due de Penthievre (1738), who paid 520 livres (about $104) for the lace for collar and cuffs for a nightshirt. His nightcaps were many and ornate. 35 i/ Man- Ili-imlt, THE GROWTH OF LACE flounces, and festoons. Even a pair of sabots was trimmed with two ruffles of Blonde Tulle bordered with Alencon ! With the coming to the throne of Marie Antoinette, wearied with the formality and etiquette of the old regime, the court, when not on dress parade, laid aside formal fashions, and frivolled in India muslin and straw hats. There was not much lace worn, except Blonde, which made frills at the sleeves and about the corsage, and much of the eccentricity which crops out in every court found expression in the hair-dressing, which as- sumed such gross and ridiculous proportions that books and newspapers are filled with sarcastic remarks on the subject. Many little details of dress originated by the Queen were called by her name, like the fichus trimmed with lace and tied behind, which we now call " Marie Antoinettes." They were originally called "Archi- duchesses," and were made from both Tulle and Marli, as well as from muslin. At the Petit Trianon the ladies worked at lace-making and embroidery as well as at farming, and flounces of Marli lace were embroidered, or at any rate commenced, and served as pretty trifles to show off white hands. Even the men worked at such things as lace work, and carried about with them little bags, called in derision "ridicules," which were furnished with sewing-implements all of gold, and often jewelled. When a court lady reached her fortieth year she wore a coif of black lace and tied it under her chin. By 1789 37 THE LACE BOOK only old ladies wore caps "a la Pierrot," trimmed with quantities of lace. With the Revolution died, at least in France, the manufacture and use of lace, to be revived for a brief period under Napoleon, who appreciated the effect of luxury of attire, and during the early years of his reign lace once more was imperial. Alen^on, Brussels, and Chantilly laces were the favourite fabrics of this monarch, who made time even to attend to the small details of the costumes of his family and court. To encourage home manufactures, and commerce as well, Napoleon ordered Josephine not only to entertain ex- tensively, but also to devote much attention to dress. The Empress, who was as fond of dress and gewgaws as a child, was only too glad to devise new and extravagant costumes, and spent over 1,000,000 francs a year on her clothes, and even then was constantly in debt. In the year 1802-03 she ordered 200 white muslin dresses, embroidered or trimmed with lace, costing from 500 to 2,000 francs each. In the same year she had 558 pairs of white silk stockings, and 500 lace-trimmed chemises. In her whole wardrobe there were but two flannel petticoats, since the fit of the gowns was so close that even in winter a chemise and corset were the only gar- ments possible to wear underneath them. At the coronation Josephine wore a gown of silver tissue em- broidered with gold, and around her white neck a ruff or /raise of exquisite lace heavily wired and studded with jewels. 38 WDljATE XL Empress Eugenie. White and black silk Blonde lace. One length of this flounce three and one-half yards long, twenty inches wide, sold in London in 1903 for forty-five guineas. Portrait by Winterhalter. THE GROWTH OF LACE The trousseau of Marie Louise, prepared under the critical eye of Napoleon himself, had an abundance of lace on the beautiful garments. Her bed was draped with fine Alencon lace made with the Napoleonic cipher, this figure being introduced into the coverlet, curtains, valances, and pillow-cases. At the birth of the King of Rome the city of Paris presented a cradle, made of silver, gilded, and designed by Prud'hon. It was an exquisite thing, crowned by a figure of Glory upholding a brilliant star. Silk curtains fell away on either side, and the most delicate Alencon lace composed the cover- let, while the lace flounces bordering it fell to the floor. When Mademoiselle Permon became Duchesse d'Abrantes in 1800, her trousseau was the first one of elegance and beauty seen in Paris since the Revolution. It contained, as the bride described it with real girlish delight, "full-trimmed chemises with embroidered sleeves, pocket-handker- chiefs, petticoats, morning gowns, dressing-gowns of India muslin, night-dresses, nightcaps, morning caps of all forms and colours," and the whole of these garments were embroidered and trimmed with Valenciennes, Mechlin, or English Point. The wedding gown for the civil ceremony was trimmed with Point lace. The bonnet was of Brussels Point, from which fell a veil of fine Point d'Angleterre large enough to cover the whole person. Empress Josephine was present in a superb " redingote " trimmed with " magnificent Point d'Angleterre and with bows of turquoise-blue ribbon." 39 THE LACE BOOK In a letter from the Duchesse Edme'e de Brancas, dated Paris, 1778, she says : " The craze for the Neo-Greek costume which has been in favour ever since the Revolution demands that every line of the female form should be in evidence, and lays stress on much that were better concealed. To me it is quite disgusting. 1 ' The colours affected were all called by fanciful names, a certain shade of brown being " terre d'Egypte," while for ladies' gowns such colours as " gorge de pigeon " were all the rage. The Baroness de Courtot, a member of the old re- gime, who returned to Paris in 1800, wore on her presentation to Josephine a gown of gorge de pigeon, " with the waist up under the arms and a long train." The dress was decorated with a jabot of Flemish lace fastened on the bosom with a diamond clasp. Madame Tallien, who was noted for her extravagance, was the possessor of 3G5 head-dresses and bonnets, all more or less lace-trimmed, and 400 gowns, varying in value from 50 to 1,000 francs each. The appearance of the court was very gay and bright, since Napoleon abhorred dark colours and would not permit them to be worn before him. About this same period (1801) there occurred in Cassel the wedding of the Duke of Meiningen with the Princess of Hesse. The trousseau was on view in one of the rooms of the palace. The dresses were displayed upon a long table in the middle of the room, and round about stood smaller tables on which lay the body linen, 40 oo. Clonk and doublet r.dyi-d with Mark Gulp/ire, (farters and roses on shoes of this. tame lace. Portrait In/ A ichola.t Kims. THE GROWTH OF LACE The imitative Dutch always bettered the article they copied, and the lace made by their men, women, and children was no exception to the rule. Not only was it made at the homes of the workers, but in great estab- lishments called Beguinages, one of the most famous of these being at Ghent. Different qualities of lace, and of course great varieties of patterns, were made in the lace schools, and were sold both for home use and for exportation. No Dutch vrouw considered her dress complete without some edging of lace at least on her cap, and generally her skilful fingers could make it if her pocket was too lean to buy it. Just how early lace- making began in the Low Countries it would be diffi- cult to say, but it is known that long before it was applied to secular uses it was owned by churches and ecclesiastics. Many rich vestments still belong to the old churches of Brabant, made of the splendid old Brussels lace, and so well cared for that they retain to-day their old-time elegance. In the magnificent cathedrals of Holland will be shown you treasures of lace that are absolutely bewildering, not only those belonging to the robes of the priests and the cloths of the altar but also votive offerings to madonnas and saints. These often take the form of robes made wholly of lace or richly trimmed therewith, veils, or whole suits for the Infant the Madonna holds in her arms. The Hollanders had many methods of economising, selling the splendid cloths they made at home, and wearing an inferior quality of English manufacture ; or 43 THE LACE BOOK exporting their own rich, sweet butter and using a less admirable article purchased in the countries of northern Europe. They sold their lace, too, thousands of yards yearly ; it remained their staple of commerce when the country was ravished by wars, distracted by troubles at home, or devastated by the plague. Yet we never find any record of lace being exported to that " country that draws fifty feet of water, In which men live as in the hold of nature, And when the sea does in them break And drowns a province, does but spring a leak." They might go without lace, but, when they wore it, it was that made of choicest flax, and at home. Countless portraits bear out this statement, as well as testifying to the fondness these burghers had for rich raiment and twisted chains of fine gold made in Venice, which city, in the centuries of the Renaissance, led the world in goldsmith's work. They copied, it is true, the laces of Venice, but this was only till they learned the intricacies of needle point. After that they were quite able to stand alone. The Dutch artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries painted charming genre pictures of life among the simple as well as among the great. Card parties, music parties, a lady sewing or reading in her room, flowed from their brushes with prodigal abundance. In all these pictures the least minutiae of dress, adornment, household belongings, and customs of the period and country are observed. The satin and lace, the broideries 44 ^^ THE GROWTH OF LACE and furs, the carving on the furniture, and the gold- smith's handiwork, are treated with reverent care. None painted more realistic pictures of this character than Mieris, while the portraits of Mierevelt, Jan de Bray, Franz Hals, and Rembrandt show what dignified and elegant gentlemen these burgomasters of the Nether- lands were, how sumptuous was their attire, and with what a grand air they wore it. The lace roses on their shoes were not too small a detail to be duly given point for point, while the falling collars, fichus, cuffs, stom- achers, and caps of their wives are painted with such faithfulness that the quality and kind of lace is easily discernible. The use of lace seems to have been encouraged rather than repressed, and the chief care for the Dutch was to keep at home their skilful workers who were tempted to other countries to teach those less skilful the arts and crafts in which the Flemings excelled. So alarmed did the Flanders burgomasters become at the number of lace-makers that emigrated to France, attracted there by the offers of Colbert, that in December, 1698, an act was passed at Brussels, threatening with punishment any person who should entice away her work-people. Even with the loss of many skilled hands, more than enough lace was made for home consumption, and in 1768 England alone paid Flanders for lace, $1,250,000 (250,000). The Dutch were always on the lookout and ready to supply any market with any article desired, from wooden 45 THE LACE BOOK ware to South Carolina and Virginia, to a special kind of lace to the Spanish Indies. This lace was of quite a different character from that sent to other quarters of the globe, being a Guipure of large flowers, geometric in character and united by brides. In 1696 a galleon on its way to Cadiz was taken on the high seas, and among its rich freight were " 2,181 pieces of assorted coarse Spanish laces." There is hardly a town in Flanders, east or west, that has not depended and does not still depend largely on the wages of her lace-makers, the greatest drawback to this industry being its merciless destruction of the workers' eyes, many of them losing their sight when in the neighbourhood of thirty years of age. Even so, there are always plenty of apprentices to be had, the lace schools of West Flanders alone num- bering over 400, with more than 30,000 scholars. The Bdgwnages harbour many more lace-workers of all ages, for by far the greater number of inmates are women of independent means, who live at these institutions, come and go as they please, the only requisites being that they are not married, will come within the walls at a certain hour at night, and have enough money to maintain themselves. During a large part of every day they labour for the benefit of the institution, which is pre- sided over by members of a Catholic Sisterhood, who also have in connection with it a lace school. The Beguinage at Ghent numbers several thousand of these independent workers, beside the immense numbers of children and young girls in the school itself. 46 >OOOC*:XXX^ THE GROWTH OF LACE Quite different is the position occupied by Spain with regard to the lace made within her borders. Quantities of course occupied the attention of the many nuns which dwelt in such a Roman Catholic country. They copied very faithfully the beautiful Gros Points de Venise, and these were used wholly for the Church, adorning its altars and the robes of the priests. Little was known of this store of lace treasures till the middle of the nineteenth century, for the Spanish grandee, ever a wearer of choice raiment, laced his garments with the products of Italy, France, and Flanders, or with laces of silver or gold. Few laces ever achieved the vogue of what was known as Point d'Espagne, the most splendid trimming of the seventeenth century, worn extensively by all the world of powerful and great, and, although called Spanish Point, yet largely made outside of Spain and sent there for sale. With the changes of fashion in both men and women's clothes the use of this lace has wholly declined, the remnant of its glory still shining in subdued form on the uniforms of the army and navy. Spanish Blonde, the only other famous lace of Spain, is yet worn in mantillas and flounces ; but in modern times this is no longer made in Spain except in small quantities, the French market supplying the demand, and making these laces in the well-known Spanish style, with a fine net ground and heavy florid pattern. Germany never occupied an important place in the lace-making world, though she early began to copy in- dustriously from France in the north and Italy in the 47 THE LACE BOOK south. She never achieved fame in any branch of the industry, her sole great name in the work being that of Barbara Uttmann, who, having learned to make bobbin lace from a refugee from Brabant, introduced the work to her own countrywomen about 1561. French refu- gees settling in Dresden and that region brought their knowledge and skill with them, and taught the German workers, so that the quality soon improved. Saxony Point, so called, was a close copy of Brussels Point, and, like that lace, extremely costly. Darned work, lacis, and embroidery on net were extensively made, and gold and silver lace was made at Hamburg (another point where the French refugees settled) and became known in Germany as Hamburg Point. Fred- erick William of Brandenburg encouraged lace-makers to settle at Potsdam, and France bought from Germany laces made by the veiy Frenchmen her intolerance had exiled. Bobbin lace gained a firm hold in Germany, and many varieties of coarse laces are still made there by the peasants. Some of the earliest known pattern- books were printed in Germany, and the patterns bear a strong resemblance to those in the Venetian books of the same period. Nor is it possible to close this sketch of the use of lace without glancing at the colonies in North America, that followed at a distance and slowly, it is true, the fashions of the period, as they changed from time to time in the Old World. Little lace was made here. I have no doubt that many a Dutch vrouw brought her 48 p t'i-r J'olnt xx^ THE GROWTH OF LACE pillow and bobbins with her, and found time amid her varied duties to make enough " Potten Kant " to keep her caps trimmed, and enough to edge the many fine linen cloths which stood on table and mantel-shelf. There are one or two old pillows, still set with pins, the thread yellow with age and the bobbins quiet for many a long year, treasured in museums in New York State and in Maine. But these are only occasionally to be met with. Like most of our luxuries, our lace came from London, and plenty of it was on sale here. Too much attention and too much money was bestowed on these gauds in the opinion of our ancestors, and they found it necessary to frame sumptuary laws for the guidance of the light-minded, just as was being done in Europe, to check over-indulgence in world's gear. In 1634 the Massachusetts General Court prohibited the purchase of " any app'ell either woolen, silke, or lynnen with any lace on it, silver, golde, silke, or threed." The very fact of this prohibition being framed shows that there were sufficient quantities of these articles on sale to draw attention to them. From year to year these prohibitions continued in force, and in 1653, nearly twenty years later, we find a man taken before the Court for excess " in bootes, rebonds, gould and silver lace." This was the period of the lace " whisk," as the gorget was called, of lace- frilled boots, garters, and other extravagances. Even from somewhat remote spots like Ipswich, Mass., which was settled in 1633 by the younger Win- 4 49 ^^ THE LACE BOOK throp, to cut off the Jesuits from starting a mission there, Madame Rebekah Symonds, wife of Deputy Governor Symonds, sent to England for her clothes. About 1658, when the lady was close upon sixty years of age, she had from London shoes of damson-purple Turkey leather and satin, scarlet stockings, and a light violet-coloured petticoat, " grave and suitable for a per- son of quality." She had a spotted gauze gown, a " striped " silk, a cinnamon silk, and a flowered silk, "with partes (ruffles), as they rate them, to weare in the sleeves, as the fashion is for some." Silver gimp and ribbons for trimming, a black sarinden cloak with two black plush muffs, " modish and long," were among the next articles forwarded to her. She must have known the colony law : " Noe p'son, either man or woman, shall make or buy any slashed cloathes, other than one slashe in each sleeve and one in the backe ; also all cutt works, irnbroidered or needle worke capps ; bands and rayles are forbidden here after to be made and worne ; also all gold and silver girdles, hatt bands, belts, ruffs, beav'r hats are prohibited to be bought and worne." Fortunately the Pilgrim Fathers left a loophole of escape, for they go on to say, " It is the meaneing of the Court that men and women shall haue liberty to weare out such app'ell as they are now provided of, except the immoderate greate sleeves, slashed app'ell, greate rayles, and long wings/' In more liberal Xew York fine clothes were more freely worn. In 1700 the wife of Colonel Bayard wore to 50 THE GROWTH OF LACE church of a Sunday morning a purple and gold atlas gown, cut away in front to show her black velvet petti- coat edged with two silver orrices. Her head-dress was a " frontage," or " Fontange," and she wore around her neck a " Steinkirk " edged with lace. The news had probably not yet arrived that Fontanges had been "out" a six month and "flat heads" were the mode. Nor was the dandy less solicitous about his appear- ance. From 1730 till half a dozen years later his gold- laced coat was buttoned at the waist, and then left to fly open to the throat, to show as much " bravery " as he could muster in the way of lace ruffles. These were repeated at his wrists. Governer Montgomery, when he occupied Fort George, had not only much household furniture sent him from London, but clothes as well, suitable to his quality. Among them was a suit with " open silver lace," "a scarlet coat and breeches trimmed with gold lace," and many lace-trimmed shirts. New York and New England were, however, away behind Virginia and the Carolinas in the elegances which could be obtained there without sending to England. John Frison of Henrico County, Virginia, had on sale in his store, beside farming-tools, such as they were, the following expensive articles : " Holland night-caps ; muslin neck-cloths ; silk-fringed gloves ; silver shoe-buckles ; embroidered Holland waistcoats ; 2 doz. pr. white gloves ; 1 lace cap ; 7 lace shirts ; 9 lace ruffles ; holstercaps of scarlet embroidered with silver and gold ; gold and silver hat- bands ; a parcel of silver lace ; and a feathered velvet cap." 51 THE LACE BOOK The country, as it prospered, constantly demanded what was worn in England and the Continent, and by- and-by the newspapers had many advertisements of laces for sale. The presence of the many officers who came constantly caused a demand for gold and silver lace, and by 1760 there were on sale in many places in New York, " gold and silver vellum lace, gold and silver bullion fringe, silk sashes, and hat feathers, for the gentlemen of the militia and army." Indeed, ten years earlier, there was enough finery here to necessitate the services of a cleaner, who adver- tises in the following words : " Thomas Davis, Dry Scourer from London, now lives at the house of Mr. Benjamin Leigh, School Master, in Bridge Street, near the Long Bridge, where he cleans all sorts of Gentlemens and Ladies cloathes, Gold and Silver lace, Brocades and em- broidered work, Points d'Espagne, cuffs and Robing.s, wrought beds, hangings and tapestry, flowered Velvets, and chints, without hurting their flowers, at a reasonable rate." We find aprons were as fashionable in New York as they were in England, even though Beau Nash declared them only fit for Abigails. By 1751 you could get them of " flower'd and plain gauze, lawn, gauze with Trolley lace, and finely flower'd." Three years later (1754) appeared this announcement : " M. Derham, milliner from London by way of Philadelphia in the Rachel, Captain Joy, at her shop near Alderman Livingston's in South Street, has brought a genteel and new assortment of figured ribbons, plain ducapes, satten do, gauzes, catgut, Paris net, white and colored blond lace, silk edgings, thread do, black silk laces and fringes, hollands, minionette and other muslins." 52 ~T>LATK XIV. Portrait of Qe.oryv, Washing- ton, /)_(/ Rothermel. Showing aye of lore, probably Mechlin, in Colonial costume. OO<&^^ THE GROWTH OF LACE There are more than a hundred other articles mentioned in Mistress Derham's list of goods which concludes as follows : " Every thing in the millinery way is made up in the newest fashion, such as lappet heads, caps, French handkerchiefs, ruffles, stomachers, ruff's, sleeve and glove knots, shades, capuchines, hats, bonnets, etc., at the very lowest prices."" In 1762 there is advertised a special importation of " gentleman's superfine laced and plain hats, dress'd and cock'd by the most fashionable hatter in England." In addition were to be had castor and felt hats, and a par- ticular kind of felt hat with gold lace and feathers. By 1764 there could be bought at Moore & Lynsen's Vendue House such fine "apper'l" as a "suit of super- fine white broadcloth trimmed with gold, and a suit of superfine blue trimmed with gold vellum holes." This same year Nicholas Stuyvesant advertises " Gentlemen's ruffles of Blonde lace." Colonel Washington sent to London in 1759 for arti- cles needed by his wife. No lace is specified, but there are caps, handkerchiefs, and tuckers ; " double handker- chiefs," a black mask, a silver tabby petticoat, and a " tuckered petticoat of a fashionable colour," and two handsome breast-knots. All these articles were prob- ably trimmed with thread or metal lace. Nearly all the portraits of Washington in state dress show lace ruffles at the sleeves and a cravat or breast ruffles of the same. In later life Mrs. Washington's caps and kerchiefs were always edged with lace, and some of this, of both 53 -.*V^v^v-^v'\^>^^>*^W^ THE LACE BOOK English and Dutch make, remains in the possession of her descendants. But with the ascendancy of pantaloons and shoestrings the glories of ruffles and buckles perished in man's cos- tume, and to woman alone was left the prerogative of decking herself in the richest products of the loom, the needle, and the mine. ,54 v'" '.' *v* 'v' V 'v' "v' 'v' '.' '.' '..' '..' Part II Italian Lace *v* v v '/' 'v 'v' 'v' \.* '.' *v* '.' *v' v*' *v" "v ' T7ELLETO uno dorofilato. I/ Payro unofodrcte di cambria lavorate a gugia. " Lenzuolo uno di revo di tele cinque lavorato a punto. Peza una de tarnete d'argentofacte a stelle. Lenzuolo uno de tele, quatro lavorato a radexelo. Peze quatro de radexelo per met t ere ad uno moscheto. Tarneta una doro et seda negrafacta da ossi. Pecto uno doro facto a grupi. Lavoro uno de rechamo facto a grupi, dove era suso le perle de Madona Biancha. Binda una lav ar at a a poncto de doii fuoci per uno lenzuolo" From the Inventory of Angela and Ippolita Sforza-ViscontL Milan, September 12, 1493. if II Italian Lace O other article of attire has been so hemmed and hedged about with re- strictions, orders, edicts, and laws as this, the most becoming of all the frivolities of woman's attire. Writing in the twentieth century, when the utilitarian and entirely ungraceful habits worn by men have superseded those rich and graceful costumes of a century or two ago, one is led perforce to grant to women the sole use of this most elegant ornament. This is, however, only a matter of evolution. At first the rich- est laces were worn by men, and there was not a single article of attire, from hat to shoes, which was not deco- rated with it in one form or another. In fact, as a sprightly writer in the "Quarterly Review" for 1852 puts it, " we cannot point to one single excess or caprice of dress which has appeared on the beautiful person of woman, that has not had its counterpart, as bad or worse, upon the ugly body of man. We have had the same effeminate stuffs the same fine laces the same rich furs the same costly jewels. We have had as much gold and embroidery, and more tinsel and trumpery. We have worn long hair, and large sleeves, and tight waists and full petti- coats. We have sported stays and stomachers, muffs, earrings and 57 THE LACE BOOK love-locks. We have rouged and patched and padded and laced. If they have lined their petticoats with whalebone, we have stuffed our trunk-hose with bran. If they have wreathed lace ruffs around their lovely throats, we have tied them about our clumsy legs. In short, wherever we look into the history of mankind, whether through the annals of courtiers, the evidence of painters, or the researches of the learned, we find two animals equally fond of dress, but only one worth bestowing it on, which the Greek fathers doubtless knew as well as we." The desire for the enrichment of the plain edges of garments manifested itself first in embroideries of silk in various colours, mixed, if possible, with gold or silver threads. This gave way to " cut-work," as it was called, where the material on which the embroidery was wrought was cut away, leaving open-work spaces. So perishable is this costly product, lace, that many of the earliest specimens have ceased to exist by the mere falling away of the materials of which they were composed, so that a great source of information as to the periods when cer- tain laces were used, and how, is the pictures of the times. Cut- work to embellish sleeves and the necks of garments was shown as early as 1400. The earliest cut-work, which is called Punto Tagliato, had for its foundation coarse woven linen. Elaborate patterns were buttonholed on this, and the linen cut away, so that it became more and more elaborate and ornate. The latest stage of this cut-work was made, not on coarse linen, but on fine lawn, known as " Quin- tain " from the town in Brittany where it was made. Over the lawn, which was fastened to a light wooden frame, were stretched threads which crossed each other 58 ITALIAN LACE back and forth, and which were sewed to the lawn with buttonholing, such parts of the lawn as were unneces- sary being cut away. Little by little new stitches were tried, different de- signs were introduced, and the first work which bore any resemblance to lace and eventually grew into its finer forms was called "Drawn Work," or Punto Tirato, some of it being of great delicacy and beauty. Punto a Reticella, or " Greek lace," as it was com- monly called, was made in both insertions and edgings. It was really the first needle point, as well as the first lace ; since both cut- and drawn- work, which had pre- ceded it, were more lace-like material than real lace. Greek Points or Reticellas were made in abundance from 1480 to 1625. Not only did they decorate vest- ments and altar-cloths, but whole shrouds were made of them as well. The earliest of these points made in stiff geometric designs, such as were used in Gothic architecture were at first threads buttonholed over, the foundation being cut away, or threads being drawn out, and little loops called " picots " or " purls " being set along at intervals. Later the varieties of pattern became greatly extended, wheels were introduced, and triangles with inside ornaments of great beauty. De- signs alternated in the points, giving it great variety, and toward the end of its career the patterns lost their geometric tendency, and, as far as the limited nature of the work would allow, followed the style of design popular in other laces of the Renaissance. In some of 59 THE LACE BOOK the richest of the old Greek Points, to add to their beauty, silk threads of different colours were introduced as well as gold and silver. The best means of studying this lace is in the splendid portraits of the period, when artists delighted to linger over every loop and purl, and rendered the lace with a fidelity which betrayed their appreciation of it. Although it was freely worn in France, Germany, England, Spain, and Flanders, little of it was made in any of these countries. In its home, Greece, and in the Ionian Isles and Italy, enough was made to supply what was needed in all these other countries. As finer laces were made, the Reticettas fell into disuse, and their pro- duction declined. With each succeeding year, under the skilful fingers and in the artistic atmosphere of Venice, all work became more and more beautiful, and the next step forward was Punto in Aria, literally " point in air," showing the departure from cut- work, or drawn-work, in having no cloth or thread foundation upon which the pattern was worked. It was in reality what we call "lace," worked on a parchment pattern upon which the design was clearly drawn, and enriched with many very beautiful stitches, the various parts of the design being connected with " brides," or bars, made of buttonholing and ornamented with loops of thread and sometimes with tiny wheels. It was not difficult to trace how, little by little, this lace became the celebrated Punto Tagliato a Fogliami, which was made in the same manner as Punto in Aria, GO LATK XV[. Kl*anor of Toledo, wife of Coniino II, ./'wAv of l-"li;-n<-i', dli-d l~>>r.'. Showlnif chemisette of drawn-work t'cry beautiful in design, and net of knotted gold threads. Portrait 6 Bromino. ITALIAN LACE but made richer and heavier by the use of heavy threads in some portions of the pattern, so that the outlines and edges were much raised. This thread or fine cord used to outline the pattern in needle-point laces is called cordonnet. Sometimes the outlining cord is still further enriched by loops of thread, purls, or other ornaments which were then known as " Crowns," or Couronnes, when they came on the edge of the lace, and as Fleurs Volantes when they came in the body of the lace. The variety of complicated stitches used in the flat parts of the lace are without number and of exquisite beauty. This rich point is the famous lace known as the Gros Point de f^enise, or " Venetian Rose Point," which was the most sought-after and celebrated lace of the seven- teenth century. No cavalier was fully dressed without the use of some of it in his costume, and no grande dame hesitated to adorn herself with it for any ceremo- nial occasion. The pictures of the times show the use of this lace when it was at its greatest beauty, and when the artist prided himself upon the fidelity with which he copied it. Besides these four there were two other varieties of lace made in Italy during the fifteenth century, one a coarse knotted lace, Punto a Groppo, made of cords similar to what is known as Macrame. Then there was the darned netting called Lads, in which patterns were stitched upon a lace ground already prepared. This was not used for clothing, but for domestic purpose, bed-linen, curtains, etc. 61 THE LACE BOOK There are so many technical terms used in lace, and their meanings and the ways in which they are applied have so changed with the years, that it is necessary to give several of them before proceeding further. For instance, we now apply the term Guipure to all laces having large, showy patterns with coarse grounds, requiring no brides to hold the pattern together. Ori- ginally Guipure referred to lace made of gold and silver cords, and no doubt the white and gold lace worn by Berengaria at the coronation of Richard III was this same Guipure. Among other items of expense for the coronation ceremony it is stated that the Queen wore a mantle of cloth of gold with trimmings of lace of white and gold. This lace was extremely costly, and could be worn only on the garments of the rich, and was sub- jected to many sumptuary decrees. It was ultimately made in thread, which material showed itself admirably adapted for making an ornamental trimming of great beauty. Early in the seventeenth century when lace was in such great demand, a finer quality was made with grounds, or network mesh into which the pattern was worked. Such laces are called a rcscau. Guipure lace was made either with bobbins or with the needle, sometimes with both, as when the large flowing pattern was first made on a pillow with bobbins, and the clusters of flowers, leaves, and ornaments were filled in with stitches worked with a needle. The English term for this old Guipure was " Parchment lace," and as such it is frequently noted in inventories. 62 ~TLATi: XVU. --" Pntilo 'in nria. n Italian nerdlr point. Early X't.cti-i-nth Ci-ntnrtf. ITALIAN LACE This same name was made to cover a trimming made of twisted silk cords, what in modern times is known as passementerie. The old silver and gold Guipure looked much like modern passementerie from the coarse character of the cords which composed it. It was made all over Italy : in Milan, Florence, Genoa, Lucca, and Venice. At this time, the sixteenth century, Italy was the head- quarters for all the rich and sumptuous articles of dress which decked the persons of both men and women. Silks, velvets, and damask were made in her cities, en- riched with threads of silver and gold, and bearing that " stand alone " quality of which we have heard our grandmothers speak. The Italian cities were rich and prosperous. Love of beauty, ever a factor in the Italian heart, sought expression in paint, in stone, in stately architecture, in dress, and in small refinements and ornaments. Artists did not consider it beneath their abilities to design patterns of jewellery and linger lov- ingly on the setting of a gem. Indeed, several artists whose names added lustre to Italy's greatness began to work as goldsmiths' apprentices. Such an one was Ghirlandajo, the "garland-maker," who wrought, in gold, flowers as fine and delicate as a hair. Alessandro Botticelli has clothed his figures dancing on the hillside in " Spring " in gauzes fine as lace and almost as beau- tiful. The rich and magnificent viewed with alarm the encroachments upon their prerogatives. The usurpa- tion, by the prosperous middle classes, of those things 63 THE LACE BOOK which those bom in the purple considered their own prerogatives, gave rise to sumptuary laws, which sought to regulate the expenditure of those who wished to lavish too much money upon splendid gauds. Perhaps the earliest sumptuary law framed in regard to women's dress was that passed in Rome, 215 B. c. and called the Oppian Law. This provided that no woman should possess more than half an ounce of gold, wear a dress of different colours, or ride in a vehicle in the city, nor within a mile of it except on occasions of public reli- gious ceremonies. This order was repealed twenty years later. In more modern times the first important sumptuary laws in Italy were those of Frederick II (1194-1250). The Great Council forbade the use of any trimming which cost more than ten lire in all. In the next century (1348) colours were a matter against which laws were framed, and neither dark green nor black gowns were allowed to be worn in the morn- ing ; while in 1330 edicts had been passed allowing only embroidered figures on dresses, not painted ones. By 1414, however, the manufacture of gold lace had so far progressed that the horses in a state procession at Venice had housings of gold lace. Of course this was of a less rich character than that used on clothes. Prohibitions of gold embroidered and trimmed gar- ments were passed in 1481, but, notwithstanding this, the manufacture and wearing of gold lace continued. About 1500, Hercules I, Duke of Ferrara, created the 64 . ,--?/. i K ^ i' 1 <- <' ^- < x *' "DLATE XVlll.Gros Point de Venise. Six- teenth Century. In process of construction. ITALIAN LACE Order of the Golden Spur, and to the gift of the spur was added a sword, a mantle trimmed with gold lace, and a grant of money. With these emoluments a quantity of service was expected. About ten years before this, on January 26, 1491, at the wedding fes- tivities at Milan held in honour of the marriage of Lodovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este, the fetes were a succession of most gorgeous pageants, in which men and women were robed and jewelled with a richness unpar- alleled even in the days of the Renaissance. In a tournament which was one of the crowning festivities of the week the combatants entered the lists in com- panies, clad in fancy costumes, and bearing the devices which were the fashion of the day. The Mantuans, a troop of twenty horsemen, were clad in green velvet and gold lace, and bore in their hands golden lances and olive boughs. The old burgomasters of Florence made a firm stand against indulgences in dress and ornament. They aimed their strictures against the frivolities of women's attire, though the fop of the day was as much bedecked in his way as the belle was in hers. Dante aims some of his scarcasms at the rich chains and crosses worn about the neck and over the doublet, and the girdle of gold or silver, studded with stones and fantastically wrought, with which the good citizen begirt himself instead of with leather, as he did in earlier days. For the guidance of the feminine part of the Republic of Florence were these laws framed at the time when the 5 65 THE LACE BOOK only lace so far known was that twisted of strands of gold and silver. " No woman of any condition whatever may dare or presume in any way in the city, suburbs, or district of Florence to wear pearls, mother-of-pearl, or precious stones, on the head or shoulders, or on any other part of the person, or on any dress which may be worn upon the person. Item. She may not dare or presume to wear any brocade of gold or silver, or stuff gilt or silvered, embroidered or trimmed with ribbons, neither on her shoulders nor on her head, nor on any garment as described above. Item. She may not dare or presume to wear more than bne pound of silver in the shape of garlands and buttons, or in any other way, on the head or shoulders, or otherwise as has been said above ; except that besides the said pound of silver she may wear a silver belt of fifteen ounces 1 weight. Item. She may not dare or presume to wear any slashings, in any robe or dress, neither at the bosom nor at the sleeves, nor to cuffs or collars, larger than the seventh of a yard according to the measure of the yard of the wool-workers, and these slashings shall not be lined with skins either of wild or tame beasts, or with silk, but onlv with woolen or linen, nor must they be trimmed with fringe either of silk, silver, or gold, or gilt or silvered. Item. She must not wear on her fingers more than three rings in all, and the said rings can have no more than one pearl or precious stone in each, and the said rings must not exceed the weight of silver allowed above. Item. No person in the city, suburbs, or district of Florence shall permit himself or presume to give in any way to any woman any kind of collar or buckle, or garland, or brooch of pearls, or of gold, of silver, or of any other precious stone or similar thing, by whatever name it may be called. Item. No individual, tailor, dressmaker, or furrier, shall dare or presume to cut, arrange, or line any of the said scarves, dress or sleeves, prohibited garments, nor make any of the things forbidden by the present law." 66 TtLATE XIX. A. tiros l\>int S>-.V- ~:~ ';#!; *m*\?vt, ,.*>* ~*:^& *;' &''. '.. .^ik *^r^it; ; .^. '*^a''^^'- ; i^ir'* ; ;T:4 f>LATE XXI. Point de Vunise a lUsemi. Needle-point lace. Seventeenth Century. ITALIAN LACE the lace even though there was a penalty of 200 ducats for each offence. Reticella was very ornamentally used, early in the fifteenth century, by Venetian and Florentine ladies, to veil their necks, when the fashion of the day called for their gowns to be open. The perfection at which this lace arrived is shown in some of the accompanying illus- trations, and it seems a pity that change of fashion caused its decline. Punto Tagliato a Fogliami, or flowered lace, acquired a greater renown than any other made at Venice, on ac- count of the beauty of its design. Everybody, whether of the Church or the world, strove to own some of it, and men as well as women hoarded it for love of its beauty as well as for the pleasure of wearing it. The Doge Francesco Morosini (1618-1694) had wonderful laces of this make, which are still jealously guarded by his family. Some of them are shown in his portraits, and portraits of other Venetian noblemen who lived from the seventeenth to the first half of the eighteenth century depict how highly this lace was esteemed. The surplices of ecclesiastics were rich and costly gar- ments, and there are many records of their cost. In 1769, more than 1,896 lire ($379.20) were spent for the lace alone on two of these garments for the " Venerable Scuola di San Maria della Carita." The festivals and all ceremonial occasions were oppor- tunities seized by the beauty-loving Italians for the dis- play of their richest finery. The entrance of the Doge 71 THE LACE BOOK Luigi Mocenigo into office, April 18, 1763, is described by an anonymous contemporary. The share of the Dogaressa in the festivities seems to have been of equal importance. She went to the palace by water, accom- panied by her mother and many other female relatives. Seated upon a dais in the great hall, she received the congratulations of the members of the Electoral College and of others present. The festivities lasted three days, and on one evening there was a ball, during which the Dogaressa danced a minuet. Her outer robe was cloth of gold, like that of the Doge. The underpetticoat showed in front where the robe flowed aside, and was smothered in floral sprays of gold lace. On her head she wore a lace veil so disposed as to look like a berretta, though lace lappets fell from it on either side of the face. The costumes of the ladies present showed that the use of gold lace and jewellery was not diminishing. The appearance of both men and women during the Renaissance in Italy was more beautiful and polished than among any other nation in Europe. Their dwell- ings surpassed in comfort and luxury any of the habita- tions of the noblemen of northern Europe. The style of dress varied continually, and nowhere did it assume such importance. Even while the Church was gather- ing in the richest work, beautiful graduated fronts were being made for the great Neapolitan ladies, showing the demand there was for these sumptuous trimmings. The earliest Italian inventory which gives the names of the laces in vogue at the end of the fifteenth century 72 ILA TK XXI J. Gold lace edging robe of dam- ask. Sixteenth Century. Italian, boblrin-made. ITALIAN LACE is that of the rich and powerful Sforza family, dated April, 1493. A division of family property took place, in the records of which not only the jewels are men- tioned, but rich stuffs, borders, veils, fine network (Reti- cella), Points, and Bone lace, all of which are mentioned in the pattern-books of the time. The notorious Lucrezia Borgia, married for her third husband Alfonso d'Este, brother of Beatrice d'Este, con- nections of the Sforza family, the division of whose property has been spoken of just above. The marriage ceremonies were most lavish and prolonged, both at Rome and at Ferrara, the home of the bridegroom. The bride's dowry consisted of 300,000 ducats, 1 100,000 in gold being paid down in Ferrara, and 200,000 being spent in clothes, plate, jewels, and fine linen, costly hangings, and trappings for horses and mules. Among the garments are mentioned 200 camoras? each of which was worth 100 ducats, with sleeves and gold fringes valued at 30 ducats apiece. The records of the d'Este family give full accounts of the clothes worn not only by the bride and her ladies, but of the bridegroom, his family, and the attendants. Amidst all this gorgeous- ness of damask, velvet, satin, brocade, and cloths of silver and gold, only one mention of lace is made. When the bridegroom rode out of Ferrara to meet his bride, his father accompanied him and wore " a suit of grey velvet covered with scales of beaten gold, worth at 1 A ducat is worth about 11 francs, or roughly speaking about $2.30. 2 The camera was a sort of coat. 73 THE LACE BOOK least 6,000 ducats, a black-velvet cap trimmed with gold lace and white feathers, and grey leather gaiters." While it is true that records still in existence show that lace was made and used before 1500, it was by no means such an ornament to costume as it became half a century later. When Catharine de Medici came as a bride to France in 1533, the lace she brought with her was Reticella and Punto Gotico. Her ruff, which was at first a modest affair, succeeded the chemisette of drawn-work which was used by Italian ladies at an earlier period. The first portraits painted of Catharine after her arrival in France, by Clouet, who was then court painter, show her in a ruff of Reticella of very simple design, while a portrait of her daughter Claudia, painted between 1550 and 1560, shows nearly the same style of dress as Catharine's, except that the ruff entirely sur- rounds the throat of Claudia, while her mother's is open in front. Catharine's trousseau was very fully furnished forth with all the richest stuffs Milan, Venice, Genoa, and Florence could supply. Among the ornaments she had was a set of especially magnificent pearls, "the largest and finest," Brantome tells us, "that were ever seen in such a quantity ; which at a later period the queen gave to her daughter-in-law, the Queen of Scot- land." Mary Stuart wore these pearls at Amboise when she was the newly made wife of Francis II. Her hair fell upon her shoulders in rich curls, and she had a stiff ruff of lace about her throat. 74 TDLATE XXIII. TlmniaK Francis Carl'jnanof Sttroi/. Hf i/'cara col/iu' mid cuffs of needle point, " Vim Dyck style," 1<>34- Portrait hy l\ui Dyck. ITALIAN LACE Nor were the ladies the only ones who changed the fashions of their garments radically and often. The splendid gorget ruffs of Punto Gotico were succeeded by the square collar bands and edgings, or by the collar wholly composed of the costly Gros Point de f^enise. The portrait of Francis Carignan, Prince of Savoy, painted in 1634, shows the Van Dyck Point in the height of its beauty and in the richest Venetian Point. Points were succeeded by lace with a straight edge, which was made in the most beautiful patterns of flow- ered laces (punto tagliato a fogliami) about 1664, both in Italy and France. The fashion for wearing it was straight about the corsage, which displayed its beauty to the best possible advantage, and also threw into relief the lovely shoulders it encircled. Fortunately for us, the dark-eyed beauties of Italy still live on the immortal canvases of her painters, and present a picture vivid almost to reality of those splen- did days which we have learned to call "the Golden Age of Italy." Reference List of Italian Laces PUNTO TAGLIATO, cut-work. PUNTO TIRATO, drawn-work combined with cut-work. PUNTO A RETICELLA, Greek lace, or drawn-work afterward worked with a needle in bands or points. PUNTO IN ARIA, " points in air," having no foundation of either cut- or drawn-work. 75 THE LACE BOOK PUNTO TAGLIATO A FOGLIAMI, flowered laCC, knOWH variously as Venice Point, Gros Point de Venise, Rose Point or raised Point, made in silk, white or coloured, or flax thread. PUNTO GOTICO is reticella or Greek lace of the earli- est style, when the patterns were copied from the Gothic architecture then in vogue. PUNTO BURANO is the lace made on the Island of Burano, not far from Venice. Much of this beautiful fabric was made there during the eighteenth century, and this particular variety has a reseau or network ground, not the brides or bar ground. This network was made entirely with the needle. From this fact the lace is not unlike both Brussels and Alen^on lace, which have similar grounds. The old lace was extremely beautiful, and was made w r ith the finest thread. The making of this lace was revived in 1872, and the Royal Lace Schools are situated on the island. Only the choicest laces are made there now, but they are no longer exclusively Italian in character, since beside the Venetian Point, flowered laces, and Venetian Rose Point, Brussels, Alencon, and Point (FAnglctcrre are copied there with the greatest skill. POINT LACE. In Venetian laces, as in those of every other country, the term " point lace " grew to mean that the lace was of the finest quality, and made with a needle and thread. Connoisseurs, however, now use the term " point " to indicate lace of a superior quality and exquisite design, whether needle or bobbin, so that the 70 ,^m^''.^^'\,~ T>LATE XXIV. Italian boWni-mndi- lap/,,/, showing "snowy (/round. " Etyhtcenth Crnlury. ITALIAN LACE Venetian bobbin lace, Brussels lace, and Valenciennes are called " points," as much as the needle-made laces. THE VENETIAN ROSE POINT, with its varied outlines, the most beautiful of all laces, had the ground of brides or bars. These brides were buttonholed over threads, and were the earliest form of a groundwork. From being at first irregularly placed in the work, and used only as supports, they became placed in regular shapes, almost forming a mesh. This form was followed by a regular mesh, six-sided, the bars were constantly made lighter and lighter, till at last the buttonholing was entirely given up, and the mesh was made of single threads. THE VENETIAN POINT A RESEAU was the final out- come of this desire for the fine and light, and this form of lace was what the French workers seized upon and constantly improved. But the fine and very light laces demanded by fashion in the eighteenth century could be better made with bobbins, so the making of needle point declined. At the present time, when rich lace of the old makes is so eagerly sought, little ever comes to public sale, as there are always private buyers ready to take it. The old Venice Point, the handsomest lace in the world for wear on rich stuffs, and velvets in particular, always brings high prices. Some was recently sold at Christie's, in London, for very large sums. A flounce 4 yards in length and 11 inches deep brought 350 ($1750). But as this lace could be used, one does not regard the price as so excessive as 24 ($120) for a square of Rose Point 77 THE LACE BOOK measuring but 25 inches, and of use only as a cabinet specimen. The first-mentioned piece, the flounce, was interesting from the fact that the pattern showed not only fine arabesque curves, but figures ; animals and birds were introduced as well, placing its manufacture in the six- teenth century. Still another length of Rose Point, 4 J inches wide and 5 yards and 21 inches long fetched the large sum of 15 ($75) a yard. Some panels for dress fronts were sold at the same time, the design conforming to the shape of the panel, some only 4 inches wide by 20 inches long bringing as much as 19 ($95), while one 20 inches wide and 43 inches long brought 38 ($190). Some splendid fichus of Rose Point and Gros Point brought from 38 ($190) to 150 ($750), and a small cap-crown had many bidders and was finally knocked down for 4 10.?. ($22.50). These prices seem exceed- ingly high, yet it must be remembered that these Venetian Points are so solidly and beautifully made that they do not wear out or tear like the more fragile French laces, or like the Venetian Points a Rcscau. Even after the severe sumptuary laws of Italy forbade the making and wearing of gold and silver lace, threads of these metals were woven or embroidered into flax thread laces for their further enrichment. The collection of hices belonging to Sir William Drake, and mentioned elsewhere, was exceedingly rich in specimens of thread 78 \\ ,"V\*?' .&-. "* >h l>y Charles Halliard. ITALIAN LACE lace enriched with gold. There was one piece which was considered quite unique, being 4 yards long and 29 inches wide. The pattern was of foliage in arabesques, introducing animals and birds, and at regular intervals were panels or medallions consisting of views and figures. In the length of four yards there were five of these : first, a queen with an attendant in a garden ; second, St. John appearing as a monk ; third, a monk telling his vision to six persons, all seated ; fourth, people in a garden with a dove hovering in air ; fifth, a king with armed soldiers and pages bringing gifts to the queen surrounded by her maids of honour. The price given for this was 380 ($1900). There was another flounce also, and a pair of cuffs of similar pattern, both enriched with gold ; they brought 135 ($675). Two pieces of cut-work on linen were also embellished with the finest gold wire, showing how the elegance and richness of the Renaissance would crop out, even in forbidden places. Only twenty -five lots of Sir William's collection were offered at this particular sale, and of these, eighteen were of the fine old Italian laces, showing that the judgment of this distinguished connoisseur agreed with the opinion of those who have long believed that Venice led the world in lace as well as in the creation of other sump- tuous works of art. MILAN POINT was lace made at Milan during the seventeenth century and earlier. It was made both of silver and gold thread and of silk, and the patterns 79 THE LACE BOOK became justly famous. Like the other famous Italian laces, Milan Point declined, and although lace is made there to-day it is of a coarse quality and very similar to the Torchon laces. LAVORO A MAGLIA, or LACIS, network on which the pattern is run or darned into the stuff. PUNTO A GROPPO, or knotted lace, includes all the laces made of knotted cords, whether of silk, gold or silver thread, or coarse white or cream thread. It some- what resembles the Guipures made in different countries as well as in Italy, and was used for ecclesiastical linen, and, by the upper-class Italians, for the trimming of bed and table linen. The chief characteristic of this lace is the variety of knots used in its making, which were tied with the fingers, individual workers sometimes having knots and combinations of their own which were very beautiful. The method of manufacture is on a pillow, the threads being cut into short lengths, so that they can be easily handled and knotted. At the present time, since gold and silver laces are no longer made, this lace is formed of thread, and has become a peasant lace, used by the contadird to ornament their undergarments. GUIPURE was a kind of lace formed of gold and silver threads. Owing to the nature of the material used, the designs were large and florid, requiring no brides or bars, and with coarse grounds. From this circumstance all laces with large designs and coarse grounds are called Guipure, although that name is now chiefly applied to lace made of black silk. 80 77; XXVI.Marif. >, Medici ( '1573-1W). tdtiduifi ruff of ftufH-rh Point de Venitie. Portrait l>y Scipione. o b h tl t< ITALIAN LACE Nor was the name applied only to the gold and silver lace mentioned, for it was also given to a style of trim- ming which is now known as passementerie, made of cords around which silk is lightly wound to conceal them. Formerly, instead of the cotton threads, a strip of parch- ment or vellum was used, called cartisane. The nature of this filling made the lace very perishable and costly. It broke, was ruined with water, and shrank with heat. It was used, even when made with silk, only by royalty and the very wealthy. Later the cartisane was discarded, and the Guipure became more common. In addition to these rich Guipures just described, thread laces made either with bobbins or needles, and with the patterns outlined in narrow hand-made tapes, were used as early as the time of Louis XIV. The Italian and Flanders varieties were the handsomest and most showy of these laces, with a background or re'seau of round meshes, or simply brides. The fillings of the pattern were worked in a variety of stitches with a needle. By the first quarter of the seventeenth century the demand for lace was so great that these Guipures with tape design became very popular. The tape lace made in Flanders had peculiarities of its own, being of superfine quality and fineness. The change of fashion to the collar and falling bands required a heavier style of lace than the exquisite points of fairy lightness that had been used on the stand- ing ruffs, and Guipures were found to be very suitable. Of course these laces were found on altar cloths as well as on secular garments ; and the earlier ones had a straight 81 THE LACE BOOK edge, while the later ones had a clover-leaf edge, which made it a little heavier. These tape Guipures are still made in Italy, of handsome design, but lacking the charm- ing irregularity of the old patterns and hand-made tapes. GENOA LACE. The rich old city of Genoa was famous for its lace as well as for its gold work and jewellery. Perhaps it was on account of the number of goldsmiths that Genoa was among the first countries to make a sumptuous trimming made of slender wires of both silver and gold. They made this lace-like material in small quantities late in the fourteenth century. So popular was it that Venice followed suit and made it also ; but it was not until several hundred years later that Genoese Points became well known and in demand all over Europe. Few of the inventories of royalty fail to mention Point de Genes, and Marie de Medici had much of it ; but these laces were of silk or thread, since the Genoese Republic had made sumptuary laws regu- lating the wearing of gold and silver lace, as did the other Italian cities. While Venice held the palm for needle-point laces, Genoa was unrivalled for her bobbin lace, although she made needle point also. But the exquisite pillow-made fichus, collars, kerchiefs, and even aprons were univer- sally sought, and more in demand than edging lace. Pieces like this necessitated the use of very large pillows, and each pillow required four workers to attend to the 700 or 800 bobbins used. The lace now made in Genoa is a sort of Guipure, and is sold in France. 82 f>/,. /'/'/.' X AT//. - ll<>!>l>ii/-mit<-<'>iii> Cunt (it'll. ITALIAN LACE CARNIVAL or BRIDE LACE, as it was called, was made in Italy chiefly during the sixteenth century. Like much of the lace of that period it wasReticella, made over drawn threads, but its characteristic was that the initial or monogram of the family or person for whom it was made was wrought in it. When such lace was made for the personal linen of brides, it was worn at the wedding, or at festival or carnival times. ARGENTELLA POINT closely resembles the French laces, Alen9on or Argentan, and was made when the heavier raised laces were less popular. It has one great point of difference from the French laces in that the figures are not outlined with a raised cord or thread, but simply have a flat buttonholing. The designs are sprays, small ovals, or circles, and it was much esteemed on account of its delicacy and whiteness. The groundwork is a fine net. PUNTO DE RAGUSA. Ragusa, a city near the north- western coast of Greece, was one of the greatest Adriatic ports of Greece during the fifteenth and part of the sixteenth centuries. The peasants of the near-by Ionian Islands, and of the villages along the coast of Greece, sent to Venice, through Ragusa, drawn- and cut-work in which they excelled. But these were not the so-called Ragusa laces, which were made of gimps of gold and silver thread fastened together by bars, and wrought on the edge into a pattern of loops and trefoils. While Venice soon excelled in thread laces, the gold laces of Ragusa were deservedly famous till late in the seventeenth 83 THE LACE BOOK century, but were finally driven from the field on account of the expense of the material, the prohibitions against them, and the beauty of the designs and workmanship of the flax thread laces. ALOE LACE, a fabric curiously delicate in character, considering the material of which it is made, has been woven in Italy since remote times. The pith of the aloe-tree is split into threads, and woven, tatted, knit, or twisted with bobbins into a sort of lace. Sometimes large pieces like shawls, lappets, and table scarfs are made ; but the lace is of little use, since washing practically destroys it. It is made not only in Italy, but in the Philippine Islands, South America, and the Barbadoes Islands. It is always more interesting than beautiful and is seldom used. The superb Medici collars, which are familiar to us from the portraits of the period, were not complete without the framework of fine metal wires which supported them. In Italy these were called verghetti 9 and such large quantities were required that many people were employed in their construction. These workers, and others of like trades, gathered in one particular quarter of Venice, which was called after them, and it still bears the name. 84 te i > g^fx, " && i>fiS-^kris* v' feKS TOLATE XXVIII, SJiiiifl madf from pllli of the aloe. Made in AZUKS Islands. Nineteenth Century. Part III Flemish Lace WjMj*(jB\JL F many Arts, one surpasses all. For the maiden seated at her work flashes the smooth balls and thousand threads into the circle, . . and from this, her amusement, makes as much profit as a 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, which feeds the pride of the whole globe ; which surrounds with its fine border cloaks and tuckers, and shows grandly round the throats and hands of Kings." JACOB VAN EYCK, 1651. III Flemish Lace !O country in the world has a more interesting past than the Netherlands, not only from the historian's point of view, but from the artist's side ; from the standpoint of the elegante; from the demand of her housewives for the union of utility and beauty ; and from the lovers of flowers as well. The Dutch, even while at war and busy wresting their little garden spot from the encroachments of the sea, had time to spend in learning and perfecting the secret of pictorial art, whose natural birthplace more appropriately seemed the sunny and beauty-loving Italy. Their conquests in China had brought to Holland specimens of porcelain, and the Dutch potter sought to imitate this in his coarse pottery, smeared with a finer surface, on which the decoration was laid, and succeeded in producing ware of great beauty and use. When commerce brought to her shores furniture carved and beautifully inlaid, she straightway set to work to copy this, and bettered the models. Her goldsmiths wrought with a delicacy and beauty that could vie even with 87 THE LACE BOOK Venice, and would it be natural that in lace she should fall behind ? She not only had the artistic capacity to make this fabric, but had also the patience and intelli- gence to raise flax, the most necessary article to success- ful thread lace-making. Flax is a plant native to Egypt, and, transplanted to the soil of Holland, it was tended by the best gardeners in the world, who gave to its cultivation that unweary- ing care which vastly improved the quality of the plant. Delicacy of fibre and silkiness of gloss were the points aimed at, and in these the Dutch flax was so superior to any other that it was soon in demand all over Europe. There were many trades, grouped around and allied to the use of flax, that soon sprang up and became important. The growth of the plant was but the first step. It had to be hackled, or the fibre separated, bleached, spun, and sometimes dyed. Into the production of the finest thread went eyesight, and almost life itself, so difficult and under such disadvan- tageous circumstances was the making of it carried on. In order to keep the thread moist, so that it would not break, it was spun in underground rooms. These were so dark that artificial light was cast upon the thread, which was twisted over a black cloth in order to show it, its almost gossamer character causing it to elude sight. Sometimes the flax was more valuable than the land it grew upon, and the real Brussels thread often brought 240 ($1,200) a pound. It was said that a pound of 88 T> /,./'/'/: A'.V/.V. "Lit tl,' Pr'iHcw." She wears mi " HHdt'rproppi'r" i if w! rt' l>ent>ath her lawn ntjf, which is cdffed with (rofhic Point. Cuffs edyed with wide needle point. Portrait by Moreelse (1571-1638). FLEMISH LACE flax that is, before it was made into thread could be manufactured into lace worth 700. It is true that there have been no definite written records produced to substantiate the claim of Flanders that she was first in the field with pillow-made lace. There were no pattern-books published before those of Wilhelm Vosterman, who died at Antwerp in 1542. The patterns are shown on small black squares and are of medieval designs. The prevalence of lace-making in all classes is shown by the quaint dedication, which reads as follows : " A neawe treatys ; as cocernynge the excellency of the nedle worcke spanisshe stitche and weavynge in the frame, very necessary to al theym wiche desyre the perfect knowledge of seamstry, quilt- inge and brodry worke, coteinynge an cxxxviij figures or tables, so playnli made and set tout in portrature, the whiche is difficyll ; and natoly for crafts me but also for gentleweme and ioge damosels that therein may obtayne greater conyge delyte and pleasure. " These books be to sell at And warp in the golden Unycorne at Willm Vorstermans." There were also those of Jean de Glen, who died at Liege in 1597. It is also true that none of these books contains patterns for bobbin-made laces. For the first mention of bobbin lace we are obliged to fall back on that old Italian inventory of the Sforza sisters, of 1493, in which one item reads : " Binda una lavarata a poncto de doii fuxi per uno lenzuolo." (A band of work done with twelve bobbins to trim a sheet.) If the Italians were the first to use the pillow and bobbin as well as the needle, the use to which the Dutch 89 THE LACE BOOK put these implements soon caused her to distance all competitors. Se'guin says : "She unremittingly applied herself to this art, and in a short time converted it into a widespread industry, possessing well- merited reputation on account of the delicacy and beauty of its productions. All countries turned to her for them, and she be- came, as it were, the classic country of pillow lace. Credit for the invention of the special process was readily given to her, and no one has since taken the trouble to closely examine her title to it." As early as 1554 the commerce between England and the Low Countries was immense. Antwerp was the port of greatest trade, and its water-front was a scene of great activity. Guicciardini gives a list of the exports and imports between the two countries : " Antwerp sends to England jewels and precious stones, silver, bullion, quicksilver, wrought silks, cloth of gold and silver, gold and silver thread, camblets, grograms, spices, drugs, sugar, cotton, cummin, galls, linen fine and coarse, serges, demi-ostades, tapestry, madder, hops in great quantity, glass, salt fish, and merceries of all sorts to a great value, arms of all kinds, ammunition for war, and household furniture. "From England Antwerp receives fine and coarse draperies, fringes, the finest wool, saffron, and a great quantity of lead and tin, sheep and rabbit skins, and other fine peltry and leather, beer and cheese, and other sorts of provisions. 1 ' This list shows that, while Holland exported almost exclusively manufactured products, she imported chiefly goods in the raw, while the choicer imports were again exported to other parts of Europe. Pillow lace was made not only in the convents, but in the schools as well, and as early as the time of Charles V it had been part of the education of girls. 90 LATK XXX.A. /W>WM->H^ FhmMi lace. Sixteenth Century. Ji. Mechlin, hul>l>iii-niade. The spritfn made separately and worked in. Seren- teeiith Century. This its mid to hare belonged to George IV. FLEMISH LACE To the Dutch is given the credit of inventing many things. They claim the invention of the thimble, the napkin, pocket-handkerchief, shirt, nightdress, table- cloth, and a sack or tick for bedding. Some of these articles were in use as early as the thirteenth century. Indeed, we can trace so many of our necessaries back to this little country behind the dykes that we are almost ready to yield to them on any point. Dutch weavers had been taken to England as early as the middle of the thirteenth century, to instruct in their methods of weaving fine cloth. Starch, also a Dutch compound, had been first used in England in Queen Elizabeth's time. Great was the sensation its use cre- ated, and those who did not approve of it did not hesi- tate to bestow evil names on it, among the terms being that of " Devil's broth." The Italian accompaniments of the early laces were paint and cosmetics, the very composition of which was odious. But in Holland, where flowers bloomed and art grew apace, cleanliness was glorified, the simple pleasures of home life were extolled, and health and comfort followed close in their wake. The earliest linen garments were so costly that only kings and nobles could possess them. They were dark and discoloured, for the art and secret of bleaching had not been learned. It was the Dutch who worked and experimented till they succeeded in producing a fabric white as snow, so that the very term " Hollands " was a guarantee for its fineness and colour. Eight months of 91 THE LACE BOOK constant sprinkling and bleaching in the sun's rays were needed to bring the linen to the required perfection. In 1596, Stephen Gosson writes : " These Holland smocks as white as snow, And gorgets brave with drawn-work wrought." Evelyn says, in " Tyrannus ; or the Mode," 1661 : " Twice twelve long smocks of Holland fine, With cambric sleeves rich point to join, For she despises Colberteen." Long before what we call " lace " was made, Flanders as well as Italy had become proficient in the art of making cut-work. There are exquisite specimens of cut-work and embroidery combined, dating as far back as the time of Philip the Good (1419-1467). The writer has seen these pieces in a collection which is practically priceless, belonging to a collector in Brussels, and having specimens of all of the Dutch and Flemish laces from ancient to modern times. The early Flemish laces, with their geometric patterns, are of great beauty, and do not differ essentially from the Italian laces of the same period, but the Dutch sooner than the Italians made lace with varied and intricate grounds, sometimes half a dozen being shown on one pattern. All the old pictures of lace-makers by the early Flemish artists show the use of bobbins and pillow, and from some of these pictures the Dutch base their claim to priority of manufacture. As curly as 1657 Mechlin lace is noted in French inventories ; Anne of Austria wore it. By 1699 Queen 92 FLEMISH LACE Mary's Mechlin ruffles are noted in the Wardrobe Accounts, and " Holland shirts laced with Mechlin lace " were in great demand among the elegantes. Whether this was the fine, delicately flowered and sprigged lace which was known later as Mechlin, or only the commercial term under which all Flanders lace was known, it would be hard to say. Until 1699 a prohibition upon Flemish laces kept those fabrics out of England (this being another reason for calling one kind of Brussels lace "Point (FAngleterre"), but after the ban was removed Mechlin immediately sprang into fashion. Mechlin is a pillow lace, made all in one piece, each little flower and sprig outlined by a flat thread. It is a rather thin lace, a " summer lace," the French court beauties termed it, and it looked its best on cravats, full ruffles, borders to caps, or fichus, its very delicacy preventing its looking well on the gor- geous damasks and brocades of court costume. It early declined in manufacture, and, although still made at Antwerp, Lierre, and several other places, as well as at Mechlin, its place has been almost entirely filled by other laces. Nor were the thread pillow laces the only bobbin ones for which Belgium and Holland were noted. They used silk as well as gold and silver. The early pillow laces were all narrow, and were made on the pillow with all the bobbins at one end. This style was the only kind of bobbin lace produced in either France, Italy, Spain, or Flanders, but it presented a great variety of 93 THE LACE BOOK patterns and had quite as much openwork and as deep points as the needle-point laces. Indeed, it is only by looking carefully for the buttonhole stitch which dis- tinguishes the needle lace that one can tell the difference. The cost of the needle points was always far greater, and they were always held in higher esteem. Then there arose a change in the fashions, and wider laces were de- manded. At first this demand was supplied by joining a dentated or pointed edge to the flat band. In the seventeenth century there were many attempts to make wide lace. Italy and France made it in strips and sewed them together. But Belgium invented a better way, by making the lace in small pieces, following the con- volutions of the pattern, similar to the method of joining needle-point patterns. It was the skilful manner in which these Belgian laces were put together after being made in pieces which gave so much success to the Flemish industry. The richest and most complicated patterns could be made in this way, individual workers doing special parts of the design, which, when put to- gether, made a splendid whole. The Flemish makers did not use such slight patterns, with very open grounds, as were common in Italy and France, but gave their attention to ornamental close parts, with contrasting stitches to bring out the elegance of the pattern. The style of these laces, heavy and floriated, went admirably with the linen collar, and the style passed into France. Until Mazarin died in 1661, Louis XIV wore these collars, or rabatos, of 94 "DLATE XXXI. Portrait of a you tiff man. JIc wears a collar trimmed with Point da Flandrc. Portrait hi/ Jan d<- Krai/, died 1H97. OOCXXXXX) FLEMISH LACE pillow-made Guipure lace, and they are shown in several of his early portraits. He was fully 25 when the use of Venetian needle points came in, and turned the attention of the king and his minister to the making of similar laces. Brussels lace Point d* Aiguille was the most beauti- ful and costly of all the needle lace made in the Low Countries, and its successful manufacture was confined to the city of Brussels itself. The grounds could be either a reseau or of brides. As in Italian laces, the brides were the earliest form of connection between different portions of the pattern ; Iput they were soon discarded, and by the end of the seventeenth century the ground a reseau was used entirely, except when, in or- dering lace made, brides were specified. Sometimes the two grounds were used in the same pattern with very beautiful effect. Just how early one kind of Brussels bobbin lace came to have the name Point d'Angleterre applied to it is a matter of doubt. Enthusiastic collectors of lace, par- ticularly if of English birth, claim that English Point was first made in England and was successfully copied by the facile Dutch. Certain it is that England could not begin to supply the demand of the English court alone for this lace, and that large quantities of lace were bought in Flanders and brought boldly into England, or smuggled in, in coffins, by dogs, or in any other manner which cupidity and inventiveness could suggest. To give some idea of the enormous amount of Flemish lace which was smuggled into England, Mrs. Bury Palliser 95 THE LACE BOOK quotes the account of the seizure of a vessel by the Marquis de Nesmond, bound for England in 1678, loaded with Flanders lace. Without counting the collars, fichus, handkerchiefs, aprons, petticoats, fans, and trimmed gloves, there were in addition 744,953 ells of Brussels lace. The earliest Points dAngleterre were made in sep- arate pieces, each piece consisting of its appropriate net or meshed ground and pattern. Later, however, the flowers were made by one set of workers, the meshed ground by another, while a third stitched on the flowers with needles. Madame Du Barry, from whose lace accounts items have been already quoted, used Point dAngleterre also. In these inventories it is sometimes specified as " grande dentelle de Gros Point dAnglcterre" When little Philippe, son of the Regent, died in 1723, in his inven- tory there is one item of " six peignoirs of fine silk, trimmed with old Point dAnglcterre a reseau." The groundwork of Brussels lace was sometimes made by the needle, in which case the lace was three times as expensive as when it was made by pillow. The needle- made rescau, however, is much the stronger of the two, since the thread of each mesh was twisted by the needle four times, while in pillow lace it is not twisted in this way at all. The pillow lace is difficult to repair, and the part always shows. The needle ground can be mended so as to escape detection. Within the last eighty years since the invention of 96 T)LATE XXXII. -Portion of cap. Point d' A nt/let erre a Brides. Bobbin-made lace. Seventeenth Century. Photographed by Charles Balliard. FLEMISH LACE machine-made grounds the needle ground is seldom made, on account of its great cost. The needle-point Brussels lace was made, as was the Alen9on, in strips or bits, and then joined together, the process of joining being one of great delicacy. The flowers and sprigs were and are made separately for Brussels lace, and then worked into the ground. These needle-point flowers are called " Point a L 'aiguille" Those woven on a pillow with bobbins are called ''Point Plat." In the old pillow laces, flowers and ground were wrought at the same time ; applied lace was unknown to old lace-makers. As in the making of Alen9on lace, each piece of old Brussels passed through the hands of different workers, who did only one thing and then passed the bit on to the next worker, who in turn did her share. The bits were finally stitched together, and the whole, when complete, seemed as if wrought in one piece, so carefully were the joins made. The making of needle point, even in its infancy, was not different from the way in which it is made to-day. The pattern is first drawn on parchment and tacked to a stout piece of linen. The leading lines of the pattern have threads laid on them, which are caught down here and there by means of stitches. The brides, or bars, or the reseau if the work has a grounding, are worked in around the pattern by the needle. In the eighteenth century pillow-made lace in needle- point patterns was made in Flanders in large quantities. Much of this lace was called Point d Angleterre. 97 THE LACE BOOK So much of the Flanders lace is bobbin lace that the question of pins, of which so many are necessary, was a serious one. Metal ones, it is true, were found in the tombs of ancient Egypt, made of gold, silver, and bronze, yet the pin of modern life was not made in any quantity until the fifteenth century. In 1483 their im- portation in^o England had been prohibited, and clumsy enough articles they must have been, for sixty years later, under Henry VIII, an act of 1543 reads : " No person shall put to sale any pinnes but such only as shall be double headed and have the heads soldered fast to the shank of the pinne, well smoothed, the shank well shaven, the point well and round filed, canted and sharpened/ 1 About 1560 the making of pins was much improved, and the cost of them was lessened. Catherine Howard was said to have first brought brass pins into England from France. The pillow used in lace-making is stuffed very hard, and covered with a clean piece of linen. The shapes of the cushions and the way they are held vary more than would be deemed possible. They may be square and used on a stand, cylindrical or drum-shaped and held on the lap, or mounted on a basket or stool and held be- tween the feet. In Belgium, besides the large cushions on which lace in the strip either insertion or edging is made, small cushions are used, upon which are formed the sprays or bouquets of flowers which are appliqued on a net ground. The Flemish bobbins were generally very thin and as light as possible. They were 98 T>A./77; XXXIII. -l<'i- FLEMISH LACE made of different sizes or forms, to indicate quickly to the worker the particular thread used on each. For such laces as Valenciennes or Mechlin, filmy and deli- cate in texture, very light bobbins were used, so as not to strain the thread. In the coarser Guipures heavy bobbins are used. On the cushion is stretched a piece of parchment on which the design is drawn. To form the meshes, pins are stuck into the cushion, and the threads are woven or twisted round them. The pat- tern on the parchment shows the places for the gimp, which is interwoven with the fine threads of the fabric. The work is begun at the upper side of the cushion by tying the threads together in pairs, each pair being at- tached to a pin. The threads are twisted, and crossed, and secured by the pins which determine the meshes. The most important pillow-made lace in Belgium to- day is Valenciennes. We are accustomed to consider this as a French lace, and so it was originally, but the work has long since died out in its native city. In fact, by 1656 the Belgians were making Valenciennes lace as fine, and as beautiful, and of exactly the same patterns as the French fabric. By 1684 there were left in Valen- ciennes only threescore lace-workers. The seventeenth century was somewhat advanced before there was a surfeit of the pointed laces, the later styles of which were often called Van Dycks, which had varied, from the acute point of the old Gothic laces, through the slender and the rounded point. Valen- ciennes lace was the first straight-edged lace made, and 99 THE LACE BOOK its appearance was hailed as a great novelty. The lace was quite unlike the modern product of this name, and had a large clear mesh. The thread was of exquisite fineness and colour. The best Valenciennes lace made to-day, as well as for a hundred and more years, is that from Ypres, in West Flanders. Its fineness is exquisite, and the patterns are very elaborate ; some of the fine old pieces two inches wide necessitated the use of 200 or 300 bobbins pat- terns wider than this often called for 800 to l,00o' bob- bins, all on the same pillow. The tedious process required to make this lace accounts for its great cost. A lace-maker could hardly complete more than a third of an inch of a wide width in a week, and it would take one twelve years to com- plete enough for a flounce for a dress. Such lace as this would sell for $400 a yard. France buys annually from Belgium, at the present time, over $4,000 000 worth of Valenciennes. When this lace was made in the city of France, from which it takes its name, the fabnc made in Belgium was called faus.se Valenciennes Bruges and Ghent, as well as Ypres, have long been centres for the making of this lace, though the Bruges Valenciennes has a groundwork made by two twists of the bobbin, while the Ypres ground takes four or five twists, making it finer and firmer, the patterns standing out much clearer from the grounding. A series of treaties concluded at Ximequen in 1678- 79 made a difference in the nationalities of a number of 100 ~T>LA TE XXXI V. Point d'A ngleterre a rtseau Part of a lappet. Eighteenth Century. FLEMISH LACE lace-making towns. They put an end to the hostilities between Holland and France which had begun six years before. The countries engaged in these treaties were Holland, France, Spain, and Sweden. Spain ceded Valenciennes, Ypres, St. Omer, Cambrai, and many other towns back to France, while France ceded Ghent, Limburg, Oudenarde, Charleroi, and half a dozen more to Spain. In 1685 came the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, by which the lace industry of France suffered so se- verely ; for the proclamation was followed by the emi- gration of about 300,000 persons, artisans of all kinds as well as men of letters and science. These refugees sought an asylum in Holland, England, and America, and spread the making of lace into widely divergent places. The value of the gold and silver lace trade of the city of Lyons alone was valued at 4,000,000 francs yearly, and this was transferred to Genoa. The work- men took with them their trade secrets, and France was thenceforward obliged to buy the gold lace she needed instead of being able to supply the world. The American colonies opened quite a promising field, notably some of the flourishing southern colonies. In New York, Madam Steenwych, a rich, hospitable, and several times married Dutch lady, had much household gear, and it was of no mean quality, as her inventory shows. Among many other chairs are mentioned " two easy chairs with silver lace." And this, too, was as early as 1664. In the first half of the eighteenth century, 101 THE LACE BOOK Governor Montgomery's effects were offered for sale at Fort George, New York. Among them was a bed " lined with silk and trimmed with fine lace which came from London." There are in addition " some blue cloth lately come from London for liveries, and some broad gold lace." Among the notices in the American news- papers of goods offered for sale during the whole of this century is much gold and vellum lace. Ghent, Binche, Liege, and Antwerp have been and still are centres for the manufacture of lace. In some of these cities they are reviving the beautiful old laces of 200 years since, where the pattern is made with the bobbin, and the fanciful fillings are put in with the needle. Under the two great heads, needle and bobbin, come all the varieties of lace : the differences being caused by design, size of thread, and arrangement of stitches. The ornament or pattern is of the first im- portance in making lace, the grounding being added either for strength or because the character of the design makes it necessary. From the very infancy of Flemish art a constant intercourse was maintained between Italy and the Low Countries. The Flemish designs were somewhat similar to the Venetian, but both Flemish and French were more floral and flowing than Italian designs of the same period. In fact this was so noticeable that Bishop Berkeley pointed it out early in the eighteenth century. lie says : 102 TDLATE XXXV. Rubens' ipife, by Fratis Hals (1584-1666). Ruff trimmed with fine Gothic needle point. Cuffs and cap with Flanders bobbin- lace, and stomacher of (/old lace. FLEMISH LACE "How have France and Flanders drawn so much money from other countries for figured silk, lace, and tapestry ? It is because they have their academies of design." Besides their academies they had been further pro- tected by a particular stitch called the " crossing-stitch," the secret of which was guarded as carefully as possible. Italian laces were imitated perfectly in Flanders and France, while Belgian fabrics, and to some extent English laces as well, were made only in the country of their birth. The taste for flowers, so largely developed in the Flemings and Dutch, found expression in their artists, and soon crept into their pattern-books. The favourite tulip, the forms of which are so admirably adapted for use in geometric patterns, was soon utilised in the splendid laces of the period, and when the tulip mania was at its height it was reflected in rabato, band, and passements. From 1589 to 1650, the ruff, with all its eccentric convolutions, was gradually superseded by the flat collar of Dutch linen, with an insertion and edge of lace, or with simply a rich lace border. The fashions of France and Italy were adopted in Flanders with certain modi- fications which gave them ever an air of quaintness ; and while the grand dames of Italy and France were wear- ing their hair all a-frizzle, the Dutch dame drew hers smoothly back and covered it with an exquisite cap. The modest cut of her gown was enhanced by the muslin kerchief trimmed with splendid Flanders Point, or the finer Gothic Points, the result of many weeks' labour 103 THE LACE BOOK with the needle. The Dutch ladies and their sedate husbands live before us, to-day, in the magnificent por- traits of such masters as Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and half a dozen others. Never again will such portraits be painted, since the era of magnificence in dress, at least for men, has taken its departure. No less objects of pride to these exquisite house- keepers were the many cloths for shelves of dressers, mantel-shelves, tables, and other everyday articles. Most of these were lace-trimmed, with the rich and heavy products of bobbin and pillow, which could be so cheaply bought and were so durable. They had a dozen uses for lace which were quite peculiar to themselves, and some of them seem curious enough. In 1807 Sir John Carr wrote his " Tour Through Holland," and, although a close observer, he has little to say about the manufacture of lace save at the Btgwnages, where it still flourishes, and, curiously enough, also at the workhouses. The workhouse at Antwerp particu- larly claimed his attention, and he notes that its inmates were employed at making many varieties of the fabric. As some of the residents of this institution come from the best families, and are sent there for disobedience or insubordination of some sort, the choicest as well as the coarsest laces are made within its walls. He also remarked at Leyden a curious use to which lace was put : " As I was one day roving in this city, I was struck with the appearance of a small board ornamented with a considerable 104 >^p^SrW. V. ; . ; ;;;;:>; j -:''3|r:iV ,4,- -IE? I '- , J^-U^ ^ : ^Xr^^ ^^^^^.-Si'S^M'Sft-^ ^K:-,^., ; ' " > TDLATE XXXVI. ^/. "Fausse Valenciennes," bobbin lace. Bcli/htm, Eighteenth Century. />. Faunae Valenciennes, edf/eil irith Trolly lace. Belyium, Seventeenth Century. FLEMISH LACE quantity of lace, having an inscription on it, fastened on a house. Upon inquiry I found that the lady of the mansion where I saw it had lately lain in, and was then much indisposed, and that it was the custom of the country to expose this board, which contained an account of the state of the invalid's health, for the satisfaction of her inquiring friends, who were by this excellent plan informed of her situation without disturbing her by knocking at the door or by personal inquiries. The lace I found was never displayed but in lying-in cases. Without it this sort of bulletin is frequently used in cases of indisposition amongst persons of consequence." The making of lace seems so natural to the people of the Low Countries that it appears to attract little atten- tion from travellers who visited that country and re- corded their impressions. No doubt the fact that it was largely made in homes has something to do with this neglect ; for, while Flanders was undoubtedly the second lace-making country in the world, the written records of her achievements in this line are few and far between. Reference List of Flemish Lace OLD FLANDERS POINT is the only original Belgian lace. All the other productions are imitations of the laces of other countries, some of them bettered, and all of them more cheaply made than in their native homes. The original Flanders lace was the variety known as Trolle Kant, a bobbin lace no longer made in its original pattern. The name "Trolly lace" has been transferred to England, and is given to a class of laces with grounds which resemble the Flemish Trolle Kant grounds, and which have a thick thread cordonnet. 105 (XXXX) THE LACE BOOK There were also Brussels, Point tfAngleterrc, Point Gaze (one of the earliest laces made and still manu- factured), Mechlin, Valenciennes, Lille, Binche, and the black lace of Grammont. BRUSSELS LACE. The needle-point lace of Brussels is called " Point Gaze" or Point tC Aiguille. The bobbin-made Brussels is called " Flat Point " or Point Plat, the word " point " referring entirely to the quality of the lace. There is an applique lace, in which bobbin- made sprigs are applied with the needle to machine- made ground : this is called Point Plat Applique. POINT D'ANGLETERRE, a rich bobbin-made Brussels lace, attained an enormous vogue during the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries. One reason why the old Brussels lace was such a beautiful fabric w r as on account of the delicacy of the thread. The flax which made it was grown in Brabant, and the city of Courtrai was particularly famous for its flax, which was steeped in the water of the river Lys. The thread now used is machine-made in England from Belgian flax, which is sometimes blemished by the addition of cotton. This thread cannot compare with the hand-spun flax thread of a couple of centuries ago, and the lace suffers in con- sequence. The hand-spun thread was made in lengths of about 20 inches and then knotted, and this style of thread was in use till about the nineteenth century, when machine-made thread was first used. With hand- spun thread the spinner could draw only a length of about 20 inches from the distaff', so then it had to be 106 FLEMISH LACE joined and begun again. In fact these knotted threads form one of the tests for antique hand-made lace, and are of quite as much value in dating a specimen as the structure of the brides or the angularity of the outline. When Charles II sat on the throne of England, 1660- 1685, Point d'Angleterre was much worn. Much of this kind of lace was made by applying the needle-made flowers to bobbin -made net, made separately. The most elegant and becoming laces were made in this way, the softness of the pillow-made ground, with the exquisite beauty of the needle-made flowers, giving this lace a superiority over either the French or Italian Point laces, which were firmer in texture and less flowing. Very beautiful lappets for head-dresses were made of Point d'Angleterre^ and were held in much favour by ladies in arranging their court costumes, when Point lace only was allowed to be worn. These lappets hung down behind, and were of regulation lengths for re- spective degrees of nobility. The privilege of wearing full-length lappets was allowed only to princesses of the blood. Some interesting pieces of Brussels lace have recently been sold at Christie's in London. Among them was a fine flounce of Brussels needle point, made for some of the christening garments of the little King of Rome. The design was most elaborate, and part of the pattern consisted of the Napoleonic " N " upheld by cherubs. This piece brought 120 ($600). A very fine court train was sold at the same time for 140 ^$700), a 107 THE LACE BOOK small price considering its beauty and perfect condition. It measured 3 yards and 32 inches by 3 yards and 4 inches ; the centre was filled with a design of leaves, and the border was composed of pansy and morning-glory flowers. A pair of old Brussels lappets reached 10 ($50) and a small old veil with Prince of Wales feathers in the pattern brought 8 ($40). BINCHE LACE of the old make resembles the old Valenciennes very closely. Both the towns of Binche and Valenciennes are situated in the province of Hainault, and it was conquest at the end of the seven- teenth century which gave the town of Valenciennes to France. Modern Binche lace is machine-made net with bobbin sprigs applied. In the old lace, which was called Guipure de Binche, the favourite grounds were the spider and rosette forms. Laces were made at Binche prior to 1G86, since in that year they were sub- ject to a royal edict. They were esteemed in France, where not only were there bedspreads, night-robes, and skirts of Dentette de Binche, but " cuffs of three ranges," fichus and garnitures of the same lace. The designs are floral, covering well the whole extent of the pattern, and the groundwork is delicate and pretty, with more variety than the later Valenciennes patterns. MECHLIN LACE has a place all its own, and at one time was so popular that it gave its name to all varieties of Flanders lace. After 1685 the laces from the different towns became known by their appropriate names, and the real " Mechlin, the finest lace of all," was often called 108 O/.J '/'/; -V X \ \'il. I'nrtralt In/ .I/fur/ CHI//I. ('j>liqut. Portrait by Winterhalter. FLEMISH LACE GUIPURE DE BRUGES is what is now known as Duchesse lace, and is a thread bobbin lace of varying degrees of fineness. The pattern is made in sprigs, since it is gen- erally floral, and united by brides or bars. It is popular, as it is a " real lace," and not very expensive in its coarser qualities. Its greatest drawback is that it thickens and draws up when washed. The religious communities of Bruges make most of the Duchesse lace, and a similar lace is made in Venice, where it is called " Mosaic lace," since it is built up of small sprigs and pieces. 113 Part IV French and Spanish Laces " Item, five handkerchiefs worked with gold, silver, and silk, valued at one hundred crowns. " Item, two towels, also worked with gold and silver, and ap- praised at one hundred crowns. "/few, three towels of white drawn-work, valued altogether at thirty crowns. " Item, one pair of cuffs of cut-work enriched with silver, valued at twenty crowns. " Item, two white handkerchiefs of cut-work, valued together at twenty crowns. " All these towels and handkerchiefs, which were found in the little coffer which the said defunct lady usually carried with her to Court, are remaining in the hands of Sieur de Beringhen, according to the command of His Majesty, to whom she had promised these things should be returned." Inventory After the Death of Gabrielle d'Estrtes, 1599. Part IV French and Spanish Laces .T was Colbert who said that " Fashion is to France what the Mines of Peru are | to Spain," and then he proceeded to make good the saying. While it remains true that for years and years Italy was the arbiter of fashions, France under the Medicis and Valois sparkled with gold and jewels and rippled in costly laces. Cloth of gold and cloth of silver, further enriched by embroid- ery, jewels, and the richest lace to be had, were not too elegant for both men's and women's wear. Clouet's portraits show how very insignificant the early laces were, mere edgings of little beauty. They were mounted on starched and plaited linen ruffs, called retondes. Spanish capes and collets monies, as well as chemisettes, called gorgias, that covered neck and shoulders, were also worn in the time of Catherine de Medici. The drawn- work was handsome, and in that or lacis or darned netting the workers of the period excelled. Catherine de Medici herself was an indefatigable worker in embroideries and cut-work, and passed many an 117 *^ THE LACE BOOK evening at this pleasant labour. She was a strange character, and one thinks of her more naturally as brew- ing poisons and planning conspiracies than as peacefully working with a needle. After the death of her husband, who was laid out " dressed in a Holland shirt most excellently broidered about the collar and the cuffs," she arranged for herself a mourning costume which she always afterward wore. It was elegant and luxurious, and, most important of all, becoming. It was the cus- tom for widows of high rank, for a certain period after their bereavement, to wear veils when they went out of doors, with high gowns, and turnover linen collars with- out any lace. They were further expected to remain in absolute seclusion for forty days. Catherine de Medici was the first queen to ignore these customs. She carried the outward mourning, however, into her surroundings, and had a mourning-bed of black velvet embroidered with pearls and powdered with crescents and suns, with all the bed furniture to correspond. She had still an- other bed draped with darned netting or lacis, and she not only worked this lacis herself, but kept many girls and her servants employed on it also. This lacis was commonly made in squares, as being easy to handle, and a single pattern filled each square. These squares were joined together by an ornamental pattern of stitches, and made very beautiful bed-covers and ornaments for all kinds of household effects. In the inventory of Catherine de Medici, recorded after her death in 1589, in which the bed already 118 QX)OCC^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES families and all the convents make a living out of this lace-making," to teach the girls of France. The experiment succeeded, and a few years later Colbert wrote to M. le Conte d'Avaux, the successor at Venice of Mgr de Bonzy, as follows : " I have gladly received the collar of needle-point lace worked in relief that you have sent me, and I find it very beautiful. I shall have it compared with these 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." The town of Alencon had long been a centre for the manufacture of Point Coupe and needle-point lace. In 1665, when Colbert was considering where best to place his colony of imported lace-workers, he received a letter from Favier Duboulay, saying : " It is a fact that for many years the town of Alencon subsists only by means of these small works of lace that the people make and sell." So what more natural than that this little lace-making town should be chosen ? Curiously enough, the greatest opposition Colbert received was from the old French lace-makers themselves, who were so wedded to making the old style of laces that it was almost impossible to teach them the new. However, the minister persisted and was ably assisted by his forewoman, Mine Gilbert, or Mme La Perriere, authorities differ on this point, and they soon produced such beautiful pieces that not only was the great Louis himself satisfied, but his courtiers eagerly seized the laces which were exhibited 123 C^^X^XXK^X^>3*X<<^X^XKK^XX> THE LACE BOOK as samples, and Alen^on was decided to be "the only wear." Not only was Point de France (as the new lace was called) the fashion, but the wearing of it was com- pulsory. All those who were either attached to the royal household or received at Versailles, " could only appear, the ladies in trimmings and head-dresses, the gentlemen in ruffles and cravats of the royal manu- facture." The " Mercure Galant" of 1664 contains the follow- ing instructions on the fashions, addressed to a lady living in the country : " Network coifs were at first dotted, and afterward open-worked. This last is quite a novelty, as are also skirts of Point cTAngleterre printed on linen and mounted on silk with raised ornaments. Every woman has bought some." At a fete given at Vaux by the superb Fouquet, Mdlle de la Valliere wore a white gown " with gold stars and leaves in Persian stitch, and a pale blue sash tied in a large knot below the bosom. In her fair waving hair were flowers and pearls mixed together. Two large emeralds shone in her ears. Her arms were bare and encircled above the elbow with gold open-work bracelets set with opals. She wore gloves of cream-coloured Brussels lace." On August 15, 1665, a company was founded by royal ordinance, with an exclusive privilege for ten years, to manufacture Point de France upon a large scale, and made enormous profits during the period of its existence, which ceased in 1675. The state furnished a fund of 36,000 francs in aid of this company ; the im- portation of foreign lace was forbidden ; and it was 124 >0oin/. ^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES of Madame Du Barry are fairly preposterous with the sums spent for Brussels and Point d 1 Angleterre. In these accounts is also mentioned India muslin so fine that a length sufficient to make four dresses weighed but 15 ounces. While the French laces with which we are most familiar, and which were the most costly and beautiful, were made with the needle, France also had her bobbin laces. Colbert directed that " all sorts of threadwork, both with the needle and with bobbin on the pillow " should be made in the lace-works he established, but the bobbin laces had a later start. The towns where bobbin laces were made under Colbert's administration were Arras, Le Quesnoy, Loudon, and Aurillac. They were soon overshadowed, however, by their better known neighbour, Valenciennes, the place where the most esteemed of bobbin laces were made. Valenciennes lace attracted but little attention when it was first made. It was not till the eighteenth century that it became esteemed and accepted as one of the laces demanded by fashion. Indeed, none of the pillow- made laces, Mechlin, Valenciennes, or Chantilly, enjoyed the reputation at first which caused the needle points of Venice and Alen^on to occupy so prominent a position. Still, the love for lace had been implanted, and the noble work done by Colbert in establishing works all over the Kingdom bore fruit later. While needle-point laces may be said to have reached their supreme heights in the seventeenth century, bobbin-made lace came to 135 X*XX)<^X^<^^ THE LACE BOOK its fullest expression in the eighteenth century and has never since been excelled. Under Louis XV fashion demanded soft and filmy laces, which were bobbin-made, the very materials and mode of manufacture making needle point stifFer. The earliest French bobbin laces, like those of other coun- tries at this period (the sixteenth century), were of gold and silver threads, Passcments or Guipures as they were called. Le Puy and Mirecourt were the best- known places of their manufacture, and these laces are made there yet. The patterns have changed little, being geometric, with formal floral forms and star-like centres. The making of these laces at the present time is one of the chief industries of Auvergne, where nearly 200,000 women, living simple lives in the mountains, add to their meagre incomes by lace-making. They are able quickly to follow the dictates of fashion, since they can vary the materials with which they work : silk, worsted, and goat's or even rabbit's hair being employed with equal facility. The most popular lace of the last century upon which they have been employed is a black silk Guipure. Cluny lace, a new name for the old-fashioned pa.wcmcnt, was also a favourite for a period, the name being derived from the famous Cluny Museum in Paris, where examples of ancient laces are preserved. The old gold and silver laces are still made, but of course in greatly diminished quantities, since this form of the fabric is no longer used on men's dresses. 130 0<*XXXK^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES The fancy for laces with fine grounds, which was so marked in the eighteenth century, was a great misfortune to the Guipure-making centres. Point de Milan, another pillow-made lace, suffered also, since it was a lace of scrolls and large effects, the gimp being rather heavy. The dress of the elegantes of the period of Louis XV abounded in every description of sumptuous negligees. Many of these gowns were of the finest lawn and mus- lin, very richly bedecked with lace, which had to com- bine the qualities of a filmy lightness and a capability of " doing up " well. Valenciennes lace seemed most happily to combine these qualities. By this time it had passed through the various stages of different ground- works, and the clear square or diamond-shaped mesh had been adopted, its regularity displaying the floral ornament of the pattern to the best advantage. For elegant dress, when silk lace was demanded, Chantilly, after a period devoted to experiment and struggle, suddenly sprang to the fore. The material employed for the black laces is a silk thread called Grenadine dAlais, and the patterns of the old Chantilly, whether of black or white silk, are distinguished by the introduction of vases and baskets to hold the flowers which form the design. Black laces, however, never had the vogue of white, and were chiefly used by elderly ladies, for shawls, scarfs, and any outdoor garments, or for mounting over a brilliant colour. It is much more in demand now than in either the seventeenth 137 THE LACE BOOK or eighteenth centuries, and more workers are engaged in its manufacture. When Marie Antoinette came to the throne, the heavier laces, except on regulation court robes, were laid aside, and the light pillow-made Blondes substituted. The term Blonde arose from the fact that the lace was first made with unbleached silk of a pale straw-colour. Two sizes of thread were used : one very fine for the ground, and a coarser one for the pattern. The cream- coloured silk is no longer used, but white and black only. The predilection of Marie Antoinette for this par- ticular make of lace is evident not only from her portraits by Mme Le Brun, but also from the accounts left by her dressmaker, Mme Eloffe, who records dress after dress trimmed with it. Mdlle Bertin, on the other hand, furnishes but one gown trimmed with Blonde. The patterns she liked best were with sparsely covered grounds, merely the edge bearing a floral design. The sprigs, dots, spots, and oval-shaped dots called " tears " (most appropriately for the poor Queen), now came in vogue. Two styles of lace called Tulle and " Marli," to be distinguished only by the different shaped mesh, also became popular during the time of Louis XVI. By 1775 there is mention made of a family of lace-makers named Gantes, living in the town of Tulle. The early lace of this character was merely a net ground without ornament. The same name has been given to the machine- made net of later days, and there is enough variety A" /,/T.- mid Mn rii' sleeve ruffle arc Argenian. Portrait by Drouais. dr- I''r( Valrnclrnnvs" showint/ I ark chant illy, irith double (1755-1793). The luce on skirt, rorsatfe, and sleeves Is Blonde. Portrait /// Mint' Lrhrnn. FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES and Milan laces of the same period. These home-made laces were intended to take the places of Italian and Flemish laces, and they did. Their cost, however, was extreme, so that their wear was confined to the wealthy. The mode of making these laces was similar to that employed in the Gros Point de Venise, and it was under the superintendence of Mme Gilbert that the French and Italian workers evolved the beautiful fabric which became known a little later as Point dAlencon. During the time of Louis XIV the groundwork of Points de France had been rather regular meshes, which were ornamented by loops or picots. Little by little these meshes were reduced in size, and grew to the ground called petit rcseau, or small mesh. The hand- somest of the Points de France at the commencement of the eighteenth century was known as POINT DE SEDAN. The city of Sedan was selected by Colbert as one of his lace centres, and this large- meshed lace, with bold springing patterns, was success- fully made there. The lace has a varied thickness imparted to it by different stitches which give high relief in some parts of the pattern. Much of this lace was used on the splendid rochets of the bishops of that time. It closely resembles Gros Point de Venise. The use of lace during the reign of Louis XIV was prodigious. Even such visitors as came to the court were presented with cravats, collars, and cuffs by the magnificent Louis. POINT D'ALEN^ON. The final evolution of this lace was completed by about 1678, and from this time was 145 10 ^ THE LACE BOOK called by the distinctive title of Aler^on. The quality of this lace, which is a needle point, is its crisp firmness, due to the character of the cordonnet, or outline, to the edge of the pattern, which is made of horsehair, giving it a peculiar wiry feeling, as well as a firmness to which is due the preservation of much of this perishable fabric. Louis XIV and Louis XV were its two greatest patrons, and with the Revolution in 1794 it suffered greatly and has never again assumed the place it once held. The process of making Alen9on is tedious in the extreme. After the grounds became small, the button- hole stitch was too thick and clumsy, and a lighter and clearer mesh was found to be necessary. After much experimenting this grew to be the hexagonal mesh known as the distinctive Alen^on ground. The lace is made in sections, each part by a different worker, and the sections are afterward joined by nearly invisible stitches. The pattern is printed on bits of parchment about ten inches long, green being the colour commonly used, as showing up the lace better. The pattern is then pricked, and the parchment is stitched to a piece of coarse linen. The outline of the pattern is then laid on the parchment in two flat threads held in place by tiny stitches which go through the holes in the parch- ment. This is the first stage, and is the only part of the work done by this particular workwoman. The laid outline is then given to another worker, who fills in the ground, or rcxcaii. The worker of the flowers uses a long needle, and her task is to make the buttonhole 14G &$&Qi()i(#^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES stitch, worked from left to right, giving an evenness which is one of the greatest beauties of this lace. Then come the special workers of the various fillings or Jours, which give so much variety, and then, this section being complete, a sharp knife is used to separate the lace from the parchment, and the final and trying work of uniting all the bits into one perfect piece is all that remains. When the groundwork was a " bride " ground, of a large six-sided mesh, the labour was even greater, as each of the six sides was worked over with seven or eight buttonhole stitches. This firm ground and the horsehair introduced into the border made this lace par- ticularly desirable for those towering head-dresses worn by French women for so many years. The chief draw- back to this lace was that it washed badly, since the horsehair thickened and spoiled the shape of the lace. The wedding dress of the Empress Eugenie consisted of four flounces of Alencon which completely covered the white satin skirt, and the same lace was also used on the high-necked corsage and on the sleeves. The prices paid for these laces in auctions to-day compare favourably with what they brought in the hey- day of their fame. Within the past year, at Christie's, in London, an Alencon panel for a dress front, 44 inches deep and 17 inches wide, brought 43 ($215). A length of 2i yards of flouncing 14 inches deep, show- ing a charming design of flowers tied up with ribbons, sold for 46 ($230). 147 >^^ THE LACE BOOK A famous English collector of fine old laces was Sir William R. Drake, and, by the way, it is chiefly men whom the collecting fever strikes most deeply. Not only to such subjects as books and furniture do they confine themselves, but to such feminine subjects as china and lace are they ardently devoted. Mr. Paige bequeathed to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts his splendid collection, which it took him years to gather. Sir William Drake's, unfortunately, came under the hammer, and some of the specimens were sold at Christie's, April 24, 1902. The prices of some of the choicest of these pieces are given to serve as a criterion to owners and buyers, although it was acknowledged that the prices brought on this occasion were unusually high, but the quality and condition of the pieces must be taken into account. The highest price paid was 460 ($2,300) for a flounce of Point (TArgentan, 4 yards long and 25 inches deep. The pattern was a bold and graceful one with scrolls and arabesques appearing among the flowers. A length of Point de Venise, 58 inches long, and 24 inches deep, with conventional flower pattern, brought 360 ($1,800). There was a third piece of lace, 4 yards of the finest old Italian Rose Point, which, although but 11 \ inches deep, brought the large sum of 420 ($2,100), making the cost $525 a yard. The exquisite workmanship and nearly perfect condition of this piece brought out many competitors. White lace is always more in demand than black, for at this same sale some fine black Chantilly, 23 inches 148 JJLATE XLVII. La JJuchesM d'Aumale. Flounces of black chant-illy lace. Nineteenth Century. Portrait ly Winterhalter. ^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES wide, brought but 2 ($10) a yard, while 3| yards of 8-inch width fetched but a guinea ($5.25). At the present time Alen9on lace is made in Ale^on, Bayeux, and even in Venice. It is being imported in fair quantities to America, since each year there is a slowly increasing demand for " real lace," as it is called in distinction from that which is machine-made. It does not take the rank it once did : Brussels, Mechlin, and Valenciennes taking precedence over it. POINT D'AIIGENTAN. Like Alen9on, Argentan is also a needle-point lace, these two being the only needle- point laces of France with a net ground. The name Alen9on is a much more familiar one than Argentan, although the two laces were originated at about the same time ; yet the output from Argentan never reached the amount made at Alencon. In 1744, when the manufacture of lace was progressing briskly, there were at Argentan about 1,200 workers, while at Alencon and its neighbourhood the number was close to 8,000. This was the period when, in order to supply the demand, work-people were enticed from one town to the other, to the great uneasiness of the super- intendents who had large orders to fill. In 1788, according to that indefatigable traveller, Arthur Young, the industry at Argentan was very flourishing, since the value of the lace made there exceeded 500,000 livres ($100,000). The Revolution killed the manufacture of this lace, which was revived in 1808, but failed in 1810. By 1874 it was once again 149 ^ THE LACE BOOK re-established, and the lace is still made in small quan- tities. The difference between the two laces is chiefly a matter of grounds, that of Alen^on being a reseau or small-mesh ground, while that of Argentan was coarse enough to be called a " bride " or bar ground. The patterns are larger, bolder, and more scroll-like, the relief higher, and the workmanship coarser and more effective, from its close patterns and clear bride ground, than the more minutely worked Alen^on. The hex- agonal bride, the great characteristic of Argentan lace, has sometimes worked within each mesh a small six-sided solid dot. This particular style of ground was called reseau rosace. Another famous ground was the bride picotee, or bride bouclee, as it was called, since each bride or bar was ornamented with four or five little loops or picots of thread which gave it a very ornate appearance. The style of manufacture is similar to that of Alen9on. The other well-known laces of France Valenciennes, Chantilly, Blonde, and Tulle are all bobbin laces. The first province in France to establish the making of pillow lace was Auvergne, and its earliest product, the precious gold and silver laces, was largely exported to Spain, since the consumption of these rich trimmings in that country largely exceeded the home manufacture. Even in the face of the fact that many of the inhabitants of France depended on this industry for their support, they were harassed by sumptuary edicts of the most stringent character. 1.50 TOLA TE XL VIII. Spanish needle point. Six- teenth Century. Photograph by Charles Ball lard. FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES In 1639 the Parliament of Toulouse issued a decree which the seneschal of Le Puy made known to the inhabitants throughout the town at the sound of the trumpet. This decree prohibited, under penalty of a large fine, " everybody of either sex, quality, or con- dition from wearing any sort of lace, whether of silk or white thread with glittering passement of gold or silver, real or false." It can be imagined into what a desperate condition such a foolish move threw the lace-makers of the region. They were rescued by the eloquence of a Jesuit priest, who prevailed on the Parliament in 1640 to revoke the decree, and for his good offices the lace- makers chose him as their patron saint, and St. Francois Regis is still invoked by the lace-workers of Auvergne. The Aurillac laces of gold and silver were in demand at court. A mantle of "Point d'Aur iliac gold and silver " belonged to the Prince de Conti, and it was also used for veils, sleeves, and guards or bands bordering garments. CLUNY LACE. The Guipure made at Le Puy and an old variety of lace has of late years been called Cluny lace. It is a coarse lace with brides or bars, and is very effective, particularly when made in black. The old patterns were fine and graceful, both in scrolls and in floral forms, and there is a certain rich elegance to the black lace which makes it seem strange that it has not become more popular. The earliest history of this style 151 THE LACE BOOK of lace is entirely lost. It was the trimming called Opus Filatorium in ancient times, and then was Opus Arach- neum, or Spider Work, in the Middle Ages. Patterns for this work filled the pattern-books of the sixteenth century, and it was superior to darned netting in having wheels, circles, and raised stitches to give it variety. While this was a needle lace, its modern namesake is a bobbin lace, geometric in character, and following the antique patterns more or less closely. VALENCIENNES. The name Valenciennes was not applied to this lace until the eighteenth century. Its first home, at the period when Colbert was superintend- ing the lace industry of France, was Le Quesnoy. The lace produced there, however, was very unlike that into which it ultimately grew, the details of ornamenta- tion and of ground passing through different phases. Lace has been made in this region, with bobbins, since the fifteenth century, when it is said that a worker named Chauvin started lace-making. The early styles, with small bars or ties, were replaced by different grounds, one of the most famous being the "fond de ncige" or snowy ground, formed by little dots regularly made between the twisted meshes. The clear open ground with the diamond-shaped mesh is of perfect regularity. The pattern and mesh are made by the same threads, passing through the hands of one worker only. There is no heavier thread for outline as in the case of Mechlin and some other Flanders lace, and the beautiful and durable quality of this lace is one of its 152 "^"y-'V^v'^V^V^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES great merits. When the desire for choice laces was at its height, the making of this lace in its perfection was carried on in the town of Valenciennes, so this name was bestowed upon it. Only the lace made actually within the town limits was called v rai Valen- ciennes; that made outside, whether in France or Belgium, was called fausse Valenciennes. The Revolution was responsible for the disappearance of this industry from the town of Valenciennes, and what was French loss was Flemish gain. The modern Valenciennes is much less ornate and elaborate than the old. The French lace owed its superiority to the greater number of times the bobbin was twisted in forming the mesh, and it was this frequent twisting which caused the lace to be so costly, since it required so much time to complete even one inch. Arthur Young, whom we have quoted before, says that in 1788 Valenciennes lace about three inches wide, for gentlemen's ruffles, cost about 216 livres ($43) an ell (48 inches). Some lace-workers could make but half an ell (24 inches) in a year, and the wages were but 20 to 30 sous a day. Even at such starvation prices there were 3,600 workers in the city alone, carrying on their labour in dark, damp cellars, since under such conditions the thread worked more smoothly. No wonder that the trimming of one of Mme Du Barry's pillow-cases cost 487 francs ($97), and that a pair of lappets were priced at 1,030 francs ($206). 153 #]^^ THE LACE BOOK A piece of lace made throughout by the same hand was more valuable, when this could be certified, than that made by several workers. It is to be conceived how great the extravagance was when it is taken into account that this was never a " dress " lace, and never appeared on grande toilette of either men or women. CHANTILLY LACE, a bobbin lace made of silk, was first made early in the eighteenth century at a lace school founded by the Duchesse de Longueville. It was here that the double ground which characterises this lace was evolved and made, in the form of narrow edging laces. The second epoch was that of Guipures of silk, both white and black, the latter being the black silk Blonde lace which made Chantilly famous. They were not highly esteemed at first, but after they received the sanction of the court they became very popular. The old patterns, in either black or white, are quite remarkable for the presence of vases or baskets which hold flowers, and which are similar to the forms of Chantilly pottery made at the same period. Sprays, branches, and vines spring from the vases and show to admirable advantage upon the clear ground. The grenadine silk thread used for the black laces sometimes loses its brilliancy in the constant twisting of the bobbins, and this has given rise to the idea that this lace is sometimes made with an admixture of flax thread. The ground or mesh is lozenge-shaped, crossed at opposite ends by horizontal threads. This forms what *LA TE XL I X. White J'jiyhteenth Century. Spanish Blonde. )l&)l^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES was called the double ground. Many charming fillings are introduced into the flowers, and are called by a variety of fanciful names, such as vitre, mariage or cinq trous. The disappearance of a lace from the town of its birth, and its reappearance in another quarter or even in another country, is one of the strange features of this industry. During the nineteenth century the making of black lace was revived at those busy lace centres, Caen and Bayeux, where many thousand workers are engaged in making Chantilly, which far exceeds in beauty and delicacy the old laces. A large variety of textures is the great feature of this modern lace, many grounds being introduced into each piece, with proportionate variety in the pattern or toile. The French black silk laces greatly excel in beauty those made in Belgium, the latter being less varied in their gradations, and less rich in the beautiful openwork which outlines leaves, flowers, and scrolls in the Nor- mandy laces. BLONDE LACE. Under the general heading of Blonde will be included Blonde de Caen, as well as Blonde net. White silk bobbin lace was first made at Caen about 1745, taking the place of the flax laces previously made there. The early laces were creamy in colour, and were sometimes called Nankin, as the silk of which they were made was imported from China. Gradually they im- proved in colour, as the preparation of the silk was also improved, and these delicate white silk laces were much 155 X#X<<^ THE LACE BOOK sought on account of their beauty and becoming quality. Two sizes of thread are used, one for the mesh and another for the pattern, and both pattern and mesh are made by one worker. It was not till about 1840 that black laces in the white lace patterns were made, and became almost as much the vogue as the white. BLONDE NET was a silk bobbin lace with a fine net ground and a heavy pattern. The ground is clear and fine, and the pattern or toile is worked with a broad flat strand which glistens prettily, and to this rather showy quality it owes its success, since it is not distinguished by beauty of pattern or by any particular artistic merit. MIGNONETTE LACE, or Elonde de Fil, is another fine light bobbin lace, early in use and much esteemed even before the great Colbert took in hand the lace industries of France. Before the middle of the sixteenth century it was an important trimming, and was made from fine flax bleached and spun in Flanders. It was never made more than an inch or two in width, and so light and delicate was it that it was a favourite trimming for caps. It has survived where costlier laces went down, and is still made in large quantities. The spelling of it varies greatly, from " mennuet " to " minuit," accord- ing to the nationality and taste of the speller. COLBERTEEN, so often mentioned in English satires of the seventeenth century, was a coarse network lace with a large open mesh, used only for edging towels, sheets, etc. It is curious that only this third-rate lace 156 *x#xxx$>c<^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES should have been named after the great minister who did so much for the industry in France. DENTELLE is the French term for lace. It was not applied, however, till the end of the sixteenth century ; before that time laces were called passements. DENTELLE FUSEAU is bobbin lace. DENTELLE DE FIL is a term covering several varieties of simple thread laces like Torchon, or Dentelle a la Vierge. DIEPPE POINT, as lace made at this town was called, in its finer varieties is of the same nature as Valen- ciennes, but much simpler, so that fewer bobbins are used. This kind of lace has been used since the six- teenth century by the peasant women of Normandy for trimming those marvellous caps with long lappets which are so esteemed in prosperous families and handed down from one generation to another. Flemish thread was used for this lace, both black and white, and the most elaborate patterns did not cost over 30 francs an ell. A school was re-established at Dieppe in 1826, by some sisters from a convent, for even this simple product has suffered from the throes of the Revolution, as well as by the demand for costlier laces by the aristocracy. There are several small inexpensive laces which have been, and to some extent still are, made in France. CAMPANE LACE was an ancient lace, now unknown. Much mention is made of it in the contemporary literature of the times, and it was frequently used as an edging, sewed upon muslin ruffles, or even upon narrow 157 )*)*&)*0>3*C^^ THE LACE BOOK laces to increase their width. As early as 1690 we find it called " the King of narrow pricked lace." It was a bobbin lace, and the word " pricked " referred to the fact that the pattern was pricked upon parchment. This lace was made not only of flax for those who desired it, but also of gay coloured silks and even of gold. These latter laces were for trimming doublets and mantles. GREUSE or Beggar's lace was another simple trim- ming, bobbin-made, and rather resembling modern Torchon. It was called " beggar's lace" on account of its coarse quality. 158 JJLATI1 L.A. Chalice n-il. X/H/W/.V/J fxilnt. Si'MifiTiith Ci'iititri/. l>. Si/k J. bobbin lace. Nineteenth Century. Spanish Laces Spain has always been a lace-wearing country, her grandees ruffling it superbly in velvets and gold lace, while with her ladies the national dress is largely coin- posed of this rich fabric. Though consuming great quantities of lace in its most costly form, gold and silver, Spain has never made it in great quantities, but relied on her exports to furnish her with the amount needed. Curiously enough, the Spaniards obtained their laces from France, while the laces most used in France came from Flanders, but this was in 1634, before Colbert came on the scene. Later, in the eighteenth century, Spain acted upon the policy that foreign superfluities should be prohibited. Her sumptuary law of 1723 " has taken away all pretence for importing all sorts of point and lace of white and black silk." Being a Catholic country, her convents made drawn- and cut-work in great quantities for use in the churches and on ecclesiastical garments, following the development of lace in Italy, Flanders, and France, and copying with more or less success the fine old Points of Venice. The most famous lace, Point (TEspagne, was a gold or silver lace, and the name is thought by most experts to have been given to it on account of the vast quantities required by great Spanish nobles, with whom it was a favourite decoration. Yet this lace was also made in 159 THE LACE BOOK Spain, largely by the Jews, and after their expulsion in 1492 the manufacture decreased greatly, while the de- mand still continued. As much of these splendid laces were sent from Italy and Flanders, and so great were the sums spent for them, the importation of them was finally prohibited by the government, save such as were neces- sary for ecclesiastical purposes. Lord Tyrawley, writing from Lisbon to the Duke of Montague in the first half of the eighteenth century, describes his meeting with the Patriarch on his way to court in his litter, " which was of crimson velvet, laid all over with gold lace ; followed by his body coach of the same. He had ten led horses, richly caparisoned, and attended by six-and-thirty footmen in crimson velvet clothes finely laced with gold, every servant having a laced cravat and ruffles, with red silk stockings.'" The history of lace in Portugal is approximately the same as it was in Spain, and the dress and equipages of the Portuguese nobles were as extravagant, in the eight- eenth century, as those of the Spanish grandees. During the sixteenth century, when Flanders was Spanish territory, the Spaniards learned all that the Flemings had to teach in the art of bobbin laces, and of twisting and plaiting gold threads. The convent laces were, however, chiefly made of thread, rich and heavy, and resembling the Gros Points dc Peruse from which they were copied. There were finer laces made, too, like the choice French and Italian laces, and at the dissolution of the monasteries, about the 160 #)f)i(}iO<)*^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES middle of the nineteenth century, many of these laces were released and sold. Now were revealed for the first time specimens of those rich fabrics on which many a nun spent her eyesight and her life, and unfinished pieces of lace still stitched on their bits of parchment, marked with the name of the sister who was expected to make it, are parts of the property preserved in the convents. They followed the plan of working separate small bits, the pieces being afterward joined by a superior worker, but the laces are in no way distinctive. These delicate laces are not, however, those which suited Spanish taste. After the gold and silver laces, which were sometimes further enriched by embroideries in colour, came the silk lace, both white and black, made in heavy patterns on a net ground. The gala dress of the Spanish signora calls for a white lace mantilla, which is not in the least becoming to her dark style of beauty. This is made of very heavy silk embroidery on net, or is a heavy bobbin lace with a net ground. The black lace mantilla, and lace flounces, two of which were often mounted upon a skirt of brilliant satin, composed the dress of the rich Spanish beauty, and were of this same heavy lace. The simplest mantilla for ordinary occasions was of silk, but this was embel- lished by a flounce all around it of hand-wide lace. The earliest sumptuary laws of Spain make no reference to lace, but Philip III, in 1623, required the wearing of simple rcbatos, without cut- work or lace, for men, and collars and cuffs for women, neither sex being 11 161 ^ THE LACE BOOK allowed the use of starch. Gold and silver lace was especially prohibited, but this prohibition was repealed for the period of Prince Charles's visit. Spain was long celebrated, and with justice, for the elegance of her silk fabrics and her gold and silver lace, mention of all of which is numerous in the French and English inven- tories and Wardrobe Accounts of the period. During Queen Elizabeth's time she had a mantle, in the year 1587, trimmed with "bobbin lace of Spanish silk," and from this date downward, coats, mantles, petticoats, and beds were trimmed with it. A Spaniard, writing of Barcelona in 1683, says that not only are gold and silver edgings made there, but also those of silk, thread, and aloe, "with greater perfection than in Flanders." By 1667 so much thread lace was brought into Spain from France as well as from Flanders that the duty was raised from 25 to 250 reals per pound. This necessitated much smuggling, and quantities of lace, under the name of " mosquito net," were brought into Spain via Cadiz, and there are records of the seizure of many vessels. The gold and silver lace was used for other purposes besides cloaks, gowns, and mantles. Banners were edged with it ; hats were laced with it for servants as well as for their masters ; shoes were trimmed with it, as also carnages and furniture ; and, most curious of all, sheets were embellished with it to the depth of several inches. The most famous of these metal laces were made at Seville, Barcelona, and Valencia. 162 TDLATE LI. Henrietta Anna, l)uchesse (VOrleans ( Vj^-1610 ). Showing a bertha of straight-edged lace. An early representation of Point de France. X>^^ FRENCH AND SPANISH LACES The silk Blonde lace, which we call to-day " Spanish lace," and which is made in scarfs, mantillas, flounces, etc., was made at Catalonia and Barcelona, and its char- acteristic is a heavy pattern on a fine net ground. This ground is not nearly so durable as that made at Bayeux or Chantilly, where this lace, with patterns in " Spanish taste " are made to suit the Spanish market. There are no lace manufactories of any note in Spain, the custom always having been for the women and children to work at the lace in their own homes. Many people are employed in silk bobbin lace-work now and the patterns and workmanship are constantly improving. Children do much of the work, beginning as early as four years of age, and after a little practice are able to handle with skill six or seven dozen bobbins. A curious custom prevails in Spain, and in Portugal as well, of trimming coffins with lace. This fashion has been followed for hundreds of years, and as the coffins them- selves are generally pink, blue, or white, and overlaid with gold or silver lace, they present a very tawdry appearance. The chief claim which Spain and Portugal have for modern lace is for their imitation Chantilly lace, which is exported in considerable quantities. The black silk lace enriched with coloured silks and gold threads is no longer made, and but small quantities of the metal laces, which once made Spain so famous in the world of fashion. 163 "V V V* *v* V "V ".' '*' v v v '' v v . / Part V- -English and Irish Lace " x 1 *HE real good of a piece of lace, then, I you will find, is that it should show, first, -*- that the designer of it had a pretty fancy; next, that the maker of it had fine fingers; lastly, that the wearer of it has worthiness or dignity enough to obtain what is difficult to obtain, and common sense enough not to wear it on all occasions." JOHN RUSKIN. K> O> <*> V '%* V V 'v > <>* V- -English and Irish Lace HERE is scarcely a woman who at one time or another has not had a desire for a piece of lace known as " English thread." This term is so broad and covers so great a variety of makes and styles that it is quite bewildering for the novice to determine whether her bit shall come from "Bedford, Bucks, Dorset, or Devon." In the making of lace, England was not in the field as early as either Italy or Flanders, and the Italians took advantage of their forwardness in the craft to send to England lace of " Venys gold," as well as that of Genoa, Lucca, and Florence. The term " lace," often used in the expense accounts of sovereigns from the time of Edward IV (1460), has always been supposed to mean the trimming, instead of which it refers to the strings or ties by which various parts of the garments were kept together, pins not then being in common use. The statute of the third year of Edward IV's reign enumerates the following wrought goods not to be imported, and ladies were to rely on home manufactures for "laces, corsets, ribbands, fringes, 167 ^ THE LACE BOOK twined silk, embroidered silk, laces of gold, points, bodkins, scissors, pins, purses, and patterns," also " cards and dice." During the incarceration of the unfortunate Henry VI in the Tower of London in 1471, various sums were paid at the Exchequer for his maintenance, and among the items given was one of "9 10s. lid. for twenty-eight ells of linen cloth of Holland and ex- penses," which refers probably to the making of it into shirts. The writers of the period being chiefly men, poems and satirical essays were directed against the gentler sex, even though the prevailing modes prescribed equal elegance for both men and women. Sir Richard Maitland (1496-1586), a noted Scotch jurist, amused himself when off duty by writing poems, one of which, called " Satire on the Town Ladies," has the following lines : " Their wilicoats maun weel be hewit, Broudred richt braid, with pasments sevvit." The earliest English records of the fifteenth and six- teenth centuries call this trimming passcmcnt and dcntellc. Mrs. Palliser says that the first mention of the word " lace " in any English inventory is in that of Sir Thomas L'Estrange of Hunstanton, county of Nor- folk, in 1519. There was but a single yard, and it was valued at eightpence, "to trim a shirt for hym." All during the first half of the sixteenth century lace appears but sparsely in the inventories and accounts. Gold lace was increasing in amount, and by the time Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne the edicts against 168 T^LATK LI I. Old Uonitou, n-lfh )i<-,'dl.<<-m>>>^^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE cut- work and lace, framed by Henry VIII and renewed by Queen Mary, were no longer enforced, since the Virgin Queen loved too well the gewgaws from France, Italy, and Flanders, to deny herself the use of them. By this time there were resident in London many rich and powerful merchants from both Italy and Flanders. One of the most famous was Messer Leonardo Frescobaldi, the well-known " Master Friski- ball " of Shakespeare. He was one of the merchant princes of the day, and supplied to royalty " damask gold," gilt axes, hand guns, and other merchandise. Cardinal Wolsey, who turned to advantage every instrument that came to his hand, besides buying the rich Venetian goods, used these merchants in various ways, as news-gatherers, messengers, etc. Some of them married English women and became English subjects, having thus exceptional advantages for selling the " Venys laces of riche gold," and those also jewelled. Rich dresses were worn on all occasions. When the unfortunate Earl of Arundel, who was tried for high treason in 1589 because he expressed his joy " when the Spanish Armada entered the Channel," appeared before the jury of twenty-five peers at Westminster, he was clad in a " wrought velvet gown, furred with martins, laid about with gold lace, and fastened with gold buttons." Another prisoner of the Tower, the Earl of Essex, went to the block in 1597 in a wrought velvet gown and a small ruff, which latter he put off before kneeling to receive the fatal stroke. 169 O<)O(>X^ THE LACE BOOK " Bone lace," so often mentioned in the inventory of Queen Elizabeth, and even in that of her predecessor, signified a bobbin lace, since bits of bones from various animals and birds were used as bobbins and as pins around which the lace was woven. The fashion of garments during the period of Henry VIII and of Mary precluded the use of much lace even if it could be obtained, since they were so slashed and cut, puffed and jagged, and covered with flat braids of metal or silk, that there was little room for anything else. The Elizabethan ruff, which was introduced from France about 1560, was made of the finest drawn-work and edged with lace of geometric pattern but of great beauty. About ten years later the Wardrobe Accounts fairly bristle with mention of cut-works, passcments, drawn- work, chain lace, petticoat lace, and a dozen other varieties which have now become nothing but names, but which show that the English Queen sought every means to add to her appearance by the richness of her "appryl." Chain-stitch was one of the forms of trimming of which there are many early entries in the Great Ward- robe Accounts. Spanish stitch, which had been intro- duced by Queen Catherine, was much used on linen underwear, and, as it was easy to make and stout to wear, many apprentices and young tradesmen had it on their collars. This did not suit the Queen at all, and she put a quick stop to all such borrowing of fashions 170 <>OO0<<^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE from their betters by ordering that the next apprentice so caught should be publicly whipped in the hall of the Guild to which he belonged. A contemporary, speaking of the gowns of the period, says of them : "Some are of silk, some of velvet, some of grograin, some of taffeta, some of scarlet, and some of fine cloth of 10, 20 or 40 shillings the yard. But if the whole garment be not of silk or velvet, then the same must be layed with lace two or three fingers broad all over the gown; or if lace is not fine enough for them, he says, they must be decorated with broad gardes of velvet edged with lace/ 1 So much for feminine attire. By 1595 the peasecod-bellied doublet was quilted and stuffed with four, five, or six pounds of bombast, the exterior being of satin, silk, velvet, camlet, gold, or silver stuff, " slashed, jagged, cut, carved, pinched, and laced with all kinds of costly lace of divers and sundry colours." Gascoigne, who about 1570 wrote his " Satire on the Court Ladies," gives them credit for unbridled folly in copying men's clothes : " Women masking in men's weeds, With Dutchkin doublets, and with jerkins jagged, With Spanish spangs and ruffles set out of France, With high-copt hats and feathers flaunt-a-flaunt," and many other extravagances beside. Jasper Mayne, who wrote some comedies illustrative of city manners in the time of Charles I, also wrote some poems. He was archdeacon of Chichester, and, as might be expected, had little sympathy with the 171 THE LACE BOOK Puritans and their tenets of faith. One of his satirical poems, written about 1650, was called " The Puritanical Waiting-Maid," and her mistress thus describes the maid's foibles : " She works religious petticoats ; for flowers She'll make church histories. Her needle doth So sanctify my cushionets! Besides My smock-sleeves have such holy embroideries, And are so learned, that I fear in time, All my apparel will be quoted by Some pure instructor. 11 The cloaks of both sexes were faced with costly lace of silver, gold, or silk, and with members of the court the wearing of rich clothes was a positive necessity. Arabella Stuart, that unfortunate princess whose debts and matrimonial difficulties caused her to pass many weary years in the Tower, never lost her taste for fine clothes. Her last appearance at court was June 4, 1610, when her cousin was created Prince of Wales. The Queen gave a grand masque called " Tethys' Fes- tival ; or, the Queen's Masque." The dresses were designed by Inigo Jones in honour of the occasion, and the Lady Arabella took a leading part. She was " Nymph of the Trent," all the ladies representing different rivers. She wore one of those elaborate and costly costumes which added so much to her money difficulties. Her " head tire was composed of shells and coral. The long skirt of her gown was wrought with lace waved round about like a river, and on the edges sedge and seaweed, all of gold." 172 <<<>O^^ THE LACE BOOK 1661. After giving the order of the procession, the positions of the nobility, the great officers of state, the royal household, the principal gentry of the kingdom, etc., he goes on to say : "It were in vain to attempt to describe this solemnity; it was so far from being utterable that it was almost inconceivable ; and much wonder it caused to outlandish persons, who were acquainted with our late troubles and confusions, how it was possible for the English to appear in so rich and stately a manner, for it is incredible to think what costly clothes were worn that day ; the cloaks could hardly be seen what silk or satin they were made of, for the gold and silver laces and embroidery that were laid upon them : besides the inestimable value and treasure of diamonds, pearls, and other jewels, worn upon their backs and in their hats ; to omit the sumptuous and rich liveries of their pages and foot-men ; the numerousness of these liveries and their orderly march ; as also the stately equipage of the esquires attending each earl by his horse's side; so that all the world that saw it could not but confess that what they had seen before was but solemn mummery to the most august, noble, and true glories of this great day. Even the vaunting French confessed their pomps of the late marriage with the Infanta of Spain, at their Majesties 1 entrance into Paris, to be inferior in state, gallan- try, and riches to this most glorious cavalcade from the Tower." Charles II himself on this auspicious occasion wore a robe or sort of surplice of fine lawn trimmed with Flanders lace at eighteen shillings the yard. This, too, in face of the fact that he had issued a proclamation enforcing an act of his father prohibiting the entry into the Kingdom of foreign bone lace. The next year, 16G2, another Act was passed, pro- hibiting bone lace cut-work and passcmcnts; all foreign bone lace being forfeited, and a penalty of 100 ($500) to be paid by the offender. 176 COX$XXXXXX$DCX>XX^ THE LACE BOOK " Look well to what you take in hand, For larnin is better than house or land, When land is gone and money spent, Then larnin is most excellent. 11 A sampler made by Mary Saunders was " wrought in the ninth year of her age, one thousand seven hundred and seventeen," the above in the finest stitchery, and with a quantity of patterns, also with a " magic square" filled with numbers. Like most old things, samplers have had a remarkable rise in price during the past few years. Very large sums have been given for even mediocre examples. At a recent sale at Sotheby's 8 ($40) was given for a sampler in good condition, dated 1679, while one less perfect brought 6 4s ($31). While it is true that lace was made in England, indeed in London itself, during the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries, and that the manufacture extended over an area which included the counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedford- shire, Oxford, and Devon, it was only foreign laces which were worn at court and by men and women alike. The making of lace never seems to have become an important staple in any part of England, and in many counties where once the industry flourished there are now no traces left of it. The laces of England, chiefly bobbin-made, are said to have been taught to English workers by the in- dustrious Flemings. Certain it is that the old patterns 180 <)OO<^^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE were of the graceful flowing designs which are dis- tinctly Flemish. English Trolly lace, an early make, closely resembles the same named lace of Flemish make. Many of the Flemings who fled from the per- secutions of Alva settled in the neighbouring counties of Bedford, Bucks, and Northampton, and pursued their craft, so it is no wonder that the lace of these three counties is practically similar ; and is worked in the same fashion, with a net ground and flat pattern, as are many Flemish bobbin laces. The women and children were not the only workers at lace. Berkeley, in his " Word to the Wise," reads a reproof to Irish labourers by drawing pictures of English thrift : " They meet at one another's houses [the men], a jolly crew, where they merrily and frugally pass the long dark winter's evenings working at their different manufactures of wool, flax, or hemp." "In other parts you can see him of an evening, each at his own door with a cushion before him, making bone-lace." The peasant might weave the lace, but it can be imagined that the fabric made by the toil-worn fingers of labourers could not be comparable with that woven by the trained and delicate fingers of women. So the court still wore foreign lace. In the reign of William and Mary, about 1702, there were several changes in costume. The full ornamental sleeve gave place to a tight one, but at the elbow there was a full fall of lace in the form of ruffles or lappets. The hair was built up on cushions and surmounted by an erection of lace and ribbons arranged in tiers, and 181 ;x^^ THE LACE BOOK called a tower, or commode. Streamers of lace fell down on either side, and are spoken of as " pinners edged with Colberteen," a name often given to French lace in English records. In the manufacture of bone lace the county of Buck- inghamshire surpassed her sister counties in receiving recognition for this fabric, which, however, was accounted inferior to that of Flanders make. Before 1623 there had been less made here, since in that year we read that owing to the monopolies of James I the people suffered great distress, owing to " the bone lace-making being much discayed." The southern part of Buckinghamshire was justly celebrated for the lace produced, contemporary writers calling it of the finest quality, and some of it was cer- tainly very beautiful. By 1680 the lace from High Wycombe was in great esteem, and, beside edging, was made in veils and other piece lace. The " baby laces " of Northamptonshire, while not appearing particularly early, are very pretty. Of course the earliest are quite frank copies of Flanders lace, with bright clear grounds, and simple little patterns, generally floral, running along the edge. While these laces are all bobbin-made they are called " point," a term usually applied to needle laces, and their fineness and beauty bring them well into com- petition with early Mechlin and Brussels. These narrow laces remained in fashion many years as the trimming for infants' caps. When the style had become obsolete 182 LV. A. Kiii/Huh l>ohh'ni-in l. I Iniiiloit. lloliliitt- //,' ooc<>c<<c^^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE in England, it still remained in America, and a great quantity of these laces were exported till about the middle of the nineteenth century. Not only are these laces charming in quality and pattern, but the reasonable price at which they were sold made them very desirable. Very choice designs could be bought at $1 a yard, few coming higher than $1.50. Many of these laces were made by children, chiefly girls, beginning with those only eight years old. They worked from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M. in summer, with two hours taken out for meals. In winter the hours were from 8 A. M. to 8 P. M., so it is not a wonder that lace-makers lose their sight early, since the insufficient light furnished must have rendered the work most trying. A candle- stand with one solitary candle was placed in the centre of the room. Around the candle in hollow wooden cups were set bottles of very thin glass filled with water. These concentrated the light, and there were three girls to each bottle, one candle being deemed sufficient for eighteen girls, seated on stools of varied heights. The pillows were exceeding hard and covered with blue butcher's linen. There were various cloths in addition for the lace to lie on, to cover the pillow with when not in use, and to keep the lace in as it was made. The pins were of very slender brass wire made on purpose for this work, some with larger heads than others. The bobbins, as in other lace-making countries, were gen- erally of turned wood, made of the requisite weight by the addition of bright-coloured beads, which made a 183 THE LACE BOOK " dressed pillow " with, say, 300 or 400 bobbins, a very gay affair. The wedding trousseau of Queen Victoria was trimmed with English laces only, and this set such a fashion for their use that the market could not be supplied, and the prices paid were fabulous. The patterns were most jealously guarded, and each village and sometimes separate families were noted for their particular designs, which could not be obtained else- where. Such laces as these were what were used on Queen Victoria's body linen. Her coronation gown was of white satin with a deep flounce of Honiton lace, and with trimmings of the same lace on elbow sleeves and about the low neck. Her mantle was of cloth of gold trimmed with bullion fringe and enriched with the rose, the thistle, and other significant emblems. This cloth of gold is woven in one town in England. The present Queen's mantle was made there also. Queen Victoria's wedding dress was composed entirely of Honiton lace, and was made in the small fishing village of Beers. It cost 1,000 ($5,000) and after the dress was made the patterns were destroyed. Royalty has done all it could to promote the use of this lace, and the wedding dresses of the Princess Alice and of Queen Alexandra were of Honiton also, the pattern of the latter showing the design of the Prince of Wales's feathers and ferns. The county of Devon is the seat of the handsomest and most important of all English laces. Before the 184 0^ THE LACE BOOK Parliament had considered it wise to prohibit the im- portation of lace from foreign ports. "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 Labour e 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 Subsistance. 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 shall be taken in this affair depends the Well-being, or ruin of numerous families in this Country." The number of people quoted as getting their living in Honiton by this industry was 1,341. The little town of Honiton was twice destroyed by fire, first in the year 1756, and again in 1767. The first of these two fires was the more disastrous, and was always known in the annals of the town as the "Great Fire." Three years before this, in 1753, a Mrs. Lydia Maynard won a prize of fifteen guineas offered by the Anti-Gallican Society for the encouragement of lace-makers. She exhibited six pairs of ladies' lappets, which were said to be of " unprecedented beauty." The Honiton lace was also the widest lace made in England. 186 ~f>LATE LV1. Irish crochet lace. Nineteenth Century. 0<)OOC<<>C>^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE While the earlier Devonshire laces followed those of other countries in their gradual development, they took as models the beautiful pattern of the G-ros Points of Venice and made an imitation of them with bobbins. Honiton lace as we know it, is, however, a direct growth from Brussels lace, where the sprigs were made separately and then woven into the net ground. England could not produce the exquisite thread that was necessary to make this lace of required fineness, and was indebted to Flanders for this precious flax. The ground of the Honiton Guipure is formed of brides, while in the finest old Honiton the ground is worked with a needle, which of course greatly increases the cost. The bobbin Honiton net was also extremely costly, being made of Flanders thread costing as much as 90 ($450) a pound, and in strips about two inches wide. The way this net was paid for was curious, since the worker laid it out on a counter and received for pay- ment as many shillings as would cover it. This was the ground alone, so that a Honiton veil or large piece like a shawl would be valued at a hundred guineas or more. A favourite pattern was the butterfly and acorn, which was copied from a very popular design of Point cTAngleterre. The French Revolution, besides paralyzing the making of lace in France had a disastrous effect on its manufacture in England. The two wars with America still further worked havoc, and the revival 187 O<)<>C0CW ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE ... If they all chose to have lace, too, if it ceases to be a price, it becomes, does it not, only a cobweb ?" Varieties of English Lace HONITON LACE. Of all English laces this has been the most esteemed and the most costly, as well as the most beautiful. It is a bobbin lace, with a bride bobbin ground, or with a net bobbin ground or, in rare cases, with a net needle ground. From the early days of lace-making in England, about Queen Elizabeth's time, lace was made in Honiton, the coarse bone or bobbin laces as well as the more expensive laces of gold and silver. Not only were there the original English workers with their primitive methods and pat- terns, but in the sixteenth century there came many Flemish refugees, bringing with them superior facility and new patterns of sprigs and fillings which their neighbours soon learned to copy. The name " Honiton" had not then been applied to the laces from this place ; but they were called Bath Brussels lace, no doubt on account of the Flemish workers and because the method of manufacture is similar. It has been mentioned elsewhere that the making of the Honiton pillow-made ground, once so famous, has become a lost art, and the beautiful sprigs which were once applied to it, either by being worked or sewed into it, are now put on machine-made net or connected by needle or bobbin brides, Modern Honiton is not so beautiful as the old, 189 0 . / '/'/; L 1 '11. Llmi-ru-k J/y/'/'V" ; (<>'. LCKKX$XX^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE the white thread sprigs ; thrt is, they were sewed on paper, and brides or bars were used to fill in the spaces around them and connect the sprigs. No black silk laces have been made in Honiton for the last quarter of a century, the workers that are left confining themselves to the making of the white thread laces. DEVONSHIRE LACES. Next to Honiton, Trolly lace was the best known of all the laces made in Devonshire. None of the lace made here seems to have been an original growth, except Honiton, since the Trolly lace was copied from Flemish lace of the same name, and Point (TAngleterre, as a certain variety of Brussels lace was called, was also successfully copied in Devon. In this> as in the Honiton, the sprigs were made first, and the bobbin-net ground worked in around them. By the middle of the eighteenth century the Devonshire workers could rival their Flemish instructors, and present as beautiful specimens of this lace, with as great variety in fillings of fancy stitchings, as if it had been made by nimble Flemish fingers in Brussels itself. Beside these expensive laces, quantities of narrow and coarser laces were made in Devon also, something in character like the modern Torchon. The Trolly lace is distinguished by having a heavier looking thread in various parts of the pattern. This is always made by twisting the threads of the bobbins to- gether, never by the introduction of a coarser thread. The making of this lace has seriously declined, cheap machine laces taking its place. 191 ^^ THE LACE BOOK BEDFORDSHIRE LACE. Like the Devonshire lace, the Bedfordshire also drew its inspiration from the Flemings, who literally spread all over the world the art of making bobbin lace. The lace of " Beds " is very different from that of Devon, resembling the work of Lille, which has a clear ground with a dainty little close pattern on the edge. One particular pattern of lace made early in the nineteenth century was known as *' Regency Point." It had a clear, delicate ground, made of twisted instead of plaited threads, and with a heavy edge, quite elaborate in design. It is no longer made, since the elaboration of the ground took so long that the more quickly plaited reseau was found more profitable. Much " Baby Lace," narrow in width, is made here and sold all over England by peddlers. It is a pretty and inexpensive trimming, and its durable quality has always kept it alive, though unfortunately less is made each year, and only in the coarser patterns. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LACE. Many lovers of lace con- sider a fine piece of lace from " Bucks" almost superior to Honiton. The peculiarity of this lace, which is made with bobbins, is that the pattern or sprig is made at the same time as the ground. Lace-making was an old industry in Great Marlow ; it flourished long before 1623, and in 1626 a school was founded by a generous patron called the " Free School of Great Marlow," where boys were taught to read and write, and girls " to knit, spin, and make bone lace." The ground of this lace is always pretty, being clear 192 *X)O<>C<)<>CC<><< LA '/'/; LVIll. A. Point de Gaze. M>v/.s-.sW,v Ht't'dlc i>i>lnl. X'uiHi'i'nth Ct-fnri/. B. I'niii/ icon. Ximfi-i'iitlt Ci n/iu-//. 3JXK^ ENGLISH AND IRISH LACE three styles of this trimming made, the most beautiful being Tambour, in which the patterns are embroidered and worked upon machine-made net. There is also a revival of the old-time Lacis, in which the pattern is run with a heavy thread into a coarse net, and which is called "run lace." Applique is a fine cambric laid over lace, with the pattern of the design run or stitched down, and the background then cut away so as to show the lace net through. 197 Index C Index ALEN90N, 7, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 76, 83, 97, 123, 124, 127, 128, 134, 135, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. Aloe lace, 84. Amboise, 74. Anne of Austria, 92. Anne, Queen, 19, 24, 25, 173. Antwerp lace, 109. Appliqu^ 196, 197. Aprons, 173. Argentan, 7, 35, 36, 83, 127, 128, 129, 130, 134, 148, 149, 150. Argentella, 83. " BABY LACES," 182, 183, 192. " Band strings," 21. " Bars," 60. Bath Brussels lace, 189. " Bath sets," 35. Beaufort, Duchess of, 30. Bedfordshire lace, 191, 192. Beggar's lace, 158. B6guinages, 104. Belgium, 94, 99. Berkeley, Bishop, 102. Binche lace, 108. Bisette, 141. Blonde, 109, 138, 140, 154, 155, 156. Blonde tulle, 37. Bobbins, 14, 98, 99, 183, 193. Bobbin lace, 14, 15, 102, 180, 181, 182, 185, 188, 195. Bone lace, 14, 19, 23, 170, 176, 182, 185, 192, 194. Bonzy, Mgr de, 122. " Boot tops," 23. Borgia, Lucretia, 73. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 148. Botticelli, 63. BrantOme, 74. " Brides," 60. Bruges, 100. Brussels lace, 25, 38, 39, 95, 96, 97, 124, 135, 175, 187, 194. Buckingham, Duke of, 19, 20. Buckinghamshire lace, 182, 192, 193. Burano, 7, 8, 127. CAMOBA, 73. Campane, 157, 158. Cannons, 32. Canterbury, Archbishop of, 27. Carignan, Francis, 75. Carnival lace, 83. Caroline, Queen, 26. Carr, Sir John, 104. Carrickmacross lace, 196. Chain-stitch, 170. Chandos, Duke and Duchess, 27. Chantilly lace, 38, 134, 135, 139, 140, 148, 154, 155, 163. 201 THE LACE BOOK Charles II, 107, 175, 176, 178. Charles V, 90. Charles, Prince, 19, 21, 22, 23. Charlotte, Queen, 27. Chesterfield, Lady, 28. China, 87. Christie's, 77, 78, 107, 108, 147, 148. Church of Rome, 6, 7, 8, 9. Cinq-Mars, 30. Clement XIII, 8. Cloaks, 19, 25. Clouet, J., 74, 117. Cluny lace, 136, 151. Colbert, 32, 33, 117, 122, 123, 125, 127, 128, 134, 135, 142, 152, 156, 159. Colberteen, 156, 157, 182. Commode, 182. Cordonnet, 61, 146, 193. Couronnes, 61. " Courriers de la Mode," 35. Courtot, Baroness de, 40. Coventry blue, 10. Cravats, 23, 24, 175. Crochet, 195. " Crown lace," 14. " Crowns," 61. Cromwell, 23. Cuffs, 126. " Curiosities of Literature," 20. Cut-work, 23, 59, 69, 195. D'Abrantes, Duchesse, 112. Dentclle, 5, 157, 168. Dentelliere, 188. Dentelle Fuseau, 157. Dentelle de Fil, 157. Devonshire lace, 187, 191. Dieppe Point, 157. D'Israeli, 20. 202 Drake, Sir Wm., 78, 148. Drawn-work, 58, 194, 195. Du Barry, Mdme, 36, 96, 135, 153. Ducat, 73. Duchesse lace, 113. Dutch, 5. ECCLESIASTICAL GARMENTS, 6, 7, 8, 9. Edict of Nantes, Revocation of, 100, 142. Edward IV, 12. Elizabethan ruff, 170. Elizabeth, Queen, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 91, 162. Encaje, 5. Engageants, 126. England, 9, 10, 12, 18, 21, 26, 28, 35. 60, 90, 95, 96. English and Irish lace, 167-197. " English thread," 167. Engrelure, 130. Eugenie, Empress, 140, 147. d'Este, Beatrice, 65, 73. d'Este, Isabella, 35. d'Estrees, Oabrielle, 116, 120. " Extraordinary expenses," 19. " FALLING BANDS," 20, 21, 22. Ferrara, 73. Flanders, 5, 9, 15, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 60, 81, 89, 91, 93, 97, 98, 103, 160, 162, 175, 176, 182. Flanders' Point, 105. Flat needle point, 195. Flax, 88. Flemish lace, 87-113. Fleur volant es, 61. Florence, 63, 65, 67, 74. Flounces, 130. Foelix, O., 68. *&&&o>&^ INDEX " Fontange," 126, 127, 132. France, 5, 9, 17, 28, 32, 33, 35, 38, 60, 68, 69, 70, 74, 75, 82, 93, 100, 103, 117, 122, 162. Francis II, 74. French laces, 117-158. Frescobaldi, Messer, 169. GALANTS, 121. George III, 26, 27, 28. Geneva bands, 22. Genoa, 5, 32, 63, 74, 129. Genoa lace, 82. Germany, 60. Ghent, 100. Ghirlandajo, 63. Gilbert, Mdme, 32, 122, 145. Glen, Jean de, 89. Gold lace, 12, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31, 32, 62, 63, 64, 65, 72, 74, 136, 142, 150, 151, 162, 163, 194. Gorgias, 117. Gothic period, 6. Great Marlow, 192. Greece, 60, 83. Greek lace, 59, 60. Gros Point de Venise, 9, 61, 75, 145, 160, 161, 187. Guyard, Mathieu, 128, 129. Guicciardini, 90. Guipure, 5, 12, 17, 27, 62, 63, 80, 81, 95, 99, 111, 113, 136, 137, 195, 196. Guise, Due de, 119. Haye, de la, 68. Heathcoat, John, 188. Hebrew ceremonial, 9. Henry III, 28, 29, 68. Henry VT, 168. Henry VII, 12. Henry VIII, 10, 11, 12, 16, 22, 98, 170. Hercules I, 64. " History of Lace," 13, 36. Holland, 13, 24, 90. " Hollands," 16, 27, 91, 92. " Hollow lace," 14. Honiton, 185, 186. Honiton applique", 190. Honiton guipure, 187, 190. Honiton lace, 184, 186, 187, 189-191, 192. Honiton net, 187. Howell, James, 19, 20. INVENTORY, 18, 56. Ionian Isles, 60. Irish lace, 194-197. Irish Point, 195. Italy, 5, 28, 31, 32, 35, 60, 63, 68, 72, 75, 84, 87, 92, 117. Italian lace, 57, 75, 123, 130. Jabot, 175. Jacquard, J. M., 188. James I, 18, 21, 23. James II, 24. Jonson, Ben, 21. Josephine, Empress, 38, 39, 40. "Jours," 132, 133, 147. Jupiter Capitolinus, 7. KANTEN, 5. Konigsmarck, Aurora von, 27. LACE-MAKING (English), 167. Lace-making (Modern), 143. Lacier, 5. Lacis, 61, 69, 80, 118, 119, 197. Leavers, J., 188. Leicester, Earl of, 10. Leyden, 104. Lille lace, 111. 203 THE LACE BOOK Limerick lace, 196. London, 13, 15. Lonrai, 32. Louis XIII, 30, 120, 122. Louis .17 V, 5, 33, 81, 94, 123, 126, 127, 130, 132, 133, 134, 139, 141, 144, 145, 146. Louts XV, 35, 36, 109, 127, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 146. Louis XVI, 9, 138. Louvre, 28. Lucca, 15, 63. Luynes, Due de, 27, 134. MACHINE-MADE GROUNDS, 97. Machine-made lace, 144, 188. Macrame, 61. Maintenon, Mdme de, 126. Mantua, 35, 65. Marie Antoinette, 37, 92, 138, 139, 140. Marie Louise, 39. Mary, Queen, 12, 93. Mary Stuart, 4, 17, 18, 74. Margherita, Queen, 8. Marli, 37, 138, 139. Mazarin, 94, 122. Mechlin, 7, 25, 27, 39, 92, 93, 108, 109, 134. Medici, Catherine de, 28, 74, 117, 118. Medici, Marie de, 30, 31, 32, 82. Meiningen, Due de, 40. Merletto, 5. Mignonette, 141, 156. Milan, 63, 65, 74. Milan Point, 79. Mocenigo, Doge, 72. Mocenigo, Dogaressa, 72. " Modes," 6. Montespan, Mdme de, 125. Montgomery, Gov., 102. 204 Montpensier, Mdlle, 121. Morgan, Lady, 26. Morosini, Doge, 71. Napoleon I, 38, 39, 40, 140. Navarre, Queen of, 29. Neck-cloth, 175. Needle point, 102. Netherlands, 25, 87. Night-caps, 22, 23. Nicholas, Etienne, 129. Nimequen, 100. Northamptonshire lace, 182, 193. Oberkirch, Mdme, 9. Oppian Law, 64. Ostaus, John, 69. Pagani, 69. " Palatines," 125. Palliser, Mrs. Bury, 13, 14, 36, 95, 140, 168. Parchment lace, 14, 62. Paris, 26, 34, 39, 121. Passement, 5, 168, 176. Passementerie, 63. Paston letters, 4. Pattern-books, 68, 69, 70. Peerlen, 5. Penthievre, Due de, 35, 144. Pepys' Diary, 24, 177, 178. Permon, Mdlle, 39. Percy's Reliques, 11. Perquisites, 133, 134. Petit Trianon, 37. Pharaohs, 3. Philip the Good, 92. Picot, 59, 132, 145. Pillows, 98. Pins, 98. Pius IX, 7. ^ INDEX Pizzo, 5. Point d bride, 35. Point d rtseau, 35, 62, 77, 78. Point d'Aiguille, 95, 97, 106. Point d'Angleterre, 27, 35, 36, 39, 76, 93, 95, 96, 97, 106, 107, 124, 125, 134, 135, 187, 191. Point d'Espagne, 131, 142, 159, 160. Point de France, 33, 124, 125, 127, 130, 131, 132, 144. Point de Paris, 142. Point de Sedan, 145. Point de Venise, 33, 34, 68, 127, 129, 148. Point Gaze, 106. " Point " ground, 193. Point lace, 76. Point Plat, 106. Points (Metal), 4. Portugal, 160. Potten Kant, 110. Prince Imperial, 141. Punto a Groppo, 61, 80. Punto a Maglia, 80. Punto Burano, 76. Punto de Ragusa, 83. Punto Gotico, 74, 75, 76, 103. Punto in Aria, 60, 67, 68. Punto Tagliato, 58. Punto Tagliato a Fogliami, 60, 71, 75, 76. Punto Tirato, 59. Purls, 59. " Purlings," 190. QtJABTERLY REVIEW, 57. Querouaille, Louise de, 33. Quintain, 58. REFORMATION, 9. Regency Point, 192. Renaissance, 32, 34, 59, 65, 72, 79. Renda, 5. Reticella, 59, 60, 68, 71, 74, 83. Retondes, 117. Revolution, French, 38, 129, 139, 146, 149, 187. Richelieu, 32. Rochet, 9. Rohan, 9. Rome, 64, 73. Rome, King of, 39. Roundheads, 22. Rousseau, 139. Ruffs, 18, 20, 29, 103, 119. Ruffles, 126, 130. " SAM CLOTHS," 178. Samplers, 178, 179, 180. Savoy, Margaret of, 119. Scotland, 17. Seguin, 90. Sevignt, Mdme de, 125, 131. Sforza, 56, 73, 89. Spain, 19, 60, 93, 149, 160. Spaniards, 20. Spanish costume, 161. Spanish lace, 14, 159-163. Spanish stitch, 170. Spider-work, 152. Starch, 91. Steenwych, Mdme, 101. " Steinkirk," 131, 132. Stuart, Arabella, 172. Stuarts, 23. Stubbs, 13. Swift, Dean, 25. TALITH, 9, 10. Tallien, Mdme, 40. Tambour, 197. Tape lace, 81, 110. 205 THE LACE BOOK " Tawdry lace," 174. Taxes on lace, 129. Thread, 88. " Transparents," 125. " Trolle Kant," 105. Trolly lace, 181, 191. Tulle, 37, 138, 139. Turner, Mrs., 16. Valenciennes, 7, 35, 39, 99, 100, 109, 135, 139, 152, 153, 154, 193. Valenciennes, Fausse, 100, 193. Valier, 0. B., 70. ValliSre, Mdlle de la, 124. Valois, 28, 29, 117. Van der Plasse, Mdme, 13. Van Dyck, 21, 22, 75. Vatican, 8. Vavassore, A., 69. Venice, 8, 15, 16, 30, 34, 60, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 83, 84, 88, 135. Venice Point, 24, 31. Venetian Rose Point, 7, 61, 74, 77, 78, 196. Verghetti, 84. Versailles, 9. Victoria, Queen, 184. Vinciolo, F., 30, 69. Vosterman, W., 89. WALKER, CHABLES, 196. Wardrobe Accounts, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 26, 93, 134, 135, 162, 170, 176. Warwickshire, 10. Wedmoll lace, 173. William and Mary, 24, 181. William III, 173. Wolsey, Cardinal, 169. YOUGHAL, 195. Young, Arthur, 149, 153. Ypres, 100. ZOPPINO, 68. 206 Alii. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. UCLA-Art Library NK9404M78I L 006 255 511 5 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY I II I! ill Hi ill! Ill A 001231298 9