The Project Gutenberg eBook of American lace & lace-makers
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: American lace & lace-makers
Author: Emily Noyes Vanderpoel
Editor: Elizabeth C. Barney Buel
Release date: December 7, 2025 [eBook #77415]
Language: English
Original publication: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1924
Credits: A Marshall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN LACE & LACE-MAKERS ***
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
AMERICAN LACE AND
LACE-MAKERS
PUBLISHED ON THE FOUNDATION
ESTABLISHED IN MEMORY OF
AMASA STONE MATHER
OF THE CLASS OF 1907 YALE COLLEGE
[Illustration: _Frontispiece._
Black net, embroidered with colored carnations, by Caroline Canfield
(Mrs. William Mackay). Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society of
Litchfield, Connecticut.]
AMERICAN LACE
&
LACE-MAKERS
BY
_Emily Noyes Vanderpoel_
_Author of “Color Problems” and “Chronicles of a Pioneer School.”_
EDITED BY
_Elizabeth C. Barney Buel, A.B._
[Illustration: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW HAVEN]
_New Haven, Yale University Press._
LONDON, HUMPHREY MILFORD, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
_Mcmxxiv._
_Copyright 1924 by Yale University Press._
_Printed in the United States of America._
THE AMASA STONE MATHER MEMORIAL PUBLICATION FUND
The present volume is the fifth work published by the Yale University
Press on the Amasa Stone Mather Memorial Publication Fund. This
Foundation was established August 25, 1922, by a gift to Yale
University from Samuel Mather, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio, in pursuance
of a pledge made in June, 1922, on the fifteenth anniversary of the
graduation of his son, Amasa Stone Mather, who was born in Cleveland on
August 20, 1884, and was graduated from Yale College in the Class of
1907. Subsequently, after traveling abroad, he returned to Cleveland,
where he soon won a recognized position in the business life of the
city and where he actively interested himself also in the work of many
organizations devoted to the betterment of the community and to the
welfare of the nation. His death from pneumonia on February 9, 1920,
was undoubtedly hastened by his characteristic unwillingness ever to
spare himself, even when ill, in the discharge of his duties or in his
efforts to protect and further the interests committed to his care by
his associates.
To
Robert Swain Gifford
A real Artist
A wise Teacher
A true Friend
_AMERICAN LACE AND LACE-MAKERS_
CONTENTS
_List of Plates, Lace-makers, and Owners of Originals_ xiii
_Preface_ xix
_Introduction_ 1
_Plates and Descriptions_ 15
LIST OF PLATES, LACE-MAKERS, AND OWNERS OF ORIGINALS
In this List, the following abbreviations are used:
A.M.N.H. = American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
E.M. = Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.
L.H.S. = Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Connecticut.
M.F.A. = Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.
M.M.A. = Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
S.C.I.L.A. = Sybil Carter Indian Lace Association, New York City.
_Number and Subject_ _Maker or Source_ _Ownership_
Frontispiece. Black net, Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
embroidered with (Mrs. William
colored carnations Mackay)
1. Lace-bark tree lace Jamaica Miss Edith Beach
2. (1) Peruvian lace bag Peruvian A.M.N.H.
(2) Peruvian lace Peruvian; prehistoric A.M.N.H.
3. Peruvian lace Peruvian; ancient Miss Marian
Powys
4. Eight lace bags Balienti Indians A.M.N.H.
5. Lace bag Balienti Indians A.M.N.H.
6. Details of lace bags Balienti Indians A.M.N.H.
7. Four lace bags Honduras Indians A.M.N.H.
8. Lace headdress Hopi Indian Miss Frances
Morris
9. (1) Porto Rican lace An aged Porto Rican L.H.S.
woman
(2) Porto Rican pillow Unknown L.H.S.
and bobbin lace
(3) Porto Rican pillow Unknown L.H.S.
and bobbin lace
10. Linen cut-work hand bag Oneida Indians S.C.I.L.A.
11. Bobbin lace pillow Oneida Indians S.C.I.L.A.
cover
12. Bobbin lace bed-spread Oneida Indians S.C.I.L.A.
13. Detail of the same
14. Lace pillow with Lydia Lakeman Miss Sarah E.
bobbins Lakeman
15. Ipswich patterns and Sarah Sutton Russell Miss Sarah E.
laces and Mrs. Thomas Lakeman
Caldwell
16. Ipswich laces Unknown Miss Sarah E.
Lakeman
17. _Réseaux_ of various Unknown E.M.
laces
18. Bobbins, thread, and Unknown E.M.
samples of Limerick
19. Samples of darned Mabel Roberts (Mrs. Miss Esther H.
laces Hezekiah Thompson) Thompson
20. Additional samples of Mabel Roberts (Mrs. Miss Esther H.
darned laces Hezekiah Thompson) Thompson
21. Embroidered collar Unknown Miss Esther H.
Thompson
22. Lace guimpe Unknown Miss Esther H.
Thompson
23. English darned net Ipswich, England Mrs. Guy Antrobus
laces (Mary Symonds)
24. Darned net veil Mrs. Thomas L. M.M.A.
Rushmore
25. White net dress skirt Cornelia Kingsland M.M.A.
(Mrs. Hatherly
Barstow)
26. White lace veil Catherine Roosevelt Miss Helena Knox
Kissam (Mrs.
Francis Armstrong
Livingston)
27. Detail of the same
28. Front of white lace Probably Catherine Miss Helena Knox
cap Roosevelt Kissam
(Mrs. Francis
Armstrong
Livingston)
29. Crown of the same
30. White lace veil Mary W. Peck (Mrs. L.H.S.
Edward D.
Mansfield)
31. Detail of the same
32. White lace veil Elizabeth Hannah L.H.S.
Canfield (Mrs.
Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge)
33. Detail of the same
34. Detail of white veil Probably Ellen L.H.S.
McBride (Mrs. Aaron
Vanderpoel)
35. Lace cap Elizabeth Hannah L.H.S.
Canfield (Mrs.
Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge)
36. Limerick trimming lace Limerick, Ireland L.H.S.
37. White lace veil Sarah Elizabeth Miss Marianna
Johnson (Mrs. Townsend
George Pollock
Devereux)
38. Detail of the same
39. Detail of a second Sarah Elizabeth Miss Marianna
veil by the same hand Johnson (Mrs. Townsend
George Pollock
Devereux)
40. English wedding veil An unknown member of Miss Clara Ray
the Stodart family
41. White lace veil Marietta, or Mary, L.H.S.
Smith
42. Detail of the same
43. Second detail of the
same
44. Black net shawl Mrs. John Savage L.H.S.
(Miss Barringer)
45. Detail of the same
46. (1) Black trimming Elizabeth, or Betsey, Mrs. Samuel H.
lace Peck (Mrs. Camp Street
Newton)
(2) Black trimming Pamela Parsons Mrs. Charles B.
lace Curtis
47. Black lace veil An unknown member of L.H.S.
the Buel family
48. Detail of the same
49. Black lace veil Polly Marsh Mrs. Lewis Marsh
50. Detail of a second Polly Marsh Mrs. Lewis Marsh
veil by the same hand
51. Black lace veil Either Caroline L.H.S.
Canfield (Mrs.
William Mackay) or
Elizabeth Hannah
Canfield (Mrs.
Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge)
52. Detail of the same
53. Detail of black lace Louisa Lewis (Mrs. L.H.S.
veil Henry Phelps)
54. Black lace veil Elizabeth Hannah L.H.S.
Canfield (Mrs.
Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge)
55. Detail of the same
56. Lace pillow and Nina Hall Brisbane L.H.S.
bobbins with black
trimming lace
57. Costume of 1825 Veil by Mary Bacon Mrs. Edward W.
(Mrs. Chauncey Preston
Whittlesey)
58. Lace cap Elsie Philips M.F.A.
59. Lace flounce on dress Charlotte Webster M.F.A.
skirt (Mrs. Charles
Sever)
60. Lace veil Delia I. Beals M.F.A.
61. Detail of the same
62. Embroidered kerchief Rachel Leonard M.F.A.
63. Infant’s embroidered Unknown Miss Katherine
cap Egbert
64. Embroidered waistcoat Unknown Mr. William S.
Eaton
65. Wedding-dress and Catherine Van Houten Mrs. William
marriage reception- (Mrs. Ralph Nelson
dress Doremus)
66. Detail of skirt of
wedding-dress in the
preceding
67. Details of waist of the
same
68. Wedding veil Catherine Van Houten Mrs. William
(Mrs. Ralph Nelson
Doremus)
69. Lady’s and infant’s Catherine Van Houten Mrs. William
cap (Mrs. Ralph Nelson
Doremus)
70. Collar or cape Catherine Van Houten Mrs. William
(Mrs. Ralph Nelson
Doremus)
71. White lace Mary Bacon (Mrs. L.H.S.
Chauncey
Whittlesey)
72. Silk net wedding veil Martha Harness (Mrs. Mrs. G. Glen Gould
Isaac Darst)
73. Embroidered collar Elizabeth Taylor L.H.S.
(Mrs. Andrew
Perkins)
74. (1) Lace cap Sybil (Bradley) Mrs. Samuel H.
Hotchkiss Street
(2) Embroidered collar Elizabeth, or Betsey, Mrs. Samuel H.
Peck Street
75. Fichu of Irish lace Sarah McCoon Vail L.H.S.
(Mrs. George Gould)
76. Patterns for borders Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
(Mrs. William
Mackay)
77. Design for cap Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
(Mrs. William
Mackay)
78. Copy of design from Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
Paris (Mrs. William
Mackay)
79. Ruffle embroidered for Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
wedding petticoat (Mrs. William
Mackay)
80. Design for embroidery Caroline Canfield L.H.S.
(Mrs. William
Mackay)
81. India mull dress Design by Caroline L.H.S.
Canfield (Mrs.
William Mackay)
82. India mull dress Ruth Freeman Packard Mrs. Ruth Quincy
(Mrs. George Trask) Powell
83. India mull dress skirt Louisa Lewis (Mrs. L.H.S.
Henry Phelps)
84. India mull dress skirt Louisa Lewis (Mrs. L.H.S.
Henry Phelps)
85. Handkerchief Eliza (Brock) Miss Edith Eliot
Mitchell
86. Bed curtains Polly Cheney L.H.S.
87. Waist of infant’s dress Elizabeth W. L.H.S.
Davenport
88. Front of skirt of the
same
89. Infant’s dress Mary W. Peck (Mrs. L.H.S.
Edward D.
Mansfield)
90. Six infant’s caps Mary Ann Laidlaw Mrs. Francis H.
(Mrs. Henry Buel) Blake and Miss
Katharine L.
Buel
91. (1) Knitted lace Mrs. Wilson Tingley Mrs. Charles
White William
Follett
(2) Pillow lace A California Indian L.H.S.
girl
(3) Pillow lace Probably Sarah L.H.S.
insertion Chedsey (Mrs.
Samuel Alling)
92. Black lace scarf Pamela Parsons Mrs. Charles B.
Curtis
93. Infant’s cap Isabella Woodbridge Mrs. Charles B.
Sheldon (Mrs. Curtis
George Lecky
Cornell)
94. Altar cloth of Greek Isabel Douglas Curtis Christ Church,
design (Mrs. Charles B. Rye
Curtis)
95. Detail of the same
96. Tape lace Isabel Douglas Curtis L.H.S.
(Mrs. Charles B.
Curtis)
97. Tape lace Rachel Tracy Noyes L.H.S.
(Mrs. Charles
Edward Whitehead)
98. Tape lace and darned Esther Thompson Miss Esther H.
net Thompson
99. Tape laces Mrs. Butterworth Miss Esther H.
Thompson
100. Table cover Mrs. Hannah MacLaren Unknown
Shepherd-Wolff
101. Filet lace in frame Sarah Belknap (Mrs. Miss Edith Beach
Edward Rowland)
102. Filet lace Elsie Belknap (Mrs. Miss Edith Beach
R. E. K. Whiting)
103. Chalice-veil Margaret Taylor Unknown
Johnstone
104. (1) Pattern and Edith Beach Miss Edith Beach
sample of pillow lace
(2) Bobbin lace made on a Edith Beach Miss Edith Beach
pillow
105. Pillow lace for a fan Edith Beach Miss Edith Beach
106. Venetian point lace Edith Beach Miss Edith Beach
and pattern
107. (1) Machine-made net Dean Walker Miss Sophia A.
Walker
(2) Machine-made net Dean Walker Miss Sophia A.
with stitches Walker
dropped
108. (1) Trimming lace on Clarissa Richardson Miss Sophia A.
machine-made net Walker
(2) Trimming lace on Julia Adams (Mrs. Miss Sophia A.
machine-made net Horatio Mason) Walker
109. Cap embroidered on Julia Adams (Mrs. Miss Sophia A.
machine-made net Horatio Mason) Walker
110. Medal awarded to Dean William T. Walker
Walker
PREFACE
Grateful acknowledgment is due all those who have contributed the fine
material from which the plates for this book have been made. They have
been most generous in giving and in lending the laces and embroideries
and in furnishing facts and details as to the making of them. There
is a wealth of material in the country which we are not able to show
for want of space. We desire to express our gratitude to the following
contributors:
Miss Edith Beach,
Miss Marian Powys,
Miss Esther H. Thompson,
Miss Sarah E. Lakeman,
Miss Helena Knox,
Miss Marianna Townsend,
Miss Clara Ray,
Miss Natalie Lincoln,
Miss Edith Eliot,
Miss Emily Wheeler,
Miss Frances Morris,
The Misses Alice and Edith Kingsbury,
Mrs. Charles B. Curtis,
Mrs. Lewis Marsh,
Mrs. Guy Antrobus (Mary Symonds),
Mrs. William Nelson,
Mrs. Edward W. Preston,
Mrs. Ruth Quincy Powell,
Mrs. Samuel H. Street,
Mrs. Charles W. Follett,
Mrs. Francis H. Blake,
Miss Sophia A. Walker,
Miss Margaret Taylor Johnstone,
Sybil Carter Indian Lace Association, New York City,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City,
American Museum of Natural History, New York City,
New York Public Library,
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts,
Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Connecticut.
The few books that have contributed their share to the work deserve
mention. They may be consulted by those who wish more data as to the
making of lace in general and as to the dates and details of the
invention of machine-made lace, the importation into the United States
of the machinery with which to make it, and the consequent excitement
in both England and New England.
Fine Thread, Lace and Hosiery in Ipswich, by Jesse Fewkes; and
Ipswich Mills and Factories, by T. Frank Waters. (Proceedings of
the Ipswich Historical Society.) The Salem Press Company.
Point and Pillow Lace, by Mary Sharp. Dutton.
Development of Embroidery in America, by Candace Thurber Wheeler.
Harper.
Practical Book of Early American Arts and Crafts, by Harold
Donaldson Eberlein and Abbott McClure; with a chapter on early
lace by Mabel Foster Bainbridge. Lippincott.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition. Article on Lace.
Too late for inclusion in the body of this volume, there came to the
author the exquisite Washington-Lafayette handkerchief which has been
photographically reproduced as a design for the binding. The original
was worked in New Orleans by a French lady—possibly a Creole, for it
is known that the Creoles of that city were remarkably expert with the
needle. Its conjectural date is 1825–1830: most of the embroidery of
its type was done between 1820 and 1840, and it is wholly probable that
the direct impetus of this example was nothing other than Lafayette’s
famous triumphal visit of 1824. The original is now owned by the
Litchfield Historical Society, of Litchfield, Connecticut.
_AMERICAN LACE AND LACE-MAKERS_
INTRODUCTION
As many things can be better understood and appreciated from pictures
than from even a glowing description, so the lace made by the deft
fingers of many an American woman cannot be portrayed in words, but
must be pictured before it can be appreciated. The half-tone process
can reproduce it so perfectly by copper and acid that one is almost
deceived into believing that the actual fabric lies on the paper. The
plates in this book will tell of the patient, persevering, artistic
women with whom we are more apt to associate only the drudgery of
household work done with the heavy and often clumsy tools of a hundred
years ago.
From _Point and Pillow Lace_, an excellent work by A. M. S. (Mrs.
Sharp), published in London, 1899, by John Murray, from which we shall
have occasion to quote again, we take the following definition: “The
English word Lace is taken from the French ‘Lacis,’ a term, however,
which, when properly used, denotes only the Italian work, ‘Punto a
maglia,’ or Darned netting. There are two distinct kinds of Hand-made
lace: first, Lace made with the needle, that is Needle-point lace,
under which heading the above-mentioned Darned netting may be included,
and secondly, Lace made on a pillow with bobbins, that is Pillow lace.”
Both of these kinds of lace have been made in America, but a third
kind existed there, indigenous to the soil. Few people know of it,
but botanists and travellers will testify to the fact. In the island
of Jamaica grows the lace-bark tree, botanically named _Lagetta
lintearia_. It has an outer bark. Strip that off and you will find
an inner bark consisting of fold after fold of lace, white in color,
delicate but strong in texture, looking much like fine net but with a
different mesh. It can be used with dress goods and for small mats. It
is even strong enough, when tightly twisted, for the lash of a whip.
This lace must have been growing in America long before the white man
ever set foot on these shores.
On investigation we find that in Peru, South America, the first
American hand-made lace extant was found. The more we study the
civilization of Peru the higher it appears. Many wonderful things have
been dug out of the old tombs. Peruvian craftsmanship is particularly
shown by its textiles, of which the Museum of Natural History in New
York City has a large collection. It is affirmed there that no finer
thread has ever been spun in the world than that of which an especially
delicate piece of Peruvian weaving is made. The designs of these
textiles are primitive but beautiful, and the colors are not surpassed
for their quality and harmony by those of any other country, though
they are thousands of years old.
When we turn, then, to the Indians of the West, North, and South,
careful observation shows that the Papagos of lower California, the
Hopis, and the Balientis made laces. These Indian laces, generally made
of vegetable fiber, are original and ornamental. They, too, are to be
found in the Museum of Natural History in New York City.
We are fortunate in being able to give illustrations of these early
laces. We do not know the technique of their making, but they must
belong to the pillow and bobbin type, even if some kind of frame was
used to weave them over, instead of a pillow. Some of them resemble
the “punto a groppo,” or knotted lace, made early in Italy and revived
not long ago in what is called macramé, much of which has been made of
heavy linen or cotton thread.
In this connection it is interesting to find that Indians are apt
pupils in lace-making. Trying to find some way of helping the North
American Indians, Miss Sybil Carter went to Italy and learned the
Italian methods of lace and cut-work making. She had a true missionary
spirit, and on carrying this industry to the Indians, as she did
quite successfully, she obtained results beyond her hopes. The work
even led to many improvements in the Indians’ way of living, such as
cleanliness, better clothing, and more comfortable homes. The agent
for this work has a shop in Park Avenue, New York City, and finds a
good market for it. Samples of the work have kindly been lent for
illustration.
Coming now to the subject of lace among the first white settlers in
America, it is quite evident from portraits and from the remains of
garments worn by them that some of them brought to this country not
only good but rich and dainty clothes. The sumptuary laws, passed
early in colonial times against excessive ornament worn by either
men or women, give proof of this and correct the assumption that the
appearance of our ancestors was either severe or commonplace. It is
amusing to read these laws as well as the accounts of the clothes worn
on special occasions by people who actually lived in simple huts. The
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston contains a suit worn on training days by
the first governor of Massachusetts, made of gay and superb brocade;
and nothing could be richer in men’s clothing than another suit, also
in the same museum, consisting of knee breeches, coat of purple velvet,
and white satin waistcoat, all three largely covered with the richest
embroidery. It was made to be worn by the governor when he went as
ambassador to the Court of Spain, and it is still in perfect condition.
Letters of the time speak of the use of lace. We must infer, then,
that women who had learned in England to make a delicate trimming for
clothing would be in demand in the colonies, both to practice and to
teach the art. Although very little is known of this early lace-making,
it is a matter of record that a good deal of lace was made in the town
of Ipswich, Massachusetts. We find the following in the old history of
that town written by Felt, the earliest record we have:
LACE: This of thread and silk, was made in large quantities and
for a long period by girls and women.
It was formed on a Lap Pillow, which had a piece of parchment
wound round it with the particular figure, represented by pins
stuck up straight, around which the work was done and the lace
wrought.
Black as well as white lace was manufactured of various widths,
qualities and pieces. The females of almost every family would
pass their leisure hours in such employment.
1790. No less than 41,979 yards were made here annually. After
the first lace factory commenced, the pillows and bobbins were
soon laid aside.
What of these survive a century hence will be viewed as curious
emblems of industry, and mementoes of labor performed in months,
which is now done in a factory in a day.
That lace-makers came to this country from the Midland counties of
England, such as Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, we know from
the town records as well as from the lace they made—lace which was
originally peculiar to those counties. We are told that they were the
only lace-makers in the world to use bobbins made of bamboo. The bamboo
had undoubtedly come across the sea with the many oriental treasures to
be found along the Massachusetts coast. Strict laws were made by the
colonists obliging a certain number to spin, to take care of sheep, and
to save the seed of flax and hemp.
Children were taught when very young the principles of lace-making,
so that by twelve years of age they were able to earn their living by
that means. We read that Bishop Alexander V. Griswold, one of the first
Episcopal bishops in this country, could and did, at five years of age,
make “bone lace,” a quaint term for pillow lace. The name of “bone
lace” was given because bobbins were made of chicken bones. All the
young people were trained thus early in habits of constant industry.
Little of this lace seems to be in existence, but enough remains to
prove that in the North lace and lace-making came from England. As the
Spaniards were early lace-makers, presumably the art may also have
come into North America through the Spanish settlers in Mexico, and so
on through New Orleans and the Southern States; but it is not so easy
to trace as that by the way of Massachusetts. Happily, a pillow and
bobbins used there by an early maker of lace, as well as samples of the
lace itself, are still to be seen in the town of Ipswich, and have been
photographed for our benefit.
The making of pillow lace in Ipswich seems to have come to an end
rather suddenly, owing to the appearance of net made by machine. The
origin of machine-made net is lost in an obscurity of conflicting
authorities. It is known, however, that a workman in a stocking factory
in Nottingham, England, about 1760, scrutinized the pillow lace on his
wife’s cap and conceived a plan whereby he could copy its foundation
net on a stocking frame. The resultant machine was improved upon by
several inventors in turn until a good net could be produced. On this
net the women worked with darning and tambour stitches—tambour being a
sort of chain stitch—until quite an industry sprang up in the country.
This kind of lace acquired the name of Limerick; for, to quote again
from _Point and Pillow Lace_, “The manufacture was transferred to
Ireland in the year 1829 by Mr. Charles Walker, who, while studying
for Holy Orders, married the daughter of a lace manufacturer, and
either moved by philanthropy, or as a speculation, took over to Ireland
twenty-four girls to teach the work and settled them in Limerick. It
is in reality of French origin, being the same as the ‘Broderies de
Luneville’ which have been produced in France since 1800.” It is also
found in Spain and Italy. The art has flourished in Limerick to this
day, as is shown by Plate 36, photographed from a sample recently
imported and sold by Arnold, Constable & Company, of New York City.
That the same kind of lace came to this country before it went to
Limerick is established by the dates of the making of some of the
samples shown in our illustrations.
Grave troubles, extending even to rioting, broke out between the pillow
lace-makers and the machine lace-makers, and between those who wanted
to come to America and bring their machines with them and those who
wished them to stay at home. Details can be found in books named in our
Preface. However, the manufacture of net and that of stockings became
established at Ipswich and continued simultaneously until lately, when
that of the net died out.
While the proofs of this Introduction were being read, some valuable
data were brought to the author’s attention by Miss Sophia A. Walker,
who was for many years a teacher of art in New York City. Certain
matters of her family history establish the existence of another
headquarters for the manufacture of American lace, samples from which
are shown in Plates 107–109. Miss Walker says:
“It surprised one reader of Mrs. Candace Wheeler’s book on embroidery
to be informed that it is not known how the lace industry came into
this country—possibly, it was thought, through the French settlements
of Canada, perhaps through Mexico and New Orleans—for she had supposed
that everybody knew what she had known from childhood: that bobbins,
net, footing, and cards full of beading, or purling, were made by
her grandfather, Dean Walker; also that a cap of this net, with a
two-and-a-half-inch edge, was embroidered for herself by Julia Adams,
wife of Horatio Mason, her maternal grandfather! So she gives here
the true story of the rise—and fall—of the lace industry at Medway,
Massachusetts, on the upper reaches of the Charles River, as told in
the reminiscences of her father, Rev. Horace Dean Walker (1815–1885),
and of her mother, Mercy Adams Mason Walker (1823–1923), supplemented
by Orion Mason, the town historian, who has kindly furnished dates and
facts.
“Dean Walker, a man of immense energy, made machinery on the Medway. He
was also associated there with his father, Comfort Walker, in cotton
and grist mills founded in 1818 (the year in which the Stars and
Stripes became the national flag) and in other enterprises.
“Among these was the making of ‘coach lace,’ a fine gimp from three
to five inches wide, used to trim hacks and coaches. Two Englishmen,
brothers named Bestrick, a machinist and a weaver, were in their
employ. These two talked so much about the lace machines of the old
country that Dean Walker agreed to support their families while they
built such a machine, after which he and they were to manufacture in
partnership. They made a machine of 1260 shuttles, which people came
leagues to see. Dean Walker himself was inventor of a sewing machine;
a patent for car wheels, signed by Andrew Jackson, was in the family
archives; and he received from the Franklin Institute of the State
of Pennsylvania the award of a silver medal [still preserved by the
family; see Plate 110] for his lace. It is, then, reasonable to infer
that his wit as well as his purse helped in the making of that machine.
“The net was woven and the decoration of it taught in a stone building
which he erected, and which is still standing in Hillside Court. It is
known as the Lace Shop, though occupied as a dwelling-house by a Polish
family. The net was carried about to neighboring farms and villages to
be embroidered. Only last summer my mother told me with what zest her
mother and her aunt would hasten the morning’s household routine so
that they might sit down to those fascinating embroidery frames. One
cannot but feel that her gracious ways, refinement, and feeling for
beauty, continuing through a life of more than a hundred years, were
nurtured by the atmosphere of that lovely home industry.
“We know that James Bestrick came to Medway in 1823. He moved away in
1830. When the tariff was removed, the infant industry died an untimely
death.”
We learn that Limerick lace had a great vogue in parts of the United
States from about 1810 to 1840. It would seem that the wearing of the
poke bonnet dictated by fashion about that time must have greatly
encouraged the making of the large veils which every woman wanted to
have hanging from her hat and down her side. They were seemingly made
everywhere, in city, in country, even in remote farmhouses. It is said
that Miss Porter of the famous Farmington School wore one as long as
she lived, “because,” she said, “it is so convenient to use if you have
any occasion to blush.”
In the early schools for girls more attention seems to have been given
to instruction in needlework, lace-making, and embroidery than to
anything else except manners and deportment. Before the Revolution a
boarding school was kept in Philadelphia, in Second Street near Walnut,
by a Mrs. Sarah Wilson, who advertised thus:
Young ladies may be educated in a genteel manner, and pains taken
to teach them in regard to their behaviour, on reasonable terms.
They may be taught all sorts of fine needlework, viz., working on
catgut or flowering muslin, sattin stitch, quince stitch, tent
stitch, crossstitch, open work, tambour, embroidering curtains
or chairs, writing and cyphering. Likewise waxwork in all its
several branches, never as yet particularly taught here; also
how to take profiles in wax, to make wax flowers and fruits and
pin-baskets.
We also quote the following from _Diary of a Boston School Girl_, by
Alice Morse Earle (page 105):
Madam Smith was evidently Anna’s teacher in sewing. The duties
pertaining to a sewing school were, in those days, no light
matter. From an advertisement of one I learn that there were
taught at these schools:
“All kinds of Needleworks, viz: point, Brussels, Dresden, Gold,
Silver and Silk Embroidery of every kind. Tambour, Feather,
India and Darning, Spriggins with a Variety of Open-work to
each. Tapestry plain, lined and drawn. Catgut, black and white,
with a number of beautiful Stitches. Diaper and Plain Darnings.
French Quiltings, Knitting, Various Sorts of markings with the
Embellishments of Royal cross, Plain cross, Queen, Irish and Tent
Stitches.”
In _Chronicles of a Pioneer School_, by E. N. Vanderpoel, Mrs. Phebe
Augustus Ely Avery writes thus of her aunt:
I can tell you little that can be of use to you of my Aunt
Caroline [Ely]. I know that she had a school for young ladies and
taught painting, embroidery, working lace, etc. but she married
before my remembrance Mr. Joel Steele and went to Bloomfield, N. J.,
to reside, and I saw her but seldom until the latter part of
her life.
She lived to be ninety years of age and retained her love for
embroidery and various kinds of fancy work, almost to the last;
doing beautiful work, when nearly, or quite eighty.
She was a great reader and well posted always on past and current
events.
A careful examination of the laces and embroideries done by our
forebears proves them to have been not only artists—for many drew their
own designs—but also most careful and conscientious craftswomen. Do
we wonder at it when we consider the way in which they were brought
up? To give some idea of their training, we will quote from diaries
of pupils of Miss Sarah Pierce in the Litchfield Academy, Litchfield,
Connecticut, from 1792 to 1833. Bear in mind that this academy was not
like the boarding schools of today. There was no dormitory. The girls
were boarded in the homes of Litchfield families. At the same time the
town was full of young men students attending Judge Reeve’s law school,
the first founded in the United States. These young men were also
boarded in homes. Henry Ward Beecher writes in his _Life_: “Equally
marked was Litchfield at that day for its social and moral as for its
natural advantages. The law school of Judges Reeve and Gould, and the
young ladies’ school of the Misses Pierce, made it an educational
center scarcely second in the breadth of its influence to any in the
land, and attracted a class of residents of high social position.”
Lucy Sheldon, born in Litchfield in 1788, daughter of Dr. Daniel
Sheldon, a well-known Connecticut physician, writes thus in her diary
at the age of fourteen:
Monday. This day Miss Pierce began her school I attended,
resolving to renew my former studies with greater assiduity
than ever, and shall endeavor to improve enough to merit the
approbation of my Parents and instructress, Painted on my
picture of the hop gatherers, and read grammar.... Friday,
Painted and read, Heard Miss Pierce tell our faults, had the
pleasure to hear her say she had seen no fault in me for the week
past.... Saturday, Painted and read in the explanation of the
Catechism.... Sunday; In the afternoon read in Baron Haller’s
letters to his daughter ... attended meeting.... Tuesday; Rose
at sunrise, attended school, learnt a grammar lesson, & wrote my
Journal, In the afternoon painted and spelt.
Saturday, [Miss Pierce] read a sermon from Blair particularly
addressed to young people which recommended the necessity of
being pious & industrious.... Have done nothing for these
two or three weeks past worth notice except, having read
through pilgrim’s progress, which I admire very much, and Lord
Chesterfield’s Letters to his Son and think it would be well for
every young Lady to read it....
Sunday. Did not attend meeting on account of the weather, In the
evening read in Don Quixote and am pleased with his factious
humor and Sancho’s credulous disposition. Sunday. Read ten
chapters in the Bible, attended meeting all day, & heard two
very good sermons, read twenty chapters in the Bible after
meeting, Monday. Began to write the history of Rome.... Thursday.
Attended a private school ball. Saturday. Copied history, recited
geography, and heard our faults told ... have had the honor of
being chosen candidate for the prize, In the afternoon copied
plays for Miss Pierce, In the evening read. Monday. Had the
pleasure of finding Miss —— at our house, assisted in getting
tea, & spent the evening very agreeably.
Tuesday. In the evening copied my part of _Ruth_ [a play written
by Miss Pierce for her pupils to act]....
Thursday. Rehearsed my part, drew on my map & wrote. Friday, was
fast, attended meeting all day, Thought Mr. Huntington preached
better than I had ever heard him before. Saturday. Drew on my map
and rehearsed my part, heard the young ladies say their plays.
1803. Saturday, Feb. 4th.... Heard Miss Pierce read us a piece on
discretion from the _Spectator_ which I admired very much, In the
afternoon sewed.
Wednesday 8th.... I took a music lesson.
Saturday 11th. Wrote and did some plain sewing in the afternoon
mended, In the evening read twelve Chapters in the Bible.
Saturday 26th. Came to school, took a music lesson, and returned
home again, for the past week I have studied three geography
lessons and two grammar lessons, have attended ciphering one
evening, having been sick, the greater part of the week, spent
the remainder of the day in doing nothing we had this week,
studied Egypt, etc. I have heard the history read twice this week.
Saturday 12th.... sewed, read 35 pages in Homer’s Iliad.
Saturday, 19th, Have studied for the week past two geography
lessons, painted and made a frock, been to ciphering three
evenings, I have studied the Latitude of every kingdom, and
island in the world.
Saturday 26th.... spent as usual in studying geography, hearing
the history & painting ... have studied the boundaries of the
seas & description of the New England States etc., Miss Pierce
gave me 9 credit marks for my frock....
Lucy Sheldon married Theron Beach, and continued to live in her
father’s house to the age of one hundred years. Her water-color of the
Hop Pickers hangs there still.
Diary of Mary Bacon, of Roxbury, Connecticut, in the fifteenth year of
her age:
I left Roxbury at eleven o’clock Thursday June 10 1802,
accompanied by my Father after riding about ten miles we stopped
at Mr. Mosely about three o’clock where we refreshed ourselves
and mounted our horses about four ... saw many beautiful meadows
and the little birds warbling sweet notes ... we reach’d
Litchfield about Six o’clock. Papa got me into Board at Mr.
Andrew Adams’s.
Monday, June 4. arose about half past five took a walk with Miss
Adams to Mr. Smith’s to speak for an embroidery frame after
breakfast went to school heard the young Ladies read history
studied a Geography lesson and recited it. Afternoon I read
and spelt, after my return home my employment was writing and
studying I spent the evening with Mrs. Adams....
Sunday June 27th Mrs. Adams in the afternoon read in Moral
Entertainments which were excellent. After meeting read in the
book called female education....
Thursday July 1 ... took a lesson in music, returned to Mr.
Adams, pricked off 2 or three tunes....
Wednesday July 7 had the pleasure of attending independence
ball....
Saturday July the 10 ... in the Afternoon went to Parson
Champion’s with the young Ladies to quilting....
July 14th Arose at four wrote two Letters....
Wednesday July 21st Arose at half past four O’clock took a lesson
in music at five in the morning.
July 27th ... heard Mrs. Adams good advice....
Wednesday.... Miss Pierce drew my landscape....
Friday August 27th ... school was dismissed at four went to
dansing school....
Friday Sept 3rd ... got me a white vail....
Thursday September 9th 1802 ... spent the Rest of The Day in
writing my Gurnal Spent The Eavening in Picking wool....
Tuesday September 14 1802.... I Neglected my Gurnal Ever Since I
received my Piano Fort the 9 of October [September?].
From Caroline Chester’s diary, 1815 (she was fifteen years old):
Dec. 19th It is one of Miss Pierce’s rules to have her scholars
rise before sunrise and Dr. Swift observes “that he never knew
any man to come to greatness and eminence who lay in bed of a
morning.” Czar Peter, a famous philosopher, used to rise to see
the morning break, and used to say that he wondered how a man
could be so stupid as not to rise to see the most glorious sight
in the universe; that they took delight in looking at a beautiful
picture, the trifling work of a mortal, but neglected one painted
by the hand of the Deity.
Miss Pierce formulated a set of rules for her pupils, copies of which,
belonging to several of them, are still extant. These rules, made in
1825, show Miss Pierce to have felt that all actions, small and great,
should be controlled by the highest principles. From a copy made by
Sarah Kingsbury, of Waterbury, we take the following:
(1) You are expected to rise early and be drest neatly, to
exercise before breakfast and to retire to rest when the family
in which you reside desire you to and you must consider it a
breach of politeness if you are requested a second time to rise
in the morning or retire in the evening.
(2) You are requested not only to exercise in the morning but
also in the evening sufficiently for the preservation of health.
(3) It is expected that you never detain the family by
unnecessary delay either at meals or family prayers; to be absent
when grace is asked at table and when the family have assembled
to read the word of God and to solicit His favour discovers a
want of reverence to His holy name, a cold and insensible heart
which feels no gratitude for the innumerable benefits received
daily from his hand.
(4) It is expected as rational and immortal beings that you
read a portion of the scripture both morning and evening with
meditation and prayer, that you never read the word of God
lightly or make use of any scriptural phrase in a light manner.
(5) It is expected that you attend public worship every Sabbath
unless some unavoidable circumstance prevent which you dare to
offer as a sufficient apology in the day of Judgment.
(6) Your deportment must be grave and decent while in the house
of God and you must remember that all light conduct in a place of
worship is offensive to well-bred people and highly displeasing
to your Maker and Preserver.
(7) The Sabbath must be kept holy, no part of it wasted in sloth,
frivolous conversation or light reading. Remember dear youth that
for every hour, but particularly for the hours of the Sabbath you
must give an account to God.
(8) Every hour during the week must be fully occupied either in
useful employment or rational amusement while out of school; two
hours must be employed each day in close study and every hour
during the week must be fully occupied.
(9) No person must interrupt their companions either in school
or in the hours devoted to study by talking, laughing, or any
unnecessary noise.
(10) Those hours devoted to any particular occupation must
not be devoted to any other employment. Nothing great can be
accomplished without attention to order and regularity.
(11) The truth must be spoken at all times, on all occasions
though it might appear advantageous to tell a falsehood.
(12) You must suppress all emotion of anger and discontent.
Remembering how many blessings God is continually bestowing upon
you for which he requires not only contentment but a cheerful
temper.
(13) You are expected to be polite in your manners, neat in your
person and room, careful of your books and clothes, attentive to
economy in all your expenses.
Under such influences and guided by such principles our American
lace-makers grew up. These Litchfield schoolgirls were typical of
their class. If we wonder at the quantity and beauty of the lace of a
hundred years ago, we must remember how little amusement there was for
young people. There were few books and newspapers, no afternoon teas,
no bridge, no movies, few theaters, and no matinées; so that a quiet
afternoon with time to design and carry to a finish an embroidered
collar for one’s best gown, or a lace veil with which to decorate one’s
Sunday bonnet, was a great pleasure.
An interesting fact about American lace is that it has been so little
commercialized. At Ipswich “Aunt Mollie” Caldwell called once a week
at the houses where the pillow lace was made, took it to Boston by
stagecoach, and brought back the tea, coffee, sugar, French calico,
etc., needed by the makers; but the lace-bark tree grew at its own
sweet will in Jamaica, the Indians made their lace for use or adornment
when the spirit moved them, and in the intervals of hard household
work our young women relieved the pressure by making for their own
or a friend’s costume, or for decoration, some dainty bit of lace
or embroidery not to be bought in shops. (It has been impossible to
refrain from adding samples of embroidery to the lace selected for
illustration, as the two have been so much combined.) The same spirit
has presided over American lace-making to this day.
An excellent further illustration of the principles in which the
American lace-makers of many years ago were trained is to be found in a
set of six little manuals for all kinds of needlework, published in New
York in 1843:
_J. S. Redfield, Clinton Hall, Corner of Nassau and Beekman
streets. Publishes, and has for sale, wholesale and retail, the
following popular books_:
LADIES’ HAND-BOOKS.
A series of hand-books for Ladies, edited by an American
Lady—elegantly bound with fancy covers and gilt edges. Imperial
32mo.
No. 1. Baby Linen—Containing Plain and Ample Instructions for the
preparation of an Infant’s Wardrobe; with engraved patterns.
“Indispensable to the young wife.”—_World of Fashion._
No. 2. Plain Needlework—Containing Clear and Ample Instructions
whereby to attain proficiency in every department of this most
Useful Employment; with engravings.
“It should be read by every housekeeper, and is highly useful to
the single lady.”—_Ladies’ Court Circular._
No. 3. Fancy Needlework and Embroidery—Containing Plain and
Ample Directions whereby to become a perfect Mistress of those
delightful Arts; with engravings.
“The directions are plain and concise, and we can honestly
recommend the volume to every reader.”—_New La Belle Assemblee._
No. 4. Knitting, Netting, & Crochet—Containing Plain Directions
by which to become proficient in those branches of Useful and
Ornamental Employment; with engravings.
“A more useful work can hardly be desired.”—_Court Gazette._
No. 5. Embroidery on Muslin and Lacework, and Tatting—Containing
Plain Directions for the Working of Leaves, Flowers, and other
Ornamental Devices; fully illustrated by Engravings.
“It should find its way into every female school.”—_Gazette of
Education._
No. 6. Millinery and Dressmaking—Containing Plain Instructions
for making the most useful Articles of Dress and Attire; with
engraved patterns.
“In this age of economy, we are glad to welcome this practical
book.”—_La Belle Assemblee._
The first volume opens with a rhapsody on the birth of an infant,
followed by minute directions for the cutting and making of its little
garments. In the next volume, on “The Art of Plain Needlework,” we find
an
INTRODUCTION:
To become an expert needle-woman should be an object of ambition
to every lady. Never is beauty and feminine grace so attractive
as when engaged in the honorable discharge of household duties
and domestic cares. The subject treated of in this little manual
is one of vast importance, and to which we are indebted for
a large amount of the comforts we enjoy; as without its aid
we should be reduced to a state of misery and destitution, of
which it is hardly possible to form an adequate conception. To
learn, then, how to fabricate articles of dress and utility for
family use, or, in the case of ladies blessed with the means of
affluence, for the aid and comfort of the deserving poor, should
form one of the most prominent branches of female education.
And yet experience must have convinced those who are at all
conversant with the general state of society, that it is a
branch of study to which nothing like due attention is paid in
the usual routine of school instruction. The effects of this are
often painfully apparent in after life, when, from a variety of
circumstances, such knowledge would be of the highest advantage,
and subservient to the noblest ends, either of domestic comfort
or of active benevolence.
The records of history inform us of the high antiquity of the
art of needlework, and its beautiful mysteries were among
the earliest developments of female taste and ingenuity. As
civilization increased, new wants called forth new exertions: the
loom poured forth its multifarious materials, and the needle,
with its accompanying implements, gave form and utility to the
fabrics submitted to its operations. No one can look upon the
NEEDLE without emotion: it is a constant companion throughout the
pilgrimage of life. We find it the first instrument of use placed
in the hand of budding childhood, and it is found to retain its
usefulness and charm even when trembling in the grasp of fast
declining age....
In the first chapter of the same volume we read:
To secure economy of time, labor, and expense ... the lady who
intends to engage in the domestic employment of preparing the
linen necessary for personal and family use, should be careful
to have all her materials ready ... before commencing work. The
materials are ... well known.... We shall therefore proceed at
once to give plain directions by which any lady may soon become
expert in this necessary department of household uses, merely
observing, that a neat work-box well supplied ... should be
provided, and ... furnished with a lock and key....
The lady being thus provided, and having her materials,
implements, &c., placed in order upon her work-table, to the edge
of which, it is an advantage to have a pincushion affixed by
means of a screw, may commence her work, and proceed with it with
pleasure to herself, and without annoyance to any visiter [_sic_]
who may favor her with a call. We would recommend, wherever
practicable, that the work-table should be made of cedar, and
that the windows of the working parlor should open into a garden,
well supplied with odoriferous flowers and plants, the perfume
of which, will materially cheer the spirits of those especially
whose circumstances compel them to devote the greatest portion
of their time to sedentary occupations. If these advantages can
not be obtained, at least the room should be well ventilated, and
furnished with a few cheerful plants, and a well-filled scent-jar.
These suggestions are followed by directions for making underclothes
and bed linen and by pictures of various stitches, so carefully
described as to be quite clear to anyone. There follows the
CONCLUSION:
The space already occupied leaves us but little opportunity
for concluding remarks: but we can not dismiss the little
manual we have thus prepared, without a word or two to our
fair countrywomen, on the importance of a general and somewhat
extensive acquaintance with these arts, in which so much of the
comfort of individual and domestic life depends. Economy of time,
labor, and expense, is an essential requisite in every family,
and will ever claim a due share of attention from her who is
desirous of fulfilling, with credit to herself and advantage to
others, the allotted duties of her appointed station. To those
who are at the head of the majority of families, an extensive
knowledge of the various departments of plain needlework is
indispensable. The means placed at their disposal are limited—in
many instances extremely so; and to make the most of these
means, generally provided by the continual care and unremitting
attention of the father and the husband, is a sacred duty, which
can not be violated without the entailment of consequences which
every well-regulated mind must be anxious to avoid....
Volume 3, on “Fancy Needlework,” contains in the fourth chapter the
following injunction, an evidence of the honesty of feeling of the time:
In working a landscape, some recommend the placing behind the
canvass [_sic_] a painted sky, to avoid the trouble of working
one. As a compliance with such advice would tend to foster habits
of idleness and deception, and thus weaken that sense of moral
propriety which should, in all we do, be ever present with us,
as well as destroy that nice sense of honor and sincerity which
flies from every species of deceit, we hope the fair votaries of
this delightful art will reject the suggestion with the contempt
it merits.
In Volume 5, “Embroidery on Muslin,” we are given directions for all
kinds of embroidery, including that on net. The directions last named
read in part:
This is the most difficult and delicate, but at the same time,
the most beautiful of all white embroidery.
... The designs can be varied, and we strongly advise all who
have a taste for drawing, to improve it by designing new and
elegant combinations; they will thus be perfecting themselves in
the art of design, while they are adding additional attractions
to the elegant ornaments of attire.
[Another method of executing designs on net is] by sewing round
the edges of each leaf, &c., in glazed cotton, and on the
inside of each, darning with fine cotton, doubled, leaving the
centre of the flower vacant, which is afterward to be worked
in herring-bone stitch, extending from one side to the other.
Sometimes, instead of darning, the leaves are worked in chain
stitch, which is done in rows to the extremity of the leaf, &c.,
and the cotton is turned back, and the process is repeated, until
the whole space is occupied.... One beautiful variety is formed
by filling up the centres of flowers with insertion stitch.
Then follow directions for making bobbin lace. And finally, in the
Conclusion, we read:
In the foregoing pages we have endeavored to impart a knowledge
of one other branch of those interesting and delightful
occupations, in which female activity and skill appear so
preeminently beautiful; and we trust we have succeeded in
rendering our description so clear and lucid, as to preclude
any serious danger of their being mistaken. We hear much in the
stories of the olden time, of the potency of the magician’s
wand, but it would be indeed presumption to affirm, that any
magic ever exercised a more potent sway over trembling nations,
than the apparently insignificant needle has exercised, and does
exercise, over the most cherished interests of civilized man.
As the compass has conducted, by its mysterious influence, the
bewildered mariner to the port of safety; so the needle, under
the guidance of female skill and affection, has ever been the
pole-star of human hopes; and its important fabrications have, in
all ages, led the way to increased civilization, assurance, and
happiness. With such a fact before us, who would not breathe the
wish, that the influence of female skill and taste might be still
more widely extended, and that fairy fingers might still guide
the mighty helm, which is to direct the storm-tossed vessel of
society into a haven of plenty, security, and peace.
In the sixth and last volume are given directions for millinery and
dressmaking, from which we quote as follows:
CONCLUSION.
In the foregoing pages, we have imbodied, in a concise but
intelligible form, a mass of information, which experience and
observation have convinced us was much needed by thousands and
tens of thousands of those who are the glory of the land that
gave them birth, and who, amid their scanty and limited means,
are most laudably ambitious to appear, in the truest sense of
the word, respectable. To those, and to the affectionate mothers
and devoted wives, who are anxious to make the most of the
means placed at their disposal, we trust that our labor, and
it has been truly a “labor of love,” will prove an acceptable
offering....
In whatever light we view it, the needle is an object of the most
fascinating character. It is a home friend; and while it confers
upon us all unnumbered blessings, it is a source both of utility
and pleasure, that is within the reach of all. In joy and in
sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death, it is
our companion, our solace, and our helper. Thus, ever ready to
obey our guiding will, let us be sure to profit by its silent but
eloquent instructions. As the needle turns not to the right hand
or the left from the occupation assigned, so let us pursue, with
undeviating footsteps, the appointed path of duty; and as it ever
points with strict fidelity to the attracting magnet, so let us
in all our works, whether useful or ornamental, turn to HIM “in
whom we live, and move, and have our being.”
There is something calculated to afford high delight to the
heart which expands at the prospect of any increase in the sum
of human happiness, in the fact that, since the commencement
of the present century, much more attention has been paid to
the subject of dress, by the mass of society, than had been
previously bestowed upon it. This is one of the most favorable
signs of the times, since it is closely, and in some respects
inseparably, connected with the elevation of the mental standard,
and the development of those higher powers by which human nature
is so prominently distinguished above the animal creation. No
one who has paid the least attention to the subject can doubt,
for a moment, the close alliance which subsists between the
honest pride of appearance and the desire to secure the highest
attainable amount of intellectual culture and improvement; and
no one really possessing a heart can refuse to rejoice in this
undeniable mark of general progression. We are sensible, that
if not under proper guidance, this desire to attain a more
respectable and elevated position in society may degenerate into
a mere love of show and finery. But we are disposed to look on
the bright side of things, and to come to the conclusion that
elements are now at work which will produce not only a refined
and elevated taste, but a correct and well-regulated judgment.
We consider it the peculiar glory of our age, that woman is
acknowledged to be fully capable of, and worthy to share in, the
most exalted intellectual pursuits. To her, as well as to the
boasted lords of the creation, the treasures of art are freely
opened; and she is invited in the society of those most loved,
to walk through the glorious paths of knowledge, and to drink
with them full draughts from the opened fountains of enlarged
information.
To render herself worthy of this her improved and still improving
condition, is the duty, and should be the pride, of every female.
And when it is considered how much a neat and becoming mode
of attire adds to the attractive force of woman’s charms, it
will be at once seen, that to attain that object with the least
unnecessary sacrifice of time, labor, and expense, is a matter of
no mean consideration; and that any effort tending to this end,
however humble, is deserving of the countenance and encouragement
of all who are desirous of co-operating in the designs of the
benevolent Creator, and who, recollecting that He himself has
declared that “it is not good for man to be alone,” are desirous
of investing the fair forms of those intended for our comfort and
delight with every personal and mental excellence, calculated
to render them worthy of the highest esteem and most devoted
affection of the wise, good, and accomplished among mankind.
These quotations taken from writings of the time give something of the
characteristics and surroundings of the young women who made the laces
of the colonies and of the early 19th century. The surroundings were
unusual, and the results in lace compare favorably with those in the
silver and furniture of the same period.
That lace-making in America attained an artistic excellence realized by
few is conclusively proved by the illustrations which follow.
_PLATES_
[Illustration: _Plate 1._
Samples of lace from the lace-bark tree, or _Lagetta lintearia_,
illustrating its manner of growth. These were brought from the island
of Jamaica, West Indies, by Miss Edith Beach, of West Hartford,
Connecticut. She has also a piece, resembling them, which was sent to
her from Australia. It is reported that a similar variety grows in
South Africa. Owned by Miss Beach.]
[Illustration: _Plate 2._
_Figure 1._ Peruvian lace bag found in a tomb. Probably four thousand
years old.
_Figure 2._ Peruvian lace. Prehistoric.
These are owned by the American Museum of Natural History, New York
City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 3._
Peruvian lace, two to four thousand years old. Lent by Miss Marian
Powys, of the Devonshire Lace Shop, New York City. The American Museum
of Natural History, New York City, which gave it to Miss Powys, states
that “it was made with an oblong piece of wood like a net measure.”]
[Illustration: _Plate 4._
Eight lace bags made by the Balienti Indians of Central America. Owned
by the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 5._
Lace bag made by the Balienti Indians. Owned by the American Museum of
Natural History, New York City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 6._
Four details of the lace bags made by the Balienti Indians. (See Plates
4 and 5.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 7._
Four lace bags made by the Honduras Indians of Central America. Owned
by the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 8._
Lace headdress trimmed with eagle and partridge feathers, made by a
Hopi Indian. Less than one-half size. Owned by Miss Frances Morris, of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 9._
_Figure 1_ (at the top). Very old style of lace, knotted, not netted,
made only by one aged woman who lives in the interior of the island of
Porto Rico and produces but little.
_Figures 2_ and _3_. Pillow and bobbin lace made in Porto Rico. Makers
unknown.
Originals of _Figures 1_, _2_, and _3_ owned by the Litchfield
Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 10._
Hand bag of linen cut-work.
(_Plates 10–13 show work done by the Oneida Indians of North America,
whose reservation is in Wisconsin. The lace was awarded gold medals at
the Paris Exposition, 1900; at the Pan-American at Buffalo, 1901; at
Liège, 1905; at Milan, 1906; and at the Australian Exposition, 1908;
and at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 it was awarded the
Grand Prize, which is the highest recognition possible. Miss Carter’s
association has eight centers, in which six tribes are represented:
Onondagas, Oneidas, Chippewas, Sioux, Pueblos, and Mission Indians
of Southern California. Loaned by the Sybil Carter Indian Lace
Association, New York City, which owns the originals shown in Plates
10–13._)]
[Illustration: _Plate 11._
Bobbin lace pillow cover with Indian hunting ducks, squaw with papoose
on her back, and an Indian tepee introduced into the design. About
one-third size. (See description of Plate 10.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 12._
Bobbin lace bed-spread. (See description of Plate 10; also Plate 13.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 13._
Detail of bed-spread shown in Plate 12.]
[Illustration: _Plate 14._
Lace pillow with bobbins. Made by Lydia Lakeman, born at Ipswich,
Massachusetts, in 1781. Originals of Plates 14–16 lent by Miss Sarah E.
Lakeman.]
[Illustration: _Plate 15._
Parchment patterns used in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1790; blue-print
pattern used in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1909, at the time of an
effort to revive lace-making in the town; and samples of pillow and
bobbin laces made there. The narrow lace, of the pattern which was
called “the cat’s eye,” was made by Sarah Sutton Russell, born in
Ipswich in 1775. The wider laces were made by Mrs. Thomas Caldwell,
who was born in the same place in 1780. Her great-grandmother was a
lace-maker, born there as well, in 1736. The patterns all had local
names, one of the wider ones being called “two and thrippenny.” The
pillow, patterns, and laces have come down to a granddaughter of Mrs.
Caldwell, Miss Sarah E. Lakeman, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. She makes
lace now and lectures on the old industry.]
[Illustration: _Plate 16._
Ipswich laces. Owned by Miss Sarah E. Lakeman. (See description of
Plate 15.) Makers unknown.]
[Illustration: _Plate 17._
Samples of the _réseaux_, or grounds, enlarged, which fill up the
patterns of pillow and bobbin laces; also of the darned net called
Limerick, still on its pasteboard frame. Makers unknown. Owned by the
Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.
Text from image:
DETAILS OF BOBBIN, OR PILLOW LACE
Toile of Bobbin Lace Half stitch
Toile of Bobbin Lace Cloth stitch
Reseau of Valenciennes
Reseau of Brussels
Reseau of Mechlin
Reseau of Lille
Reseau called “Cinq Trous”
Reseau called “Fond Chant” or “Point de Paris”
This is used in Chantilly Lace.
]
[Illustration: _Plate 18._
Bobbins made of bamboo, wood, and ivory; linen thread for making lace;
and samples of Limerick lace, or darned net. Makers unknown. Owned by
the Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.
Text from image:
Darned Lace on machine net about 1830
Gift of miss Lucy Baker ]
[Illustration: _Plate 19._
Samples of American darned laces. Collected by Miss Anna P. Thompson,
daughter of Hezekiah Thompson and his wife, Mabel Roberts, of New
Haven, Connecticut. Owned by Miss Esther H. Thompson, of Litchfield,
Connecticut. Mabel Roberts was born in 1814. At nine years of age, in
the winter while at school, she made the lace shown in _Figure 2_ of
Plate 19 and in _Figure 1_ of Plate 20, worked a sampler, and made
a ruffled shirt for her brother, who was eight years old. (See also
_Figure 5_ of Plate 23 and description.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 20._
Additional samples of American darned laces. Collected by Miss Anna
P. Thompson. (See description of Plate 19.) The original of _Figure
1_ (top) was made by Mabel Roberts (Mrs. Hezekiah Thompson) when she
was nine years old. _Figure 2_ (middle) shows the cap border of Mrs.
(General) John Hubbard. (See description of Plate 91, _Figure 3_.)
Owned by Miss Esther H. Thompson, of Litchfield, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 21._
A collar in the same collection (see descriptions of Plates 19 and
20). Brought from Savannah by Mrs. Erastus Merwin, of Cornwall Hollow,
Connecticut. Maker unknown. Worked about 1830. About one-half size.
Owned by Miss Esther H. Thompson, of Litchfield, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 22._
A guimpe in the same collection (see Plates 19–21 and descriptions);
about one-half size. Maker unknown. Owned by Miss Esther H. Thompson,
of Litchfield, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 23._
One page from a sampler of darned net laces owned in Ipswich, England,
brought from there by Mrs. Guy Antrobus (Mary Symonds), and lent by her
for reproduction here. _Figure 5_ of this plate (middle of second row)
proved to be of the same design as that of the American lace in _Figure
1_ of Plate 19. There are one hundred and forty-three different designs
for darned net, insertion, and trimming lace in this little sampler
book, made simply of sheets of blue paper on which the lace is sewed.]
[Illustration: _Plate 24._
Unfinished hand-run, or darned net, veil. Made by Mrs. Thomas L.
Rushmore about 1825. Owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 25._
Part of a dress skirt of white net. Worked by Cornelia Kingsland, born
in 1806, died in 1890, daughter of Stephen and Mary Kipp Kingsland,
cousin to Mayor Kingsland, of New York City. She married Captain
Hatherly Barstow, who was lost at sea two years after her marriage. She
was taught lace-making in her girlhood by a French lady, was an expert
needlewoman, and made two whole lace dresses—this skirt in 1822. This
lace was given by her niece, Mrs. Eleanor T. Smith, to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York City.]
[Illustration: _Plate 26._
White veil, 46 inches long and 42 inches deep. Worked in chain stitch,
or tambour, by Catherine Roosevelt Kissam, of New York, daughter of
Benjamin Kissam and his wife, Cornelia Roosevelt. She married Francis
Armstrong Livingston in 1822. She attended the Moravian school at
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she was probably taught lace-making. Mr.
Livingston died in 1830. This veil is owned by Miss Helena Knox. (See
also Plates 27–29.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 27._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 26.]
[Illustration: _Plate 28._
Front of cap. Worked with a variety of lace stitches, probably by the
same hand as the original of Plates 26 and 27. Both originals are owned
by Miss Helena Knox, granddaughter of Catherine Roosevelt Kissam. (See
also Plate 29.)
The school at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was the outgrowth of a religious
community founded in 1722 at Herrnhut, Germany, by Count Zinzendorf. A
number of its members came to Pennsylvania and there started a colony,
which later developed into two schools, one for boys and one for girls.
The one for girls became very popular. Fine needlework was taught, but
as an extra; as the school records say, “Tambour and fine needlework”
at the rate of “seventeen shillings and sixpence, Pennsylvania
currency.” Here and there are remains of the fine work done by pupils
of that school—all kinds of embroidery as well as pictures. Needlework
was also taught at Miss Pierce’s Female Academy in Litchfield,
Connecticut, from which a number of examples remain, besides pictures
painted in water-colors.]
[Illustration: _Plate 29._
Crown of cap shown in Plate 28.]
[Illustration: _Plate 30._
White veil, 48 inches long, 38 inches wide. (See also Plate 31.) The
linen thread used to work this veil, like much of that used in the
other white lace, is of peculiar texture, much resembling silk.
This veil was made about 1827 and worn at her wedding by Mary W. Peck,
stepdaughter of Dr. Abel Catlin, who lived in Litchfield, Connecticut,
in the house on the west side of North Street now occupied by Mr.
Frederick Deming. Her name is on the list of pupils of Miss Pierce’s
Litchfield Female Academy for 1811. (She also appears on the list for
1825, but as teacher of drawing.) She married Edward D. Mansfield, a
student of the Litchfield Law School. Her son, Charles, paymaster in
the United States Navy, gave the veil, a baby’s dress (see Plate 89),
and his mother’s album (which is ornamented with water-color paintings
and contains written verses and sentiments, with autographs, of all
the people prominent in Litchfield at that time) to the Litchfield
Historical Society about 1890.]
[Illustration: _Plate 31._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 30.]
[Illustration: _Plate 32._
Veil. Worked by Elizabeth Hannah Canfield about 1830. The maker was
a daughter of Judge Judson and Mabel Ruggles Canfield, of Sharon,
Connecticut, and a sister of Caroline Canfield. (See Frontispiece
and Plates 51, 52, and 76–81.) She attended the well-known school
kept by Miss Sarah Pierce in Litchfield, Connecticut. This school was
contemporary with the first law school founded in the United States,
also in Litchfield. Miss Canfield, being very handsome, was called by
the law students “the Rose of Sharon.” She married Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge, son of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge and Mary Floyd, of
Litchfield. She lived subsequently in New York City. The veil was given
to the Litchfield Historical Society by her daughter, Mrs. Edward W.
Seymour. (See Plates 33, 35, 51, 52, 54, and 55; also the description
of Plate 81.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 33._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 32.]
[Illustration: _Plate 34._
Detail of similar white veil, 38 inches long by 38 inches wide. From
the collection of Ellen McBride, wife of Judge Aaron Vanderpoel, of
Kinderhook and New York. Made probably by her or a sister about 1835.
Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 35._
Lace cap. Worked by Elizabeth Hannah Canfield (Mrs. Frederick Augustus
Tallmadge) about 1830. Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society. (See
Plates 32, 33, 51, 54, and 55; also description of Plate 81.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 36._
A piece of Limerick trimming lace made in Limerick, Ireland. Bought
in 1922 of Arnold, Constable & Company, New York City. This shows
that the kind of lace taught by the girls taken to Limerick by Mr.
Charles Walker in 1829 is still being made there and is of the same
technique as that made in New England a hundred years ago. Owned by the
Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 37._
White veil. “Made by Sarah Elizabeth Johnson, descended on one side
from the first president of King’s College, New York, and on the other
from Jonathan Edwards. She married in 1827 her second cousin, George
Pollock Devereux, of Raleigh, North Carolina. The ten years of her
married life were spent with him on a lonely plantation in Bertie
County, North Carolina, and it was during this time that the lace was
made. (Probably from 1830 to 1840.) She then returned to her old home
in Stratford and New Haven and died in 1867.” (Extract from a letter
written by her granddaughter, Miss Marianna Townsend, who owns the
veil.)
The example given in this plate measures as a whole 42 inches wide by
33 inches long. (See also Plates 38 and 39.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 38._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 37.]
[Illustration: _Plate 39._
Detail of a second veil made by Sarah Elizabeth Johnson (Mrs. George
Pollock Devereux). (See Plate 37.) Owned by Miss Marianna Townsend.]
[Illustration: _Plate 40._
White net veil, 34 inches wide by 36 inches long. This plate gives
one corner of the veil, with one of the four sprays. It was worked in
tambour stitch, in the family, for Ann Stodart’s wedding veil when she
married Horace Gooch in 1830. She was the daughter of Robert and Sarah
Stodart. The bride walked in a procession from her father’s house to
the church in what was then a little village, though it is now a part
of London. Highly cultivated, particularly in music, she was a pupil
of Mendelssohn when he lived in England, and one of the ten pupils
chosen by him to play with him before Queen Victoria. In 1830 she came
to America with her husband, bringing in a sailing vessel all their
household goods, including two pianos and a harp. They stopped on their
way West for the birth of her first child. Mr. Gooch bought a large
tract of land near Cincinnati and built on it a fine house. It is a
show house to this day. She had eight children when her husband died,
leaving house, land, and children, but no money. She then opened in her
own house a large and successful school which lasted for many years.
The veil shown here is owned by her granddaughter, Miss Clara Ray.]
[Illustration: _Plate 41._
White veil. Made by Marietta, or Mary, Smith, born July 18, 1806, died
November 28, 1889, daughter of James Smith and his wife, Gloriana
Shelton, of Derby, Connecticut. The whole veil is 48 inches wide by
46 inches long. It was made about 1830. It contains seventeen lace
stitches. (See also Plates 42 and 43.)
Quaint details of the home and habits of her forebears and of the
romance which saddened without spoiling her life, are interestingly
portrayed in _The Salt Box House_, published some years ago. At
thirteen years of age she was taken to Miss Pierce’s Female Academy at
Litchfield, Connecticut, where her father left her with the admonition,
“Never forget your accountability,” and where she made satisfactory
progress in her studies. The tone of mind of the day can be understood
from a letter written to her father. Returning from school by stage
coach, she recorded her arrival at a friend’s house in New Haven, where
she was to await him. She wrote that there had been ten passengers
in the coach, all but two of them ladies, and that the tedium of the
journey had been relieved by the ladies’ taking turns in reading aloud
an essay on “Good Behavior”!
Without doubt she learned at Miss Pierce’s school to make the veil
shown in these plates; for Miss Mary W. Peck, who made her own wedding
veil (see Plates 30, 31, and 89), was a teacher there.
The family was a social one. We read of the white crêpe frock which
Marietta Smith had for a ball-dress in her fifteenth year. The romance
of her life took place at seventeen, when she met a young Southerner.
A mutual affection brought them together, but the two natures did not
quite understand each other. They parted; but when he died, three years
later, she realized her mistake with uncontrollable grief and was
faithful to his memory during all her life. She had many other lovers;
she read and studied, became interested in music and other things,
visited and travelled; but “through all her long life the love of her
youth remained a potent factor,” though she was never a grim old maid.
Miss Mary began keeping a journal—in a desultory way at first; later,
as years passed, as one of the important interests of her life. She
chronicles her father’s and mother’s deaths in a loving fashion. Living
alone became more and more satisfactory. She wrote: “I take a world of
comfort all alone in my house; nobody makes me afraid, even if they
molest me in a gossiping way.... Staying in my own house in solitary
state is very pleasant to me, but worries my neighbors.” The love of
travel became a ruling power. The elegancies of life appealed strongly
to Miss Mary. She was a welcome guest in many a great house. “The spell
of intellect and culture is always irresistible to me,” she wrote; and
“there are a great many ‘field-days’ in society. I love these musters
at home and abroad, and in my day and generation have VIBRATED through
a great number. I occasionally join the gay circles, taking into
consideration the expediency of airing my manners, to make sure I am
modern and extant!” “Trimmed my borders and cut my grass this morning,
trimmed my self in my royal robes this afternoon and made calls.”
The veil was given to the Litchfield Historical Society by the Misses
Alice and Edith Kingsbury, of Waterbury, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 42._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 41.]
[Illustration: _Plate 43._
Detail of veil shown in Plates 41 and 42.]
[Illustration: _Plate 44._
Black net shawl, unfinished, 45 inches square. Begun about 1830 by Mrs.
John Savage (Miss Barringer). She lived in New York City, at the corner
of Varick and Franklin streets. Mr. John Savage was born at Portland,
Connecticut. He was a vestryman of Christ Church, New York City. He
died in 1845. The black lace seems to be entirely of silk net worked
with silk of excellent quality, for it has kept well in both color
and texture. (See also Plate 45.) Owned by the Litchfield Historical
Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 45._
Detail of shawl shown in Plate 44.]
[Illustration: _Plate 46._
_Figure 1_ (at left). Black trimming lace. Worked by Elizabeth, or
Betsey, Peck, of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and worn on a velvet cloak.
She married Camp Newton in 1798. (See also Plate 74, _Figure 2_.) Owned
by her granddaughter, Mrs. Samuel H. Street, of Woodbridge, Connecticut.
_Figure 2._ Black trimming lace worked by Pamela Parsons. (See Plate
92.) Owned by Mrs. Charles B. Curtis. (See descriptions of Plates
93–96.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 47._
Black veil, 40 inches wide by 21 inches long. From the Buel family of
Litchfield, Connecticut. Date probably 1830. Owned by the Litchfield
Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 48._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 47.]
[Illustration: _Plate 49._
Black lace veil, 27 inches long by 86 inches wide. Made by Polly Marsh,
daughter of Elisha and Rhoda Kilbourn Marsh, about 1830. She was born
December 9, 1804, and died January 8, 1892. She lived about three miles
north of Litchfield, Connecticut, on the Goshen road, in a farmhouse
where she took great pride in her parlor with its sanded floor and
curtains of thin blue and white linen, which she had spun, woven, and
dyed herself. She was a direct descendant of John Marsh, who went in
May, 1715, alone on horseback, westward through the wilderness from
Hartford, Connecticut, to find a suitable site for a new settlement. He
chose what is now the town of Litchfield, Connecticut, situated on a
long, high ridge running north and south. It took him five days to make
the trip.
“Her entire life was spent in Litchfield and ... must have been
uneventful. She did not marry, and the laborious duties of a farming
household left little time for outside interest. [She was] modest and
retiring by nature. Her ... industry and devotion to her home leave
many memories fondly cherished by her kin.”
Owned by Polly Marsh’s niece, Mrs. Lewis Marsh.]
[Illustration: _Plate 50._
Detail of a second black lace veil, 34 inches long by 42 inches wide,
made by the same Miss Marsh. (See Plate 49.) Owned by her niece, Mrs.
Lewis Marsh.]
[Illustration: _Plate 51._
Black lace veil. Made by either Caroline or Elizabeth Hannah Canfield,
of Sharon, Connecticut, and New York City, about 1830. (See also Plate
52.) Forty inches wide by 38 inches long. Given by the daughter of
one and niece of the other, Mrs. Edward W. Seymour, to the Litchfield
Historical Society. (See also Frontispiece and Plates 32, 33, 35, 54,
55, and 76–81.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 52._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 51.]
[Illustration: _Plate 53._
Detail of black lace veil, 44 inches wide by 23 inches long. Made by
Louisa Lewis (Mrs. Henry Phelps), of Litchfield, Connecticut, about
1825. Given by her daughter, Miss Mary Phelps, to the Litchfield
Historical Society. (See also Plates 83 and 84.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 54._
Black veil. Made by Elizabeth Hannah Canfield about 1825. Owned by the
Litchfield Historical Society; given by the maker’s granddaughter, the
author. (See Plates 33, 35, 51, 52, and 55; also the description of
Plate 81.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 55._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 54.]
[Illustration: _Plate 56._
Lace pillow and bobbins with black trimming lace. Begun by Miss Nina
Hall Brisbane, of Charleston, South Carolina, born February 15, 1842,
died at Brooklyn, New York, February 13, 1921. She learned to make
pillow bobbin lace from nuns in a convent at St. Augustine about
1870. She gave her pillow to the Litchfield Historical Society while
temporarily living in Litchfield.]
[Illustration: _Plate 57._
Costume of 1825: gown, shawl, bonnet, and veil; showing how veils were
then worn. The veil was made by Mary Bacon (Mrs. Chauncey Whittlesey;
see Plate 71 and description). Lent by Mrs. Edward W. Preston, of
Roxbury, Connecticut. (From _Chronicles of a Pioneer School_, by E. N.
Vanderpoel.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 58._
Cap. Worked by Miss Elsie Philips, niece of the first mayor of Boston,
Massachusetts. Owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.]
[Illustration: _Plate 59._
Lace flounce on dress skirt. Made by Mrs. Charles Sever (Charlotte
Webster), of Boston, between 1830 and 1834. Given to the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, by her daughter, Mrs. Walter H. Cowing.]
[Illustration: _Plate 60._
Veil. Worked by Delia I. Beals, of Pavilion, Genesee County, New York,
from her seventh to her tenth year, 1834–1837, and worn later by her at
her wedding. The design was drawn by her mother. The lace of the ground
is too fine to photograph well. Owned by the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston. (See also Plate 61.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 61._
Detail of veil shown in Plate 60.]
[Illustration: _Plate 62._
Embroidered kerchief. Worked by Rachel Leonard in 1752. The date and
her initials are worked on the ends. Owned by the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.]
[Illustration: _Plate 63._
Infant’s embroidered cap. Lent to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, by
Miss Katherine Egbert. Maker unknown. Made about 1820.]
[Illustration: _Plate 64._
Part of a man’s embroidered white linen waistcoat. Lent to the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, by Mr. William S. Eaton. Maker unknown. A
magnifying glass should be used with this plate for appreciation of the
delicacy of the stitches.]
[Illustration: _Plate 65._
Wedding-dress and marriage reception-dress of Catherine Van Houten. She
made the lace herself.
(_Plates 65–70 show laces and embroideries made by the same hand.
Catherine Van Houten, daughter of Garrabrant and Jane Van Houten, was
born June 8, 1806, and died March 9, 1874. She lived all her life at
113 Water Street, Paterson, New Jersey. She attended Miss DeLancey’s
private school in Orange, New Jersey, and it was there that she learned
to make lace. In June, 1830, she married Ralph Doremus._
_The collection represented by Plates 65–70 is owned by her
daughter, Mrs. William Nelson. It consists of the articles shown
and, in addition, four lady’s caps, two infant’s caps, four infant’s
dresses, one infant’s shirt, and a black lace veil about 36 by 42
inches—all the work of Mrs. Doremus; also slippers, gloves, and
openwork silk stockings for the wedding, black satin slippers, and a
housewife—“housewife” being the old name for a needlebook. See also
description of Plate 76._)]
[Illustration: _Plate 66._
Detail of skirt of wedding-dress shown in Plate 65.]
[Illustration: _Plate 67._
Details of lace on waist of wedding-dress shown in Plate 65. Designs:
crowns and spread eagles.]
[Illustration: _Plate 68._
Wedding veil. (See description of Plate 65.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 69._
Lady’s and infant’s caps. (See description of Plate 65.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 70._
The back of a collar or cape, about one-half size. Miss Van Houten saw
the model from which she embroidered this in the trousseau of a friend,
who had just brought it back from Paris. She said it was the only thing
for which she envied her friend, who replied, “Then make one like it
yourself”; and she did so, in the six weeks before her marriage. It has
long lappets in front. (See description of Plate 65.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 71._
Two pieces of white lace. Made by Mary Bacon, born February 9, 1787,
in Roxbury, Connecticut. She married, November 13, 1815, Chauncey
Whittlesey, also of Roxbury. She was a pupil at Miss Sarah Pierce’s
Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut, in her fifteenth year (see
Foreword). Besides painting in water-colors and embroidering pictures
in silk, she learned to make lace. (See also Plate 57.) These laces
and two views of Quebec, painted in water-colors, are owned by the
Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 72._
Silk net wedding veil. Made and worn by Martha Harness when she married
Isaac Darst on the plantation of her family, Moorefield, Virginia,
June 17, 1817. Mulberry trees had been planted and silkworms raised
quite extensively at that time in the United States, a speculation
which failed grievously about 1830. However, this little bride made a
success in growing her silkworms, reeling the silk from the cocoons and
spinning it into a fine thread which she netted with a fine mesh into a
veil, tubular in form, which enveloped her from head to foot except her
face. When she wore it, it stretched to enclose her figure; when pulled
off it was about seven feet long and edged at the bottom with a soft,
narrow fringe of the silk.
Mrs. Harness died early, and her daughter, becoming mistress of the
plantation while very young, carried at her belt the inevitable bunch
of keys which every southern matron kept on her person in the days of
slavery. The yearly store of supplies was kept on the plantation under
lock and key. Some writers have assumed that the welfare of the slaves
was not considered by their masters; but this mistress of the house,
like many others, superintended the clothing of all the colored people
each season before she attended to her own wardrobe, although she liked
to dress well. Her husband was a good business man, and her ability
contributed greatly to his success in the many enterprises in which
he engaged. Two brothers brought her, from their trips on horseback
to Philadelphia, many gifts, including pieces of dainty silverware.
Her grandchildren remembered with delight her habit of keeping in her
corner cupboard glass jars filled with sticks of lemon, vanilla, and
peppermint candy as well as raisins, annis and caraway seed, and stick
cinnamon.
The veil kept well till two years ago, when it began to fall to pieces;
so that it has been difficult to reproduce it. It is owned by the
maker’s great-granddaughter, Mrs. G. Glen Gould.]
[Illustration: _Plate 73._
The upper or outer one of two collars made to be worn together; about
three-quarters size. In order that this upper piece might be even
more elaborately ornamented than the under one, the edging was cut
from the collar, both the edging and the collar were hemmed, and
the two were then fastened together with a dainty openwork stitch.
Embroidered by Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Eldad Taylor and Thankful
Day, his wife. She married Andrew Perkins, of Norwich, Connecticut,
about 1745. This collar and portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Perkins done in
pastel are owned by the Litchfield Historical Society. Given by their
great-granddaughter, Mrs. W. W. Rockhill.]
[Illustration: _Plate 74._
_Figure 1_ (at top). Lace cap. Worked about 1810 by Sybil (Bradley)
Hotchkiss, of East Haven, Connecticut, grandmother of Samuel H. Street,
of Woodbridge, Connecticut.
_Figure 2._ Collar, embroidered, and lace. Made about 1820 by
Elizabeth, or Betsey, Peck, who married Camp Newton, of Woodbridge,
Connecticut, in 1798. She was aunt of Mrs. Samuel H. Street, of
Woodbridge, Connecticut, who owns both pieces. (See also Plate 46,
_Figure 1_.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 75._
Fichu for the head. About three-quarters size. Made by Sarah McCoon
Vail, of Troy, New York, in 1830, soon after her marriage to Judge
George Gould, Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals of the State
of New York. He was the son of Judge James Gould, of Litchfield,
Connecticut, Assistant to Judge Tapping Reeve, who founded the first
law school in the United States, at Litchfield. Mrs. Gould learned to
make this lace at the school of Madame O’Kill in New York City. Given
to the Litchfield Historical Society by Mrs. Gould’s granddaughter,
Miss Natalie Lincoln.]
[Illustration: _Plate 76._
A page of borders. From the pattern book of Caroline Canfield, daughter
of Judge Judson Canfield and his wife, Mabel Ruggles, of Sharon,
Connecticut, and sister of Elizabeth Hannah Canfield. (See Plates
33, 35, 51, 52, 54, and 55; also the description of Plate 81.) She
married William Mackay, of Boston and New York, a direct descendant of
William Mackay of the group concerned in the “Boston teaparty.” The
designs were drawn in pencil and then traced over in ink. (See also
Frontispiece and Plates 51, 52, and 77–81.) Owned by the Litchfield
Historical Society. Patterns similar to those shown in Plates 76–78
were found also in the collection of Catherine Van Houten (Mrs. Ralph
Doremus); see Plates 65–70.]
[Illustration: _Plate 77._
Design for a cap. From the pattern book of Caroline Canfield. (See
description of Plate 76.) Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 78._
Copy of a design from Paris, whence came much of the inspiration
for early American work in lace. From the pattern book of Caroline
Canfield. (See description of Plate 76.) Owned by the Litchfield
Historical Society.
Text from image:
MARTIN AU PALAIS DE JUSTICE Nº 4. A PARIS.]
[Illustration: _Plate 79._
Ruffle. Embroidered by Caroline Canfield for her wedding petticoat. It
is 6¾ inches wide, 2½ yards long. (See description of Plate 76.) Owned
by the Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 80._
Part of a design for a dress. Drawn by Caroline Canfield, and sent to
India by her brother-in-law, George Mackay (he was supercargo on a
sailing vessel that ran between the United States and India), to be
embroidered there on India mull. (See also Plate 81.) Owned by the
Litchfield Historical Society. (See description of Plate 76.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 81._
From one of two dresses worked in India on India mull. After designs
drawn by Caroline Canfield. (See description of Plate 80.) The dress
shown here was worn by Caroline Canfield’s sister, Mrs. Frederick
Augustus Tallmadge, at the inauguration ball of President Tyler, April
4, 1841. Later it was worn by Miss Frederica Pirrson when she married
Frederick W. Tepper. The muslin insertion at the bottom is a later
addition, of French design and make. Owned by the Litchfield Historical
Society. (See description of Plate 76.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 82._
White mull dress. Embroidered by Ruth Freeman Packard, daughter of the
Reverend Asa Packard and Nancy Quincy, of Marlboro, Massachusetts,
about 1818. Nancy Quincy was the daughter of Colonel Josiah Quincy
(1708–1784), of Braintree, Massachusetts. Ruth Freeman Packard married
the Reverend George Trask, of Framingham, Massachusetts. The embroidery
is 14 inches deep and the width of the skirt 3 yards. It contains
seventeen of the designs sometimes called palm leaves. The dress is now
in the possession of Mrs. Trask’s daughter, Mrs. Ruth Quincy Powell, of
Scranton, Pennsylvania.]
[Illustration: _Plate 83._
India mull dress skirt, 2 yards wide, embroidered, with lace stitches
introduced. Worked by Louisa Lewis about 1820, when she married Henry
Phelps. They lived on the north side of the square in Litchfield,
Connecticut. Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society; given by Mrs.
Phelps’s daughter, Miss Mary Phelps. (See also Plates 53 and 84.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 84._
A second skirt, similar to the preceding in work and design, on India
mull, 2 yards and 6 inches wide. Worked by the same hand about the
same date. Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society; given by Mrs.
Phelps’s daughter, Miss Mary Phelps. (See also Plates 53 and 83.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 85._
Handkerchief, worked in the center with a large design and with similar
designs on the four corners, with fine lace stitches introduced. Made
by Mrs. Mitchell (Eliza Brock) for her sister, Frances Brock, for her
wedding. Their home was on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts,
where Frances was married in 1833 to Thomas Dawes Eliot, a lawyer of
New Bedford, Massachusetts. Owned by her daughter, Miss Edith Eliot.]
[Illustration: _Plate 86._
Part of bed curtains. Made by Polly Cheney, of Litchfield, Connecticut,
in 1740. She raised, spun, and wove the flax into linen and embroidered
it with crewels of wool dyed by herself in various shades of blue;
presumably from her own patterns, as designs were rare at that time in
the United States. These strips are 21 inches wide and 40 inches long.
Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 87._
Waist of infant’s dress. Worked about 1839 by Miss Elizabeth W.
Davenport, daughter of John Alfred Davenport, for her niece, Elizabeth
Davenport Wheeler. It was made when the family lived in either New York
or Brooklyn, whence they moved to New Haven. Owned by the Litchfield
Historical Society; given by Elizabeth Davenport Wheeler’s niece, Miss
Emily Wheeler.]
[Illustration: _Plate 88._
Front of skirt of dress shown in Plate 87.]
[Illustration: _Plate 89._
Infant’s dress. Worked by Mary W. Peck (Mrs. Edward D. Mansfield),
probably about 1831. Owned by the Litchfield Historical Society. See
also Plates 30 and 31.]
[Illustration: _Plate 90._
Six infant’s caps. Made, embroidered, and worked with lace stitches by
Mary Ann Laidlaw, wife of Dr. Henry Buel, of Litchfield, Connecticut,
about 1860. Owned by her daughters, Mrs. Francis H. Blake and Miss
Katharine L. Buel.]
[Illustration: _Plate 91._
_Figure 1_ (at top). Knitted lace from a pillow case. A great deal
of this kind of lace has been made in the United States for trimming
underwear and bed linen. This specimen was made by Mrs. Wilson Tingley
White, born April 15, 1838. She married at nineteen and lived in
Cumberland, Rhode Island, until her husband’s death in 1918. This piece
of lace she made in 1909. It is owned by her daughter, Mrs. Charles
William Follett, of North Attleborough, Massachusetts, at whose home
Mrs. White died December 25, 1923.
_Figure 2._ Lace made on a pillow with bobbins by a California Indian
girl. Given to the Litchfield Historical Society by Miss Edith Beach.
_Figure 3._ Insertion from one of a pair of pillow-biers (the early
name of pillow-cases). Once owned by Sarah Chedsey, born 1670, daughter
of John Chedsey, deacon of First Congregational Church of New Haven,
Connecticut, 1675–1688. The pillow-cases are marked S. C. She probably
made both lace and pillow-cases, but there is no further proof than
that they bore her initials and were cherished and handed down
carefully through a series of Sarahs, as follows:
Sarah Chedsey, who married Samuel Alling;
Sarah Alling, who married David Punderson;
David Punderson, who married Thankful Todd;
Sarah Punderson, who married Zechariah Thompson;
Sarah Thompson, who married General John Hubbard
(See Plate 20, _Figure 2_);
Sarah Thompson, who was a niece of Sarah Hubbard;
Sarah Thompson, who was a niece of Sarah E. Thompson;
Esther H. Thompson, who gave this lace to the
Litchfield Historical Society.
]
[Illustration: _Plate 92._
Black lace scarf, 3 yards long. Worked by Pamela Parsons, born April
8, 1767, died July 5, 1813. She was the daughter of Zenas Parsons, of
Springfield, Massachusetts, and great-great-granddaughter of Joseph
Parsons, who came from England in Winthrop’s fleet, 1630, with Mr.
Pyncheon. (See also Plate 46, _Figure 2_.) Owned by Mrs. Charles B.
Curtis. (See descriptions of Plates 93–96.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 93._
Infant’s cap. Worked in 1815 by Isabella Woodbridge Sheldon, of
Hartford, after she became the wife of George Lecky Cornell, of Red
Hook, Long Island (where South Brooklyn now is), for her daughter
Sarah. Owned by her granddaughter, Isabel Douglas Curtis (Mrs. Charles
B. Curtis). Mrs. Cornell was a niece of Pamela Parsons. (See Plate 92.)]
[Illustration: _Plate 94._
Altar cloth of Greek design, 92 inches long. Worked by Isabel Douglas
Curtis—Mrs. Charles B. Curtis, granddaughter of Isabella Woodbridge
Sheldon (Mrs. George Lecky Cornell); see Plate 93—in 1911 for Christ
Church, Rye, Westchester County, New York. It has on the top the words:
“Holy, holy, holy,” etc. The center contains symbols, such as I H S,
the crown of thorns, etc. Owned by the church named.]
[Illustration: _Plate 95._
Detail of altar cloth shown in Plate 94.]
[Illustration: _Plate 96._
Sample from tape lace. Made for window-curtains by Isabel Douglas
Curtis (Mrs. Charles B. Curtis), of New York City, about 1895. Owned by
the Litchfield Historical Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 97._
Tape lace, 6 inches wide, 2 yards long. Made by Rachel Tracy Noyes,
daughter of William Curtis Noyes and his first wife, Anne Tracy. She
married Charles Edward Whitehead, of New York City. The lace was made
about 1880. She died in 1900. Owned by the Litchfield Historical
Society.]
[Illustration: _Plate 98._
Tape lace and darned net. Made 1881–1885 by Miss Esther Thompson,
of Litchfield, Connecticut, when she was a teacher in Middletown,
Connecticut. Owned by Miss Thompson.]
[Illustration: _Plate 99._
Tape laces. Made by Mrs. Butterworth, a friend of Miss Esther Thompson.
Owned by Miss Thompson.]
[Illustration: _Plate 100._
Half-tone of photostat copy of photograph in the New York Public
Library, of a table cover, 42 inches square. Made by Mrs. Hannah
MacLaren Shepherd-Wolff. Three thousand hours were spent on this lace,
which was finished in 1910 when the maker was eighty years old.]
[Illustration: _Plate 101._
“Lavoro a maglia quadra,” or “lacis,” darned netting, or filet,
still in the frame. Made by Mrs. Edward Rowland (Sarah Belknap), of
Waterbury, Connecticut, born June 27, 1837, for a lace exhibition at
the Hartford Athenæum in February, 1907. Mrs. Rowland learned to make
lace in Florence, Italy. Owned by Miss Edith Beach, of West Hartford,
Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 102._
The same kind of lace as that shown in Plate 101, sewed on satin and
trimmed with pillow and bobbin lace. Made by Elsie Belknap, born in
Hartford, Connecticut, November 4, 1863; married Mr. R. E. K. Whiting;
died September 23, 1907. She was taught to make lace by Miss Edith
Beach. Owned by Miss Edith Beach, of West Hartford, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 103._
Chalice-veil. Designed and embroidered from a number of pieces of
sixteenth-century Italian cut-work—reticella and punto reale—by Miss
Margaret Taylor Johnstone, of New York and Paris. Exhibited at the
Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, and also at the Musée des Arts
Décoratifs, in the early years of this century. It is signed M. T. J.
in the border. Original photograph reduced one-third.
Some thirty years ago Miss Johnstone gathered together a little class
of workers at the Society of Decorative Art in New York City and taught
them these stitches. The work prospered, with the aid of designs found
in various public and private collections, and continued for over
a quarter of a century, when this association, which had been the
mother-society of beautiful embroidery in New York, ceased to exist.
Miss Johnstone also prepared the rearrangement of the Lace Collection
in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, in 1906–1907, on
lines suggested by her to the expert, Frau Kubasek, of Vienna, who
was brought to New York by the Museum for this purpose. She brought
with her a trunk of four hundred specimens of embroidery and lace
collected by Miss Johnstone from friends in Paris and New York, and
labelled and classified according to her own extended classification.
These specimens were accepted for the Museum by the Director, Sir
Caspar Purdon Clarke, whose love of decorative art was a benefit to
the Museum. Since that time the collection of laces has so increased
that it is probably surpassed only by that in the Victoria and Albert
Museum, of London.]
[Illustration: _Plate 104._
_Figure 1._ Blue paper pattern for lace to be made on a pillow with
thread on bobbins. Part of the design was worked and is shown in the
small piece of lace beside the pattern. Made and owned by Miss Edith
Beach, of West Hartford, Connecticut.
_Figure 2._ Lace made on a pillow with thread on bobbins. Although
similar in appearance to tape lace, it is quite different, being
entirely worked with linen thread on bobbins, on a pillow. Made and
owned by Miss Edith Beach.]
[Illustration: _Plate 105._
Lace, unfinished, being made for a fan, on a pillow with thread on
bobbins. The design is adapted for this purpose from one in _The Art of
Bobbin Lace_, by Louisa A. Tebbs, Chapman and Hall, Ltd., London, 1908.
Made and owned by Miss Edith Beach, of West Hartford, Connecticut.]
[Illustration: _Plate 106._
Blue paper pattern for making Venetian point lace (needle-point), and
the lace in process of making. It consists mainly of very fine, close
buttonholing with a sewing needle. Owned by Miss Edith Beach, of West
Hartford, Connecticut. These laces have been made since 1904 by Miss
Beach. She was taught lace-making by her aunt, Sarah Belknap (Mrs.
Edward Rowland); see Plate 101.]
[Illustration: _Plate 107._
_Figure 1_ (at top). Machine-made net in the piece.
_Figure 2._ The same kind of net with stitches dropped at regular
intervals to serve as guides for cutting it into footing, or strips for
embroidering or darning as trimming lace.
Between _Figures 1_ and _2_ are shown samples of beading, or purling,
to be sewn on the edge of the trimming lace.
(_Plates 107–109 show net made by machine at the “lace shop”
established and operated by Dean Walker in Medway, Massachusetts,
between 1818 and 1827. See Introduction, pp. 4–5; also Plate 110 and
caption. The originals shown are in the possession of Dean Walker’s
granddaughter, Miss Sophia A. Walker, of New York City._)]
[Illustration: _Plate 108._
_Figure 1_ (at top). Trimming lace on machine-made net. Darned by
Clarissa Richardson, about 1830, on net made by Dean Walker at the
“lace shop.” (See caption of Plate 107.) It consists of two pieces of
straight-edge fagotted together.
_Figure 2._ Trimming lace on machine-made net. Darned by Julia Adams
(Mrs. Horatio Mason) on net made at Dean Walker’s “lace shop.” Purling
is added to the waved edge.]
[Illustration: _Plate 109._
Cap embroidered on machine-made net. Made about 1820 by Julia Adams
(Mrs. Horatio Mason), the maternal grandmother of the present owner,
Miss Sophia A. Walker, of New York City. (See caption of Plate 108,
_Figure 2_.) The net was made by Dean Walker at the “lace shop” in
Medway. The frill of the cap has been removed for another use.]
[Illustration: _Plate 110._
Silver medal awarded to Dean Walker in 1825 by the Franklin Institute
of the State of Pennsylvania, for the net made at his “lace shop” in
Medway, Massachusetts. (See Introduction, pp. 4–5; also Plates 107–109
and captions.) Owned by William T. Walker, a great-grandson of Dean
Walker.]
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Text from images has been appended to the caption.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected
after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and
consultation of external sources.
All misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have
been retained.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN LACE & LACE-MAKERS ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
