Lace Event: Thame Lace Day – February 26, 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by lacenews

Thame Lace Day
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Place: Thame Arts & Leisure Centre
Oxford Road OX9 2BB
Time: 10:00 AM UNTIL 4.00 PM

Tickets: £4.50 incl tea & coffee, £2.25 young lacemakers
Cheques payable to Thame Lace Day, with SAE
Contact: Jan Gilbert, 26 Silver Street,
Tetsworth, Oxon OX9 7AR
01844 281655

Posted in UK and Ireland | Leave a comment

Lace Event: Wolverhampton Lacemakers Lace Day – February 26, 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by lacenews

Wolverhampton Lacemakers Lace Day
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Place: Baptist Church
Winchester Road, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton WV10 6EJ
Time: 10:00 AM UNTIL 4.00 PM

Workshop: Anne Weston, “Needlelace”

Tickets: £4.00 visitors, £3.00 members, £2.00 shoppers
Contact: Jenny Roberts, 01922 473234 or jroberts33@sky.com
or Sue Kalra, 01902 843195 or suekalra@btinternet.com

Posted in UK and Ireland | Leave a comment

Lace Event: 1st Ware Lace Day – February 26, 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by lacenews

1st Ware Lace Day
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Place: Sele Farm Community Centre
25 Perrett Gardens, Hertford SG14 2I.W.
Time: 10.00 AM UNTIL 4.00 PM

Speaker: Jacqui Barber, “My Place in the Lace World”

Tickets: £5.00, Young Lacemakers £1.50, Shoppers £1.00
Proceeds to Herts Air Ambulance
SAE to Claire Hooper, 25 Honey Lane,
Buntingford SG9 9BQ, tel 01763 272052
Cheque payable to Claire Hooper

Posted in UK and Ireland | Leave a comment

Lace Event: Lincolnshire Lacemakers Lace Day – February 19, 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by lacenews

Lincolnshire Lacemakers Lace Day, AGM and Exhibition of Member’s Work
Date: Saturday, February 19, 2011
Place: Methodist Church
Queen Street, Horncastle, Lines LN9 6BD
Time: 10.00 AM UNTIL 3.00 PM

Tickets: £3.00 at the door
Contact: Jennifer Lawrence, 01507 523221

Posted in UK and Ireland | 2 Comments

Museums: Victoria & Albert Textile Study Room and Galleries Closure

Posted on February 1, 2011 by lacenews

The V&A textile study room and galleries will close March 1, 2011 at the South Kensington museum. Packing of the collections begins today.  This action is in preparation for the new ‘Clothworker’s Centre for Textiles and Fashion Study and Conservation’, to be opened at the V&A’s Blythe House, Kensington Olympia facility in 2013. The new center will consolidate existing textile and fashion collections, provide advanced storage and conservation facilities, a new study center and seminar room.  Further information can be found at http://www.vam.ac.uk/futureplan/projects/Textile%20Study%20Centre/index.html.

The V&A has its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851, where some of the exhibits were purchased to form the nucleus of a new museum. Originally named The Museum of Manufacturers, the name was changed to the South Kensington Museum in 1854. The name changed again to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1899.  Some of the lace collection appears to have been acquired from the decorative arts collection of the Government School of Design. Founded in 1837, this institution became part of the museum in 1853 (it is now known as the Royal College of Art). Hence one sometimes finds acquisition dates for laces earlier than the founding of the V&A.

A number of famous authors have been associated with the museum. As well producing as her seminal work “The History of Lace” Mrs. Bury Palliser was an important donor to the lace collection. She produced a very early partial catalog in her little known “Notes on the History of Lace to which is added A Catalog of Specimens of Lace selected from The Museum at South Kensington, contributed as a loan to the Midland Counties Museum of Science and Art, Nottingham” (1872).  Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934) was the son of the museum’s first director, Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882), and also served as Assistant Secretary at the museum. He published “A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Lace in the South Kensington Museum” in 1881, and in 1891 produced a supplement for specimens of lace acquired between 1880 and 1890. He was commissioned by Parliament to investigate the Irish lacemaking industry, and wrote many important works on the subject and on lace in general. Cole knew many turn of the century Arts & Crafts leaders, and was one of the only people advocating lace in the movement.

More recently, Patricia Wardle was the museum’s lace specialist, publishing her classic work, “Victorian Lace” in 1969.  Former Keeper of the Department of Textiles and Dress Santina Levey produced her outstanding book “Lace, A History” in 1983.   The latest work is by curator Clare Browne, who published “Lace from the Victoria and Albert Museum” in 2004. One hundred of the collection’s most important pieces were selected for illustration, including several pieces given more recently by noted collector Margaret Simeon.

A visitor to textile study room 100 steps back in time to an era of dark oak cabinets containing hundreds of magnificent small laces and other textiles captured between glass panes (often folded with sharp creases to fit the format). One full cabinet is devoted to lace. You pull out a pane, then take it to a desk for study.  Sometimes there’s a note saying that a piece has been ‘removed for conservation’ – I’ve seen these same notes for 30 years.  Then there are the magnificent large laces mounted on the walls and in vitrines – a stunning sight.

As one can see from the above photo, the study center is a curious combination of modern desks, nicely framed textiles, the old oak cabinets, 19th century decor, and fluorescent lighting. It isn’t known if the oak display panes will survive, or what form the new facility will take. But no one can object to the safeguarding of one of the world’s greatest lace collections.

Posted in Museums | 1 Comment

Ebay Alerts! Eight Items – January 30, 2011

Posted on January 30, 2011 by lacenews

http://tinyurl.com/6bwtaea ANTIQUE LACE-LOVELY LARGE 19THC.HONITON LACE SHAWL
Starting price: $45.00
Auction ends: Jan 31, 2011 07:40:08 PST
Offered by: Maria Niforos, Ebay seller mithya, New York and London
Comments: 115″ x 30″, a nice Honiton applique shawl on machine net. At least I think it’s Honiton, Belgium is usually a little finer on the motifs. A few small holes but overall good condition. I remember giving a friend a veil like this for her wedding – someone stepped on it at the reception and tore a big hole. The marriage didn’t last either.

$45.00, reserve not met, 1 bidder.

http://tinyurl.com/5w423r7 Lovely Antique Edwardian Handmade Lace Fan-1909
Starting price: 9.99 GBP
Auction ends: Feb 01, 2011 12:00:46 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller baraud, Newton Abbot, UK
Comments: Excellent fan, great sticks. Wonderful ribbon and bow design, Duchesse, needlelace roses, and fillings used to nice effect. Has a box and some 1909 documentation. Few broken sticks – see description.

Sold for 147.00 GBP, 10 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/6jjlomy Antique Maltese silk lace hankerchief w cross & flag
Starting price: 24.99 GBP
Auction ends: Feb 02, 2011 06:38:46 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller discover4, London
Comments: Fun Maltese handkerchief, I think the flags might be England and France. A little stained in places, but no damage that I can see.

Sold for 36.99 GBP, 2 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/4nef9v8 Antique Honiton lace lovely very large handkerchief
Starting price: 45.99 GBP
Auction ends: Feb 02, 2011 06:38:46 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller discover4, London
Comments: Very pretty Honiton handkerchief, some stains to the cloth, but the lace looks in very good condition.

Did not sell.
Re-listed as Ebay #290631300949 ending Nov 17, 2011.

http://tinyurl.com/5s57t7v Antique pair of lovely Honiton bobbin lace cuffs
Starting price: 19.99 GBP
Auction ends: Feb 02, 2011 07:49:27 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller discover4, London
Comments: Very good Honiton cuffs. I can’t tell if they were made to be cuffs, but the design seems to be symmetric around a center line. Look in very good condition.

Sold for 41.00 GBP, 4 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/67hlfdy ANTIQUE IRISH CROCHET LACE SHAWL COLLAR LARGE EXC TRIM
Starting price: $0.99
Auction ends: Feb 02, 2011 18:30:53 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller meadowpaint, Carlesbad, California
Comments: Excellent Irish Crochet shawl collar with a design sometimes known today as ‘Rose of Sharon’. Note the finely worked dense crochet motifs against the regular ground.

Sold for $32.80, 13 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/66yoz3m RARE Japanese/European TORTOISE SHELL & lace FAN brise
Starting price: $9.99
Auction ends: Feb 04, 2011 12:01:17 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller choutdong, California
Comments: I have no idea why the seller calls this Japanese. It looks to be a very good Chantilly fan with faux tortiseshell sticks.  Sticks intact, seller indicates a few loose spots on the lace. Has an unmarked box.

   Sold for $170.27, 9 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/6brq6jh ANTIQUE LACE FANTASTIC POINT DE GAZE LACE FAN MONOG E
Starting price: $49.99 with reserve
Auction ends:Feb 04, 2011 15:30:40 PST
Offered by: Paivi Roberts, Ebay seller greatlace, Paris and Palm Beach
Comments: Belgian needlelace fan with carved sticks – maybe a little over the top, but excellent technique. Note the unusual petals on the roses, a sign of high quality. One little hole in the ground, a few stains. A really nice finish to all the fans today!

   sold for $810.00, 9 bidders.

Posted in Ebay Alerts! | Leave a comment

Collecting: Lace-Related Travel Posters

Posted on January 29, 2011 by lacenews

There are a number of items which promote lace as a tourism activity in general. I don’t mean advertisements from retailers, and the whole subject of postcards is a topic in itself.  This post focuses on travel posters, and hopefully more examples will come to light as a result of this article.

The first poster is from Sabena, which was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001. Due to some complicated internal financal troubles, and also the sudden, crippling decrease in overseas airline traffic just after 9/11, Sabena ceased operations on November 7th, 2001. The poster has a beautiful image full of light. The paper is extremely delicate and it is remarkable that this example has survived with minimal defects.


The original of this poster is 24″ wide, the artist is not identified. It seems to be taken from a colored chalk drawing.

The Sabena poster is quite modern, but there are beautiful older examples. The Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (usually known more as PLM), was created between 1858 and 1862 through the merger of the earlier Paris-Lyon and Lyon-Méditerranée companies. Over the years it added a number of smaller railways. PLM operated chiefly in the south-east of France, with a main line which connected Paris to the Côte d’Azur by way of Dijon, Lyon, and Marseille. The company was also the operator of railways in Algeria. The privately held PLM was nationalized in 1938 into the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français. PLM’s network became the south-eastern region of SNCF.  (Adapted from the Wikipedia entry)

Railway companies were quite aggressive in their advertising, and hired outstanding artists to produce travel posters. P. L. M produced three attractive posters with lace themes to promote Le Puy-en-Velay.  Full-size reproductions are available today, and you can also find smaller modern versions in postcard format.


1898 P.L.M. poster by Frédéric Alexianu, also known as F. Hugo d’Alesi (1849-1906 of French-Romanian descent), Atelier H. d’Alési, 4, Place Monge, Paris. He is known for his meticulous work, often requiring up to 20 color plates from the printer. An original of this poster is about 29″ wide.


Left: Produced by artist Joseph de la Nézière (1873-1943)  in 1925 for the Etape des Autocars P.L.M. entre Grenoble et Vichy. Printed by Blondel La Rougery, Paris.
Right: I only know this one from a modern postcard – hopefully information on the original will turn up shortly.

Since LaceNews is a little boring sometimes, I’ll leave you with one more item. This ‘advertising card’ for PLM is one of a set of 16 produced in 1987 by erotic artist Charles Berg. Somehow I doubt it was ever really produced for PLM, so the origins are a bit obscure.  Click on Berg to see the complete set, if you dare. In particular, note the strategic placement of the pins on the pillow.


I’d love to see this bikini done up in black silk Le Puy guipure.

Posted in Collecting | 1 Comment

Californian Poppies Workshops in April – still places left

Posted on January 29, 2011 by lacenews

There are still a few places left in the workshops associated with the Californian Poppies exhibition. The workshops run April 5-7, 2011 at the National Needlework Archive in Newbury, UK.  Click here for the flyer. The courses include:
Chantilly Lace – Ulrike Voelcker/Germany
Withof Lace – Susie Johnson/USA
Needlelace/Stumpwork and Point de Gaze – Catherine Barley/UK
First come, first serve!

Posted in Exhibitions | 1 Comment

Reordering Events

Posted on January 29, 2011 by lacenews

I’ve gotten some comments about announcements like the Lace Guild convention disappearing off the main blog page.  It didn’t go away, it just got re-ordered in the ‘Conventions, Conferences, and Congresses’ category at the right. I like to keep things in the order of the date in which they will occur. In order to do this I have to edit the posting date, which unfortunately can cause things to seem to mysteriously disappear. It’s one of the limitations of working in WordPress. You can’t assign a numerical place for a posting in a category, and still keep it by posting date on the main page.
My apologies. I’ll write more about the Lace Guild convention when more information about the agenda becomes available.

Posted in General Administrative | Leave a comment

Ebay Alerts! Five Items – January 27, 2011

Posted on January 27, 2011 by lacenews

http://tinyurl.com/4n2ghe4 ANTIQUE LACE-ALENCON LACE W/BOWS
Starting price: $45.00
Auction ends: Jan 28, 2011 10:01:37 PST
Offered by: Maria Niforos, Ebay seller mithya, New York and London
Comments: Not very long (28″ x 2.5″), not in the greatest condition, but I like this piece. Nice design of bows, using the brides boucle ground and regular Alençon reseau as a filling. This stiffer edged lace often goes under the name of ‘Herren Alençon’, indicating it’s use as cuff material on men’s shirts. But it could be used as an edging anywhere. This one has a little more elaborate design than is usually found. Impossible to say if it was made in Alençon or Agentan – in the later 18th century both towns used many of the same stitches.

Sold for $67.75, 3 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/4mj566z ANTIQUE LACE-145″ OF BOBBIN LACE
Starting price: $45.00 with reserve
Auction ends: Jan 28, 2011 13:56:30 PST
Offered by: Maria Niforos, Ebay seller mithya, New York and London
Comments: Good long (145″ x 3″) length of what is probably Italian Abruzzi tape lace. Very simple to make, but quite effective in appearance.  These can come in quite large widths with a very densely packed tape – this particular one is a little small, but well made.  Condition looks very good.

Did not sell.

http://tinyurl.com/4cullss ANTIQUE LACE-CIRCA 1700’S BRABANT LACE 130″
Starting price: $45.00 with reserve
Auction ends: Jan 28, 2011 13:56:30 PST
Offered by: Maria Niforos, Ebay seller mithya, New York and London
Comments: This type of heavy design, wide pieced lace, that looks a little rushed, is often labeled Brabant.  That is basically taken to mean a lace made outside the refined Brussels or other major metropolitan areas.  It is often found in wide (here 11-1/2″), long lengths. I’m not aware of any study that really pins down the origin of this lace – it could have been made in the Brugges area, or it could even be an English Devon product. This particular one has some damage, but is a very good example of the genra.

$170.76, reserve not met, 3 bidders.

http://tinyurl.com/4hn4zpl Flemish Pottery figure The Lacemaker c1910 Belguim
Starting price: 85.00 GBP
Auction ends:Jan 30, 2011 11:32:11 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller honey_pot_house, North Notts, United Kingdom
Comments: Flemish pottery lacemaker, 16 cm tall, maker unknown. Very minor flaws. See the LaceNews post on these figures in the ‘Collecting’ category. A lovely piece.

Did not sell.

http://tinyurl.com/4w5jz9p C 1860 SPECTACULAR WIDE IRISH CROCHET LACE COLLAR
Starting price: $99.00
Auction ends: Jan 30, 2011 18:15:08 PST
Offered by: Ebay seller micou2, Montevideo, Uruguay
Comments: Very nice Irish Crochet collar, 4 motifs tightly worked.

Sold for $99.00, 1 bidder.

Posted in Ebay Alerts! | Leave a comment