Rare Books and Manuscripts NK9243 .P38 1815Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:
Copyright Not Evaluated
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Notes:
The upper left corner of some leaves bear a blind stamp depicting a crown and the word “Bath” (see for example leaves 2, 21, and 65). On other pages a faint impression appears at the lower left corner.Paper watermarked in places "L Tovil Mill 1812."Rebound in later (20th century) tan buckram.Drawn in black ink throughout, with multiple designs per page (rectos only), the designs are probably patterns for whitework embroidery or eyelet lace, which was a popular embellishment to fashionable white muslin dresses, lawn caps, and shawls of the Regency period. It's possible that the designs may have been templates for colored embroidery as well. Most of the designs are composed in vegetal, floral, and geometric patterns. Some have been filled in with black ink, but most have only been outlined.Designs on leaves 19, 54, 62, 65, and 92 have been drawn with the word “Lace” added in in places, to indicate an area where a lace design of some technique will be filled in. On leaf 62, there is a note near the gutter: “To be worked upon net, with muslin sewed on.” The number and variety of designs -- possibly copied from ladies' magazines or extant garments -- suggests a woman with a substantial amount of leisure time and education in needlework.
Subject Terms:
Needlework -- Patterns. | White work embroidery -- Patterns. | Broderie anglaise. | Lace and lace making -- Great Britain. | Clothing and dress -- Great Britain.