Real Renaissance.Real Renaissance.
Machine Valenciennes.Machine Valenciennes.
Oyah.—A guipure lace or openwork embroidery, made by means of a hook in a fashion similar to crochet. The pattern is often elaborate, and in silks of many colors, representing flowers, foliage, etc. It is sometimes in relief.
Parchment.—Lace in whose manufacture parchment has been used, whether in the pattern for the worker's guidance, or for stiffening the fabric, as in Cartisane lace. In old accounts of laces, the term was often applied to those made on the pillow to distinguish them from needle-point laces, and it was derived from the pattern on which pillow laces were worked.
Imitation Point de Venise Combined with Point Gaze.Imitation Point de Venise Combined with Point Gaze.
Passement.—A term applied to the oldest class of pillow laces, at a time when they were of comparatively simple construction, being little more than open braids and gimps. This designation was in use until the middle of the seventeenth century. The word is now applied to a decorative edging or trimming, especially a gimp or braid. It is an old French word, and in the country of its origin included in its meaning both lace and embroideries. It has an interesting literary association, having figured, under the slightly altered form of "passemens," in a satirical poem published at Paris in 1661. The poem, which is entitled "La Révolte des Passemens," is dedicated to Mademoiselle de la Trousse, a cousin of Madame de Sévigné, and was probably composed by one of her literary friends. It is a protest against a sumptuary law passed in the previous year to check the lavish expenditure on laces imported from Venice and Italy, and is interesting as an account of the best laces of that day, among which are "Pointes de Gènes, de Raguse, de Venise, d'Angleterre et de Flanders," as well as the "Gueuse" of humbler pretensions. The various laces are supposed to revolt against the law excluding them from France, and especially from their place in the exalted society of the court. Mesdames les Broderies—
"Le Poincts, Dentelles, Passemens,Qui par une vaine despence,Ruinoient aujourd'hui la France"—
"Le Poincts, Dentelles, Passemens,Qui par une vaine despence,Ruinoient aujourd'hui la France"—
"Le Poincts, Dentelles, Passemens,
Qui par une vaine despence,
Ruinoient aujourd'hui la France"—
call an indignation meeting. One of them hotly demands what punishment shall be meted out to the court for such treatment—
"Dites moi je vous prie,Poincts, dentelles ou broderies,Qu'aurons nous donc fait à la cour," etc.
"Dites moi je vous prie,Poincts, dentelles ou broderies,Qu'aurons nous donc fait à la cour," etc.
"Dites moi je vous prie,
Poincts, dentelles ou broderies,
Qu'aurons nous donc fait à la cour," etc.
Various laces speak their mind freely in reply, but most of them are gloomy as to the future, while a few try to take a philosophical view of the situation, and resign themselves to an humbler though still useful fate. An English lace, "une Grande Dentelle d'Angleterre" answers
"Cet infortune sans secondeElle fait bien renoncer au monde*    *    *    *    *    *Pour ne plus tourner à tout ventComme d'entrer dans un Convent."
"Cet infortune sans secondeElle fait bien renoncer au monde*    *    *    *    *    *Pour ne plus tourner à tout ventComme d'entrer dans un Convent."
"Cet infortune sans seconde
Elle fait bien renoncer au monde
* Â Â Â * Â Â Â * Â Â Â * Â Â Â * Â Â Â *
Pour ne plus tourner à tout vent
Comme d'entrer dans un Convent."
The laces of Flanders are not so submissive as that, being too vain and ambitious for renunciation of the world and life in a convent, and their angry opposition starts a little tempest of debate, fierce resolution alternating with despair. A black lace in hopeless mood hires herself out with a game merchant, for nets to catch snipe and woodcock. An old gold lace, in grandmotherly style, tries to comfort the younger ones, by reminding them of the vanity of the world. She knows all about it—she, who has dwelt in king's houses. The Flanders laces cry out that rather than give in they would sooner be sewn to the bottom of a petticoat. Some of the younger ones declare they must still have amusement, having had so much, and rather than renounce the world they willseek refuge in the masquerade shops. The point laces, with the exception of Aurillac, then resolve to go each to his own country, when suddenly the humble but plucky Gueuse lace, the lace of the common people, arrives from a village near Paris and encourages the others to fight it out.
The next morning they all assemble and agree upon a plan of campaign, but before doing so take stock of their qualifications and prospects. Poinct d'Alençon has a good opinion of herself; a Flanders lace says she made two campaigns under the king, as a cravat; another had been in the wars under the great Marshal Turenne; another was torn at the siege of Dunkirk; and all had done something worth notice. "What have we to fear?" asked an English lace. A Poinct de Génes, of rather flabby character, advises the English lace to go slow. Finally open war is declared, and the laces all assemble at the fair of St. Germain to be reviewed by General Luxe. The muster roll is called by Colonel Sotte Depense, and the various regiments and battalions march forth to victory or death. But they got neither, for at the first approach of the royal artillery they take to their heels, are captured and condemned to various punishments.
The gold and silver laces, the leaders of the rebellion, are sentenced to the fate of Jeanne D'Arc, to be burned alive; the points are condemned to be made into tinder for the sole use of the King's Musketeers; others are to be made into cordage or sent to the galleys. But pardon is obtained through the good offices of cunning little Cupid—"Le petit dieu plein de finesse," and the rebels are restored to their former position.
The poem illustrates the policy of most European governments at that time, a policy of excluding foreign manufactures of all kinds; and in the case of laces, the fear of encouraging wasteful habits among the rich, who offered a tempting opportunity for royal extortion, was toouseful a pretence to be passed by. But all these efforts were fruitless to discourage the growth of lacemaking. The passion for beauty in personal adornment would not down. The engravings of Abraham Bosse, which portray the dress and manners of that time, humorously depict the despair of the fashionable lady over the prospect of giving up her laces. She is represented as attired in plain hemmed linen cuffs, collar and cap of Puritanical severity, bemoaning her sad fate, in heartbreaking strains, as she sorrowfully packs away her rich lace-trimmed costumes. Her sadness was not unduly prolonged. Colbert, the great French statesman, saw that laces would be smuggled if they were legally prohibited, that the rich would have them at any cost, so he encouraged foreign lacemakers to come to France, and the manufacture was thus promoted.
Pillow.—Lace made on the pillow or cushion, both pattern and mesh being formed by hand. See Needle-point lace.
Plaited.—A pillow lace of simple geometrical design, often made of strong and stiff strands, such as gold thread or fine braid. The pattern, besides being geometrical in design, is open, and has no grounds. For ordinary purposes tinsel is used instead of real gold, and the lace is then employed for theatrical purposes. Historically considered, the plaited laces made of gold, silver or silk thread, took the place of the Italian knotted laces of the sixteenth century. Those produced at Genoa and in Spain were the best, and they are made in Spain to-day, chiefly for church uses. The thread plaited laces of the seventeenth century were used to trim ruffs and falling collars, but went out of fashion when flowing wigs came in, as the latter hid the collar and would not allow ruffs to be worn. At the present time plaited laces have become known under the name of Maltese and Cluny, and are made at Auvergne, in France, Malta, and in the English counties of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Real Maltese.Real Maltese.
Real Guipure.Real Guipure.
Plauen.—A name applied to any kind of lace made at Plauen, Saxony, or elsewhere, upon the embroidering machine, such as Oriental, tulle and chiffon lace, Point de Venise, Point d'Irlande. Plauen led in the manufacture of this kind of lace, having begun it in 1881, from which year dates the importance of that city as a lace market. The manufacture was gradually developed. Only the tulle variety of embroidery lace was produced until 1886. The distinguishing feature of this was that the hollow effects were made by opening the tulle meshes by hand. Then, in 1886, an openwork process was invented by which chemical action was employed to remove a woolen or silk foundation from the cotton-embroidered pattern, or a cotton foundation from a silk embroidery that had been worked on it. This made it possible to form the pattern by the embroidery machine in the same way as in the case of ordinary embroidery. The wool foundation, which is necessary to be removed in finishing the goods, is dissolved by the action of certain chemicals without changing the cotton or silk pattern. In this way the most difficult and complicated patterns of real lace can be imitated. Plauen manufacturers have for the most part taken the old and costly hand-made laces of former times for their models; but they have also originated new and tasteful designs from time to time.
Point Appliqué.—Point lace whose design is separate from the net ground, to which it is afterward applied. At the present time the net ground is usually machine-made. The word "point," however, in this connection, is of variable application, sometimes signifying Point Appliqué, and sometimes denoting lace, whether pillow or needle-point; that is, worked in sprays and laid upon a machine-net ground. (See Application lace.)
Point d'Alençon.—See Alençon.
Point d'Angleterre.—See English Point.
Point de Gaze.—A very fine, gauze-like lace, made entirely with theneedle and grounded with its own net. Point de Gaze is the result of an attempt of the Brussels lacemakers to return to the best early traditions of needle-point. Point de Gaze differs, however, from the finest old needle-point in certain respects, partly necessitated by modern taste in design, and partly from the need of great economy in labor costs. For example, the execution is much more open and delicate than in the early lace of this description, but this very delicacy and slightness are made use of to produce a very elegant effect. Part of the toile, or substance of the pattern, is made in close and part in open stitch, giving an appearance of shading, and the open parts are very tastefully ornamented with dots. The result does not in all respects equal the softness and richness of the early lace, but if Point de Gaze seems thin and loose in comparison, and if the patterns seem less ideally beautiful, nevertheless the later work has a unique lightness and delicacy to which the earlier lace did not attain. It certainly is the most etherial and delicately beautiful of all point laces. Its forms are not emphasized by araisedoutline of buttonhole stitching, as in Point d'Alençon and Point d'Argentan, but are simply outlined by a thread.
Point de Gène.—A name at present applied to a species of lace made both in cotton and silk at St. Gall and Plauen, and recognized by its regular net ground and large, open patterns in heavy stitchwork. It is a popular trimming for women's dresses. Point de Gène, or Gènes, was originally one of the laces made at the city of Genoa and in the surrounding country during the seventeenth century, both the pillow and needle laces made there being deservedly famous. Gold and silver thread and gold wire were used in the manufacture of the earliest needle-point laces at Genoa, and the gold wire was drawn out in exact imitation of the early Greek method. One of the best Genoese laces resembles the early Greek points in patterns. There was also a guipure lace, made from aloe fiber, as well as the knotted lace nowknown as Macramé. The last named is the only lace at present made in Genoa, and along the seacoast.
Point d'Esprit.—A term applied to a small oval or square figure, peculiar to certain varieties of early guipure, and ordinarily composed of three short lengths of parchment or cord, placed side by side and covered with thread. These oval or square figures were most commonly arranged in the form of rosettes. At present the term Point d'Esprit denotes a much smaller solid or mat surface, used to diversify the net ground of some laces. It is in the form of small squares that set at close and regular intervals. In standard histories of lace the term is also used as synonymous with embroidered tulle, made in Brittany, Denmark and around Genoa.
Point d'Irlande.—A coarse, machine-made imitation of real Venetian point lace. It is popular for dress trimmings, and is manufactured in a great variety of widths in cotton and silk. It has no net ground, the patterns being united by brides.
Point de Milan.—A guipure lace with a small mesh ground, and the pattern distinguished by striking scroll designs. The flowers in the pattern of hand-made Point de Milan are flat, and have the appearance of having been wrought in close-woven linen. Milan point was made at the city of that name in 1493. Gold and silver thread were first used, but the Milan points were finer than these, and fully equal to the best Spanish and Venetian points.
Point de Paris.—Originally a narrow pillow lace, resembling Brussels. The term is now generally applied to a machine-made cotton lace of simple pattern and inferior quality. In its making a design whose figures, such as flowers and leaves, are outlined with a heavy thread, is worked upon a net ground. Point de Paris is distinguished by the net, which is hexagonal in form.
Point de Venise.—See Venice Point.
Imitation Irish Crochet.Imitation Irish Crochet.
Point.—Same as Needle-point lace, made wholly by hand, with the needle and a single thread.
Pot.—Lace whose pattern is distinguished by the figure of a vase or deep dish, and sometimes by that of a basket containing flowers. It is the best-known lace made at Antwerp, and was formerly in common use in that city for decorating women's caps. The vase and basket figures vary much in size and design. Some have considered this pattern to be a survival from an earlier design, including the figure of the Virgin and the Annunciation, but this is not certain.
Powdered.—Lace whose ground is strewn with small, separate ornaments, such as flowers, sprigs, or squares, like Point d'Esprit. The term is applied also to whitened lace.
Renaissance.—A modern point lace, whose patterns are made of narrow braid, and united by bars or filling of different kinds. It is generally ornamented with circular figures and scroll-work, stitched in place by needle and thread, the intervening spaces or groundwork, being composed of a variety of fancy openwork. Irish Renaissance, Luxeuil and Battenberg are the other names for this lace.
Rose Point.—See Venice Point.
Saxony.—Fine drawnwork embroidered with the needle, in much demand in the eighteenth century. At the present time the term is somewhat vague, denoting many kinds of laces made in Saxony, especially in imitation of old Brussels lace. Though the latter is the best that is made, a coarse guipure lace, known as Etervelle, and plaited lace has the greatest sale.
Seaming.—A narrow openwork insertion, gimp or braiding, with parallel sides, used for joining two breadths of linen, instead of sewing them directly the one to the other. The name is given to a similar lace used for edgings, as in the trimming of pillow-cases and sheets.During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries this lace was very popular, though the name "seaming" was then applied to any kind of lace used for a particular purpose—namely, to insert in the linen or other fabric wherever a seam appeared, and often where no seam was really necessary. The lace first used for this purpose was cut-work; then Hollie point became fashionable, and afterward the custom grew to be so common that cheaper laces were employed. There is still in existence a sheet decorated with cut-work that once belonged to Shakespeare.
Silver.—A passement or guipure wholly or in large part composed of silver wire, or of warp threads of silk, or silk and cotton combined, wound with a thin, flat ribbon of silver. See Gold lace.
Spanish.—A general term applies to the following four different kinds of lace: (a) Needle-point lace, brought from Spanish convents after their dissolution, though the art of making it is thought by some to have been learned in Flanders. (b) Cut and drawnwork made in Spanish convents, of patterns usually confined to simple sprigs and flowers. (c) A modern black silk lace with large flower patterns. (d) A modern needle-made fabric, the pattern usually in large squares. The machine-made black and white silk laces, with their flower patterns, are from Lyons and Calais, France. Much could be said about the uncertain application of the term "Spanish" in regard to certain kinds of lace. It has often been inaccurately used. For instance, "Spanish Point" and "Point d'Espagne" have been misapplied to Italian laces, in the same way that "Point d'Angleterre" has been misapplied to Brussels lace. In the four kinds of Spanish lace above enumerated, it is noticeable that some are of Flemish origin. A lace known for certain to be of Spanish origin is a coarse pillow guipure made in white thread and also of gold and silver. It is a loosely made fabric consisting of three cordonnets, the center one being the coarsest, united by finer threads running in and out across them, and with brides to jointhe parts of the pattern and keep them in shape. It is well known that large quantities of lace that have the characteristics of raised Venetian Point were used in Spain, both for court dresses and church purposes, such as the ornamentation of vestments and altars. During the invasion of Napoleon the churches and monasteries were pillaged and the laces contained therein were scattered abroad and sold as being of Spanish origin, though many of them were not.
The graceful Spanish headdress, the mantilla, has been chiefly made in the province of Catalonia, out of black and white Blondes, but it is inferior to a similar lace of French manufacture. The most celebrated of the Spanish laces are the gold and silver fabrics, known as Point d'Espagne, the Blonde laces and Spanish or Rose point. The first-named is a very old lace, was known in Spain as early as the middle of the fifteenth century, and is made with gold and silver threads, upon which a pattern is embroidered in colored silk. The Blondes, which have been already mentioned, have thick though graceful patterns upon a light net ground. Rose point is wholly made with the needle and is very like Venetian point, being considered, in fact, as a variety of the latter. The close resemblance is accounted for by the fact that this kind of lace was made by the inmates of religious houses, which were transferred from one country to another at the will of their superior and carried with them the secret of a difficult art. The Rose points, some of which are not raised, are formed with a pattern-worked net in buttonhole stitches, the parts of the pattern being joined together by brides. The raised Rose points are recognized by their thick cordonnet or outlining of the pattern.
Tambour.—Lace made with needle embroidery upon a machine-made net, generally black or white Nottingham. It is chiefly made in Ireland and commonly included among the Limerick laces.
Leavers's Lace Machine.Leavers's Lace Machine.
Tape.—A lace made with the needle, except that a tape or narrow strip of linen is wrought into the work and is the distinguishing feature of the pattern. These plain or ornamented tapes or braids, arranged so as to form the pattern, have always been peculiar to this kind of lace. The patterns are connected together with either bride or net grounds. The earliest were made with a bride ground and simple cloth stitch, but gradually very elaborate designs were wrought as part of the braid-like patterns and united by open-meshed grounds. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the braid and tape laces included the large majority of coarse pillow laces made in Flanders, Spain and Italy.
Thread.—Lace made from linen thread as distinguished from silk and cotton laces. Black thread is a misnomer for Chantilly.
Torchon.—A coarse pillow lace made of strong, soft and loosely twisted thread. In Europe it is known also as "Beggars'" lace, and the old French Gueuse lace was similar to Torchon. The patterns generally are very simple and formed with a loose stout thread and the ground is coarse net. Torchon is now also machine made.
Valenciennes.—A solid and durable pillow lace having the same kind of thread throughout for both ground and pattern. Both the pattern and ground are wrought together by the same hand, and as this demands much skill in the manipulation of a great many threads and bobbins, the price of Valenciennes is very high. The mesh of the ground is usually square or diamond shaped, very open and of great regularity. It is a flat lace, worked in one piece, and no different kind of thread is introduced to outline the pattern or to be wrought into any part of the fabric. This affords a ready means of distinguishing the hand-made variety of this lace. The Valenciennes now made is not so beautiful in design and construction as the fabric of an earlier date, especially in the latter part of the eighteenth century. It is usually of narrower width and is easier to learn how to make.
Valenciennes was first made at the town of that name, which,though originally Flemish, was transferred to France by treaty; and the manufacture at this town was carried on under conditions which assured the superiority of the lace produced there. The difference between the Valenciennes product and that of other towns could be detected by the softer "feel" in the former case, because the moist climate of Valenciennes gave a smoother action to the bobbins when used in manufacture; and it is interesting to note that the lace was made in underground rooms. These peculiarities earned for lace made in that town the name of Vraie Valenciennes, and it brought a higher price than the Valenciennes of the surrounding villages. The thread was spun from the finest flax. To buy a yard of a flounce or a pair of broad ruffles was a serious matter for the purchaser unless he was wealthy. The labor cost was high even in those days of low wages; from 300 to 1,200 bobbins were required in a piece of fine work. The history of the changes in Valenciennes patterns is, to some extent, a history of deterioration in elegance of design. The first patterns were exquisitely beautiful, the designs often being wrought in grounds that were varied in several ways even in one piece. The designs afterward became simpler, and octagon and hexagon meshes came to take the place of the close grounds of earlier manufacture. Since 1780 the lighter and less expensive laces of Lille, Brussels and Arras have partly ousted the more beautiful, costly and durable product of Valenciennes, while changes in modern dress have stopped the demand for some articles which were formerly among the fashionable mainstays of the industry; for example, men's ruffles.
The French Revolution practically destroyed lacemaking at Valenciennes, and the industry was transferred to Belgium. The lace produced there was, however, given the name of False Valenciennes. Alost, Bruges, Ypres, Ghent, Menin and Courtrai became centers of the manufacture, and the lace made in each town had a distinguishingfeature in the ground. For example, the Ghent ground is square meshed, the bobbin being twisted two and one-half times. At Ypres, the ground is square meshed, but the bobbins are twisted four times. In Courtrai and Menin, the bobbins are twisted three and a half times, and in Bruges three times. As an illustration of the fact that the making of old Valenciennes is a lost art, it is interesting to note that the last important piece of work executed within that town was a headdress presented by the town to the Duchesse de Nemoms on her marriage in 1840. The headdress was made by old women, the few real Valenciennes laceworkers then surviving, with the praiseworthy and patriotic object of showing the perfection of the product of former days. There are several machine-made varieties of Valenciennes. English Valenciennes is chiefly made at Nottingham; it is also called Platt and Normandy Valenciennes. It is an imitation of the early hand-made lace, to the extent of having a similar diamond-meshed ground. Its pattern is without relief, and the threads of which it is made are no heavier than the ground. French Valenciennes is made mostly at Calais. Its pattern is usually outlined by a stouter thread than that forming the ground, and it has a finer finish and softer "feel" than the English Valenciennes; in fact, it is an excellent imitation of the real. Italian Valenciennes is a narrow, fine-threaded lace, used for trimming fine underwear.
Schiffli or Power Embroidering Machine.Schiffli or PowerEmbroideringMachine.
Venice Point.—A needle-point lace made at Venice during the first half of the seventeenth century. It is somewhat difficult to apply the name exclusively to any one of the several varieties of Venetian point made at that time; but Venetian Raised point, whose pattern is of large, beautifully designed flowers in decided relief and united by brides or bars, is commonly called Venetian point. Other names applied to this kind of lace are Rose point, Venetian Flat point, Carnival lace, Cardinal's point, Pope's point, and Point d'Espagne. These names simply register the various changes of style and manufacture in the history of this lace. With the exception of Point d'Espagne, which has a less valid claim to be called Venetian point than the others, the various names given serve roughly to suggest the distinction between three separate stages in point of style and date of the fabric known broadly as "Punto tagliato a foliani," or Venetian point. They are generally given as follows: (1) Venetian Raised point, or Gros Point de Venise, under which is included Rose point; (2) Venetian Flat point, or Point Plat de Venise, with its later variety, known as Coraline point; (3) Grounded Venetian point, or Point de Venise à Réseau, which includes Burano point, so called from the island near Venice, where it was made. With regard to Raised point, it is worth noting, in addition to the characteristics already referred to, that the flower design is of a freedom and continuity that make the pattern so filling that there is very little space left for the ground, the bridework merely serving to hold the pattern strongly together. The cordonnet, or outlining thread, is unusually prominent, and the raised part is no less remarkable for its boldness in design than for its delicate workmanship. An Italian poet has described this work as "sculptured in relief." In Raised point the skill of the laceworker was informed by the instinct for beauty in such a degree as to produce one of the highest types of the art. Rose point resembles Raised point in all essential features, the only difference being that the designs are smaller and the ornamentation more abundant. The pattern is less filling and the connecting brides more prominent.
Flat Venetian point is marked by an absence of the prominent raised work, the designs are more attenuated, and the brides are altogether more prominent than in the Raised point. Coraline point is a variety of Flat point, which must be considered a deterioration in design on account of its ill-connected and irregular pattern, which was originally supposed to imitate a branch of coral. There is no raised work, the ground meshes are ill-arranged and ill-shaped, and on the whole thislace marks the decadence of an art formerly almost perfect. It is more like an imitation of a free growth of plants, the tangled growth of a state of nature, as compared with the order and beauty of art. The grounded point, the last stage of development of Venetian lace, began to be made to supply the markets of France after the fine old Venetian point had been excluded by protective laws. The Venetian lacemakers then adopted the réseau or net ground made at Alençon. The ground is composed of double twisted threads, and has a rounder mesh than Alençon, and there is no outlining cordonnet. In this variety of Venetian point, which was produced during the latter half of the eighteenth century, the pattern is not so well arranged as in others, and there is a redundancy of ornamentation. The manufacture of Venetian point is now almost extinct. The machine-made variety, produced on the Schiffli embroidery frame, is now made at Plauen and St. Gall. (See Plauen lace.)
Yak.—A stout, coarse pillow lace, made from the fine wool of the Yak. The patterns are of simple, geometrical design, connected with plaited guipure bars that form part of the pattern, being made out of the same threads at the same time. The term is also applied to a machine-made worsted lace, produced in black, white and colors. It is used as a trimming for undergarments, shawls and petticoats.
Ypres.—A pillow lace resembling Valenciennes, but sometimes with bolder designs and rather large lozenge or square mesh in the ground; also a type of Valenciennes.