Research on 16th and 17th century pattern books for embroiderers, lacemakers, and artisans of all kinds
Sat Jan 2, 2021 05:09 PM
Sat Jan 2, 2021 05:09 PM
1/2/2021
I have been using Google Translate’s camera/scan function to better read my copy of Arthur Lotz’s Bibliographie der Modelbucher, and it has reminded me of a couple of things that help me be a bit less frustrated when I’m researching. Those things are:
1. Just because someone else found it, it doesn’t mean I can locate it when I go looking for it.
Lotz #52 is “Zierat Buch von allerhanst Huntschnur” by Daniel Meyer dated 1618. Mrs. Bury Palliser included it in her bibliography. She numbers it 102 and describes it as 11 pages with 9 plates. There is no mention of where she saw it and Lotz couldn’t locate it. There is a thought that it might be similar or identical to Honervogt (more on that tomorrow.)
2. Sometimes you miss opportunities.
Lotz #26 is ” Modelbuch vonn mancherly schonen kunstlichen Modeln.” It was a book he saw in an antiquarian shop in 1913. There was a date of 1570 on the cover, but 2 other pages had dates of 1530, so it might have been a reissue of an older book. He wasn’t able to purchase it and couldn’t find it later. The last thing he mentions is the inscription ” Veritas lucet” on one of the patterns.
I originally set out to find copies of all the books in Lotz, not realizing that even Lotz hadn’t found all of them. There are also amazing things out there still to find. A lot of magic lives in that thought. It makes research a treasure hunt. A wonderful adventure. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am.
(Photo is a hanging dated 1530 from the collection of Art Institute of Chicago. I can’t get a good close-up of it, but find what I can glimpse beautiful. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/135547/hanging )
