Fri Jan 27, 2023 05:57 AM

We haven’t done a free stitching resource in awhile. This one from 1870 is interesting for a couple of reasons. The writing is very much from the time period, and the author has taught herself reticella by looking at pieces of what she terms Corfu lace. She took some pieces apart and examined others and developed her own terminology. She calls picots either little knots or thorns. She does talk about having read Bury Palliser’s History of Lace, so I think she could have used other terms, but from the text, the author here has some serious opinions (many of which are probably incorrect.) There is some possibly useful stitching information, but I’m mostly sharing it because of how it reacts to a rediscovery of old forms.

The other thing I find fascinating about the book is that it is illustrated with cyanotypes. While the book was published anonymously, the author is known to be Julia Herschel. She was the daughter of John Herschel, who invented the cyanotype.

First edition is titled _A Handbook of Greek and Roman Lace Making_ and was published in 1869. The link goes to the copy at the New York Public Library. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/39646540-9353-0136-d22f-7f16f6288b83

The second edition, published in 1870, was re-titled _A Handbook of Greek Lace Making_. The link is from Archive. https://archive.org/details/handbookofgreekl00hers