The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-10-05
Modern Point Lace,

| On certain day we visited a Bel
| gian gentleman and his wife, in whose
| possession were two of the most re-
markable pieces of modern point lace
(needle-point) that | have ever seen.
The first was a three-c0rnered point or
shawl, and was made of creamy white
diamond-shaped silken pieces joined
| together for a ground, upon which
glOwed the forms, colors and shades of
from so to 100 field flowers and ex-
otics, delicate wistarias, blue-eyed for
get-me-nots, gorgeous dahliaS and
roses, and many a floral gem of name
unknown save to the practical botanist
or florist. The web was as delicate as
if woven of the spiders most attenu-
ated thread, and as strong and elastic
as horse hair. 1t was, in fact, needle
point in both white and colOred silk.
The whole piece was 50 tilmy fine 1t
could be drawn through Madame Es-
ther'S weddlng-ring. l burst into Il
rapture of delight when NJ. Eugene
held it up between us and the light.
q have found it, l exclaimed; II
have found it? This is the magic web
with cOlors gay woven by the fairy
Lady of Shalott. l always suspected
that wondrous web to be lace, and now
am sure of it.
"Softly,' said Madame Esther, smil
ing. 81 think this is modern point de
BrUXelleS, and none but the deft fin
gers Of Belgian girls could have per-
fected these flowers. The Lady of
ShalOtt was no doubt a lace artist, and
her web was doubtless colored paSse-
ment au tuscan, but it was not equal
to this. Beautiful, beautiful, indeed?
1t is the rareSt piece of work of the
kind I have ever seen, and in my day l
have handled the laces of imperial and
royal WardrObeS. Here are flowers of
a hundred tints and forms growing
into beauty, and arranged and grouped
by an artists hand"
NJ. Eugene: "The hand of D'Huy-
ghens himself f'-gaZing fondly at the
marvellous creation, as he held it up in
such manner as to show to the great
est advantage the glowing hues that
were imprisoned in its delicate mesh.
"D' IIuyghens designed the pattern,
and then painted each flower, petal,
leaf and tendril, separately for the
parchment Iace-workers, and the fin
gers of no less than eighty experts in
needle-point We're employed a whole
year in executing this wonderful tri-
angle"
This chef FOurre, fit for an Empress
or a queen of American society, would
have found it's place among the treas
ures of some crowned heads of Europe,
along with the lace dress of as marvel
Gus beauty that was brought with it to
this country, if it had not been for the
late Franco Prussian war. In fact,
both pieces were made with the eXpec-
tation of finding purchaser for them
in the Empress Eugene. But the rev.
olution in European affairs which ban
ished Napoleon III. and Eugene from
France seriously affected the lace in
dustries of Belgium, as well as those
of France, and the lace artists of M.
Eugene's smanufactory are to-day en-
gagged in selling oranges in the streets
of Brussels, or are starving, and his
beautiful laces are in the hands of the
New York custom-house officials.
Such pieces of work as the bankrupt
lace manufacturer brought over are
not at present in demand in Europe.
Political affairs there are too unsettled,
the situation too uncertain, for even
Queens and Expresses to order $25,-
600 dresses or $1,000 shawls. Emily
Y. Battey, IN Haapers Nogoztne ion
October.