The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-20
LACESTO BE THE FASHION
GENERAL REVIVAL THAT SOON
MAY BE A CRAZE

.,ed-Collectors of Laces and the Dis
flaws Made by Rich WomeE-Wo-
mems Doings.
(Copyriohtl
Nrw YORK, April 19.-There was an ex-
s;r,ition of old Spanish lacss in New York
-s,antlv. and ever since we have been seeing
-,.l,ino visions of the bright dark eyes and
+,s rauzy black dresses with innumerable
a.,rcas and from whose folds flash FREELY
s.-,,als Of the land where the senoras and
sanoritas wave their gold sticked fans the
long year through in serenity, for Spain is
,,oo1 to her women; whatever i'll betide,
slo,r Iaces are their own, their mantillas
mot ba sold for deot, they are secure in
H. possession of the treasures they wear to
I,,ufobts and on Easter Monday and that
aces are to women what broad lands and
,,oid are 10 men, the coveted possession. The
al of a woman's heart is a founce that
-, years ago was worked in some convent
~ Re Euganean hills for prelate to wear
above his purple and give it a f1ne mixed
asvor of candle smoke and incense. Decade
aftar decade it lay Ia the close oak chest of
his sacristv. At his death princess bought
II thievish servant stole it. A kings
favorite Haunted in it. A needy member
niece1 it. A Jew priced it. 1t was rebought,
resold, reworn, reform, remended till il lay
in pawnbroker's shop in Paris, where q
rich matron of McAllisterville bargained
for it, brought it home, and plumes herself
more on it than on her diamonds as she sits
in state to be admired while Patti sings
LUCIA"
There are few jewels that cannot be du-
plicated, but there are many pieces of lace
that money cannot buy. Lace is one of the
few branches of amateurship that women
excel in. They are shrewd collectors and
BUYERS Perhaps they delight in the deli
cate fabric because it stands for woman's
art and skill: For the maiden seated at her
work plies her fingers rapidly and flashes
the smooth balls and thousand threads into
the circle" The old books of lace patterns
used TO be vignetted with the tortoise, the
emblem of the housekeeping woman.
They say it was a woman, Barbara
Uttmann, who invented pillow lace III the
sixteenth century. Women have ever been
patrons of lace making. 1t is Queen Vic
toria who has kept the Honiton laces in
fashion. Her wedding dress and veil and
the bridal laces of all her daughters have
been of English Honiton in patterns of
roses, shamrocks aud thistles. the national
flowers. They say that Victoria has $500,
600 in fine laces. "Now. at least, l can
have laces," said Anne OF Austria when
Louis Kill, her husband, died, and her
court was famous for its cleanliness and its
Spanish point. When Colbert, minister of
Louis XIV, started lace making in France
he had three women as coadjutors. Napo-
leon revived point d'Alencon because
Josephine loved 1t and spent fabulous sums
on it. Eugene was Respondent in lace and
had 81 200, 900 worth. She spent s., 900 for
single dress 1ounce of point d'Alencon
1t was the Duchess of Argyll who intro
duced lace-making in Scotland, and Lady
Denny and Lady Bingham and the Countess
Of Erne who began it in Ireland. Lady de
We're gave her own Brussels point for pat
terms when the first Irish point was made
at Curragh. Elizabeth or Denmark intro
duced lace-makiug in that country. 1t was
Russian lady who started the making of
Moscow point and Lady Hamilton Chlches-
ter under whose patronage the Maltese laces
long SO Observation-Disclosures were dealers in
New York who called them Lincoln laces in
war times-were first made. Everywhere
the nuns schools have given instruction.
The Archduchess Sophia started lace schools
in Bohemia
There are fortunes in laces in New York
city. Those belonging to the several Van
derbilts must be worth nearly $500, 900 and
rival the Prussian and Austrian crown
laces. The Aston family has rich lace treas
than 100000. The late Mrs. Astor left
from $40, 600 to $50, 900 worth to the Metro
politan Art Museum. The late Mrs. A. T,
Stewart knew more about laces than she
did about most subjects and spent $500 per
pair for the curtains at the big gloomy
mansions windows. Her personal and
dress laces were worth $3.50, 900. Mrs. r. l..
Stuart has collection equally valuable The
Belmont laceS are almost priceless. Mrs.
Bradley Martin and Mrs. Marshall Roberts
have exquisitely fine, choice and rare laces.
Nice-President Morton's wife and Mrs. w.
Z. Whitney have laceS worth from $50, 900
to $40, 900. New York buys more laces than
any other city in the world. 1t has at least
q score of wealthy women whose laces ex-
coed $780, 900 in value and probably hun
dred whose collections would sell for $50. 600
The lace cloaks that have lately come in
fashion figure in the wardrobes of affiuent
matrons to the tune of 1000 and $4,000.
Lace shawls long since laid by
are brought out for dress
draperies and scarfs in the lace revival
and one dressmaker claims to have had a
glimpse of two worth not less than $4,000.
The late Mrs John Jacob Astor had a IA
nous lace robe that cost $4,000 in Paris.
but this is quite outdOne by dress lately
heard of which was bought abroad for
SIS 0O0 Dress draperies at 81 900, fichus at
$500, scarfs at 81, 900, handkerchiefs, and
collars, and cuff sets at 5000 to $500, find
every day sale in the stores There are few
women who can withstand lace. Even the
doughty Susan B. Anthony, whose thoughts
are on the ballot box, wears fine laces on
occasions. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, Mrs.
Iivermore, and others of the platform
women delight in them just as do their
frivolous sisters.
Not since the palrny days of Eugene has
lace been so fashionable. We swear by
Eandyk, and find that in his portrait of
Cardinal Bentivoglio the lace lies over the
robe superbly We look TO the renaissance
for everything, and we find that Tintoret's
senator's and Giorgione's warriors and
Iitian's fair-haired beauties supped and
studied and doubted and warred and
laughed in laces that were most becoming.
Leaders of fashion are discovering that
While tawdry novelties are odious in a
month fine laces are economical invest
ments. because they can be used and re-
Used and keep their value like diamonds.
Every lace exhibition intensiies the passion
Of connoisseurs, and not only increases the
humber of lace idolators, but develops a
popular taste and demand for beautiful
aces, especially point laces.
The Venetian and Spanish raised points
and early point de France-this is the lace
mat the grand dauphin was swaddled in
when they presented him on his birth to his
,ather, Lonis XIV.-are the most expensive
aces known. An average specimen brings