The Washington herald., 1909-05-09
HISTORY OF LACE-MAKING
Exquisite NeedlewOrk Done by the Egyptians,
and the Art Revived by Venice

ever. had only two great rivals, Flan6ers.
which disputes its claim 10 the invention.
and France. where Il was Of later growth
In the former country. lace certainly
vas worn in the fifteenth century, and its
bobbln lace is beautifully illustrated IN
! history. The b0bbin lace CT Flanders
was-not less intricate OF beautiful than
the famous Pointe de Venice.
In the Netherlands the art had a glor-
ious past. for when religious persecution
drove all other branches Of industry from
the country, the lace fabric alone upheld
Itself. and By its prosperity saved Flan-
Gers from utter ruin Every country Of
Northern Europe. Germany and England
( learned TIE art OF lace-making from Flan-
ders' The fabrics OF Brussels and Mech
I lin have long been famous, and now
lace, white and black, point and pillow.
may be net with in every province Of
, Belgium" Flanders and Italy first sup
piled the demand when lace was used
in profusion by the extravagant courtiers
OF the sixteenth century, who wore such
( huge rufIs and rufles that they could
scarcely turn their heads or get food
/ 10 their mouths.
10 Colbert Protection laws were passed
I In 1850. against Genoa and Venice Iaces,
and against z commOnsr kind OF lace,
already made at AIencon. The effort was
SO successful that before long Pointe de
France became famous and fashionable.
and pillow lace was also largely made
/ IN many other parts Of the country. But
/ II IS a sensitive industry. lace not being
q necessity Of life. and 4 would have
/ been extnguished By the revolution II L
/ had not been revived by the patronage
OF Napoleon
I In England, Queen Elizabeth set the
/ fashion Of wearing quantities OF lace, but.
I as she bought where IL pleased her fancy.
| she gave no special encouragement 10
home industries. Ruffs were the rage in
/ her reign and that Of her successor. so
/ that the trade was brisk TIL the Puritans
got the upper hand The ccstly ana
/ beautiful fabric came back with ire
I StuaTts, though Il no longer hampered
I the throat, as n the beginning OF the
century. Nor was II less in favor with
( William and Mary, for the queen. IN one
/ year, spent nearly e26o3 on lace. and
/ the king almost 500 more. mostly in
cravats But the court expenditure was
not OF much profit 10 the English makers
/
made lace.
George III first really did his best 10
! foster the home industry. which was then
strictly protected. But law finds fashion
q formidable antagonist. and much lace
was snuggled into the country Stin
1 for two centuries before that the bobbiEs
( had been active n many parts OF Eng
land There were from TIE first two
! special centers One was in the Md
lands. about Bedfordshire and Buck!ng-
/ hazashire, into which It IS believed 70
have been introduced from Flanders. and
! carried on by refugees from France. the
/ joint result being the production Of some
: very fine and Justly noted Tork. The
other center was Devonshire the lace OF
I which also OF Flemish origin. was fam
Gus so long ago as IN the reign OF Queen
] Elizabeth.
: Al first the bobblu lace was an iu,Ita-
tion. but in simpler forms OF the Vene-
tian patterns. but as the makers increased
/ n skill. their work became more delicate
and elaborate. HOniton was & special
seat Of the industry and gave q name
10 the best laces, one Of the most valued
kinds consisting OF flowers. which were
first made separately OF the pillow ard
/ then worked into a delicate ground
{ English lace makers were among those
4 10 whom peace was worse than war. for
1 they fOurished during the great conflict
/ with France, but we're ruined by the
cneapness OF the machine-mz6e lace
After struggle OF nearly half q century.
I sometimes including the iawIess resist
ance usual with those who fear that
/ novelty viii be 10 their detrImeat
the fabric OF the I3obbin machine nearly
drove that Of the pillow out OF the mar
ket- Lace making IN England. notwith-
/ standing the favor shown 10 II by Queen
( Victoria. had almost become, during the
latter part Of heg reign, ore Of the lost
arts; but it has been revived By a num-
Der Of ladies who. while they value II
for its beauty, foster II as q pleasant
and remUneTative employment for women