UC-NRLF B 3 ESfl 70 fl DECORATIVE ART H H»* J)<_fT M A GUIDE i < > ^# N6W L366 #/ % VJ* Exhibited at Chicago in 1893. fj DEDICATED TO HER WAcJESTY QUEEN A\ARGHERITA, ^ . ♦♦ Coy a, n A GUIDE ^#NewLacej7/^ Exhibited at Chicago in 1893. V DEDICATED TO Wk*> HER MAdESTY QUEEN MARGttERITA, /^/W^v/-d'&^ ♦ ♦ w* Entered according to Act of Congress in the year A. D. 1893, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. 6., . . . BY . . . .» ' CORA A. SLOCOMB DI BRAZZA. CHISAGO. DECORATIVE ART GIFT W. B. CONKEY COMPANY, 341-351 DEARBORN STREET, CHICAGO, I8 93 . HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARGHERITA. N, TO HER AAAdESTY aif£>hertitei @fj|^afr@ja, •;• QUEEN Or ITALY. YOUR MAJESTY: A/iany words were in my heart and floated uncrystallized across my mind, with which to dedicate the work of our Lace Committee and this little Guide Book to Your Majesty, when my eyes rested upon the following lines by Aurelio Passerotti, at the beginning of his Pattern Book for noble lace makers, the only known copy of which belongs to Count Nerio Malvezzi of Bologna. Here are mirrored all my thoughts, gracefully clothed in that old time phraseology which is as intricately and delicately wrought as the subtile fabric to whose treasury it serves as a key, and whose gracious mistress it so respectfully lauds. 1 therefore pray Your Majesty to accept this tribute of another time to another Royal Margherita, who, in that portion of the land over which she reigned, loved to protect and to encourage the arts of peace, as does Your Majesty throughout United Italy. 251 ...PREFACE... THIS is not only a guide hook descriptive of the unique collection of antique laces from all parts of the world exhibited in the Italian section of the Woman's Building, at the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago during the summer of 1893, and kindly lent by Our Most Gracious Queen Margherita and the ladies of Italy, whose names follow on the list of Direct- resses and Patronesses. It opens with a description of every kind of lace-like fabric, and forms a complete and succinct history of lace from its origin to the present day ; it con- tains a biographical sketch of those artists who entrusted to us their finest works, all of which are for sale that there might be a worthy framing to the rarer laces. It also has appended a list of the books exhibited, which form a small and interesting library, and complete collection of antique designs for lace- makers and embroiderers, compiled by the editor, and placed for reference and study at the disposal of those visitors whom they may interest. Finally and above all, it contains descriptive notices of all the Lace Schools and Lace Manufactories in Italy, founded or directed by women, with which the committee has been able to communicate in the short time between its organization and the shipping of the exhibit to Chicago. These notices are illustrated by photographs and very complete albums of samples, as well as by large quantities of the laces Italian women produce, which are for sale with immediate delivery. For any information or purchases of books or laces, visitors are begged to address themselves to the lady attendant, remembering that every piece of lace sold, however insignificant it may seem, means at least one hearty meal for some poor and industrious woman, some fatherless, dumb or crippled child in Italy. INTRODUCTION. PART I. INTRODUCTION. A Descriptive Enumeration of the most Celebrated Laces of the Past. For a clear understanding of any chapter of the second part or history of lace making, without reading the one preceding it, it is necessary thoroughly to comprehend and to impress upon the mind the following terms and their meanings, remembering that the older and kindred arts from which lace-making sprang, are very nearly allied to it, and often produce such similar effects that it is impossible for the uninitiated to distinguish between them. OLD AND NKW LACE IN ITAI \ Patronesses Residing 1 in Foreign Countries. Lire. Signora A. Ravagli forthe Italian Colony in Cincinnati, United States of America 295 25 The Consul for the Italian Colony in Chicago, United States of America 120 60 Countess di Cesnola, New York, United States of America 12c Baroness Fava, Legation at Washington, United States of America. 100 00 Signora Bruni Grimaldi, Denver, United States of America 100 00 Countess Galli nata Roberts, Paris, France 103 50 Marchesa Mariad Adda Sal vaterra nata Hooker, Paris, France 100 00 Total 953 35 Contributions received from the Royal Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture 1,000 RECAPITULATION. I Venetia 4,708 I I Roman Provinces 2,020 III Tuscany 1,989 IV Sicily 1,883 V Lombardy 1,510 VI Romagna 1,187 VII Liguria 1,100 VIII Naples 900 IX Piedmont 45i I X Emilia 260 XI Umbria 200 XII Abruzzi 100 XIII Marche 100 XIV Sardegna 100 Patronesses residing in foreign countries 953 35 Contribution from the Royal Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce 1,000 dotal 18,460 35 Donation from the Countess di Brazza to assist in defraying the expenses of the Lace exhibit — all the proceeds of the author as royalty on the sale of this book. OLD AND NEW LACK IN ITALY. II I.— PASSAMANO OR PASSAMENTERIE. (Gimp, and Knotted Fringes or Trimmings.) Their Manufacture. These trimmings or adornments are now made by means of a long, narrow, bolster-shaped cushion screwed to a table; on this cushion the fringed-out stuff or a foundation cord is held in place by large headed pins around which are knotted, in various pat- terns, the threads that are to form the fringe or edging; in the coarser work, the fingers alone suffice to tie the knots but for finer effects, the use of the crochet needle is necessary. To prepare a textile for its conversion into an ornamental knotted border, the woof threads are drawn out, leaving a portion of the warp of the width required for the fringe, the selvedge is cut away and the threads are knotted as desired. Extra tassels are sometimes added for a finish. Different J 'arieties. Macrame is a modification of the ordinary passamenteric. Different kinds of macrame are known as: PuntO a Groppo, knotted point. Punto Moresco, or Moorish point. Punto a Groppo Ineordonato, or corded, knotted point. The above are all terms used by the Venetians for this class of work. II.— RETE (net), AND MAGLIA (knitting-). Manufacture of Knitting. For the single stitches of both the Italians have one generic term, viz., "MagUa" knitting. Punto a Maglia is made with two long, blunt needles of wood, steel or bone held one in each hand; over them a thread is knotted in and out continuously until a flexible, elastic material is formed which is more or less ornate according to the object for which it is destined and the fancy of the knitter. 12 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. Manufacture of Net. Rete ( net) is made by means of a wooden, brass or bone needle, bifurcated at either end, around which the thread or cord is wound; a little stick is also used the width of which must be half the depth of the stitches or meshes required. The end of the netting cord or thread is knotted in a loop to a solid peg; holding the stick in the left hand, the needle charged with the cord is passed around the stick, through the loop, and in and out again through the first twist made which is held in place by the stick and thus forms a knot. The stick is then removed and an- other mesh is begun. Different Vanctics. Frivolite {tatting). For this the little stick is replaced by the fingers of the left hand and more complicated knots of different varieties are made. Modano, a very ancient net lace that is made without any embroidery is quite artistic in effect. The meshes of Modano may be large or small, round, square or shell-shaped, according to the size and form of the stick which is held in the left hand and the number of meshes taken or skipped in knotting into the row above. This netting can be varied indefinitely; it is often very pretty and to the untrained eye, it greatly resembles some of the varieties of pillow lace. Manufacture of Laces: Merletto a Maglia or Maglietta {laces or net lace). Merletto aMagliaQuadrata (square net lace). Merletto a Retine Rieamate (embroidered net lace.) These are all terms used for the embroidered nets that were so much the fashion in the middle ages. Alter making meshes of the size and number desired to com- pose the net foundation, this is sown firmly to a metal frame, wound with tape, which keeps it perfectly stretched, for on this greatly depends the beauty of the finished work; the design is then embroidered with a needle and thread upon the net in varied stitches, the principal ones used being darning, wheel and button- hole. OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. I ] III.— PUNTO TIRATO OR PUNTO DISFATTO (drawn work) PUNTO TAGLIATO (cut work). These titles comprise all the earliest attempts to produce needle lace; the most elaborate varieties might really be treated as point laces if judged simply by their appearances; these laces are worked in linen or lawn. Manufacture of Buratg. BuratO is an embroider)- wrought with the needle, in which drawn work, outlining' and cross-stitch are combined. It is finely spun though coarsely woven fabrics, and was used on underwear and household linen. Punto in Stuora (sheeting or curtain stitch), also called Tra- punto. This is made with silk or thread, forming what people commonly call Sicilian embroidery or Lice; the ground of this lace instead of being drawn and embroidered in the textile, is often made with bobbins, the threads of which form a kind of very coarse, twisted gauze, or fine net, on which the designs are after- ward embroidered. Manufacture of Punto Tagliato (cut work). The design for this work was first traced on a piece of linen which was then drawn very smoothly over a leaf of parchment attached to a hair cushion, called a "baton," and firmly basted down. This com- pleted, a coarse thread was sewed along the traced outline, and a Punto a Festone, or button-hole stitch, was worked over this around the entire design; then, very carefully cutting away the inter- vening material that none of the threads composing the stitching might be frayed, double parallel threads were drawn from angle to angle of the empty spaces; these threads were often elabor- ately intercrossed and button-holed to enriching the design, or they were caught around pins at the border, forming an edging of purled loops called cechetti arid smerli. Different Varieties. Punto Calabrese (Calabrian work) very closely resembles the last but it is adorned with high reliefs. 14 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. IV.- PUNTO A RETICELLA RADIXELLI (NET POINTS). Manufacture of Reticella. This stitch consists in a combination of drawn and cut work, no design was traced, but the threads of the linen were counted and drawn out in such manner as to form alternate squares in which the warp alone was then cut away, and the remaining threads were used as a foundation which was button- holed over the open spaces between being filled as in Punto Tagliato — with fancy stitches. Punto Surana was a kind of Recticella with oriental designs. Punto Greco and Punto di Zantc, were names given to the same kind of work coming from Greece and the Archipelago. Punto Reale, or Royal point was the contrary of Reticella al- though executed in the same manner, for in it the linen ground was left and the design was made by cutting out open spaces and then filling them in with fancy stitches. Punto di Cartella or Cardclla {card work) was a lace having a similar effect to that of Reticella, but, instead of having the ground made by drawn work, the button-holing was done en- tirely on a foundation made by sewing coarse shreds of parch- ment on a most carefully drawn design and then covering them with button-hole stitch. The most celebrated edgings in Reticella were known wider the fol- lowing names : Punti d'Arcato {Arched points). When the loops or smerli of the edge became deep and more ornate they received this dis- tinctive appellation. Punti Fiamenghi (Flemish points), these were rectangular and therefore rather broad and shallow, they were often alternated in two sizes, placed close together but always retained the same form. Punti Spag-nuoli (Spanish points), were like the preceding, save that they were all of the same size and much longer, nar- rower and more pointed, and surrounded by elaborate small smerli, Punti Gaetani were a combination of Spanish and Flemish OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. 1 5 points held together by smerli at one third or half their depth; they were filled in with the usual stitches producing a varied effect which resembled a double row of smerlatura or turretting. There were many other fancy stitches, generally known in Italy at the beginning of the sixteenth century, which continued in use after the introduction of the real points, or needle laces, pro- duced exclusively with a needle and thread, the textile founda- tion no longer being found necessary in that more elaborate and perfected lace. Some of these stitches were known as: Punto Damaschino, or Damascus point. PuntO a Filo or Punto a Festone a variety of button hole stitch. PuntO RilevatO, raised stitch, or stitch in relief. Punto Sopra Punto, loop stitch in relief. Punto Ingarseato, gauze stitch (used as a filling in stitch). Punto CipriotO, Cyprus stitch, with an effect resembling the open work ground in Greek and Turkish embroidery. PuntO PugTiese, which resembled Russian and Roumania embroidery, etc. . In fact wherever lace was made there were also local terms as is the case in every other industry. V.— POINT LACES. Manufacture of Point Lace. Point laces are made entirely with the needle and are as sus- ceptible to the surrounding influences and climate, people and national characteristics as are the architecture, sculpture and paintings of different countries. This delicate art is indeed so sensitive to change that, strange as it may seem, the same pat- terns wrought by lace-makers of neighboring towns and villages, produce entirely different effects. There are, however, unaltera- ble general rules which are followed everywhere, namely, that the design must first be very carefully drawn upon a piece of parch- ment which has been so tinted as to form a dark back-ground, and a large thread (or several fine threads twisted together) must be sewn with great exactness around the edges of all the flowers, scrolls and other figures of the design as a foundation, using as few stitches in this as possible, because these stitches are after- l6 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. ward cut away;, all the figures of the design are then filled in be- tween the outlining threads with close and varied stitches; the ground is then made with net-work (tulle stitch) like Burano point, or with purled guipure, like Venetian point; lastly the foundation threads which follow the edges of the design are but- ton-holed over, more or less elaborately, to form the reliefs. The lace is detached carefully from the parchment foundation by cut- ting the fastening threads and the different pieces composing the desired length are sewed together, the finishing .touches being added by an especially skilled worker. In the making of point lace the needle-women are usually divided into six different sec- tions, to each of which a different portion of the work is allotted, such as grounding, tulling, etc., thus affording not only greater rapidity but more skilled execution. Punto di Venezia, or Venetian point, also called parchment lace. This is a comprehensive term under which the following vari- eties of needle laces with open grounds are known; the Punto di Venezia, properly so-called, differs from the Punto in Aria only in having the scrolls farther apart, more insignificant in design, and surrounded by button-hole stitch. Varieties of Venetian Point. Punto in Aria (lace worked in air). In this lace the flowers, scrolls and designs of animals were wrought in very fine thread in varied open work composed of very small stitches; the threads forming the foundation were then button-holed over before the filling in of the design, and the whole was held in place where the design did not connect the parts with button-holed purled loops or guipure bars. Punto ad Avorio [ivory point) was a variety of the above with designs copied from the beautiful flowered scrolls of the intarcia (inlaid) work of the sixteenth century; being made with very close stitches and low reliefs which produced a solid effect. It looked as though carved in ivory and justified this distinctive appellation. Punto dei Nobili, or cardinal lace, was especially manufac- tured for marriages, births and grand family or civic festivals OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. \~ Its designs pictured warriors on foot, or on horseback, hunts, castles, towns, animals, cardinal's hats and princely crowns, gods, goddesses and mermaids — in fact nearly ever}* kind of objeet, real or imaginary; in case of a treat} - or a marriage, the arms of the contracting parties were liberally introduced into the design of the lace destined to be. used on the occasion. Punto tagliato a Fogliame [flowered lace). This is a lace composed of scrolls and flowers that seem literally carved in flax. It is the richest point lace ever invented, and formerly it was made in silk, gold or silver as well as thread. Using the Punto in Aria as a foundation to produce this lace, stitches are made upon stitches, and row is super-added upon row of button-holing. The flowers were formerly packed with horse hair instead of with thread, that they might stand out in fuller, richer reliefs, detaching themselves more perfectly from the ground-work, or foundation. All around the edges of these won- derful blossoms and scrolls, and upon the sides and pinnacles of every relief were then made, with infinite patience, thousands upon thousands of microscopic loops, sometimes five or six rows deep, resembling more the delicate flowers and fairy landscapes seen in hoar frost than the work of even the daintiest human fingers. Modifications of this celebrated lace, sung by poets, de- scribed by historians, and a source of commercial rivalry between powerful potentates, were known as: PuntO di Spagna; point made in Spain. Grand Point de France, also called Point Colbert, from the minister of Louis XIV, who introduced it into his country from Venice. PuntO di Neve (snozo point), which was very beautiful with its ground of starred threads that resemble flakes of snow. PuntO di Rosa {rose point). The bars of this lace were placed close together, forming a regular, sexagonal network-ground, with innumerable raised flowers and tiny scrolls composing the design. PuntO a Fogliame (leaf point), with graceful blooms and tendrils predominating in the design, and many loops upon their edges, like the denticulated margins of leaves and flowers. l8 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. PuntO a Gioie {jewelled, point), is frequently mentioned by •old writers, although no example of it is left for the instruction of the industrial artists of to-day. It was into this lace that pearls and other gems, and even the colored Venetian beads that so closely resemble gems, were wrought by skilled artists, pro- ducing a most gorgeous effect; this lace was also varied by using silk, gold or silver instead of linen thread as a foundation or to form the reliefs. BURANO POINT AND THE LACES TO WHICH IT GAVE ORIGIN. Punto di Burano is so called from the place of its manufact- ure, Burano, an island in the lagoon east of Venice. This flowered point lace with a gauze ground was very highly prized, and the following celebrated laces were all copied from it. Argentella; a fine needle-point lace resembling the Burano point, but with a curious kind of spider-web ground introduced. Mrs. Bury Paliser says it was invented in Genoa, but we believe that it is the Italian term for early Argentan lace, for there are no proofs of needle lace ever having flourished in Genoa or its .environs. POINT D'ALENCON, AND POINT D'ARGENTAN. The manufacture of these laces was introduced into France under Louis XIV, through the importation, and at great expense, of Italian lace makers, to teach their art to the lace makers of France who, of course, modified it. These laces copied from the antique designs are now produced in as great perfection in the co-operative lace schools of Burano as they were a hundred years ago, the time of their greatest glory, in France. Point d'Alencon, has the same square mesh ground as Burano point, but it is not quite as fine as that of the early Buranese speci- mens, the outlines of the reliefs, serving as foundation, were fre- quently formed of horse hair, covered by the usual button-hole stitch and purled. Point d'Arg-entan. The ground meshes of this lace are Larger than those of the Point d'Alencon and their sexagonal form is per- fect, and frequently composed entirely of microscopic button- holing which increases immensely the value of the lace in it. The OLD AND NEW LACE IX ITALY. 1 9 flower designs have a much closer filling and the open work spaces are larger and more varied in their stitches than those of Point cFAlencon. Vieux Point de Bruxelles (old Brussels point) exactly resem- bles the earliest Bur ano point, the distinction between them con- sisting- in its ground stitch being slightly rounder than that of Burano point. Mixed Points. Point de Bruxelles {modern Brussels lace) is composed of flowers, scrolls and ribbons of needle point sewed upon a fme, machine-made tulle which is cut out beneath the flower, after which the whole is so perfectly darned together that the lace appears as if made in one piece. Point Plat, in Brussels lace is so called when the flowers and scrolls transferred to the net are, as in Honiton Lace, made entirely with bobbins. Duchess Lace, or Point d 'Application, resembles the Brussels Point Plat, the only difference being that in the Duchesse lace the tulle foundation is not cut away. The tulle or meshes in old Brussels bobbin lace are hexag- onal in form; four of the sides of the mesh are composed of two threads twisted together twice, and two of the sides are composed of four threads plaited together four times. Honiton, or English Point, resembles Duchesse lace when made with a tulle ground, as, if an all-over design of flowers be desired, the workwomen execute each branch of blossoms sep- arately and these are afterward united by purled bars. English Needle Lace has never been manufactured in large quantities but was always copied from Italian, French or Belgian lace; it therefore has no distinctive terminology. In the last twenty years a lace composed of narrow, machine or hand-made braid and point lace stitches, has become fashion- able in England; as fancy work some of the designs are very good and the stitches are pleasantly varied. This lace is really a revival of Panto di Ragusa, but it is much less artistic, having a meagre appearance; it is generally called Point without any other defini- 20 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. tion. Sometimes it is called braided lace ; in Italy it is known as Guipure a Spighetta Inglcse, or Englisli Braided Guipure. Venetian Guipure was a mixed point lace. The scroll work and flowers in it were outlined in pillow lace, then the designs were filled in and reliefs were made with the needle, the ground being composed of purled bars, this lace was somtimes made in silk with pleasing effect. Turkish Point is a fine needle lace made on the edge of oriental stuffs, it is artistic and very original. It is composed entirely of one stitch, that of the Pimto in Aria without any button-holing, or ground, or connecting loops sometimes it is made in imita- tion of flowers and fruits in their natural colors, or all of white silk with gold and silver threads introduced. At others it forms a narrow edging composed of simple, geometric designs. Irish Point is made on fine batiste by stitching a coarse thread all around the design and then cutting out the groundwork and filling in the open spaces, sometimes with connecting loops and knots, and at other times with Pimto i?i Aria. Irish Guipure is made with a crochet needle and fine linen thread; its designs are copied from the best old patterns, and it is frequently very artistic. Broiderie des Indes. When Indian muslin scarfs with their exquisite open work lace stitches were introduced into Europe, all laces made on a muslin ground received this name, even though they had been produced prior to the origin of this fash- ion, some specimens of this embroidery made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries looks exactly like Venetian or Burano Point lace. VI.— MERELTTO A FUSELLI (Bobbin Lace). Merletto a Tombola, Pillow Lace, or Merlctto a Piomlnm. This lace derives its name from the word "Piombare" which sig- nifies to hang vertically, as a plummet. It can be made of cotton, flax, fibre, gold or silver thread. In its fabrication a quantity of threads are interwoven in various stitches; the meshes and open- ings or agiorni are made by introducing pins into the design and OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. 21 twisting threads about them in divers ways, as in Point Lace, the effects produced are varied, but the system employed is always the same, as follows: Around a roller-shaped cushion, which is stuffed with chopped hay, sawdust or wool, and is covered with some dark woolen stuff, is carefully stretched the design which has first been drawn upon stiff paper and then pricked out along the outline of the drawing. The cushion is then placed upon a little rest, shaped to fit it on the one side and to fit the knees on the other, or it is placed • upon a stand in front of the work- woman or grasped between the knees. From right to left the thread is wound rapidly upon the bobbins and tied at the top in a loop that permits it to gradually slip off the bobbin when gently pulled, as occurs continuously in working. The bobbins themselves are tiny clyinders of wood with a knot at the top. All the threads are then attached to hat pins that have been stuck firmly in the cushion to give a good purchase hold, and the lace maker is ready to go to work. She begins by interlacing the bob- bins, which are used in pairs, and placing small pins in all the per- forations — u — crossing the bobbins after the insertion of each pin. The bobbins not in use are kept from becoming entangled by large hat pins that hold them back on either side of the design. Some- times a coarse thread follows the entire outline to make the pattern more marked. The throwing back of certain bobbins, so as leave them out in the middle of a flower or scroll, and then take them back into the design after a little produces the raised work that is called Punto riportato sopra. As the manufacture of the lace pro- ceeds (being worked from left to right and right to left alter- nately) the furthermost pins are removed, as required, to place in the holes last reached, thus detaching the lace from the cushion and allowing it to be cut off at any length desired. A coarse thread is sometimes run around the design with a needle, after it is finished and entirely removed from the cushion, but can not equal in effect that worked in as the lace proceeds. GUIPURES. Guipure is a very old verb, meaning " to roll a thread around a card." In the early part of the sixteenth century lace always contained a gulp, which formed the pattern, and the term has 22 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. been preserved. Although the card, or parchment, has long fallen into disuse, and this word, in modern parlance, is applied to any lace with geometric designs, conventionalized flowers, or arabesques, held together by a grounding of purled loops or bars, in contradistinction to other laces that are made with an all-over net ground. As bobbin laces are easily and rapidly executed — they are made all over the civilized world — with perpetual re-duplication, and yet with almost endless variety in design. Some of the most celebrated among the guipures are: Maltese Point, or Punto di Malta from which the famous Genoese guipure was copied; its designs were always highly orna- mental and its edge was composed of very deep indentations, much resmbling the Moorish decorations of the Alhambra. It will be remembered that flowers and animals were never pictured in early Arabian work; therefore, they are absent from all laces inspired by the designs of Mahometan artists. Guipure di Genoa is, as has been indicated, the counterpart of Punto di' Malta. PuntO di Genoa, also sometimes called Guipure di Milano, so greatly resembles the Milanese and Neapolitan that it is easily confused with them. The difference which renders it recog- nizable consists in the scroll work of the design, which, in the Genoese, as in the Spanish flat guipure, is composed of a broader, more varied ribbon than in the Milanese and Neapolitan laces. A very fine quality of this lace is called Fugio (meaning "I fly"), a name given as much on account of its soft airiness as on account of the running scrolls of which it is entirely composed. In all these laces a crochet needle is used to join the bars together to the design. In order to do this one thread is drawn with it through a pin-hole in the lace, thus forming a loop, and then the knot is closed by passing the free bobbin of the pair through this loop and simply closing the loop so as to insure added solidity in knotting the bobbins. Guipure Fiamengx> or Flemish Guipure, can not be dis- tinguished, save by experts, from Spanish (lat laee, much of this having been made in Flanders, to furnish the Spanish market. \ arieties oJ this lace were made all over Europe and were intro- OLD WD NEW LACE IN ILALY. 2J, duced into the colonics of Italy, Spain and Portugal by the nuns. Russian lace and Hungarian lace arc varieties of the Flemish guipure, which arc produced by following the same principles in their manufacture, although the designs are characteristic ol the countries in which they are made. Punto di Ragusa was made like the Genoese and Milanese Lues, save that its ribbon of bobbin lace was edged on one or both sides with a thick cord sometimes increased in size— as in the Venetian Point — by winding thread around horse-hair, or by button- holing over the edge of the braid after basting a cord upon it. Ve?ietian and Ragusa guipures are often spoken of as identical, but the}- are quite different in effect and execution, the Punto di Ragusa having a decidedly Byzantine character. Merletto Greco, or Greek Guipure^ has also one or two cords following the curves of the braid, but its effect is much less rich, than that of the Punto di Ragusa. Cartisane is one of the earliest and rarest of lace guipures; it was made of a coarse torchon lace composed by making four twists and then four plats alternately with the bobbin. Through these meshes were wrought simple and artistic arabesque designs with two or more strips of thick paper or vellum, each wound with fine silk to resemble a ribbon and held in place by pins until the lace was completed. The edges of this primitive trimming were straight and unornamented. As this lace did not wash well, its manufacture was soon abandoned. Punto di Rapallo, or Liguria, is formed by a ribbon or braid of close lace following the outline of the design, which is com- posed of loops, filled in from time to time, with fancy gauze stitches made by knotting in extra bobbins with a crochet needle, and forming quaint geometrical reliefs. The especial character- istic of this lace, is that the braid is constantly thrown over the piece just made, thus forming large loops in the scrolls. The parts of the entire design are held together by purled guipure "brides" or bars. Punto a Vermicelli is a modification of the Punto di Rapallo, in which the braid is made very fine and narrow; the trimmings 24 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. are extremely complicated, and there are no fancy stitches be- tween. Merletto Poliehrome, parti-colored /cue, was invented and per- fected by the Jews and was made in silk of different colors repre- senting fruits and flowers. This industry has been revived in Venice and carried to great perfection. VII.— PILLOW LACES WITH NET AND MIXED GROUNDS. The most celebrated of these laces are all known under the general name of Flanders Point, and main* of them are as fine as the subtlest cobwebs. I 'aric tics. Point d' Angreterre is a superb and especially fine variety of Brussels pillow lace, with mixed ground. It is characterized by a raised rib of plaited threads worked at the same time as the rest of the lace. This rib outlines all the veinings and other sali- ent points of the design, rendering it beautifully artistic. Point d Angleterre generally represents garlands and other floral designs, and sometimes birds, figures and architectural details are introduced. It owes its name to having been originally made to smuggle into England and to sell as English lace; and to it was given a type entirely different from the older Brussels pillow lace. It was widely known and most especially appreciated in France and Italy, always retaining, however, its distinctive appellation. The meshes of which its ground is composed are sexagonal. with lour of the sides consisting of two threads twisted twice and two of the sides of four threads plaited four times. Mechlin, or Malines, is so named from the Flemish town where it was originally manufactured. It has a very fine mesh as ground sexagonal in form, with four of its sides made by twisting two threads together twice, while four threads are plaited together three times to form the other two sides. The ground is generally strewn with tiny spots, flowers or leaves, surrounded by one coarse, or several fine threads; flowers or leaves, or both, alter- nated, form the pattern along the heading, the same form being regularly and closely repeated like a flower chain, and the edge OLD AND NEW LACK IN ITALY. 25 is more or less undulated according to the design of the border. The old Mechlin laces were sometimes rendered more elaborate by introducing vases, in memory of the Annunciation; flowered hearts, or other emblems, with openwork centers, but even these always retained the detached and self-repeating quality which became the distinguishing characteristic of this lace after the middle of the seventeenth century. Old Flemish Point, properly so-called, was made with a very close ground, resembling squarish cobwebs, with round pin-holes between the parts to outline the design. It consists of running patterns composed of conventionalized fruit and flowers frequently interlaced with a ribbon design which contains open-work and adds lightness to the whole effect. Its edge was straight, with tiny purls. Trolle Kant resembles the old Flemish Point, but its ground is clearer, with rounder webs, and the designs are surrounded by a coarse thread, or a number of threads, wound on one bobbin. The pattern is always so composed as to combine with the edge of the lace forming shallow undulations or varied scallops, finished off like all Flemish laces — with purls. Antique Brussels pillow lace. The designs of this lace resemble those of Trolle Kant, but it has a net or tulle ground composed of a round or hexagonal mesh, or a combination of both. Antwerp lace was especially celebrated for trimming caps. All the laces made in Brussels were imitated in Antwerp, but this city also had an especial lace of its own, called Potten Kant, in which the design — a vase — was worked like antique Brussels lace, except that the net of which the ground was formed con- sisted of triangles with hexagonal meshes or openings. English trolly lace was formerly made in Buckinghamshire, and was copied from Potten Kant, just as the baby lace, made in Bedford. Buckingham and Northampton, was a modification of the Lille lace, and was sometimes called English Point de Lille. Binehe is a most exquisite cobwebby pillow lace from the Province of, Hainault, in Flanders. It contains designs of flowers, fruits and figures wrought of the finest, most fairylike thread, 26 OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. connected by tiny rounds or discs, of close weaving, with mazes of intertwined threads holding the whole together, as though the designer had tried to picture a Dutch flower garden in a snow storm. This beautiful lace has a straight edge, and the finer qualities, which are no longer made, have become priceless. Closter Spitze, or Convent lace. The manufacture of this lace was originally confined, as the name indicates, to convents, especially to those in the north of Europe. The present center of its production is, at Bohemia. The treatment of the design and the grounding are identical with those of Binche Point; but, unlike this lace, it is coarse, though sheer and effective. Modi- fied by the vicinity of Milanese Point, Closter Spitze was also made in southern Tyrol. Point de Bruges was the name given to a lace made in and about that historic old town. This much resembles Malinese lace, .but the arabesques of its designs were outlined with several fine threads, instead of one coarse thread; and flowers, filled in with open work, were introduced with pleasing variety. This lace, which was very fine and sheer, was also made in silk, and its width did not usually exceed three to five inches. Like the Antwerp lace, it was used chiefly for cap. trimmings. Point de Paris. This is the name by which is known the exquisite pillow lace made in the vicinity of Paris during the eighteenth century. It is an extremely fine and dainty lace with beautiful garlands trailing over the tulle and edging the flounces. The tulle of this lace is called ''champ double" (double field ), and its mesh is round and strong, though very fine and is produced by doubling the quantity of threads, using eight instead of four. Point de Paris is as fine in quality and execution as old Brussels lace, but it resembles in appearance the richest laces of Bruges. Valenciennes Lace is known the world over wherever lace is used on linen. It is made with a solid square or diamond shaped mesh, that is platted with four threads four lines on each side. It has a somewhat stiff flower or .arabesque border made in close stitch along the edge, which is finished off with purls. The antique Point de Valenciennes which was made at the French town of that name was the most perfect pillow lace ever manufactured OLD AND NEW LACE IN ITALY. 2*J and of fabulous price. It is composed of the finest thread as yet spun in Europe, valued at about S4,ooo a pound, and is almost indestructible. Some of the present, machine-made laces are copied from the most graceful of these antique designs, which much resemble those of Point de Paris; but the manufacture of this lace in the town of Valenciennes itself, has ceased entirely. The fabrics now sold under the name of Valenciennes are manu- factured in Belgium, especially in the neighborhood of Ypres. They arc also produced in large quantities in Normandy and other Provinces of France, in England and Ireland and in Naples. "Point de Lille," so-called from a town in northern France, is a fine lace with an anology to that of Malines and also to certain varieties of Point