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Jacobean
Embroidery  by
Ada Wentworth Fitzwilliam and A.F. Morris HandsJacobean crewel embroidery had its heyday during the reigns of the Stuart monarchs of England. It was used to adorn wall and bed hangings with rich colors, and a wealth of detail, many fine examples of which are preserved in museums and stately homes. This book presents a historical background to this type of embroidery, followed by 27 sketches of details from authentic historical works, together with descriptions of the original colors and stitches used. Softbound, 57 pages, $20.00
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ELIZABETHAN
CROSS STITCH by Barbara Hammet 95 designs are charted in this new book, from original pieces made in the 16th and 17th centuries. including scrollwork pictures, beaded trellis bags and pincushions, a tree-of-life firescreen, a band sampler, cushions, and more. Hardbound, 105 pages, $25.00 |
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Elizabeth Murray: A Woman's Pursuit of Independence in
Eighteenth-Century America by Patricia Cleary 
A welcome addition to the literature on women in early
America, Murray was an exceptional ordinary woman for her day.
Born in Scotland in 1726, she emigrated, for the first time,
to the American colonies, after both of her parents had died,
in the late 1730's. She returned to Scotland a few years
later. In 1749, she returned to the Colonies with her brother
and his children, and chose to set herself up as an
independent shopkeeper. The rest of her story is as
unconventional and fascinating as its subject. The author
examined Murray's own papers, including her correspondence and
business records, to get past the veneer of gentility and try
to understand the complex woman underneath. Murray worked as a
shop-keeper before and during one of her marriages, and the
author discusses the material culture of the commercial
millinery trade between England and the American colonies.
Despite her wealth and experience as a shopkeeper, Murray had
to petition the court, just like other women, to keep control
of her own property after she married a second time. This
biography fills in many gaps in the history of Colonial women
and does so with an enjoyable writing style. Paperback, 279
pages, $21.95. |
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ENGLISH EMBROIDERIES OF THE SIXTEENTH AND
SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES in the Collection of the Ashmolean
Museum by Mary M. Brooks  This handbook explores the Ashmolean Museum's collection of English 17th century embroideries. These intriguing pieces, often made by affluent school girls, include pictorial panels, of stumpwork and tent stitch, an elaborate casket depicting biblical stories as well as costume, accessories and fanciful items such as a frog shaped purse. The introductory essay explores how the miniature world of kings and queens, biblical and classical heroes, courtiers and shepherdesses, set in landscapes with lovingly depicted animals and flowers, connects with the turbulent events of the 17th century. Detailed photographs reveal the fine stitches and imaginative raised work embroidery techniques as well as he lavish use of metal threads and semi-precious stones. This book will appeal to all those interested in the life of 17th century women as well as to textile and embroidery specialists. Paper, 96 pages, $18.95 (This will also be available in a hard cover edition later this year.) |
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PATTERN BOOK OF
EMBROIDERY: 1534 by Johan Schartzenberger, Woodcutter of Augsburg  This
book is a reprint of the very rare facsimile of Ein
Formbuchlein Johan Schartzenber ger Augsburg 1534, one
of the earliest pattern studies (the earliest known to
be catalogued dates to 1524). This collection was the
first in a series of facsimiles of works on lace and
ornament undertaken by Emmanuel Bocher, in Paris in
1882, a period of intense interest in the revival of the
needle arts. These pattern books were originally
produced for ladies within higher social circles, and
were intended to teach sewing, embroidery, and design.
The original plates, printed from wood blocks,
represented a major step in the recording and
dissemination of designs. Without copyright protection,
these designs wandered from publisher to publisher
throughout western Europe, and became an integral part
of Europe's cultural heritage. While conceived primarily
as patterns for needlework, contemporary paintings and
costume utilized these patterns. They can be found in
armor, woven silk, and carved and painted in borders on
picture frames.Paperback, 42 pages, $14.00 |
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Embroideries from
Snowshill: one of the world's leading collections of
costume and accessories of the 18th and 19th centuries A
National Trust publicationCharles Wade's great collection at his Tudor house, Snowshill Manor, in the English Cotswold's, was built on three main principles: design, color and craftsmanship. This applied not only to the costumes and accessories themselves, but also to the techniques that transformed them from functional objects into works of art. The techniques on display in this book include embroideries from the Elizabethan period to the late 19th century, encompassing silkwork, whitework, quilting, ribbon work, laid work (an embroidered 16th century casket, shown in great color detail), stomachers, night caps, waistcoats, metal work purses, garters, band samplers, tent stitched pictures, and samplers. It's an extraordinary little book, hardbound, 96 pages, $30.00 |
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JANE BOSTOCKE; THE REST OF THE STORY by Eileen Bennett  Jane Bostocke's sampler was discovered in an attic in England, in 1960, and was given to the Victoria & Albert Museum by a private donor. Since then-curator Donald King's article in 1962, stating that it was the earliest known signed and dated sixteenth century sampler, very little additional research has been done to explore the identity of Jane, and Alice Lee, the two year old child whose name and date of birth are also recorded on the sampler. Eileen spent months researching their identities, and has included extensive genealogical material on the Lee and Bostocke families, explanations of the significance of many of the motifs used on the sampler, thereby telling the story of the people and the culture of late sixteenth century England. Spiral bound, 26 pages, $20.00 |
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