Object number
51/128
Collection
Description
This lacemaking pillow is bolster-shaped and comes from Ickford in Buckinghamshire. It is made of canvas stuffed with straw and is covered with a blue pillow cloth. It is equipped with parchment, pins, 26 bobbins, ‘drawter’ (a cloth of the same material which keeps the lace clean) and a ‘worker’ (which protects the parchment and can be drawn over the whole pillow when not in use). The accession file contains a CD entitled 'Lace Pillow Untangling'.
Physical description
1 lace pillow: canvas; straw; cloth; other; good condition
Label Text
Lacemaking pillow. Lacemaking pillows were used to pin patterns to, stick pins into, and lie bobbins on. This pillow also comes with a 'drawter', which is a cloth to keep the lace clean, and a 'worker' which protects the pillow when not in use. Lace originated in the early 16th century, probably in Venice, and rapidly became the height of fashion in Europe. The elaborate ruffs and collars that denoted high social status demanded equally complex lacemaking techniques. By 1870, machine made lace dominated the market and could replicate almost every type of handmade lace.
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card (51/128) – ‘The oldest lace pillows were almost round in shape. Then oval or bolster-shaped pillows with a hole in each end, came into use. A more recent development is the half-pillow, which is flat bottomed and can therefore be used on an ordinary table, instead of the usual pillow horse. On the half-pillow the parchment is fixed to a small, revolving pillow let into the large pillow, and there is, therefore, no need for the lacemaker to set up her work again. They cannot be used for wide patterns, however.’, MERL list / description [Massingham Collection, October 1989] – 'ACC. NO.: 51/128 // NAME: LACE MAKER'S PILLOW // NEG NO.: 35/230 // STORAGE: P.Ex. (Permanent Exhibition) Handcrafts.', See also 51/128
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External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_230.tif - High resolution image
