DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1398#0032
PLATE 109.
LACE, BY Y. WASHER,
BRUSSELS.
\ PRIZE MEDAL was awarded by the International Jury to Mr. Washer for his "real and
-^*- imitation lace articles, for good assortment, effective style, and cheapness." We have been
enabled to give an illustration of his productions through the kindness of Mr. Blaekborne, who
purchased some of Mr. Washer's finest goods.
The best Brussels lace is noted for its extraordinary fineness and beauty of design. It is
made of flax grown in the neighbourhood of Hal and Bebecque, and is classed usually under two
heads; viz. Brussels plait, and point. The point lace is made entirely with the needle, and the
plait on a pillow, resembling Honiton lace in character. In former days, when Mechlin and
Brussels lace was left as an heirloom from mother to daughter, the manufacture was confined to
lace made of the very finest flax obtainable, the ground being real or pillow lace made in narrow
strips of from one to three inches wide, which were afterwards fine-joined, so as to render the
junction imperceptible. This minute work was naturally very costly, and trimming-lace four inches
in width often cost ten guineas a yard, and veils from twenty-five to a hundred guineas each.
Of late years the beautiful net produced by machinery at Nottingham has been largely used as a
ground, on which the flowers or designs made by hand are sewn: this is known as Brussels
" applique," and its resemblance to the old point is so great as frequently to deceive the best
judges. This kind, owing to its moderate cost in comparison with the old point lace, has found
a great demand, in England especially. The makers of Brussels lace are divided into special
classes:—1. those who make the flowers, &c, in plait; 2. in point; 3. the real ground; 4. the
ground of the flowers; 5. the attacheuses (fasteners); 6. those who apply on the net; 7. those
who work the point, and the new kind of real Brussels "gase point." With the exception of
point d'Alencon, made in the north of Prance, Brussels produces the most valuable lace known.
Mechlin lace is made at Mechlin and Antwerp; it is all made in one piece on the pillow,
and its peculiarity consists in a plait thread surrounding the outlines of the flowers and designs,
so as to give an appearance of embroidery. Valenciennes lace, since 1835, is mostly made at
Tpres, which town, however, produces also the lace known as Ypres, made on the finest square
ground of unusual size; it is estimated that over 20,000 workpeople in and around Ypres are
employed in lace-making. Bruges, Menin, Grammont, Ghent, and Alost are also famous for their
laces. As regards the designs of lace-work, Mr. Birkin, from whose report in 1851 we have
condensed the above notice, states, in 1862, that " the Belgian artists understand both how to
produce beautiful and effective designs, and to adapt them to the special sort of lace articles for
which they are intended, besides knowing how they should economically and effectively be carried
out; considerations not understood, or mostly lost sight of, by some designers. Notwithstanding
the fame that Belgian lace manufacturers have obtained for the rich and artistic products formerly
exhibited, the numerous valuable and intrinsically good articles now exposed, for style, taste, and
exquisite work, surpass those of all previous exhibitions."
The manufacture of point lace, which indeed is in some respects only a fine kind of embroidery,
is of unknown origin, but is, doubtless, of great antiquity. In the 16th century, Genoa, Venice,
and Spain were celebrated for their productions in point lace, which were much in vogue with
the wealthy, and used also for ecclesiastical purposes; its costliness, however, led to the gradual
adoption of pillow lace, the invention of which has been ascribed by Beckmann to Barbara
Uttmann, of St. Annaberg, in Saxony, about the year 1561. He states that the Saxon annalists
are unanimous in naming her the inventress of this art. If such is the case, it is remarkable that
Germany has never been particularly celebrated for its pillow lace, the most valuable specimens
of which were manufactured in Planders in the second half of the 16th and during the 17th
century. Beckmann says that, in the account given of the establishment in Prance of the lace
manufacture under Colbert in 1666, no mention is made but of points; but if the making of
pillow lace was not uncommon in England in the year 1613, when Shakspeare wrote his " Twelfth
Night," in which he describes the process — and was certainly practised both in Devon and
Buckinghamshire in the years 1617 and 1624 — it is highly improbable that the art should not
have been introduced into Prance from Planders before the second half of the century. Flemish
lace has always sustained its high reputation, and entered largely in the costume of the beaux and
belles of the 18th century in this country.
LACE, BY Y. WASHER,
BRUSSELS.
\ PRIZE MEDAL was awarded by the International Jury to Mr. Washer for his "real and
-^*- imitation lace articles, for good assortment, effective style, and cheapness." We have been
enabled to give an illustration of his productions through the kindness of Mr. Blaekborne, who
purchased some of Mr. Washer's finest goods.
The best Brussels lace is noted for its extraordinary fineness and beauty of design. It is
made of flax grown in the neighbourhood of Hal and Bebecque, and is classed usually under two
heads; viz. Brussels plait, and point. The point lace is made entirely with the needle, and the
plait on a pillow, resembling Honiton lace in character. In former days, when Mechlin and
Brussels lace was left as an heirloom from mother to daughter, the manufacture was confined to
lace made of the very finest flax obtainable, the ground being real or pillow lace made in narrow
strips of from one to three inches wide, which were afterwards fine-joined, so as to render the
junction imperceptible. This minute work was naturally very costly, and trimming-lace four inches
in width often cost ten guineas a yard, and veils from twenty-five to a hundred guineas each.
Of late years the beautiful net produced by machinery at Nottingham has been largely used as a
ground, on which the flowers or designs made by hand are sewn: this is known as Brussels
" applique," and its resemblance to the old point is so great as frequently to deceive the best
judges. This kind, owing to its moderate cost in comparison with the old point lace, has found
a great demand, in England especially. The makers of Brussels lace are divided into special
classes:—1. those who make the flowers, &c, in plait; 2. in point; 3. the real ground; 4. the
ground of the flowers; 5. the attacheuses (fasteners); 6. those who apply on the net; 7. those
who work the point, and the new kind of real Brussels "gase point." With the exception of
point d'Alencon, made in the north of Prance, Brussels produces the most valuable lace known.
Mechlin lace is made at Mechlin and Antwerp; it is all made in one piece on the pillow,
and its peculiarity consists in a plait thread surrounding the outlines of the flowers and designs,
so as to give an appearance of embroidery. Valenciennes lace, since 1835, is mostly made at
Tpres, which town, however, produces also the lace known as Ypres, made on the finest square
ground of unusual size; it is estimated that over 20,000 workpeople in and around Ypres are
employed in lace-making. Bruges, Menin, Grammont, Ghent, and Alost are also famous for their
laces. As regards the designs of lace-work, Mr. Birkin, from whose report in 1851 we have
condensed the above notice, states, in 1862, that " the Belgian artists understand both how to
produce beautiful and effective designs, and to adapt them to the special sort of lace articles for
which they are intended, besides knowing how they should economically and effectively be carried
out; considerations not understood, or mostly lost sight of, by some designers. Notwithstanding
the fame that Belgian lace manufacturers have obtained for the rich and artistic products formerly
exhibited, the numerous valuable and intrinsically good articles now exposed, for style, taste, and
exquisite work, surpass those of all previous exhibitions."
The manufacture of point lace, which indeed is in some respects only a fine kind of embroidery,
is of unknown origin, but is, doubtless, of great antiquity. In the 16th century, Genoa, Venice,
and Spain were celebrated for their productions in point lace, which were much in vogue with
the wealthy, and used also for ecclesiastical purposes; its costliness, however, led to the gradual
adoption of pillow lace, the invention of which has been ascribed by Beckmann to Barbara
Uttmann, of St. Annaberg, in Saxony, about the year 1561. He states that the Saxon annalists
are unanimous in naming her the inventress of this art. If such is the case, it is remarkable that
Germany has never been particularly celebrated for its pillow lace, the most valuable specimens
of which were manufactured in Planders in the second half of the 16th and during the 17th
century. Beckmann says that, in the account given of the establishment in Prance of the lace
manufacture under Colbert in 1666, no mention is made but of points; but if the making of
pillow lace was not uncommon in England in the year 1613, when Shakspeare wrote his " Twelfth
Night," in which he describes the process — and was certainly practised both in Devon and
Buckinghamshire in the years 1617 and 1624 — it is highly improbable that the art should not
have been introduced into Prance from Planders before the second half of the century. Flemish
lace has always sustained its high reputation, and entered largely in the costume of the beaux and
belles of the 18th century in this country.