Needlecrafts (5 results)

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Herrschner Needlecrafts Catalog 84 by Herrschner Needlecrafts. Published by Frederick Herrschner Co, Chicago, IL, 1950's (Pre Zip Codes). Edition Not Stated. Paperback. No DJ. Oblong. Condition: Nr Fine. 40 Pgs. Reference source to needlecrafts. Catalog includes: kits for crochet, knit, embroidery, weaving, hooking, doll, and more; and needlecraft accessories, equipment, books and notions. Newspaper print catalog includes color and black and white photographs and illustrations, full description of items plus prices. Description text copyright 2006 BooksForComfort. Item ID 12330. book.

Staple Bound. Condition: Good.

Magazine. Condition: Good. Prompt Shipment, shipped in Boxes, Tracking PROVIDED4TO, 38 pgs, includes patterns for projects, 2 February 1995 Subscription ONLY.

Magazine. Condition: Good. Prompt Shipment, shipped in Boxes, Tracking PROVIDED4TO, 38 pgs, includes patterns for projects, 1 January 1995 Subscription ONLY.

An unusually large and impressively presented sampler album of the type produced by students at the conclusion of their training, demonstrating in miniature their mastery of techniques acquired across a range of handcrafts. Pieces here cover dressmaking, knitting, embroidery, crochet and lace-making. Mlle De Smecht's work, which is arrayed panoramically across close to 6 metres, is of exquisite quality. Rather than the doll-scale examples of plain sewing produced by working-class students under the Lancasterian monitiorial system, both the presentation and the content here would seem to identify this as the work of young bourgeoise, most likely from her name a Belgian from the region south west of Brussels. The album itself is a rather massive and stolidly decorative piece, the elaborate gilt title "plaque" fastened to the front cover of what may have been an off-the-peg album or portfolio case with what appear to be brass upholstery studs. However, from the first opening there is nothing workmanlike about the contents. The initial piece is probably the most complex, a fully lined cloak just 370 mm from the front of the hood to the hem, the arc of which is around 440 mm. Made from very pale purple cotton printed with a pale purple pattern of leaf sprigs dotted with tiny white berries, it has been gathered at the crown, neck- and hem-line and pleated along the sides, the stitches as throughout minuscule and precise. The next "page" carries a rectangular piece of black and white gingham, apparently entirely unworked. Examination from the reverse reveals that two areas that have been slit and then"invisibly"mended, patched from behind, any stitching through to the front being visible only through a close lens. The monochrome grid pattern would be unforgiving to all but the most bravura stitch-work. Following leaves carry examples of her tapestry and knitting, among them a tiny striped stocking and a cleverly waisted skirt with scalloped hem. A sequence of beautifully crafted miniature garments follows showing increasingly elaborate construction and decorative detail; a fichu edged with impressively fine lace; a petticoat millimetrically gathered at the waist, pin-tucks and a band of decorative fagoting toward the hem; a delightfully cleanly-executed plain half-placket shirt with accompanying separate collar; a yoke night-dress with short, lace-trimmed ruched sleeves, hem with five crisp pin tucks overlain with lace panels, the neck closure a minuscule button and loop; and perhaps the most spectacular, a pleated surplice, with lace at the neckline, cuffs, and a broad band around the hem. The sewn section concludes with a double page sample sheet exhibiting various sorts of seams, including different styles of fagoting or bridging, together with variant buttonholes, De Smecht's initials are embroidered in red at the foot. The following two pages showcasing her incredibly fine knitting in cotton include a glove just 80 mm from cuff to tip of the middle finger, and a slightly bizarre double-ended sock demonstrating two different ways to close the toe, one end embellished with an entirely impractical but very decorative tassel. The final few pages concentrate on displaying a range of crochet and lace work, one page with seven complex designs for doilies, the others with numerous small, dextrously worked designs for lace trims and crocheted medallions. Overall the album represents a superb exemplar of a "masterpiece" produced by a particularly talented and assiduous student. Mlle De Smecht's album was purchased from a Parisian antiquaire in the early 1950s, and has been held in the same private collection until very recently. Folio (445 x 330 mm). Seventeen leaves of strong blue paper joined and backed with matching linen, bound in leporello-style, carrying 57 pinned and tacked in samples. Contemporary quarter calf "presentation" binding, reddish grey pebble-grain cloth sides, front with centrally mounted dark greyish red calf bevelled panel lettered as per title within decorative frame, brass corner bosses, surrounded by strong reddish orange morocco border with gilt trefoil panel; textured white moiré lining, ribbon ties lacking. Spine scuffed, worn and chipping at the tail, corners bumped, overall the binding shows light wear and soiling, front pastedown soiled and slightly oxidized, spine lining creased and flaking; mounted samples dusty but without traces of moth or heavy soiling; remains an impressive exemplar, very good.