Point de Gaze Brussels Needle Lace for Collectors and Lacemakers By Elizabeth M. Kurella, Self-published, 2017, 168 pages, Soft Cover, $30; ISBN 978-1-5323-2923-4
Use Subject line of this Review to find on eBay. Or, write to _www.lacemerchant.com_ (http://www.lacemerchant.com) address, which has not yet been updated to include a photo of this book. You may also find this review under Book Reviews at http://www.nelg.us/ , with a photo of cover. ----------- The first book of 2017 to arrive at the Lace and Embroidery Resource Center is one that will be welcomed by lace collectors and curators, historians, and costume experts. Did you ever wonder why more people do not know how to identify lace? Elizabeth Kurella's special brand of lace identification insight informs each book she has written. She counsels it is technique, not design, that provides the means of identifying specific types of lace, which leads to the assertion that as soon as a set of designs became popular, they were copied in whatever technique was available, including machine. To explain the title of this book: Brussels needle lace was a precursor to the Point de Gaze developed in about 1850, and manufactured until the early 1900s: a span of about 50 glorious years for this lace before machine-made laces finally won the lace "battle". Judging from current auction offerings, quite a lot of this stylish needle lace is still available. It is one of those laces that, at its finest, can (when closely studied) make one forget to breathe. To those who claim to be lace experts, it is of importance to have the ability to differentiate between Point de Gaze (Belgian) and other refined European laces, such as Alençon/Argentan/Point de France (French), and Burano/Point de Venise (Italian). It is doubtful most people have ever considered the variety of Point de Gaze laces produced. Kurella has separated Point de Gaze into liberally illustrated chapters: o Recognizing (and making) o Classic flat o With layers of petals o With special effects o Novelties o With no mesh o Blends and hybrids o Very special o Appendix: Plauen Museum folio Photo captions generally include descriptions rather than simply names, because there was never a single authority that assigned names to types of lace. As with all laces, the ability to personally touch it with your fingers and study both sides of these laces under magnification adds exponentially to knowledge. If you love the genteel needle-made laces of the past, this book teaches a lot about how to view and enhance your appreciation of all of them - in addition to Point de Gaze - using a method of study that Kurella has developed for her lace identification books. A combination of design, techniques and skills converge to create the finest-of-the-fine. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
