Devon is doing research on lace-related textiles from 1970s to today.  However, there has been  correspondence this week that makes me realize some of our weaving scholars might like the following information which took a long time to research in 2016 for Kim Davis at The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale California.  It was to be used at a conference, and focused on the Silkwomen of the 1400s - women who were in business in London.   Weaving, Fingerlooping and Braiding are categories in my library that fall under the 1,000 books about Related Subjects (to Lace and Embroidery).  Being outrageously biased, I think this is a - dream - library.
Some interesting references for those interested in early textile history:  1.  Weavers:  Before there was lace, clothing was embellished with very fancy braids of silk and gold and cords were used to tie sections of clothing together, also woven with gold.  Illustrated in the 2008 art book - Merchants, Princes and Painters - Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings 1300-1550, by Lisa Monnas (Yale Press).  Vibeke Ervo recommended this to me shortly before her unexpected death.  There is a chapter on cloth of gold, which struck my fancy.  (Queen Mary, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, wore a magnificent cloth of gold gown and cream-colored Youghal needle lace court train lined with the gold and attached at her shoulders, to the 1911 Durbar at Delhi.  Photos are in Youghal Lace - the Craft and the Cream, by Earnshaw )  I was interested in early development of Gold Thread, and bought the Monnas book for information on 2 pages in Appendix 2, pp. 299-300 !  2.  Figures in Silk, 2009, by Vanora Bennett, is a comfortable to read work of fiction, based on history.  Bibliography is a non-fiction must have for those interested in the subject.  3.  Tak V Bowes Departed: A 15th Century Braiding Manual Examined - search for it.  There is a 2006 paperback book.  4.  http://fingerloop.org/ is an interesting free site.  I copied it years ago, and put in a binder in my library.  5.  SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) members will find a vast amount of research materials available about pre-17th century Europe.  www.sca.org  6.  Perhaps one of our Arachne members knows the present (contemporary) braiding expert in England, Jacqui Carey (of her 10 books, I have 7).  She may have published some 1400s research, though I know her mostly for the Elizabethan period and Kumihimo.  https://www.careycompany.com/  7.  The Mercery of London: Trade, Goods and People, 1130-1578 by Anne F. Sutton (2005).  8.  Heavy reading from Sutton, but some may find the research of value: http://www.richardiii.net/downloads/Ricardian/2006_vol16_two_dozen_silkwomen_ sutton.pdf  9.  This is an English language Italian Lace History site, which leads to other sites: http://world4.eu/italian-lace/#Guipure_lace_Parchment_lace  Have fun being a scholar !  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/
