Examples of False Principles of Decoration

1852: "This candlestick was included in the display of 'Examples of False Principles of Decoration' held at Marlborough House, Pall Mall in 1853 and described as follows:

'No.87 Candlestick in the style of Louis XV
Observations - An example of the extreme faults of this style; symmetrical arrangement being rejected as a principle, and structured form disregarded, the whole appears the result of chance rather than design. The base is formless, confused and too heavy for the stem, which is in turn structurally broken in two places; the socket has no determinate form, and does not correspond to the cup inserted into it; all that is obtained by this sacrifice of structural and ornamental principles, is the mere glitter of metal.'

Henry Cole and other design reformers of the 19th century believed that museums could be 'antidotes to brutality and vice' and could serve to improve people's tastes and morals. The desire to improve the taste of the public was a strong one in this period as a response to the social problems linked with industrialisation and the perceived decline in British standards of manufacturing and design." Link

Pope & Plante

1851: "Stockings were essential items in everyone's wardrobe. The desire to mass-produce knitted hose spurred technological development, starting with the invention of the stocking frame in the late 16th century and the circular frame in the early 19th century.

This stocking was almost certainly a special product for the Great Exhibition. An inscription is unusual in a commercially made garment at this date, but it shows the many different shapes and patterns that the company's knitting machines could produce. The words may be adapted from the Bible: 'Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren...' (1 Pet. 3:8)." Link
This stocking features two colours of silk, a black leg and foot with a white toe and welt. The addition of 'clocks' (patterns worked at the ankle) and decorative patterning in women's stockings was typical in the 19th century.

The inclusion of the manufacturer's name and motto in the knitted pattern were special additions for the purpose of the exhibition. Normally the manufacturer was indicated by maker's marks or initials." Link

Chatelaine

1810-1820: " Gold and gilt metal, embossed, cast and chased; bloodstone egg, with enamelled mounts; rock crystal seal. During the 18th century, a fashionable woman wore from her belt a 'chatelaine', or, as it was then known, a 'chain' or 'equipage'. From the chatelaine might hang a range of different objects: a watch, seals, a box for a thimble, or an 'étui' containing sewing, writing or cosmetic implements." Link

Lady's Archery Score Kit

1850-1860: "This is a lady's scoring kit for archery. These usually hung from a lady archer's belt together with a quiver, a spare string, and sometimes a purse containing shillings. Three golds (arrows in the centre) entitled a competitor to receive a shilling from each opponent.

The kit has three parts: The acorn-shaped cup or pot contained grease (a mixture of mutton fat and tallow) which help the finger protectors or shooting glove slide more easily off the bowstring.

The pricker is the tubular object with a sharp pointed stiletto used for marking scores onto the card disc which holds a circular replaceable printed paper bulls-eye card with circles in gold, red, white, black and blue. Players scored nine for gold, seven for red, five for blue three for black and one for white." Link

Jessie Newbery

1900: "Newbery believed design the most important element in her work. Despite being highly stylised, her patterns are based on her lifelong interest in botany. Each element was reduced to a geometrical, almost abstract, shorthand which helped evolved the Glasgow style." Link

Extraordinary Commonplaces

"Commonplace" is a translation of the Latin term locus communis which means "a theme or argument of general application", such as a statement of proverbial wisdom. Scholars have expanded this usage to include any manuscript that collects material along a common theme by an individual. Link

Not a dull or trite book, as the usual sense of ‘commonplace’ would suggest, but a writer's notebook in which interesting ideas and quotations are collected for further reflection and possible future use. Link Whenever they came across a pithy passage, they copied it into a notebook under an appropriate heading, adding observations made in the course of daily life. Link

This is an album of watercolours, sketches and prints by various artists, accompanied by handwritten copies of poems and extracts from letters. Link

Mosaic or Honeycomb Quilt

1870: Quilters follow artistic patterns based on tradition and their own inherent skill. This mosaic or honeycomb quilt was an elegant one made of silk and velvet sewn onto a black background. Link

Pin cushion

19th century: Wool needlepoint and velvet pin cushion. Measures 4 1/4" x 3 1/2". Filled with white cotton rags.

For Sale: Antique Embroidered Panel

Approximately 1860: 46"x 70" Silk based thread on cotton background. Link

For Sale: Majolica Revisited

1850-1899: Majolica, tree trunk pattern with flowing dogwoods. About 10+1/2 inches tall. Link

Life Before Television

Turn off your flat screen television and get lost in 17th, 18th and 19th century optical entertainment. Link

For Sale: Zoology of New York or The New York Fauna, Part II, Birds

1844: Hand colored lithographs; 8.5" x 11.5".
The images of the birds were painted by John W. Hill and lithographed and hand colored by the Endicott firm of New York. Link

Whitework

Early 19th century: 15 1/2 x 15 1/2 (39.4 x 39.4 cm)
Whitework sampler floral design with scalloped edges. See detail here: Link

Toying with Japan

"1877-1942: The Ningyo-Do Bunko Database has released a collection of more than 100 albums of late 19th to early 20th century watercolour sketches of toy designs. All the images of the toy designs can be found from the sixty albums in the Kyosen Guangucho section of the website." Link

(Link and info via BibliOdyssey)

The Warping Room

"1862-1963: The Warping Room of a Textile Mill at Columbia, South Carolina" Link

Steamer taking on ice, in Taku Bay

"1895: Wilson, Veazie. Photograph album of Alaskan views." Link

Ice Falling from a Lofty Berg

"1862: After icebergs with a painter : a summer voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland / by Louis L. Noble." Link

Embroidered Boa

"1802: Written on border: "Boa phrigia (East Indies)." Link

Linens

"undated: Linen bedsheet with embroidered initials, made by Esther Stoddard Edwards, accompanied by 19th century note about the sheet." Link

Society of Blue and White Needlework

"The emphasis in the Society of Blue and White Needlework was on hand production in a home as opposed to mass production in a factory setting. The Society, founded in 1896, eventually employed as many as thirty women annually. The New York Evening Post reported in 1897 that, "the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework is in perfect harmony with its environment: it is colonial and puritan, it is artistic, it is loyal to its traditions, patriotic, and there is not another like it." Link