It is evident that the French word "dentelle," which is a comprehensive term for laces, came from the "dents," or tooth-shaped borders and edges of lace made soon after the beginning of the sixteenth century. At the same time, there had been during two centuries earlier, a fashion of jagging or cutting into points or scallops the borders of cloth silk and velvet costumes, gowns, hoods, and long sleeves. But when the notably increased use of linen shirts, with cuffs and small collars just showing beyond the outer garments occurred in the sixteenth century, white and coloured thread purlings and taut fringings or edgings were made for them, and so came to be called "points," "dents" and "punti" as the cut borders of cloth costumes had been. The latter fashion gradually obscured the former, and thus the terms "point," "dent," and "punto" were almost solely applied to ornamentation in real lace or in lace-like fabrics. In still later times, as you notice, point lace is generally understood to be the designation of needle-point lace, or "dentelle à l'aiguille," as distinct from the "dentelle au fuseau," bobbin or pillow-made lace. I have been tempted to touch upon this matter of lace points, vandykes, and scallops because the border of the alb, said to have been worn by Pope Boniface VIII., consists of scallops of bobbin-made thread-work, and of a type of pattern and texture which I should say cannot very well be earlier in date than the middle of the sixteenth century. On the other hand, the ornamental thread-work done in "punto di treccia" and "punto a stuora," which fills large and small squares and remarkable five-sided figures, seems to have some Saracenic or Moorish character, and may possibly not be assignable to the sixteenth century with the same cogency of inference as applies to the scallops of Italian "merletti a piombini" on the border of the alb. Whatever may be the result of further inquiries concerning the tradition of Pope Boniface having worn this alb, and therefore establishing its date as being late thirteenth century, I hope that you will retain it as an illustration in your book. Whilst the majority of your photographs are from generally well-known varieties of lace, those from the earlier drawn thread-works and darning upon different makes of square mesh, net, or grounds of radiating, intertwisted threads, are particularly interesting--and the entire series, accompanied by your descriptions, forms a most valuable encyclopædia of designs and textures to be seen in laces and cognate fabrics. Believe me to be, Yours very truly, ALAN S. COLE. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE BY MR. A. COLE v INTRODUCTION 3 GLOSSARY 9 NEEDLEPOINT LACE 21 BOBBIN-MADE LACE 43 INDEX 55 LIST OF PLATES PLATE I. The Alb, preserved at Assisi, said to have been worn by St. Francis