It is impossible to judge of lace from a mere picture of pretty and artistic drapery, or from portraits of great personages wearing lace collars or dress trimmings. Lace in pictures has, in the first place, been interpreted by the painter, and no pencil or brush can show more than the general effect. The stitches in the toilé, or ground of needle-point lace, amount sometimes to several thousand in every square inch; and the almost incredible fineness of the twists in the réseau of pillow laces makes identification very difficult, unless it is founded on observation of actual portions of the fabric. It can hardly be contested that, apart from some generally accepted deductions as to design and time of execution, the chief means of judging lace correctly lies in studying the toilé or clothing, and the groundwork of meshes or réseau. To assist in this, many of the examples of my lace in their actual size, and in some cases greatly enlarged photographs, are given. I have illustrated and described only fabrics which, if not in my possession, have actually come under my observation, such as the two ancient albs of Eastern design, which, although hitherto unnoticed by Italian writers on lace, may, I think, claim to have formed a very interesting link between the Coptic or Egypto-Roman design, and that of the early Italian lace. To aid in a judgment on this point, I also illustrate some designs from early Coptic tombs. The pre-Reformation "Pyx Veil" of needle-point linen work or tela tirata remains the property of the parish of Hessett in Suffolk. It is a supremely interesting object and unique, as far as I know, in the way it is worked. I therefore give two illustrations of it among the early sixteenth-century linen laces. The period to which I confine my treatment of this art prevents my giving any account of the very successful and extensive revival of lace-making which has taken place all over Europe during the last sixty years. Italy, France, and Great Britain have already some hundreds of lace centres, while, from Denmark to Madagascar, Sweden to Ceylon, I have specimens of most excellent and praiseworthy industries. That these, as well as the very beautiful fabrics made now by lace machines, may prosper, must be the wish of all--and I believe that to study more and more carefully the models of the past will be the secret of success. I classify lace as needle-point and bobbin-point. Numerous varieties occur in each, but I will only mention the three chief divisions I make in each class. The three chief kinds of needle-point, "Trine ad Ago," are: 1. Lacis (or Modano) and Buratto work. (_See_ Plates 8, 11, 17.) I include also under Lacis those varieties which are called in Italy Sfilature, as the ancient specimens are, I find, usually worked on a foundation of knotted lacis. _See_ Plate 7. 2. Linen lace, comprising reticello work and tela tirata. _See_ Plates 14, 19, 25.