The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 363, December 11, 1886Various
General
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 363, December 11, 1886
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
There is a possibility that this memorial may be the means of reviving
the industry which has been so good a friend to the inhabitants;
and yet it is scarcely possible that it can ever compete with the
machine-made lace of Nottingham, which is comparatively cheap, and, to
the uneducated eye, scarcely to be distinguished from the hand-made
cushion lace. During the last thirty years the poor bobbin villages
would have starved on the ever-decreasing profits had not other
industries sprung up to give them work.
Many attempts have been made to give the pillow lace a fresh start,
a new life; but without any permanent good result. Standing out from
among many noble ladies who have made the attempt, is the Queen Carola
of Saxony, who has done her utmost to keep it going.
She maintains model bobbin schools, wherein children are taught the
industry under skilful supervision. It was she who gave the order to
the poor lace-makers for the bridal veil of the Princess Maria Josepha,
as well as for the lace dress.
It is the object in all the schools to ward off the threatened downfall
of the hand-made lace industry, by the production of patterns full of
taste and style; but this only goes a short way, the markets of the
world must do the rest.
Ladies might do much for the industry if they resolved to wear real
lace instead of cheap machine lace.
A committee of ladies in Vienna have already determined to do this,
which may be the beginning of better things.
Quite apart from its practical purpose of maintaining for the poor
mountaineers a branch of business peculiarly theirs, we must remember
that, should the cushion lace-making fail, an ancient and noble house
industry will have its fall—an industry which is even now able to
turn out beautiful works of art, worthy of high praise, one for whose
success three centuries have laboured.
The effect of this industry among the people who earn their bread by
it is to make them scrupulously clean; their huts have, as a rule, but
one floor, but the boards are always freshly scrubbed, the walls are
spotlessly whitewashed. The kitchen utensils, which are hung on the
walls, are like looking-glasses, so bright are they, and you would
look in vain for dust on the poor furniture of the little room.
The costly lace requires the most particular cleanliness, as well in
the lace-maker herself as in her surroundings.
The manners of these people are those bequeathed them by their
forefathers, and their work is carried on as in former days.
Even little children of four years old earn a few pence weekly at
the cushion towards the housekeeping, by making common wool lace. To
produce tasteful hand lace requires not only great patience, but also
such a high perfection in the art that it must be regularly practised
from childhood, and this explains the reason of such young children
being placed at the cushion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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