Liz wrote: <I have a couple of fine embroidered cards that my Grandfather sent to the family while he was over there in WWI. (I also have his silver Ypres campaign badge) The cards are so pretty. The embroidery is worked on a fine, gausey fabric. I believe they are now collectors Items.>
I have some of these too sent by my grandfather to my gradnmother. There are stories that the soliders embroidered them themselves, but this isn't so. They were made as a cottage industry. Ladies embroidered a strip of about 25 the same design at home to earn a few francs. They were then collected, cut up, mounted as cards, and sold to the soldiers. Many of the designs have the allied flags or colours of the flags embroidered on them somewhere and sometimes a date. Others are floral. They are collectors items, but mainy not very valuable. Because of their age most have brown spots on the card and most have messages written on, often in pencil because the ball point pen hadn't been invented and taking an ink pen onto the battlefield wasn't practical for the rank and file. The most sought after ones are like envelopes with a card inside and are most valuable provided there are no brown spots, the card is inside and none of it has been written on. They sell on ebay from GBP3.00 each upwards depending on the commonness of the design and condition. Heart-shaped straw-filled pincushions are another collectible of the time (also around during WW2 - one of my sergeant major uncles gave a red velvet one to his wife as a Valtentine gift). They're about 6 inches high and wide and decorated with pins stuck through glass beads, silk thread wound around the pins, and silk fringe pinned around the edge. They often have a poem or regimental badge printed on silk pinned into the design. They are supposed to have been made by the servicemen themselves, and I haven't read anything different anywhere. The sell for upwards of GBP25.00 for ones with the more elaborate designs. I've got two simpler ones. Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
