In a message dated 11/1/06 8:58:53 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Have just received a lace book which I bought on Ebay. It's really > great and I had never seen it before. I note that it had previously > been the property of the Vancouver Island Regional Library :) > > It's called "Traditional Lace Making" by Sally JOHANSON, 1964; ISBN 0 > 442 30037 9. A lovely hardback of some 85 pp of beautiful designs. > > David in Ballarat Dear David, I believe the last time we discussed this book on Arachne was 2003. The lacemakers who corresponded were located on 3 continents. One letter came from a Japanese member, Rieko, telling that she bought the book in a secondhand bookshop. The book was published in Japan in 1983. This inspired me to write (in 2003) to Lena Dahren, presently a Vice President of OIDFA, who lives in Stockholm, Sweden. She wrote to me that Sally Johanson is still a legend in Sweden. Her book was translated to Japanese, Finnish, Flemish, and English. Miss Johanson was Dahren's boss for many years, so she sent info to be shared on Arachne, which I shared then and share below. ---------- "Miss Sally Johanson started working for the bobbin lace renewal in Sweden in 1936. You must realize she worked out of the Swedish point of view, which is a very small 'lace country' compared to England, Belgium, France, etc. but by the location in the far north, still having old traditions of freehand lace, etc. "The book 'Knyppling' is a development of the teaching/learners book 'Handledning i knyppling" written 1940-1950. 'Knyppling' written in 1963-4 was written for Swedish educational purposes. "When I started working with Miss Johanson in 1976 the English transaltion was in the drawers of the persons who might need to correspond with English-speaking people, but Miss Johanson was not happy with the translation. Why? I do not know, she never said. We were told it was a 'bad translation'. "Miss Johanson was a person who never, ever showed off her knowledge. She would never ever say she was the best, or that her knowledge was of any kind better than anyone else. I would not say she was shy, but she never put herself in the frontline. The fact that she was elected as President of OIDFA, is that she was elected, not because of her own nomination - she would never have nominated herself. "The text that I understand has been seen as insulting has to be the text of an editor or translator. Translation of books is a hazard, as it is not the original writers who do it, and as Miss Johanson did not speak any other language than Swedish, she could not read and check the text. "The editor of a translated originally Swedish unknown book needs to shout out that this unknown author is worthy of reading. The fact that Miss Johanson never agreed with the English translation of her book might be that the editor/translator, or who ever it was, had written that 'she was the best'. It was something she never would have said herself. "Miss Sally Johanson was born 1915. She was a trained weaving teacher who started to work within the Swedish handicraft movement 1936, with bobbin lace as her specialty. She died 1984." -------- David, You may want to print out the above information to place in your book. I note that my copy was purchased in the small town of Stonehaven, Scotland, in 2001. Christine Riley was owner of that shop, and was getting ready to close it. She is listed in the book as one of 3 shops in Great Britain that sold bobbins and thread. I (Jeri) find the paragraph under "Suppliers, Great Britain" quite interesting - as will today's lacemakers in that country: "No manufacturer or importer of lace pillows in Great Britain can at present be traced. It is hoped that this situation will soon be remedied, but in the meantime readers are recommended to make their own pillows. The Swedish Lace-Making Association will provide any equipment not otherwise available........" This was in the 1964 edition!!! We have much progress to celebrate!! Miss Johanson may have been shy, but we are most fortunate to have her as a significant lace celebrity. Johanson was a founding member of OIDFA, and the first President of that organization. You can Google search "Sally Johanson, OIDFA", for more information. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
