"Old Lace & Linens, including Crochet: Identification and Value Guide" by
Maryanne Dolan Copyright 1989 by Books Americana
Apologies in advance if the author is on the list, or if anyone knows her.
I am by no means an expert and don't normally have the qualifications to
critique lace books. In a niche field such as ours, the efforts of all
lacemakers to produce, record and promote our craft are most welcome.
Information is always gratefully received and I learn something from
everyone.
However, since a quick Google search turned up lots of copies of this title
and others by the same author, I would want others to be forewarned. This
is an incredibly poorly written book. The narrative section is full of
typos, opinions and inaccuracies, and makes it difficult to trust any of the
information. I could give examples, but really don't want to spend the time
on it. The bulk of the book is comprised of photographs, none with sources,
and many looking suspiciously like photos I've seen in Dover and similar
publications or in old mail order catalogues. It's pretty obvious she
didn't take many of them herself, and reprehensible that she didn't credit
the sources (or likely get permission). Some photo captions do credit the
creators of the work photographed, but most don't.
One photo has a comment that: "Most of the needlework owned by this
collector [presumably the author] was made by her mother, so it can be dated
accurately." That may well be the case - if so it's an amazing output for
one needlewoman in a fair range of techniques - but pretty unbelievable when
you look at the book. The prices for many items also don't make sense to
me, but without more information are hard to refute.
According to the book, Maryanne Dolan in 1989 was an educator based in
California who also had an antique shop and led antique tours in the British
Isles and California. I didn't turn up any recent information on her using
Google, but didn't look very hard either. Books Americana is I believe a
vanity press - more reputable publishers would have found this book
problematic.
Enough said - don't bother buying this one. I'm pretty sure I picked up my
copy cheaply somewhere, at least I hope I did as I'd hate to have spent real
money on it! (original price $10.95 US) Caveat emptor.
JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, hosting the Canada Winter Games
February 23- March 10, 2007 - held north of 60 for the first time - with
lots of fresh snow, cold temperatures, and more daylight each day .
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