Hello, Laurie... I was really interested in what you said about the seller who attributed certain bobbins to specific bobbin makers. I agree that the Springetts have contributed tremendously to our body of knowledge about antique bobbins.
My undergraduate degree is in Art History, and there is no doubt at all that many works, which are well known and admired (worldwide), are attributed to major artists of the time, but are not absolutely attributed to the artist. Many artists had followers who faithfully followed the style of the master, and so there is another tier of works which are "after the style of...". The same *could* be true of bobbins. But I really doubt that the value of bobbins in their day were worth the trouble to have "schools in the style of...". Which brings me to the most important point (IMO) in your message... that (hopefully just a few) modern bobbin makers are capable of forging copies of old bobbins. THIS, I believe, is entirely possible. Bone is the essential ingredient, and a reasonably turned bobbin can then be subjected to assorted chemicals and dyes, and similarly "modified" beads can be attached with chemically "aged" wires... resulting in a bobbin that looks to be 100 years old. I have no proof, and I dare say that you don't either. But considering how many people are collecting old bobbins, and how many old lacemakers existed 150 years ago... it doesn't take a giant leap to question whether all of these "antiques" are really so.... Sigh... This is, indeed, an ugly side of what is a wonderful hobby. But I agree with you that collectors should be very cautious about the claims that are made by unknown sellers. Still, I agree that the term, "attributed to", is much more accurate and appropriate, even when we want to hear the absolute!! Clay -- Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA USA -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Laurie Waters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > There is a nice bone bobbin on ebay 220138516687 which is attributed to maker > David Haskins. The seller has several other bobbins up for sale attributed to > specific old makers. I just wrote to her asking how she could be so sure of > the maker, and she said that she's relying on the Springett book "Success to > the Lace Pillow". An excellent work, and I'm sure the Springetts have done > their work very well. I haven't looked in detail at their description, but > I'm > sure the seller has. But I have a larger question. > Bobbins aren't signed and she seems to be guessing that this is a Haskins > bobbin based on the Springett book. Shouldn't this item, and similar ones, be > marked as 'in the style of Haskins', with the Springett book given as a > reference? Or something like that? It may be a perfect attribution for all I > know, but then again it might be someone copying Haskins or a modern > reproduction - fakers can be extremely clever. Without a more specific > provinance, I don't see how this attribution can be listed. > I'd like opinions before writing to her again, or maybe even to Ebay > officials. This isn't the first seller that I have seen do this. > Thanks, > Laurie > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
