Collectors of antique laces are always searching for a lace that is rare and tells a story. Many are ready to rescue laces that have out-lived their usefulness - for the opportunity of expanded knowledge they offer. It is recommended you keep a constructed lace - such as an accessory or garment - whole, even if there is damage. That will help future owners to learn some critical information about it.
When you go to a lace convention or congress, the laces for sale in the salesroom have already been identified and evaluated to some extent. You have to trust your own lace identification books, your experience, and that the vendors are well-informed. However, there is often a question of age. There are many very convincing laces that are reproductions -especially those made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that are copies of earlier laces. Memos in our archives have been telling us about some of these. What is a collector to do? Dr. Laurie Waters of Lace News has just invested $600 U.S. to put a tiny thread from one of her laces that is clearly illustrated in Le Pompe, Volume 2, 1560, through the process of carbon-14 dating. The process and results are in a 6-page article in the just-received OIDFA Bulletin - Number 2 - 2017 (April/May/June). If you are not a member of OIDFA, please make an effort to read this article. Our international lace community needs more collecting novices. Why? Because sometimes you ask questions about things those of us who have been collecting for a long time have never considered. In the future there will be more opportunities to use scientific processes and advanced methods to expand our knowledge. Scientists will develop something that is more accurate than carbon-14 dating. How exciting this is to imagine! This is the kind of information to keep in mind when inquisitive people ask questions about old laces whilst you are demonstrating lace making. If there is a young scientist in your family, this is something to share with them. Science may have never been of interest to you. The point is - Laurie's article has been written very clearly and not over our heads. It deserves acknowledgements like this memo, and it deserves attention. It is something you might like to discuss at a lace guild meeting, or write about in your guild newsletter. A newsletter is supposed to be about news. This is news. Please keep this information in your lace detectives file. Another subject in the file would be about X-raying very old garments for hidden treasures inside seams and between linings: a new practice yielding interesting developments, including bits of metal laces that were not harvested by people of more recent generations recapturing gold embellishments - called drizzling or parfilage - for financial gain. They didn't imagine there was any gold deep inside clothing. We now know differently, and this helps people doing reconstructions. Very slowly - lace detectives are learning more about lace. Knowing about the beginnings of bobbin and needle laces, how they were made and used, is as basic as A B C. We are at the X Y Z. A lot has happened that was not documented. We are challenged to fill in the blanks. If you wish to share this information with your guilds, please write to Lace at Arachne, where Laurie Waters can experience your interest. She does not know I am writing about her research, and I know very few articles in Lace Bulletins are acknowledged by readers. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/