Re: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold
"Extract from "The Tablet of Memory" London 1787. p66. LACE - more valuable than gold - one ounce of fine Flanders thread has been sold in London for £1. Such an ounce made into Lace may be here sold for £40, which is ten times the price of standard gold, weight for weight." I have no idea who wrote the Tablet of Memory. I have never heard of that document, I must admit. Hi Liz and all online at ABC TV australia website Book - "The Tablet of Memory, shewing every memorable event in history from the Earliest Period to the Year 1792" by Philip Luckombe. Small book approx. 13cm x 8cm still with original binding. Printed for GGJ and J Robinson, in Pater-noster Row London. Date shown in Roman numerals M.DCC.XCII. and on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.ie/The-Tablet-of-Memory-1809-ed-good-HB_W0QQitemZ7015684474QQcategoryZ12570QQcmdZViewItem Jenny Brandis Brandis Computing Services PO Box 1525 Kununurra, WA 6743 Ph: 0408 811 398 fax: 08 9168 1002 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold
In 1970, when I was still quite a beginner at lacemaking, I took a class at the Textile Museum in Washington DC. I remember the teacher (the wife of the then-Ambassador from -- where? Gibraltar? the name escapes me) telling us that we should reckon on making an inch per hour (a square inch? a running inch?). I do think that 18th and 19th century lacemakers were indeed very poorly paid, and probably didn't earn more than whatever would have been the equivalent of the minimum wage. I remember reading that at one time lacemakers were being paid not in currency but in food! -- Aurelia She asked how long it takes to do a bit & I wasnt sure. are lacemakers so unskilled as to merit only a minimum wage? - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold
On the other hand, the hankie I am making now is Binche lace, and is an old pattern which has been reconstructed. I'm using very fine thread (140/2) and began working the lace on the day after Christmas, 2005. I have just (today!) turned the third corner. I estimate that I have worked a few hours a day (occasionally all day!) for an average of five days a week on this piece (yes... I'm obsessed!), and still have one full side and a corner to go. I'd say that I have worked on it at least 10 hours a week since the day after Christmas. Taking off two weeks for another project that got in the way, I'm going to say 20 weeks at 10 hours a week... That's 200 hours!! At $10/hour, that's $2000!! And remember - it's only 3/4 complete right now!! No wonder they called it the lace of Royalty!! Clay Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA Brenda Paternoster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: = UK minimum wage (assuming you are more than 21 years old) is 5.05 GBP per hour - so your hankie would "cost" more like 250GBP Brenda On 5 Jun 2006, at 19:16, Viv Dewar wrote: > I timed myself this weekend at 1.75hrs for 4cm. So assuming a “minimum > wage” of about GBP4.50/hour and allowing about £5 for yarn and the > simple cotton hankie to attach the lace to – my hankie should “cost” > about £210! Brenda http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/ - 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]
Re: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold
UK minimum wage (assuming you are more than 21 years old) is 5.05 GBP per hour - so your hankie would "cost" more like 250GBP Brenda On 5 Jun 2006, at 19:16, Viv Dewar wrote: I timed myself this weekend at 1.75hrs for 4cm. So assuming a “minimum wage” of about GBP4.50/hour and allowing about £5 for yarn and the simple cotton hankie to attach the lace to – my hankie should “cost” about £210! Brenda http://paternoster.orpheusweb.co.uk/ - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold
Not sure about gold but! I was talking to a non-lacemaker friend this weekend about my wedding hankie & how I get bored after a couple of hours. She asked how long it takes to do a bit & I wasnt sure. It made me think! The hankie is about 23cm square & the lace about 1.5cm wide. This means I need about 104cm (4x23 + 8x 1.5) I timed myself this weekend at 1.75hrs for 4cm. So assuming a minimum wage of about GBP4.50/hour and allowing about £5 for yarn and the simple cotton hankie to attach the lace to my hankie should cost about £210! Now I may not be the quickest lacer around (although I dont think Im slow!) and are lacemakers so unskilled as to merit only a minimum wage? In any case it makes you think, doesnt it! Wasnt the Bucks Point pattern called 3 penny spot named because thats what lacemakers earned per yard in the past ie about 3.5p/inch (or 2.5cm?) Can someone who knows some of the history stuff advise? Viv In Worcestershire where were on our 4th consecutive day of summer! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Barry & Joyce Moes Sent: 04 June 2006 02:05 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [lace] 8 Times its Weight in Gold Greetings Gentle Spiders, I am trying to put together some material for an Introduction to/ Demonstration of Bobbin Lace for our club. I seem to remember from arachne several years ago the statement that at one stage lace was worth up to 8 times its weight in gold. Could anyone help please with the source of this quote? Our club has some small scales used for dyes and fine threads. My little piece of silk Chantilly lace weighed 2 gm. The price of gold is over 600US$ an ounce, so if this figure(8 times) is correct, the value of my lace today is over 40 US$. I wanted to touch on some of the history of lace and why laws were passed to govern its use and sale. This tiny piece of lace sitting on the scales beside a portrait with a heavily ruffed collar would tell the story very succinctly, I thought. So if someone could give me a reference for this statement I would be most grateful. Thanks, Joyce Moes Lake Placid (Cairns) Australia [EMAIL PROTECTED] - 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]
