Dear Devon and others interested in this subject, A reference that will be familiar to you is the portraits in "Antique Laces of the American Collectors" by Frances Morris and Marian Hague, segments of which were published over a period of years in the 1920's. There is a photo of a portrait of John Winthrop, who lived 1587 or 1588 to 1649. He was the first Governor of Massachusetts in 1629. (Google Gov. John Winthrop to learn more about his beliefs, and see portrait.) This portrait is believed to be a copy of the little ivory miniature painted in England. The lace appears to be a standing lace ruff with fine reticello points. A paragraph says: "American portraiture is a fruitful field of research, the many illustrations in that valuable publication of the Boston Athenaeum - "Portraits of the Founders" - furnish ample evidence to prove that a great deal of fine lace was brought into the country by its early settlers." The oldest embroidered sampler in America is at Plymouth and includes needlelace bands - made by the daughter of Myles Standish, Loara, in the 1620's. (Google Standish Sampler to see.) Being descended from the Aldens and Winslows that came here on the Mayflower, I know that within 10 years - the 1630's - there was The Great Migration from England, when many people of various classes and religious beliefs came here for various reasons. There is a great deal of information available about the Pilgrims available in Plymouth Massachusetts, if you wish to study this subject. I recommend study of historical costume books and historical art, which represents a fair portion of bookshelf space in my home. If a private citizen has the books, they should be available at public libraries. I HAVE read about yellow lace, but with so many books to choose from, it would take time to find references. Palliser would be one to check. Further, as to yellow lace, I warn often not to bleach lace because it may have a chemical reaction to residue of bleaches used in the past and turn lace a bright yellow. Perhaps our ancestors learned to do this with a variant of the whitening products they used at that time. It is nice to hear from members of this list who are interested in lace history. Jeri Ames Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
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