The discussion of the lace of Dagobert Peche reminded me of the first time I had seen a reproduction of a work by him. About ten years ago I did volunteer work at the local library's Used Book Sale. I noticed a novel which had, on its dust-jacket, an image described as "Back of nude female figure with garlands of leaves, 1924 by Dagobert Peche". I bought the book, xeroxed the dust jacket and read this difficult book, expecting to find a reference to lacemaking somewhere in the text. There was none. It was baffling. So I re-donated the book to the book sale, but kept the xerox. Recently, while researching the origins of contemporary lacemaking at the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago, I saw "my" picture again, this time in a book showing fabric, lace and wallpaper designs by Dagobert Peche. So--back to the suburban library, which had one copy of the book, titled The Restorationist ,by Joyce Elbrecht.&nbs p; I borrowed it and read it again, hoping to find what I had missed previously (I DO NOT RECOMMEND this book, whose structure and plot are unusual in the extreme).The difference is, I originally saw the lace simply as lace, a figure intertwined with leaves, surrounded by an unusual lacy ground. The book's author saw it as an ILLUSTRATION. The "author character (psycheme) presents herself as part of the book's plot: (p.10): "This is the plan:As if installing a full-length glass, I'll stand here like this, wholly exposed for your inspection. let you see off and on precisely where I am and what I'm all about..."And (p. 152) "Pressed against the glass wall...I squint into the darkness outside...My arms reach up and my fingernails scratch the glass as if I wish to climb out...Tree branches darken your table..."--- Doris O'Neill--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.
- To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
