This evening I received the following email from Malcolm Welch: <Please read ,if you agree with complaint see below,then I request you remove your bids,I am not in the habbit of misleading you or anyone else,You are bidding on bone lace bobbins,When I started selling lace bobbins on the Ebay Site in 1998 ,it was in America,and I was told that bone bobbins were known as Ivory,so you go with the flow,an observer of my ebay site has complained,please see his comments below, regards Malcolm
I have asked the advice of members of the Arachne email list, which I am sure you will know is the on line forum for lace makers. I specifically asked for American feedback and they say that you are wrong, American people do distinguish between bone and ivory. I have complained to Ebay that you are falsely advertising and I hope you see fit to correctly identify your items in the future.> This is the reply I've sent: <Hello Malcolm I am aware that very few ivory bobbins were ever made. Bobbins are the working tools of lacemakers who could not afford such an exotic material as ivory. A few were made for well-to-do ladies, but not for working lacemakers. When I see ivory bobbins advertised on ebay, I assume they are bone, and that the seller is not aware of the difference. The most authoratitive book on the subject is "Success to the Lace Pillow " by David Springett, who says that he has never seen an ivory bobbin. Brian Lemin is also a respected authority on lace bobbins amongst lacemakers. I am concerned that some people may be mislead into thinking that they are buying ivory, but then ivory has very strict laws covering its sale. Anything made of ivory must have assurances that it was made before the present ban on new ivory goods was imposed, and if people believe they are buying ivory without this certification, then as far as I'm concerned they deserve all they get. I'm surprised that Customs and Excise hasn't picked up on the number of so-called ivory items offered for sale on ebay. I don't know what the position in the US is, but in this country we have the Trade Descriptions Act which states that goods offered for sale must be "as described". I am a member of Arachne, and we try to encourage more people to take up this craft. Naturally we don't want people to be mislead in what they are buying when it comes to antique lace, pillow or bobbins. We want them to continue with it, not be put off. We also like to educate sellers in what they are offering as many do not know what they have. Most are grateful as it enables them to give a better description to potential buyers, and in some cases it increases the final price they get. At your request, I am withdrawing my bid even though I did know what I was bidding on. Jean Nathan> Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED]
