In the last two weeks or so, I have received about 4 requests for information
about laundering fine linens. [...]
I think that what people want me to
provide is the name of a fine hand laundry capable of handling these items.
The best hand laundry is done at home; if your enqirerers don't want to take the trouble themselves (won't even *listen* long enough), why would they expect others to be less reluctant?
I agree with everything that's been said on the subject so far (*especially* with Jeri's "look at the *piece*, not the *date*), and have my own story to contribute...
In the summer of '01, I mounted a lace exhibit in the local public library (we have only one); most of the pieces were BL and my own, with Arachne members filling in the gaps (NL, CL, KL, TL). The exhibit had very little initial response but, ever since, I've been getting occasional inquiries from people who'd seen it -- to give a lecture to a charity group, to advise on disposal, cleaning, mending, valuing... What I've learnt from those encounters is that those who actually give a d... about the lace in their possession look at it through the rose-coloured spectacles of childhood memories. *None* of the pieces I'd seen were valuable as re-saleable antiques; *all* were valuable as "family heirlooms".
Two pieces in particular stay in my mind. Both were brought to me with care bordering on piety, both were tablecloths, both were in need of repair (*big* holes), asking where such repair could be done. Both, in my guess, started their life in the 20ties or thereabouts, IMO.
One was true fillet, with even the net hand knotted (perfectly! I've tried netting and it *stank* <g>), and a lovely design in the "weaving". Brought out of Germany, by the owner's grandma after WWI, pulled out for Christmas only, and kept in the darkness of a drawer the rest of the year. Cotton cord, very nice and crisp, but somewhat yellowed with age (and therefore difficult to match precisely). I gave the owner Kurella's and Kliot's addresses to have it appraised as to a) current market value and b) the cost of repair (I don't *do* it, any more than I would alter dresses. 100 yrs ago, maybe, but not now), with a warning that it would be costly. Alternatively, she could try to patch it up herself, and I'd help with finding threads. The lady decided to keep it in its box and drawer, and take it out on Christams Eve to admire, but not to use or repair it.
The second tablecloth was something the inquirer also inherited from her grandma and had fond memories of: every Sunday, the family gathered for dinner, and every Sunday the tablecloth was hauled out for the occasion. She's used it some (Thanksgiving and Christmas) since, but was worried about the deterioration, despite hand-washing. I was able to show her a tablecloth, almost identical in all but size (and holes <g>; mine only had one, very small, which I "caught" before it grew much bigger). I'd bought it, for $15, in a local antiques store, a couple of years ago. All very shiny rayon, machine-made. Most likely, someone got it as a wedding gift, and was never tacky enough to use it in public :) When *that* grandma died, it was auctioned off as part of the lot. I haul it out if I have guests who merit the dining room and my hand-made (non-Chinese and lovely, what with its 12 matching napkins), sort-of-Battenberg, is not ironed and ready for use (it never is; I hate ironing <g>). Its main advantage is that it looks lacy (and shows nicely against the dark wood underneath) and can be washed in the washing machine. And doesn't need ironing...
Once we got *that* straightened out, the lady took herself off to haunt the antique stores for cheap textiles; she decided that a *similiar* tablecloth would help her remember her grandma on Sundays as well as an expensive repair to a worthless one would. She's found one, and uses it. Keeps the original -- folded -- in a box, where the holes don't show.
There is a phrase in Polish -- "nie dajmy sie zwariowac" -- which is difficult to translate but, roughly, means "don't let them make us crazy" (with "them" being everyone but "us"). Just because grandma owned it (or I made it by hand), doesn't mean it's a priceless heirloom. Treat it with caution but not reverence, and enjoy it whichever way you want.
----- Tamara P Duvall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Lexington, Virginia, USA Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
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