Michelle There is actually a small amount of authentic historical information on torchon. The book LePompe 1559 is a pattern book published in 1559 which consists of woodcuts of patterns for bobbin lace. It is the oldest pattern book in existence. Most of the designs are for braided lace (lace made of plaits) but some are tape lace and some show designs which could easily be interpreted as torchon. In 1983 Santina Levey, Patricia Payne and Bridget Cook collaborated on a facsimile printing of part of the volume, in paperback (published by Ruth Bean) ISBN 0 903585 16 2. If your local lace guild has a library, maybe they have a copy.
So, from this book, we know that torchon existed from a very early date. Nobody has been able to date any bobbin lace earlier than 1485. So this is pretty early. But there is no evidence that torchon was the first form invented. Remember that this book, published in 1559, is mostly braid based laces, with some tape lace and some torchon. So all three of those forms existed simultaneously, and very early. One does find early torchon or similar laces as insertions in household linen (pillow covers, etc.). I have seen some torchon worked in gold thread at the Art Institute of Chicago dating from the 1600s. This gold lace would have been appliqu�d onto fabric, rather than used as an edging, possibly on thick velvet or brocade garments, possibly on a coverlet or cape. I have also seen photographs of Russian torchon dating from the 1800s, worked in color, many still attached to towels and coverlets. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
