Thank you, Laurie, for what I believe is a very fair assessment of the Princess Lace Machine. It is completely impractical, not particularly attractive (even in the most pristine state), and my guess is that very little lace was made on "machines" like this. I consider it an expensive version (100 years ago) of the Lacis "horror kit" which is sold today to innocent people, eager to learn the art.
However, having said that, I understand why people are buying these things as quickly as they come on to the market. It is a significant piece of lace history in the US, and collectors find them irresistable. Clay -- Clay Blackwell Lynchburg, VA USA -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Laurie Waters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > It doesn't really matter whether they were good to use or not. The German > Rassmussen pillow, of which this is almost a direct copy (along with most of > the patterns), was just as hard to use. The point is that The Torchon Lace > Company, product of Sylvester Lewis, was the first and only commercial > attempt at marketing bobbinlace to American women through early 20th century > advertising. And the enterprise lasted from 1904 to 1919 - one even finds > examples sold in Australia. His 'paint by numbers' patterns was also not > unique - I've seen this in earlier French works. Who knows if he ever came > through on his promise to buy the lace that these machines would produce? > All in all this was a totally impractical system. Typically American! > Nothing like it before, although one might argue that his contemporary > Cottrell in France came close. > And so, many of these machines survive, and more and more are showing up on > Ebay. 30 years ago, if we found one in an antique shop, it was a very lucky > find. I predict the price will remain in this range for a long time to > come. And even higher prices realized for the much rarer Australian version. > Laurie > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Annette Meldrum" > To: "'Carol Adkinson'" ; "'Laurie Waters'" > ; "'arachne'" > Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2007 3:17 PM > Subject: RE: [lace] Princess Lace Machine > > > > Carol, Laurie and all, > > The thing is that these pillows were not very efficient to use. I feel > > that > > the price is over the top. The other thing to note is that they are not a > > rare find. There are lots of them around still, most hardly used! The Lace > > Guild in NSW has 2 in their Collection, both donated. Both came with the > > patterns and bobbins and original instruction book. > > > > Regards > > Annette in Wollongong Australia where we are set for another sunny and > > warm > > day. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > > Carol Adkinson > > Sent: Sunday, 21 October 2007 6:05 AM > > To: Laurie Waters; arachne > > Subject: Re: [lace] Princess Lace Machine > > > > Laurie et al, > > > > I have looked at the pictures, and the pillow seems to be in good order > > but > > ... > > > > Can a lace pillow really be worth all that amount of money?........... but > > some of my roller pillows would, I am sure, be just as efficient. > > > > So - please tell me what I have obviously missed - maybe I am just a tad > > dimmer than the average... > > > > Carol - in Suffolk UK > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Laurie Waters" > > To: "arachne" > > Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2007 7:47 PM > > Subject: [lace] Princess Lace Machine > > > > > >> Take a look at the Princess Lace Machine that just sold on Ebay > >> 330170130257 > >> It's in the most perfect condition I've ever seen. > >> > > > > - > > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
