Dear Linda, You wrote from England, and I will reply from that perspective. Of course, lace fans were to be used. Fans of any type were welcome accessories before air conditioning was invented. Before the 20th C. they were often presented in beautiful oblong fan boxes. The fans were closed, when presented. Today's fans sometimes have features that make it necessary to "present" them in an open position. Today's fans tend to be displays of a lacemaker's skills, and often are made as contest entries. An example would the be the fan featured on the cover of The Lace Guild's (U.K.) July 2010 (#139) bulletin/magazine. The story of the making of this fan, with 3-D butterflies, is in the October 2010 (#140) issue. I am singling out this organization, because you wrote from England. Perhaps you know a local group of lacesmakers, and one of them can show you these. This year, I have seen fans within issues of torchon, knitted, needlelace, Bucks, and other laces. There are a number of lace books devoted just to fans. There are many other books that feature fans in general, and lace is nearly always included as a medium. Fans worthy of being preserved may date back at least 4 centuries, but a lace one may not have survived that long. You can see them in portraits, which have usually been researched and given a date when the painting was made. To read a couple Arachne book reviews, go to _http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html_ (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html) and search "Fans in the Royal Collection" and "Fans from the Royal House of Orange-Nassau". Both collections have lace fans of the best quality. In 2006, Liz Pass told us the Royal Collection fans can be seen at _http://tinyurl.com/h8r78_ (http://tinyurl.com/h8r78) The address still worksl Lace fans are not always identified as lace, but you can enlarge them to see. The Royal House of Orange-Nassau refers to The Netherlands. I found this book while on a OIDFA lace tour in 2008. You will note that it was written by Helene Alexander, founder of The Fan Museum in London. It may still be available for purchase. We have also written on Arachne about Inter-Library book loans, which exist in many countries, including yours. This means you can go to a public or university library and borrow books that they may have to borrow from the nearest library that has a copy of the book. If the book is very rare, they may ask that you read it in the library. Otherwise, normal borrowing policies apply. This service is necessary for scholars. You are a lace scholar, so don't feel you cannot use this resource. Also, I recommend the many art collections in museums and house/palace museums throughout the UK. Nearly all collections have portraits containing lace. Some painters put fans in the hands of the queens and princesses, etc. They are sometimes closed, and sometimes open. Look at art, and you will learn a lot about lace history. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
In a message dated 12/31/2010 3:00:24 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: As it happens, I've never before paid any attention to lace fans, so it came as a surprise to me to see the several fans there. It had never before occurred to me that the fan sticks were simply a way to display a piece of lace of a particular shape. That's because I'd always thought of fans as meant to be useful as well as decorative. All the ones I have myself are simple souvenirs, and more useful than otherwise. They are not lace but paper, (or some such, I think), and I keep one in my handbag in hot weather. So I wondered, is it possible for a lace fan to be useful too? Especially, could it fold and unfold - lace is thicker than paper and might not go tightly around the corners of the sticks. Would folding damage the lace? Were lace fans ever made that were intended to be opened and closed in use? - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
