Kathleen Perhaps I should have been more specific. I was thinking of lacemakers in the 18th century. Your remarks do fit somewhat better for the 19th century, but not the 18th. There was a reason that the French revolution happened.
We have all heard about how lacemakers supposedly worked the same pattern throughout their lives. But the evidence I've seen in actual historic laces from the 18th and 19 century tells me that that simply was not the case. During the entire 18th century fashion changed frequently, so lace can be dated by style alone to within 10 to 15 or 20 years. With fashion changing that often, a lacemaker who kept to the same pattern would not be able to get the best possible price for her labor, since the aristocrats wouldn't buy what was old style and unfashionable. During the 19th century style changed frequently, but perhaps every 25 - 30 years. Lorelei - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003/albums/most-recent
