Hi, all, I came across a mention of "peccadilles" in some non-lace reading and got curious and decided to do some research. My lace library isn't as extensive as others' so when I didn't find anything (e.g. Earnshaw, Dictionary of lace), I turned to Google. First stop, Wikipedia, which suggested this is cutwork (so likely an embroidery rather than lace technique) and confirmed that further research might be productive.
Here's Wikipedia: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadill> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadill A piccadill or pickadill is a large broad collar of cut-work lace that became fashionable in the late 16th century and early 17th century. The term may originate from a conjectured Spanish word picadillo, from picado meaning punctured or pierced. This is similar to the Spanish word picadura, used for the lace collars of the seventeenth century that contained much elaborate cut work. Examples of a piccadill can be seen on portraits of <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_I> Queen Elizabeth I and other portraits of her contemporaries such as Sir Walter Raleigh. Piccadilly, a street in central London, is believed to be named after the piccadill, perhaps because a landowner in the area once made his fortune from them. There seems to be other information online, not all in languages I read. Here's one that confirms the Wikipedia entry (or may be where the information originated J.) Historic dress 1608-1800 (Internet Archives) <http://www.archive.org/stream/1607historicdres00mccluoft/1607historicdres00 mccluoft_djvu.txt> http://www.archive.org/stream/1607historicdres00mccluoft/1607historicdres00m ccluoft_djvu.txt The fashionable costume in England during the reign of Charles I, made familiar to us by the magic brush of Vandyke, was picturesque in the extreme. A gentleman of those days wore a doublet of satin or velvet with large loose sleeves slashed up the front (Figures 45, 46); the collar covered by a falling band of richest point-lace with the peculiar edging now called Vandyke (Figures 14 and 16), and a short cloak worn carelessly over one shoulder. Bands were called 'peccadilles ' when trimmed with this pointed lace, so fashionable in the middle of the seventeenth century, and it is interesting to read that the fashionable London thoroughfare, Piccadilly, gets its name from a shop where "peccadilles" were made and sold in the reign of Charles I. I'm flagging this as it sounds worthy of more research, and would be interested to hear from anyone who has information on this. It will certainly enhance my visits to Piccadilly Street/Circus on future trips to London. FWIW, I've been holding onto this information for some time, trying to decide whether to post it. The conversation this week about lurkers and all made up my mind. I've been on the list since the very early days, and go through phases of posting and not. I suggest there are many reasons why people post or don't, and ultimately it's up to each of us how or whether we want to contribute. Encouragement always bears better results than negativity. The list may feel it is democratic, international, welcoming and all-inclusive, and indeed by and large is. However, regardless of the intent, responses don't always come across that way. I'm not sure which is more disheartening, having messages ignored when one has gone to the effort of sharing information, or being chastised because one hasn't met some arbitrary standard. And that could be for the lace content, but I've also seen it for formatting, grammar and/or language. I've had it happen to me and have seen it with others. None of this is conducive to participation; I'm not thin-skinned but I need to maximise my returns and Arachne isn't the only way to do this. The reception people get when they post is arguably a major factor in why people stay or "disappear" and surely the latter is not what we want. In the meantime, I hope the information on peccadilles is useful to someone. JulieO in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada who REALLY planned to make lace this afternoon. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
