In relation to what Alex was saying about Mechlin and what it meant in the 18th century, I think that Santina Levey says fairly early in her book that most of the terms we use now were coined by lace dealers in the late 19th and early 20th century, and would be unrecognizable to people in the era when the lace was made. If memory serves, a particularly egregious example was calling a lace Binche because a piece resembling it had been found on a carnival costume in Binche, although the lace was never made there. Another example is dubbing things Cluny after a piece found in the Cluny museum in Paris. But, of course, it is the language being used in the late 19th and early 20th century by dealers and auctioneers that has found its way into the catalogue system. I have been consulting a number of books. Levey, of course, Toomer, Antique Laces, Identifying types and Techniques, Gwynneâs the Illustrated Dictionary of Lace, Kurellaâs Guide to Lace and Linens, and Pat Earnshawâs three books, the Dictionary of Lace, the Identification of Lace and Bobbin and Needle laces Identification and Care. Interestingly, Pat Earnshawâs books are not necessarily consistent. But, that serves as a powerful reminder that whenever you write something and publish it, you immediately find out you were wrong about something. I also have a dictionary by J. Coene called Kantlexicon. In addition, I have my vast library of books on individual laces. One thing that has been a pleasant surprise is that it is sometimes quite easy to search the older books on google books using a word search. Does anyone have other suggestions for good ID books? Devon
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