Kiskunhalas Hungary is famous for the Lace House - Lace Museum where the Queen of Laces - Halas - is beautifully exhibited. Visitors may look through a window and watch women making this famous needle lace. Tiny perfect laces are made to insert in pins and pendants. They also make small doilies, and other specialties. Perhaps the best known are a selection of butterflies. Americans measure in inches. From wing-tip to wing-tip my smallest butterfly measures 1"; the largest is 5 3/4". To avoid loss of these filmy laces, all my in-between-sized butterflies are confined under glass - in frames - hung on my library's walls.
A selection of lace is available in the Museum's gift shop. When a piece of lace is ordered in Budapest, the lace is so valuable that a lacemaker may take the pokey local train to the city and deliver it in person. Too many pieces of lace have been "lost" in the mail. Perhaps, "stolen". Halas lace that is not sold in Kiskunhalas is sold only in very elite shops in Budapest where costly jewelry shares the display cases. We must remember that the armies of Germany and Russia destroyed nearly everything of value in Hungary in 20th Century wars. It is possible to see the scars of war on buildings that are still lived in. The chances of being able to buy an old piece of this lace made before World War I is nearly impossible. Most was lost. It is so very valued by Hungarians that such pieces are kept in families and passed from generation to generation. There is a book Halas Lace by Laszlo Emoke, (English/Hungarian/German) that can be used as a catalog from which to order Halas laces. Each photographed lace is numbered, so they know exactly what you want. This book also gives the history of Halas lace, which first surfaced in 1902. You may have seen little tags attached to old laces that identified where they were made. However, most of these have been removed. Kiskunhalas, which translates to 3 fish and is a reference to 3 small bodies of water in the town, is different. The lacemakers actually use their needles to stitch the trademark of their laces on each piece. This is the image of 3 crossed fish. Anyone not associated with official lace manufactured in Kiskunhalas who has learned to make this lace should never put the trademark on their laces. If displayed, it should be labeled something like "In the style of Halas Lace". Kiskunhalas can be reached by motor vehicle or by train. It is best to have someone with you who has a knowledge of Hungarian, because signs are not in English. When traveling around Hungary, if you wish to ask a question, pose it to someone under the age of 40, who probably learned English in school. It is easier to communicate in Eastern Europe than in several nations in Southern Europe. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - 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/
