| Embroidery though had a long history, but it very | | | | hand-worked covering is, of course, rare, but the value |
| difficult to find them now because they could not last | | | | of a piece is increased greatly by its presence. |
| that long. English embroidery was one of the most | | | | In the third quarter of the eighteenth century there was |
| popular one. | | | | a vogue for pictures, square, oblong, round and oval, |
| Embroidery | | | | worked in colored silks on a silk background; the latter |
| Although the art of embroidery was practiced very | | | | often embellished with touches of water-colour. Most |
| many centuries ago, the collector is unlikely to be able | | | | of these have faded, others are found to have |
| to acquire much that was made prior to about 1650. | | | | backgrounds rotted with age and neglect, but perfect |
| Pieces of earlier date are extremely rare; not only are | | | | examples may sometimes be found and are very |
| the majority of them preserved carefully in cathedrals, | | | | decorative. Subjects varied from imitations of the |
| churches and museums, but understandably time has | | | | patterns on Chinese porcelain to renderings of willowy |
| taken its toll. | | | | ladies weeping at the tomb of Shakespeare, or at that |
| English work of the middle Ages was famous | | | | of Werther following the publication of Goethe's |
| throughout Europe, and the remaining examples show | | | | Sorrows of Werther in 1774. A lady named Mary |
| how justly its admiration was earned. | | | | Lin-wood of Leicester, achieved fame towards the |
| The work most likely to attract the collector is the type | | | | end of the eighteenth century by working elaborate |
| that was popular in the mid-seventeenth century, and | | | | embroidery pictures, mostly imitating well-known |
| known for no explicable reason as stump work. It | | | | paintings, sixty-four of which she exhibited in London |
| consists of embroidery on a panel of silk (usually white) | | | | for many years. |
| in colored silks with some of the principal features | | | | The familiar sampler began as a reference panel of |
| padded out, and often having human figures with | | | | patterns and stitches, but by the eighteenth century it |
| carved wood heads, hands and feet. | | | | had become an exercise for children. They were |
| This type of work was made in the form of pictures, | | | | embroidered with the letters of the alphabet, mottoes, |
| for covering the frames of mirrors, and for covering | | | | verses, texts, and the date of execution together with |
| boxes; the latter usually fitted with numerous small | | | | the name of the worker. Late in the century the |
| drawers (some of them 'secret'), a mirror, and lined | | | | making of maps became popular. These were drawn |
| with pink paper bordered with silver tape. | | | | in outline on silk, and the whole, including county |
| Straightforward tent-stitch embroidery worked on a | | | | boundaries and names, then stitched carefully in |
| canvas backing, dating from the seventeenth century | | | | appropriate colors. |
| onwards, was stitched in both wool and silk, and | | | | The embroidery was used in the silk clothes and later |
| occasionally with threads of gold and silver. Much of it | | | | on other types of clothes. Then embroidery was taken |
| has been preserved during the past 250 years, and a | | | | the wooden furniture. The eighteenth century wooden |
| proportion retains much of its original brilliant coloring. | | | | furniture has a vogue for pictures, square, oblong, |
| By reason of its attractive appearance and its | | | | round and oval. Embroidery has come a long way to |
| durability it is not surprising that this type of work | | | | its present stage. We can still find some of the early |
| continues to be done today. Eighteenth-century | | | | embroidery in different museums, churches, and |
| furniture with its original (or contemporary) | | | | cathedrals. |