LACK.

‘27

The word point is sometimes incorrectly applied to pillow-lace,as “ point de Malines,” “ point de Yalencienne, point deParis,” 18 “ point de ueige,” 19 “ point a la rcine.

“ Cette liomme est bien en points ” was a plirase used to c enotc

a person who wore rich lace. 20

The manner of making pillow lace 21 need hardly be described.The “ pillow ” 22 is a round or oval board, stuffed so as to form acushion, and placed upon the knees of the workwoman. On thispillow a stiff piece of parchment is fixed, with small holes prickedthrough to mark the pattern. Through these holes pins are stuckinto the cushion. The threads with which the lace is formed arcwound upon “bobbins,” small round pieces of wood, about thesize of a pencil, having round their upper ends a deep groove, soformed as to reduce the bobbin to a thin neck, on which thethread is wound, a separate bobbin being used for each thread.l>y the twisting and crossing of these threads the ground of thelace is formed. The pattern or figure, technically called “ gimp,” ismade by interweaving a thread much thicker than that formingthe groundwork, according to the design pricked out on theparchment. 23 Such has been the pillow, and the method of usingit, with but slight variation, since its introduction.

To avoid repetition, we propose giving a separate history ofthe manufacture in each country; but in order to furnish somegeneral notion of the relative ages of lace, it may be as well toenumerate the kinds most in use when Colbert, by his establish-ment of the Points de France, in 1(505, caused a general develop-

1’oint also moans a particular stitch,as “ point noue,” “ point d’esprit,” “ Uclrainette.”

M “Diet, cl’Ant. Furetiere. Augmcntc'par M. Basnago. La Haye, 1727.”

21 French, “ dentello a fuscoux; ”Italian, “merli a piomhini;” Dutch,“ gespeldewerkte leant; ” Old Flemish,“ spollo werk.”

22 French, “ carreau,” “ cousin,” “ oreil-ler;” Italian, “tombolo;” Veuetiun,“ ballon ; ” Spanish, “ mundillo.”

23 The number of bobbins is generallyequal to 50 to each square inch. If thelace be one inch wide, it will have G25meshes in each square inch, or 22,500 ina yard. The work, therefore, goes onvery slowly, though generally performedwith the greatest dexterity.

18 “ Une chemisette de toile d’ Hollandegarirye de point de Paris.”— Inv. d’Anue<rEncoub'eau , Baronne de Sourdis, reuvede Fra iroie de Simiane. 1681. Arch.Nat. M. M. 802.

18 1611. “ Huit aulnes de toile com-mune garnies de neige,”— Inv. deg tneubleede la Sacrielie de VOmtoire de Je’eim,a I’aria. Bib. Nat. MSS. F. Fr. 8621.

“Ncnf autres petites nappes ; les deuxpremieres de toile unie; la troisieme adeutelle qnallific' de neige.”— Ibid.

“ Point de neige” recalls the quarrel of(Jros Item: and Marinette:—

“ Tun beau gahurt de neige, nvec. tauouparcille,

II n’aum pi us rbonneur d’etre sur monoreille."

iWo/itTi', / 'c'pil amuureux, 1656.