Class XIX.]

HAND-MADE LACE OF VARIOUS KINDS.

4G3

Draper, of Nottingham . The increased capability whichthis application gave, inspired new hope for the warp-lace trade of Nottingham . A new class of products ofelaborate design was manufactured, such as shawls,scarfs, mitts, falls, laces, &e.; but latterly the products ofthe Twist machine have to a great extent supplanted them.

Great improvements were made in dressing silk lace.Mr. Dunnicliff first followed the French method of work-ing the silk in the single thread, and in the raw state,instead of the organzine thrown which had heretoforebeen used. The result of this change was soon felt.French -dressed silk lace, which had long been superior toours was now equalled in whiteness and brilliancy; andat the present day, English -dressed lace is little, if atall, inferior to the best specimens from Lyons. Withinthe last few years, many new kinds of manufacture havebeen attempted from the warp, which deserve a specialmention.

Elastic woollen cloth for gloves and other purposes isone of these. Henry Dunnington of Nottingham was thefirst who made it, and he has produced the best of thiskind.

Many new kinds of elastic fabrics for gloves, both insilk and other kinds of material, have been made byMessrs. Ball and Co. A patent for velvet lace was ob-tained by Dunnicliff and Dexter in 1S45; but the makingof velvet was not brought into practical operation until1849, when Messrs. Ball and Dunnicliff, and Messrs.Haines and Hancock, succeeded in making piece velvetsuitable for gloves, the product at the present time beingentirely used for this purpose.

During the past year the same parties have had granteda patent for making velvet in combination with lace; andfor other novel weavings, specimens of winch are shownin the Great Exhibition .

These latter may be considered as the latest improve-ments of the warp frame, which bring down our notice tothe present period.

The number of machines now in operation, as far ascan be ascertained, is about 1,400: 000 in the county ofLeicester; 400 in Derbyshire, and 400 in Nottingham-shire , and are employed in the various branches as fol-lows :—

150 blonde, and other silk lacc3.

150 cotton tattings.

550 Leicester hosiery, &c.

100 lace gloves and mitts.

150 woollen cloth, hosiery, purses, and variouskinds of fabrics for gloves, &c.

1,100 Total.

The average widths of the machines employed in theNottingham trade are from 90 to 100 inches (some fewbeing as wide as 150), whilst those engaged in the Lei-cester hosiery trade, are generally from 44 to 72 inches.

The number of persons employed in the warp trade isestimated at 10,000, and the capital invested 360,000/.,making a return per annum of 700,000/. On a compa-rison with former returns, it will be observed, that thenumber of machines employed in the lace branches isconsiderably less, "whilst iu the hosiery and other miscel-laneous articles the numbers have increased. A warpblonde-machine, 54 inches wide (which was about theaverage in 1830), would produce about 20 yards or 80racks per week, which, when dressed, would be equal toabout 50 square yards.

The power-machine belonging to Messrs. Ball, Dux-ntcliff, and Co. iu the Great Exhibition, illustrative ofthe warp-lace trade, is capable of producing—working 12hours per day—800 racks per week, which, when dressed,would he equal to about 1,200 square yards. A yard of4-quarter white silk blonde, which in 1830 sold for 2s., isnow supplied for 6</.

Lace made by hand, as “ Hoxitox,” and “ Thread ”or Pillow Lace, also “British Point,” Tambour,and Limerick Laces.

Ilomton Lace .—The description of lace termed “Ho-niton ” is made by placing a perforated pattern upon a

pillow, and employing pins, bobbins, and spindles totwist and interweave thread in such a manner as to pro-duce the required design. It was formerly confined tothe production of simple sprigs and borders ; hut duringthe past twenty years considerable progress has beenmade, resulting in the manufacture of fabrics, displayingnot only extreme delicacy of execution, but also beauty,and taste in design.

The Great Exhibition affords ample proof of this inthe specimens of flouncings, shawls, scarfs, handker-chiefs, berthes, &c., which are there exhibited, varyingin price from ten to two hundred guineas.

This striking change lias not arisen from fortuitouscircumstances, but has been mainly induced by eminenthouses in the trade ; who, to meet the taste required bytheir customers, have employed every means at theirdisposal to raise the character of this description of lace.They are fully alive to the conviction that the more theBritish manufacture becomes assimilated to the charac-teristics of the foreign (which are chiefly suitable, beau-tiful, and clearly-defined patterns, with refinement ofexecution), the more the demand for this lace willextend; and, proportionally with such increased demand,they will be induced to expend still larger sums, in orderto produce a higher class of designs. They are furtherencouraged in their exertions by the fact that, althoughthe British lace cannot boast of design so exquisite, andexecution so delicate, as Brussels lace, it yet possessesremarkable and valuable qualities, inasmuch as it is pro-duced perfectly white, does not change colour, and theprice is very moderate.

The district in which Honiton lace is made extendsabout 30 miles along the coast of Devonshire , and about12 miles inland. A very large number of persons (from7,000 to 8,000) are now employed in producing it.

Pillow Lace. —“Pillow” or “Thread” lace, althoughmade upon the cushion like Honiton lace, is distinguishedfrom it by having both the pattern and the mesh madeby hand, whereas, in Honiton lace, the pattern is madeseparately, and afterwards sewn on to machine-made net.

Not many years since a very considerable number ofwomen and children were employed in its manufacturethroughout the counties of Bedford, Buckingham, North-ampton, and Oxford; but the demand having fallen off(being subject to fluctuation, like all articles dependentupon fashion), has caused this branch of the trade tosuffer severely. Contemporary, however, with the dimi-nution in the making of white-thread lace, an increasedrequirement for black lace occurred ; the manufacture ofwhich was introduced into the districts enumerated, andhas been attended with marked success.

It would be difficult to supply any accurate statisticsas regards the number of persons engaged in this manu-facture, as the nature of the article enables the partiesemployed in producing it to carry on tlic operation apartfrom each other, and without interfering with a domesticor retired life.

It is deserving of consideration, that the worth of theactual material bears such a small proportion to the valueof the article itself, as to make the amount paid for thelabour expended in its production to be almost the solecost. This industrial product, therefore, cannot fail toenlist sympathy on its behalf, as it furnishes, in compa-rison with its price, a surprising extent of employmentand maintenance, and these benefits, moreover, areafforded to a class of persons who otherwise would havea difficulty in earning a livelihood. In exemplificationof which it may be said, that the poor in lace-makingdistricts are comparatively well off, and better providedfor than in other localities.

British Point Lace. —British Point, tambour, andLimerick laces, possess alike considerable merit, and arevery similar in the mode of their manufacture. Theseembrace the imitation of Honiton and Brussels lace, andare produced in shawls, scarfs, dresses, Court trains,flouncings, lappets, &c., exhibiting a beautiful display ofchaste, elegant, and elaborate designs, and are well repre-sented in the Exhibition.

“British Point” is chiefly made in the neighbourhoodof London , and is very superior as an imitation lace.