LACE-MAKING IX OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE.
467
Class XIX.
proceed from Mirecourt , which is renowned for the goodtaste and elegance of its productions. The same kind oflace is made here as at Lille and Arras, that is to say,clear foundation, and “Joints de champs in white thread-lace.
They also produce here a lace, very much resemblingthe Ilonitou, called “guipure.” Within the last four orfive years flowers have been made and sewn upon thatextremely fine net termed “ Brussels net.” This fabriclias, in two years, been so much improved that it nowbears a close affinity to the Belgian , at Binche and atBrussels , and is greatly esteemed for its admirable white-ness, its fine quality, and moderate price.
f>. Pup, Haute-Loi/e .—This town employs the greatestnumber of workpeople in France , from 40,000 to 50,000being spread through the neighbouring departments. Thelace made here is coarse, and not rich in texture, but oflow price. At Puy all kinds of lacc are also made insilk, thread, and wool, as well as point, clear point, pointde Chacey, and point de Valenciennes. This town alsoproduces black and white lace, blonde, and other articlesof every colour, and especially worsted lace, in pieces,shawls, scarfs, &c. This manufacture promises much forthe future, being situated in a province where there arefew other industrial resources, and where labour is con-sequently cheap. The workwomen of Puy and its en-virons are very skilful, and yet, up to the present time,they have only succeeded in ordinary articles, for whichthere is no competition.
7. Bailtenl .—This is the only important town in Fiancefor Valenciennes: it produces lace of the same kind asthat of Bruges (Belgium ), but rather coarser. The laceof Bailleul possesses two valuable qualities, being thewhitest and the cheapest. This lace, though somewhatthick, is very good.
8. Alen$on, Owe .—The lace of Alen$on is the onlyfabric of this description not made on the pillow, beingworked entirely with the needle. It was introduced intoFrance in 1660, by Colbert, who sent to Venice andGenes for workmen, and they introduced the point deVenise, which was at first named point de France , andafterwards point d'Alengon, from the name of the townwhere it was made. This lace, however, does not re-semble in any manner the point de Venise, as it forms anexception to the others; for, while in the other fabricsone single worker is required to make the richest piece,the Alen$on requires from fourteen to sixteen differentworkers, for the smallest size, even one-quarter of a yard,and the most simple pattern. It is the only lace madewith pure linen thread (handspun/. This thread is worthfrom 100/. to 120/. per pound.
All the workwomen here are extremely skilful. Theopen work in the lace is made in a superior style, andevery day new is made of great perfection. It is therichest, the finest, and the strongest, and consequentlythe prices are the highest. There are in France severalother manufactures of lace, but the foregoing detail willbe a resume of all.
This branch of industry, one of the most important, isvery interesting, particularly as regards commercial rela-tions, and in a moral point of view.
All the females employed in making lace carry on theirwork in their own houses, under the surveillance of theirparents or friends, who act as their instructors.
Switzerland has largely availed herself of the benefitsheld out by this Exhibition, and well sustained her long-enjoyed celebrity for both lace and muslin embroideryof every description. It will be seen by the numerousarticles shown (displaying at once cultivated taste andexcellence of work, combined with cheapness and utility),that her motto is progression, and, as stated by one ofthemselves, “ Under the beneficial effects of free tradethe Swiss sewed-muslin trade has made enormous pro-gress.” From the variety of articles manufactured, theexcellence of the work, and the beauty of the design, themanufacturers send their productions to all parts of theglobe, and find ready sale, even where they are met byhostile tariffs. The iuimls available for needlework in
Switzerland are no longer sufficient to satisfy the demand,and the Swiss manufacturers are employing large num-bers in the eastern provinces of Austria , and the southernprovinces of the Duchy of Baden .
It would he difficult to state the exact numbers em-ployed in this branch of manufacture, the hands notbeing in factories or large rooms, as frequently the casein this country—the pattern being stamped or printed onthe muslin or net, and given out to workers at their ownhomes, so that many do their household work, and fill uptheir time with this embroider}'; there cannot, however,be less than 40,000 earning their living by this branchof industry.
A good steady hand can earn, in ordinary times, Is.per day ; second-class hands, down to children, rangefrom 3d. to 8 d. per day. The needlewomen of Appenzell (Rhodes interieures) are noted as the most skilful workersin sewed muslin, Sc c.; hence the finest and most difficultwork is done there, and the highest wages are received.
Those articles in which cheapness is the recommen-dation, are done by the needlewomen of St. Gall, Vorarl-burg, and Baden. It is estimated that 100,000 pairs ofcurtains alone are annually imported into the United Kingdom of Great Britain , at prices varying from 3s. to100s. per pair, paying a duty of 15 per cent.
The Swiss manufacturers do not regard England astheir best customer; they export largely to America . (North and South), Germany , Italy , Spain , and other' southern countries. The trade is steadily progressing,and is principally conducted by the manufacturers of thecanton of Appenzell , a few only residing at St. Gall,where they have a Wednesday’s and Saturday’s marketfor the transaction of business.
The continued care for new styles, novel designs, and. cheaper productions, has evidently had the effect of de-veloping the skill and artistic faculties of the Swiss manu-facturers, as may be seen by the unrivalled excellence ofsome of the goods in the Exhibition.
The productions of Mr. J. J. Sutter and Mr. J. U.Tanner, both of Buhler, are here more particularlyreferred to, as being of unrivalled excellence.
Saxony has furnished a small assortment of lace andembroidery, mostly of a manufacture peculiar to thecountry, being heavy, firm, and well made, but of limitedsale in the English market.
The exhibition of lace and embroidery is limited,although there are some articles deserving of notice, fromtheir richness and antiquity.
Hamburgh.
There is little from this place, except some specimensof embroidery with hair, displaying much taste.
We cannot say much of the articles exhibited in laceand embroidery, as they are very few, and of a class thatwould not suit the British market.
I There is little worthy of notice from Malta .
The description of lace peculiar to this country isadmirably sustained by some of the exhibitors in thisdepartment, there being a valuable display of Valenciennesedgings and laces of Mechlin, and other goods of themost costly and superb character, representing semethousands of pounds in value, evincing at once the tasteand perseverance of the Belgian manufacturers, who arefinding employment for at least a hundred thousand handsannually, by the production of this description of lace,used principally by the middle and upper classes ofsociety.
Belgium still retains the pre-eminence it has longenjoyed, for the perfection displayed in the manufacture
2 H 2