,,the ,,development   ,,of ,,embroidery 
,,in   ,,america    ,by ,candace        
,wheeler    ,illustration3 ,,candace    
,,wheeler    ,from the painting by her  
daughter ,dora ,wheeler ,keith4         
,painted by ,dora ,wheeler ,keith       
,,the ,,development ,,of   ,,embroidery 
,,in ,,america    ,by    ,,candace      
,,wheeler    ,illustrated               
,illustration    ,,harper  ,,brothers   
,,publishers   ,,new ,,york ,,and       
,,london   ,,mcmxxi       ,,development 
,,of ,,embroidery ,,in ,,america        
,copyright1 #aiba1 by ,harper  ,brothers
   ,printed in the ,united ,states of   
,america   ,x-,v       ,,contents       
,,chap4                                 
,,page    ,introductory4 ,the ,story of 
the ,needle                             
#c    ,i4    ,beginnings in the ,new    
,world                                  
#aj    ,,ii4   ,the ,crewelwork of ,our 
,puritan ,mothers                       
#ag    ,,iii4  ,samplers and a ,word    
,about ,quilts                          

#dh    ,,iv4   ,moravian ,work1         
,portraiture1 ,french ,embroidery and   
,lacework    #fb    ,v4    ,berlin      
,woolwork                               
#if    ,,vi4   ,revival of ,embroidery1 
and the ,founding of the ,society       
of ,decorative ,art                     
#ajb    ,,vii4  ,american ,tapestry     
#aba    ,,viii4 ,the ,bayeux ,tapestries
                                        
#add       ,,illustrations     ,,candace
 ,,wheeler4 ,from the painting by her   
daughter       ,dora ,wheeler ,keith    
,frontispiece    ,,moccasins ,,of       
,,porcupine ,,quillwork4       ,made by 
,sioux ,indians                         
,facing #ab    ,,pipe ,,bags ,,of       
,,porcupine ,,quillwork4 ,made by ,sioux
 ,indians             #ab    ,,man',s   
,,jacket ,,of ,,porcupine ,,quillwork4  
,made by ,sioux ,indians          #ad   
,,man',s ,,jacket ,,of ,,porcupine      
,,quillwork4 ,made by ,plains ,indians  
#ad    ,,crewel ,,design1 drawn and     
colored1 which dates back       to      

,colonial times                         
#ah    ,,tester embroidered in crewels  
in shades of blue on white              
homespun linen4 ,said to have been      
brought to ,essex1 ,mass41       in     
#afdj1 by ,madam ,susanna1 wife of      
,sylvester ,eveleth            #bb      
,,raised ,,embroidery ,,on ,,black      
,,velvet4 ,nineteenth century ,american 
#bb    ,,quilted ,,coverlet made by ,ann
 ,gurnee                                
#bf    ,,homespun ,,woolen ,,blanket    
with ,king ,george's ,crown embroidered 
with home-dyed blue yarn in the corner4 
,from the ,burdette       home at ,fort 
,lee1 ,n4 ,j41 where ,washington was    
entertained       #bf    ,,cherokee     
,,rose ,,blanket1 made about #ahcj1 of  
homespun wool with       ,indian ,rose  
design about nineteen inches in diameter
       worked in the corners in         
home-dyed yarns of black1 red1          
yellow1 and dark green4 ,from the       
,westervelt collection          #bf     
,,bed ,,set1 ,keturah ,baldwin pattern1 

designed1 dyed1 and worked       by ,the
 ,deerfield ,society of ,blue and ,white
 ,needlework1       ,deerfield1 ,mass4  
#cb    ,,bed ,,covers worked in candle  
wicking                                 
#cb    ,,sampler worked by ,adeline     
,bryant in #ahbf1 now in the possession 
of ,anna ,d4 ,trowbridge1 ,hackensack1  
,n4 ,j4                        #ej      
,,sampler embroidered in colors on cru  
linen1 by ,mary ,ann ,marley1       aged
 twelve1 ,august #cj1 #ahbj             
#eb    ,,sampler embroidered in brown on
 cru linen1 by ,martha ,carter          
,fitzhugh1 of ,virginia1 in #agic1 and  
left unfinished       at her death      
#eb    ,,sampler worked by ,christiana  
,baird4 ,late eighteenth       century  
,american                               
#ed    ,,memorial ,,piece worked in     
silks1 on white satin4 ,sacred to       
the memory of ,major ,anthony ,morse1   
who died ,march #bb1 #ahje      #ed     
,,sampler of ,moravian embroidery1      
worked in #ahjf1       by ,sarah ,ann   

,smith1 of ,smithtown1 ,l4 ,i4          
#ed    ,,sampler worked by ,nancy       
,dennis1 ,argyle1 ,n4 ,y41 in #ahaj     
#ef    ,,sampler worked by ,nancy       
,mc,murray1 of ,salem1 ,n4 ,y41 in #agic
          #ef    ,,petit ,,point        
,,picture which belonged to ,president  
,john ,quincy ,adams1       and now in  
the ,dwight ,m4 ,prouty collection      
#ef    ,,sampler in drawnwork1 cru linen
 thread1 made by ,anne ,gower1          
wife of ,gov4 ,john ,endicott1 before   
#afbh                         #fj       
,,sampler embroidered in dull colors on 
cru canvas by ,mary       ,holingworth1 
wife of ,philip ,english1 ,salem        
merchant1       married ,july1 #afge1   
accused of witchcraft in #afib1         
but escaped to ,new ,york               
#fj    ,,sampler worked by ,hattie      
,goodeshall1 who was born               
,february #ai1 #aghj1 in ,bristol       
#fj    ,,needlebook of ,moravian        
embroidery made about #ahej1 now in     
the possession of ,mrs4 ,j4 ,n4 ,myers1 

,bethlehem1 ,pa4              #fd       
,,moravian ,,embroidery worked by ,emily
 ,e4 ,reynolds1 ,plymouth1 ,pa41        
in #ahcd1 at the age of twelve1 while at
 the ,moravian ,seminary       in       
,bethlehem1 and now owned by her        
granddaughter                #fd        
,,moravian ,,embroidery from            
,louisville1 ,ky4                       
#ff    ,,linen ,,towels embroidered in  
cross-stitch4 ,pennsylvania ,dutch      
early nineteenth century                
#gj    ,,the ,,meeting ,,of ,,isaac     
,,and ,,rebecca--,moravian embroidered  
picture1       an heirloom in the       
,reichel family of ,bethlehem1 ,pa4     
,worked by       ,sarah ,kummer about   
#agij                                   
#gd    ,,suffer ,,little ,,children ,,to
 ,,come ,,unto ,,me--,cross-stitch      
picture       made about #ahbe1 now in  
the possession of the ,beckel family1   
,bethlehem1 ,pa4                        
#gd    ,,abraham ,,and ,,isaac4         
,kensington embroidery by ,mary         

,winifred ,hoskins1       of ,edenton1  
,n4 ,c41 while attending an ,english    
finishing school       in ,baltimore in 
#ahad                                   
#gf    ,,fire ,,screen embroidered in   
cross-stitch worsted                    
#gh    ,,fire ,,screen1 design1 ,the    
,scottish ,chieftain1 embroidered in    
cross-stitch by ,mrs4 ,mary ,h4         
,cleveland ,allen                    #gh
    ,,fire ,,screen worked about #ahej  
by ,miss ,c4 ,a4 ,granger1       of     
,canandaigua1 ,n4 ,y4                   
#gh    ,,embroidered ,,picture in silks1
 with a painted sky                     
#hj    ,,cornelia ,,and ,,the ,,gracchi4
 ,embroidered picture in silks1         
with velvet inlaid1 worked by ,mrs4     
,lydia ,very1 of ,salem1       at the   
age of sixteen while at ,mrs4 ,peabody's
 school            #hj    ,,cape of     
white lawn embroidered4 ,nineteenth     
century ,american         #hd           
,,collars of white muslin embroidered4  
,nineteenth century ,american    #hd    

,,baby',s ,,cap4 ,white mull1 with      
eyelet embroidery4       ,nineteenth    
century ,american                       
#hf    ,,baby',s ,,cap4 ,embroidered    
mull4 #ahbe                             
#hf    ,,collar of white embroidered    
muslin4 ,nineteenth century ,american   
#hf    ,,embroidered ,,silk ,,wedding   
,,waistcoat1 #ahbi4 ,from the           
,westervelt collection                  
#hh    ,,embroidered ,,waist ,,of ,a    
,,baby ,,dress1 #ahej4 ,from the        
collection       of ,mrs4 ,george ,coe  
#hh    ,,embroidery ,,on ,,net4 ,border 
for the front of a cap made about #ahbj 
#ij    ,,veil 7unfinished7 hand run on  
machine-made net4       ,american       
nineteenth century                      
#ij    ,,lace ,,wedding ,,veil1 #cf  #dj
 inches1 used in #ahjf4 ,from the       
collection of ,mrs4 ,charles ,h4 ,lozier
                            #ib         
,,homespun ,,linen ,,needlework called  
,benewacka by the ,dutch4       ,the    
threads were drawn and then whipped into

 a net on       which the design was    
darned with linen4 ,made about #ahjj    
and used in the end of linen pillow     
cases                       #ib    ,,bed
 ,,hanging of polychrome cross-stitch   
appliqud       on blue woolen ground    
#ih    ,,needlepoint ,,screen made in   
fine and coarse point4       ,single    
cross-stitch                            
#ih    ,,hand-,,woven ,,tapestry of fine
 and coarse needlepoint                 
#ajj    ,,tapestry woven on a hand loom4
 ,the design worked in fine point       
and the background coarse point4 ,a new 
effect in hand       weave originated at
 the ,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms        
#ajj    ,,embroidered ,,mits            
#ajd    ,,white ,,cotton ,,vest         
embroidered in colors4                  
,eighteenth-nineteenth       century    
,american                               
#ajd    ,,white ,,mull embroidered in   
colors4 ,eighteenth-nineteenth          
century ,american                       
#ajd    ,,embroidered ,,valance1 part of

 set and spread for high-post           
bedstead1 #aghh4 ,worked in crewels on  
,india cotton1       by ,mrs4 ,gideon   
,granger1 ,canandaigua1 ,new ,york      
#ajd    ,,detail of linen coverlet      
worked in colored wool                  
#ajh    ,,linen ,,coverlet embroidered  
in ,kensington stitch       with colored
 wool                                   
#ajh    ,,quilted ,,coverlet worked     
entirely by hand                        
#aah    ,,detail of quilted coverlet    
#aah    ,,the ,,winged ,,moon4 ,designed
 by ,dora ,wheeler and executed       in
 needle-woven tapestry by ,the          
,associated ,artists1 #ahhc       #abb  
,,seventeenth ,,century ,,design        
,,tapestry ,,panel                      
#abf    ,,the ,,miraculous ,,draught    
,,of ,,fishes4 ,arranged 7from          
photographs       made in ,london of the
 original cartoon by ,raphael1 in the   
,kensington ,museum7 by ,candace        
,wheeler and executed in                
needle-woven tapestry by ,the           

,associated ,artists                #acj
    ,,minnehaha ,,listening ,,to ,,the  
,,waterfall4 ,drawn by ,dora ,wheeler   
and executed in needle-woven tapestry by
       ,the ,associated ,artists1 #ahhd 
#acb    ,,aphrodite4 ,designed by ,dora 
,wheeler for needle-woven tapestry      
worked by ,the ,associated ,artists1    
#ahhc                         #acd      
,,fighting ,,dragons4 ,drawn by ,candace
 ,wheeler and embroidered       by ,the 
,associated ,artists1 #ahhe             
#adj    ,,three ,,scenes ,,from ,,the   
,,bayeux ,,tapestry                     
#adf     ,,the ,,development ,,of       
,,embroidery ,,in ,,america             
,,introductory -- ,,the ,,story ,,of    
,,the ,,needle   ,the story of          
embroidery includes in its history all  
the work of the needle since ,eve sewed 
fig leaves together in the ,garden of   
,eden4 ,we are the inheritors of the    
knowledge and skill of all the daughters
 of ,eve in all that concerns its use   
since the beginning of time4  ,when this

 small implement came open-eyed into the
 world it brought with it possibilities 
of well-being and comfort for races and 
ages to come4 ,it has been an instrument
 of beneficence as long ago as ,dorcas  
sewed garments and gave them to the     
poor1 and has been a creator of beauty  
since ,sisera gave to his mother a prey 
of needlework1 'alike on both sides4'   
,this little descriptive phrase--alike  
on both sides--will at once suggest to  
all needlewomen a perfection of method  
almost without parallel4 ,of course it  
can be done1 but the skill of it must   
have been rare1 even in those far-off   
days of leisure when duties and         
pleasures did not crowd out painstaking 
tasks1 and every art was carried as far 
as human assiduity and invention could  
carry it4  ,a history of the needlework 
of the world would be a history of the  
domestic accomplishment of the world1   
that inner story of the existence of man
 which bears the relation to him of     
sunlight to the plant4 ,we can deduce   

from these needle records much of the   
physical circumstances of woman's long  
pilgrimage down the ages1 of her mental 
processes1 of her growth in thought4 ,we
 can judge from the character of her art
 whether she was at peace with herself  
and the world1 and from its status we   
become aware of its relative importance 
to the conditions of her life4  ,there  
are few written records of its practice 
and growth1 for an art which does not   
affect the commercial gain of a land or 
country is not apt to have a written or 
statistical history1 but1 fortunately in
 this case1 the curious and valuable    
specimens which are left to us tell     
their own story4 ,they reveal the       
cultivation and amelioration of domestic
 life4 ,their contribution to the       
refinements are their very existence4   
,a history of any domestic practice     
which has grown into a habit marks the  
degree of general civilization1 but the 
practice of needlework does more4 ,to a 
careful student each small difference in

 the art tells its own story in its own 
language4 ,the hammered gold of ,eastern
 embroidery tells not only of the riches
 of available material1 but of the habit
 of personal preparation1 instead of the
 mechanical4 ,the little ,bible         
description of captured needlework alike
 on both sides speaks unmistakably of   
the method of their stitchery1 a        
cross-stitch of colored threads1 which  
is even now the only method of stitch   
alike on both sides4  ,it is an endless 
and fascinating story of the leisure of 
women in all ages and circumstances1    
written in her own handwriting of       
painstaking needlework and an estimate  
of an art to which gold1 silver1 and    
precious stones--the treasures of the   
world--were devoted4 ,more than this1   
its intimate association with the growth
 and well-being of family life makes    
visible the point where savagery is left
 behind and the decrees of civilization 
begin4  ,i knew a dear ,bible-nourished 
lonely little maid who had constructed  

for herself a drama of ,eve in ,eden1   
playing it for the solitary audience of 
self in a corner of the garden4 ,she had
 brought all manner of fruits and had   
tied them to the fence palings under the
 apple boughs4 ,this little ,eve        
gathered grape leaves and sewed them    
carefully into an apron1 the needle     
holes pierced with a thorn and held     
together by fiber stripped from         
long-stemmed plantain leaves4 ,here she 
and her audience of self hid under the  
apple boughs and waited for the call of 
the ,lord4  ,the long ministry of the   
needle to the wants of mankind proves it
 to have been among the first of man's  
inventions4 ,when ,eve sewed fig leaves 
she probably improvised some implement  
for the process1 and every daughter of  
,eve1 from ,eden to the present time1   
has been indebted to that little        
implement for expression of herself in  
love and duty and art4 ,for this we must
 thank the man who1 the ,bible relates1 
was the father of all such as worked in 

metals1 and made needles and gave them  
to his household4 ,he is the first handy
 man mentioned in history--blest be his 
memory6  ,if the day should ever come1  
not1 let us hope1 in our time or that of
 our children1 when the manufacturer    
shall find that it no longer pays to    
make needles1 what value will attach to 
individual specimens6 ,if they were only
 to be found in occasional bric--brac   
shops or in the collections of some     
far-seeing hoarder of rarities1 it would
 be difficult to overrate the interest  
which might attach to them4 ,how1 from  
the prodigal disregard of ages and the  
mysteries of the past1 would emerge1 one
 after another1 recovered specimens1 to 
be examined and judged and classified   
and arranged6  ,perhaps collections of  
them will be found in future museums    
under different headings1 such as3      
,needles of ,consolation1 under which   
might come those which ,mary ,stuart and
 her maids wrought their dismal hours   
into pathetic bits of embroidery during 

the long days of captivity1 or the      
daughter of the sorrowful ,marie        
,antoinette mended the dilapidations of 
the pitiful and ragged ,dauphin2 or3    
,needles of ,devotion1 wielded by       
canonized and uncanonized saints in and 
out of nunneries2 or3  ,needles of      
,history1 like those with which ,matilda
 stitched the prowess of ,william the   
,conqueror into breadths of woven flax4 
,possibly there may arise needle experts
 who1 upon microscopic examination and  
scientific test1 will refer all         
specimens to positive date and peculiar 
function1 and by so doing let in floods 
of light upon ancient customs and       
habits4 ,it is idle to speculate upon a 
condition which does not yet exist1 for1
 happily1 needles for actual hand sewing
 are yet in sufficient demand to allow  
us to indulge in their purchase quite   
ungrudgingly4  ,i was once shown a      
needle--it was in ,constantinople--which
 the dark-skinned owner declared had    
been treasured for three hundred years  

in his family1 and he affirmed it so    
positively and circumstantially that ,i 
accepted the statement as truth4 ,in    
fact1 what did it matter8 ,it was an    
interesting lie or an interesting truth1
 whichever one might consider it1 and   
the needle looked quite capable of      
sustaining another century or so of     
family use4 ,its eye was a polished     
triangular hole made to carry strips of 
beaten metal1 exactly such as we read of
 in the ,bible as beaten and cut into   
strips for embroidery upon linen1 such  
embroidery1 in fact1 as has often been  
burned in order to sift the pure gold   
from its ashes4  ,not only the history1 
but the poetry and song of all periods  
are starred with real and ideal         
embroideries--noble and beautiful       
ladies1 whose chief occupations seem to 
have been the medicining of wounds      
received in their honor or defense1 or  
the broidering of scarfs and sleeves    
with which to bind the helmets of their 
knights as they went forth to tourney or

 to battle4 ,in these old chronicles the
 knights fought or made music with harp 
or voice1 and the women ministered or   
made embroidery1 and so pictured lives  
which were lived in the days of knights 
and ladies drifted on4 ,the sword and   
the needle expressed the duties1 the    
spirit1 and the essence of their several
 lives4 ,the men were militant1 the     
women domestic1 and wherever in castle  
or house or nunnery the lives of women  
were made safe by the use of the sword  
the needle was devoting itself to       
comforts of clothing for the poor and   
dependent1 or luxuries of adornment for 
the rich and powerful4 ,so the needle   
lived on through all the civilizations  
of the old world1 in the various forms  
which they developed1 until it was      
finally inherited by pilgrims to a new  
world1 and was brought with them to the 
wilderness of ,america4     ,,chapter ,i
 -- ,,beginnings ,,in ,,the ,,new       
,,world   ,the history of embroidery in 
,america would naturally begin with the 

advent of the ,pilgrim ,mothers1 if one 
ignored the work of native ,indians4    
,this1 however1 would be unfair to a    
primitive art1 which accomplished1 with 
perfect appropriateness to use and      
remarkable adaptation of circumstance   
and material1 the ornamentation of      
personal apparel4  ,the porcupine quill 
embroidery of ,american ,indian women is
 unique among the productions of        
primitive peoples1 and some of the      
dresses1 deerskin shirts1 and moccasins 
with borders and flying designs in      
black1 red1 blue1 and shining white     
quills1 and edged with fringes hung with
 the teeth and claws of game1 or with   
beautiful small shells1 are as truly    
objects of art as are many things of the
 same decorative intent produced under  
the best conditions of civilization4    
,to create beauty with the very limited 
resources of skins1 hair1 teeth1 and    
quills of animals1 colored with the     
expressed juice of plants1 was a problem
 very successfully solved by these      

dwellers in the wilderness1 and the     
results were practically and sthetically
 valuable4  ,in the ,smithsonian        
,institution at ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41   
there has happily been preserved a most 
interesting collection of these early   
efforts4 ,the small deerskin shirts worn
 as outer garments by the little ,sioux 
were perhaps among the most interesting 
and elaborate4 ,they are generally      
embroidered with dyed moose hair and    
split quills of birds in their natural  
colors1 large split quills or flattened 
smaller quills used whole4 ,the work has
 an embossed effect which is very       
striking4 ,a coat for an adult of ,sioux
 workmanship1 made of calfskin thicker  
and less pliant than the deerskin       
ordinarily used for garments1 carries a 
broad band of quill embroidery1 broken  
by whorls of the same1 the center of    
each holding a highly decorated tassel  
made of narrow strips of deerskin1 bound
 at intervals with split porcupine      
quills4 ,these ornamental tassels carry 

the idea of decoration below the bands1 
and have a changeable and living effect 
which is admirable4 ,in a smaller shirt1
 the whole body is covered at irregular 
intervals with whorls of the finest     
porcupine quill work1 edged by a border 
of interlaced black and white quills1   
finished with perforated shells4 ,many  
of the designs are edged with narrow    
zigzag borders of the split quills in   
natural colors carefully matched and    
lapped in very exact fashion4 ,there is 
one small shirt1 made with a decorative 
border of tanned ermine skins in        
alternate squares of fur and beautifully
 colored quill embroidery1 not one tint 
of which is out of harmony with the soft
 yellow of the deerskin body4 ,the edge 
of the shirt is finished in very        
civilized fashion1 with ermine tails1   
each pendant1 banded with blue quills1  
at alternating heights1 making a shining
 zigzag of blue along the fringe4 ,the  
simplicity of treatment and purity of   
color in this little garment were       

fascinating1 and must have invested the 
small savage who wore it with the       
dignity of a prince4  ,the mother who   
evolved the scheme and manner of        
decoration carried her bit of genius in 
an uncivilized squaw body1 but had none 
the less a true feeling for beauty1 and 
in this mother task lifted the plane of 
the art of her people to a higher level4
  ,illustration3 ,left--,,moccasins of  
porcupine quillwork1 made by ,sioux     
,indians4  ,right--,,pipe ,,bags of     
porcupine quillwork1 made by ,sioux     
,indians4  ,courtesy of ,american       
,museum of ,natural ,history1 ,new ,york
  ,the purely decorative ability which  
lived and flourished before the advent  
of civilization lost its distinctive    
simplicity of character when woven cloth
 of brilliant red flannel and the       
tempting glamour of colored glass beads 
came into their horizon1 although they  
accepted these new materials with       
avidity4 ,porcupine quill work seems to 
have been no longer practiced1 although 

a few headbands of ceremony are to be   
found among the tribes1 and now and then
 one comes across a veritable treasure1 
an evidence of long and unremitting     
toil1 which has been preserved with     
veneration4  ,of course many valuable   
results of the best early embroideries  
still exist among the ,indians          
themselves4  ,a very striking feature of
 both early and late work is the        
fringing1 which plays an important part 
in the decoration of garments4 ,the     
fringe materials were generally of the  
longest procurable dried moose hair1 the
 finely cut strips of deerskin1 or1 in  
some instances1 the tough stems of river
 and swamp grasses twisted1 braided and 
interwoven in every conceivable manner1 
and varied along the depth of the       
fringes by small perforated shells1     
teeth of animals1 seeds of pine1 or     
other shapely and hard substances which 
gave variety and added weight4 ,beads of
 bone and shell are not uncommon1 or    
small bits of hammered metal4 ,in one or

 two instances ,i have seen long        
deerskin fringes with stained or painted
 designs1 emphasized with seeds or      
shells at centers of circles1 or corners
 of zigzags4 ,this ingenious use of a   
decorative fringe gave an effect of     
elaborate ornament with comparatively   
small labor4  ,perhaps the best lesson  
we have to learn from this bygone phase 
of decorative effort is in the          
possibilities of genuine art1 where     
scant materials of effect are available4
  ,a thoughtful and exact study of early
 ,indian art gives abundant indication  
of the effect of intimacy with the moods
 and phenomena of ,nature1 incident to  
the lives of an outdoor people4  ,many  
of the designs which decorate the larger
 pieces1 like shirts and blankets1 were 
evidently so inspired4 ,the designs of  
lengthened and unequal zigzags are      
lightning flashes translated into       
embroidery2 the lateral lines of broken 
direction are water waves moving in     
masses4 ,there are clouds and stars and 

moons to be found among them1 and if we 
could interpret them we might even find 
records of the sensations with which    
they were regarded4  ,illustration3     
,,man',s ,,jacket ,,of ,,porcupine      
,,quillwork ,made by ,sioux ,indians4   
,courtesy ,american ,museum of ,natural 
,history1 ,new ,york  ,illustration3    
,,man',s ,,jacket ,,of ,,porcupine      
,,quillwork ,made by ,plains ,indians4  
,courtesy of ,american ,museum of       
,natural ,history1 ,new ,york  ,it would
 seem to argue a want of inventive      
faculty1 that the aboriginal women never
 conceived the idea of weaving fibers   
together in textiles1 but were contented
 with the skins of animals for warmth of
 body covering4 ,the two alternatives of
 so close and warm a substance as tanned
 skins1 or nakedness1 seem to a         
civilized mind to demand some           
intermediate substance4 ,this1 however1 
was not felt as a want1 at least not to 
the extent of inspiring a textile4      
,perhaps we should never have had the   

unique porcupine quill embroidery except
 for the close-grained skin foundation1 
which made it possible and permanent4   
,certainly the cleverness with which the
 idea of weaving has been used in the   
evolution of the ,indian blanket shows  
that only the initial thought was       
lacking4 ,the subsequent use of the arts
 of spinning and weaving1 with the      
retention of the original idea of       
decoration in design and coloring1 has  
made the ,indian blanket an article of  
great commercial value4  ,fortunately1  
these productions are valuable to their 
producers1 and even to other members of 
the tribes1 and were carefully preserved
 from casualties1 so that there are     
still many examples of ,indian          
manufacture1 such as belts of wampum1   
and headbands of ceremony1 to be found  
among existing tribes4  ,these early    
specimens are not only intrinsically    
valuable1 but give many a clue to what  
may be called the spiritual side of the 
aborigines4 ,they had not learned the   

limits of representation1 and as this   
history deals with results of life and  
not with the impulse toward expression  
which lies at the root of design1 we    
need not attempt more than a suggestion 
of some of the results4 ,the unguided   
impulses of ,indian art1 as seen or     
imagined in their work1 lies behind the 
work itself and can be read only by its 
materialization4     ,,chapter ,,ii --  
,,the ,,crewelwork ,,of ,,our ,,puritan 
,,mothers   ,the crewelwork of ,new     
,england was the first ornamental       
stitchery practiced in this country by  
women of ,european race1 and in their   
hands made its first appearance even    
during the days of privation and nights 
of fear which were their portion in this
 strange new world to which they had    
come4  ,the seed of it was brought by   
that winged creature of destiny1 the    
,mayflower1 hidden in the folds or      
decorating the borders of the precious  
household linen which was a part of the 
gear of the first ,pilgrims4 ,in its    

hollow interior there was room for bed  
dressings and table napery1 even when   
the high-posted bedsteads and tables    
which they had adorned were abandoned1  
or exchanged for peace of mind and      
liberty of action4  ,it may have        
declared itself in the very first years 
of settlement1 before they had          
encountered the savage antagonism of the
 aborigines1 and while they still had   
only the privations incident to pioneer 
life2 or it may have been after the long
 struggle for ascendancy and possession 
was over1 and they could settle down in 
hard-won homes4 ,upon neighboring or    
contiguous farms there they gradually   
drew together the threads of memory     
concerning former peaceful occupations1 
and wove them once more into the warp of
 daily life4 ,they could visit one      
another1 exchanging domestic            
experiences1 or reminiscences of        
spiritual struggles of their own or of  
fellow ,pilgrims1 and old-time hand     
occupations would be a mutual lullaby   

and an exorcism of anxiety4  ,the real  
beginning of embroidery as a national   
art was probably at a later period1 for 
its previous practice would be but a    
continuation of old-world occupations or
 diversions of life4  ,the devoted      
mothers of the ,american race1 who      
sailed the seas in those far-off days1  
might have brought some favorite piece  
of embroidery among their most intimate 
belongings1 wherewithal to while away   
the hours of weary days upon the        
limitless breadths of ocean4 ,there     
would be intervals of calm between      
storms1 and periods when even the merest
 shred of a home-practiced art would be 
doubly and trebly valued1 like a piece  
of heavenly raiment to a naked and      
banished angel4  ,illustration3 ,,crewel
 ,,design1 drawn and colored1 which     
dates back to ,colonial times4  ,in the 
possession of the ,dunham family of     
,cooperstown4  ,the most natural effort 
of the woman standing in the midst of   
such new and strenuous conditions as    

surrounded the ,pilgrim mothers in      
,america1 would be to reproduce         
something which had meant peace and     
tranquillity in former days4 ,we can    
imagine her1 searching the closely      
packed iron-bound chests which held most
 of the worldly goods of the traversing 
pilgrims--those famous chests1 the      
boards of which had been carefully      
doweled and faithfully put together to  
resist outward and inward               
pressure--packed and repacked with      
constant misgivings and hopeful         
foresight4 ,in those crowded treasure   
chests it was possible there might be   
found skeins of crewel1 and even working
 patterns which some hopeful instinct   
had prompted her to preserve4  ,while   
the ,puritan mother was scheming to add 
embroidery to her occupations1 she did  
not forget to train each small maid of  
the family to the use of the needle4    
,ruth and ,peace and ,harmony and ,mercy
 made their samplers as faithfully as   
though they were growing up under the   

shade of the apple trees of old ,england
 instead of among the blackened stumps  
of newly cut forests4  ,so the old art  
survived its transplantation and rooted 
itself in spite of storms of terror1 and
 during and after the test of fire and  
blood1 and spread1 after the manner of  
art and knowledge1 until it became the  
joy and comfort of a new race1 a vehicle
 of feminine dexterity and an expression
 of the creative instinct with which in 
a greater or lesser degree we are all   
endowed4  ,we can easily believe that   
stores of linen and precious china1 as  
well as the small wheels for the        
spinning of the flax1 could not be      
denied to the devoted women who chose to
 share the hard fortunes of their       
,pilgrim husbands and fathers4 ,it is   
probable that in one form or another    
possessions of crewel embroidery were   
transported with them4  ,i know of no   
well-authenticated specimen which came  
in actual substance in that elastic     
vessel1 but undoubtedly there were such1

 while many and many existed in the     
minds and memories of the women of the  
new colony1 to come to life and take on 
actual form1 color and substance when   
the days of their privations were       
numbered4 ,if such actual treasured     
things existed and were preserved       
through the early days of colonial life1
 every stitch of them would hold within 
itself traditions of tranquillity in a  
world where homes stood1 and fields were
 tilled in safety1 because of the vast  
plains of ocean which lay between them  
and savage tribes4  ,in the earliest    
days of the colonies we could hardly    
expect more than the necessary practice 
of the needle1 but when we come to the  
second period1 when neighborhoods became
 towns1 and cabins grew into more or    
less well-equipped farmhouses1 ,puritan 
women gladly reverted to the            
accomplishments of pre-,american        
conditions4 ,the familiar crewelwork of 
,england was the form of needlework     
which became popular4  ,in looking for  

materials with which to recreate this   
art1 they had not at that time far to   
seek4 ,wool and flax were farm products1
 necessities of pioneer life1 and their 
manufacture into cloth was a            
well-understood domestic art4  ,domestic
 animals had shared the tremendous      
experiment of transplantation of a      
fragment of the ,english race1 and had  
suffered1 no doubt1 with their masters  
and owners1 the struggles with savages  
and unaccustomed circumstances1 but they
 had survived and increased after their 
kind4 ,even through the strenuous wars  
against their very existence by         
uncivilized man1 they lived and         
increased4 ,cows calved1 and sheep      
lambed1 and wool in abundance was to be 
had4  ,the enterprising ,puritan woman  
pulled the long-fibered straggling lock 
of wool1 sorted out and rejected from   
the uniform fleeces1 carded it with her 
little hand cards into yard-long        
finger-sized rolls1 and twisted it upon 
her large wheel spindle1 producing much 

such thread as an ,italian peasant woman
 spins upon her distaff to-day as she   
walks upon the shore at ,bai4  ,if the  
pioneer was a natural copyist1 she      
doubled and twisted it1 to make it in   
the exact fashion of the ,english       
crewel2 if adventurous and independent1 
she worked it single threaded4 ,this    
yarn had all the pliant qualities       
necessary for embroidery1 and was in    
fact uncolored crewel4  ,illustration3  
,,tester embroidered in crewels in      
shades of blue on white homespun linen4 
,said to have been brought to ,essex1   
,mass41 in #afdj1 by ,madam ,susanna1   
wife of ,sylvester ,eveleth4  ,courtesy 
of ,essex ,institute1 ,salem1 ,mass4    
,to the right1 raised embroidery on     
black velvet4 ,nineteenth century       
,american4  ,so1 also1 the production of
 flax thread1 when the crop of flax was 
grown1 and the long stems had struggled 
upward to their greatest heights1 and   
finished themselves in a cloud of       
multitudinous blue flax flowers1        

beautiful enough to be grown for beauty 
alone1 they pulled and made into slender
 bundles1 and laid under the current of 
the brook which neighbored most pioneer 
houses1 until the thready fibers could  
be washed and scraped from the vegetable
 outer coat1 the perishable parts of    
their composition1 and combed into      
separateness4 ,then it was ready for the
 small flax wheel of the housewife4     
,every woman had both wool wheel and    
flax wheel1 the latter of all grades of 
beauty1 from those made for the use of  
queens and ladies of high degree--royal 
for elaboration--to the modest ashen    
wheel1 derived from a long line of      
industrious and careful foremothers1 or 
copied by the clever ,pilgrim fathers1  
from some adventurous wheel which had   
made the long voyage from civilized     
,holland to uncivilized ,america4  ,for 
color1 the simplest and most at hand    
expedient was a dip in the universal    
indigo tub1 which waited in every back  
shed of the ,puritan homestead4 ,one    

single dip in its black-looking depths  
and the skein of spun lamb's wool       
acquired a tint like the blue of the    
sky4 ,immersion of a day and night gave 
an indelible stain of a darker blue1 and
 a week's repose at the bottom of the   
pot made the wool as dark in tint as the
 indigo itself4 ,for variety in her     
blues1 the enterprising housewife used  
the sunburned taglocks which were too   
hopelessly yellow for webs of white wool
 weaving1 and gave them a short         
immersion in the tub1 with the result of
 a beautiful blue-green1 tinged through 
and through with a sunny luster1 and    
this color was sun-fast and water-fast1 
capable of holding its tint for a       
century4  ,we know how knots of living  
wool grow golden by dragging through dew
 and lying in the sun1 and how the      
ladies of ,venice sat upon the roofs of 
their palaces with locks outspread upon 
the encircling brims of crownless hats1 
in order to capture the true ,venetian  
tint of hair4 ,we do not know by what   

alchemy the sun silvers a web spread out
 to whiten1 and yet gilds the human     
tresses of ladies and yellows the       
taglocks of sheep4 ,chemists may be able
 to explain1 but simple woman1 unversed 
in the mysteries of chemistry1 cannot4  
,whatever may have been the science of  
it1 this golden hue added to medium and 
dark blue a triad of shades1 which      
proved to be most effective when placed 
upon pure white of bleached linen1 or   
the gray-cream of the unbleached web4   
,the color seekers soon learned that    
every indelible stain was a dye1 and if 
little ,god-fearing ,thomas came home   
with a stain of ineffaceable green or   
brown on the knees of his diminutive tow
 breeches1 the mother carefully         
investigated the character of it1 and if
 it was unmoved by the persuasive       
influence of soft soap and sun1 she     
added it to a list which meant          
knowledge4 ,it is to be hoped that this 
was often considered an equivalent for  
the trouncing which was the common      

penalty of accident or inadvertence     
suffered by the ,puritan child4 ,in     
truth1 ,solomon's unwholesome caution1  
,spare the rod and spoil the child1 was 
all too strictly observed in those      
conscience-ridden ,puritan days4 ,i had 
a child's lively disapproval of         
,solomon1 since the curse of his        
sarcastic comment came down with the    
,puritan strain in my own blood1 and ,i 
have a smarting recollection of it4     
,god-fearing ,thomas and his brothers   
added to their mother's artistic        
equipment not only a list of variously  
shaded brown from the bark of the black 
walnut tree1 and of yellows from the    
leaves and twigs of the sumac and wild  
cherry1 but numberless others4 ,she was 
an untiring color hunter1 an            
experimenter with the juices of plants  
and flowers and berries1 and with every 
unwash-outable stain4 ,she set herself  
to the exciting task of repetition and  
variation4 ,she tried the velvet shell  
of young butternuts upon threads of her 

white wool1 and found a spring green1   
and if she spread over it a thinnest    
wash of hemlock bark1 they were olive1  
and if she dipped them in mitigated     
indigo1 lo6 they were of the green of   
sea hollows4 ,the butternut in all      
stages of its growth1 from the smallest 
and greenest to the rusty black of the  
ripe ones1 and the blackest black of the
 dried shell1 was a mine of varied      
color2 and the brass kettle of from ten 
to twenty quarts capacity1 which served 
so many purposes in domestic life1 could
 be tranquilly carrying out some of her 
propositions in the corner of the wide  
chimney while dinner was cooking1 or in 
the ashes of the burned-out embers while
 the household slept4  ,illustration3   
,,quilted ,,coverlet made by ,ann       
,gurnee4  ,illustration3 ,,homespun     
,,woolen ,,blanket with ,king ,george's 
,crown embroidered with home-dyed blue  
yarn in the corner4 ,from the ,burdette 
home at ,fort ,lee1 ,n4 ,j41 where      
,washington was entertained4  ,courtesy 

of ,bergen ,county ,historical ,society1
 ,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4  ,illustration3   
,,cherokee ,,rose ,,blanket1 made about 
#ahcj of homespun wool with ,indian     
,rose design about nineteen inches in   
diameter worked in the corners in       
home-dyed yarns of black1 red1 yellow1  
and dark green4 ,from the ,westervelt   
collection4  ,courtesy of ,bergen       
,county ,historical ,society1           
,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4  ,it was           
interesting and skillful work to extract
 these colors1 and the emulation of it  
and the glory of producing a new one was
 not without its excitement4 ,there was 
a certain fast pink which was the secret
 of one ingenious ungenerous ,puritan   
woman1 who kept the secret of the dye1  
when rose pink was the unattainable want
 of feminine ,new ,england4 ,she died   
without revealing it1 and as in those   
days there were no chemists to boil up  
her rags and test them for the secret1  
the ,windham pink1 so said my           
grandmother1 made people sorry for her  

death1 although she did not deserve it4 
,this little neighborly fling passed    
down two generations before it came to  
me from the later days of the colony4   
,yellows of different complexions were  
discovered in mayweed1 goldenrod and    
sumac1 and the little-girl ,faiths and  
,hopes and ,harmonys came in with       
fingers pink from the handling of       
pokeberries and purple from blackberry  
stain1 tempting the sight with          
evanescent dyes which would not keep    
their color even when stayed with alum  
and fortified with salt4 ,all this made 
,mistress ,windham's memory the more    
sad4 ,a good reliable rose red was      
always wanting4 ,madder could be        
purchased1 for it was raised in the     
,southern colonies1 but the madder was a
 brown red4 ,finally some enterprising  
merchantman introduced cochineal1 and   
the vacuum was filled4 ,with a judicious
 addition of logwood1 rose red1 wine red
 and deep claret were achieved4  ,the   
dye of dyes was indigo1 for the blue of 

heaven1 or the paler blue of snow       
shadows1 to a blue which was black or a 
black which was blue1 was within its    
capacity4 ,and the convenience of it6   
,the indigo tub was everywhere an       
adjunct to all home manufactures4 ,it   
dyed the yarn for the universal         
knitting1 and the wool which was a part 
of the blue-gray homespun for the wear  
of the men of the household4 ,one-third 
of white wool1 one-third of indigo-dyed 
wool1 and one-third of black sheep's    
wool1 was the formula for this universal
 texture4 ,perhaps it was not too much  
to say that the gray days of the        
,pilgrim mother's life were enriched by 
this royal color4  ,the soft yarns1     
carefully spun from selected wool1 took 
kindly to the natural dyes1 and our     
friend1 the ,puritan housewife1 soon    
found herself in possession of a stock  
of home-manufactured material1 soft and 
flexible in quality1 and quite as good  
in color as that of the lamented        
,english crewels4 ,the homespun and     

woven linens with which her chests were 
stocked were exactly the ground for     
decorative needlework of the kind which 
she had known in her ,english childhood1
 long before questions of conscience had
 come to trouble her1 or the boy who had
 grown up to be her husband had been    
wakened from a comfortable existence by 
the cat-o'-nine-tails of conscience1 and
 sent across the sea to stifle his      
doubts in fighting savagery4  ,probably 
the ,puritan mother could stop thinking 
for a while about the training of       
,thomas and ,peace and ,harmony1 and the
 rest of the dozen and a half of        
children which were the allotted portion
 of every ,puritan wife1 while she      
selected out intervals of her long busy 
days1 as one selects out bits of color  
from bundles of uninteresting patches1  
and devoted them to absolutely          
superfluous needlework4  ,what a joy it 
must have been to ponder whether she    
should use deep pink or celestial blue  
for the flowers of her pattern1 instead 

of remembering how red poor baby        
,thomas's little cushions of flesh had  
grown under the smart slaps of her      
corset board when he overcame his sister
 ,faith in a fair fight about nothing1  
and what a relief the making of crewel  
roses must have been from the doubts and
 cares of a constantly increasing       
family6  ,she sorted out her colors1    
three shades of green1 three of         
cochineal red1 two of madder--one of    
them a real salmon color--numberless    
shades of indigo1 yellows and oranges   
and browns in goodly bunches1 ready for 
the long stretches of fair solid white  
linen split into valances or sewed into 
a counterpane4 ,truly she was a happy   
woman1 and she would show ,mistress     
,schuyler1 with her endless             
blue-and-white1 what she could do with  
her colors6 ,then she had a misgiving1  
and reflected for a moment on the       
unregeneracy of the human soul1 and that
 poor ,mistress ,schuyler's quiet airs  
of superiority really came from her     

,dutch blood1 for her mother was an     
,english ,puritan who had married a     
,hollander1 and her own husband revealed
 to her in the dead of night1 when all  
hearts are opened1 his belief that      
,brother ,schuyler had been moved to    
emigrate much more by greed of          
profitable trade with the savages than  
by longings for liberty of conscience4  
,she went back to her pattern1 which she
 just now remembered had been lent her  
by poor ,mistress ,schuyler1 and was    
soon absorbed in making long lines of   
pin pricks along the outlines of the    
pattern1 so that she could sift powdered
 charcoal through and catch the shapes  
of leaves and curves on her fair white  
linen4  ,her foot was on the rocker of  
the cradle all the time1 and the last   
baby was asleep in it4 ,the hooded      
cherry cradle which had rocked the three
 girls and four boys1 counting the wee  
velvet-scalped ,jonathan1 against whose 
coming the cradle had been polished with
 rottenstone and whale oil until it     

shone like mahogany4  ,should the roses 
of the pattern be red or pink8 and the  
columbines blue or purple8 ,she could   
make a beautiful purple by steeping the 
sugar paper which wrapped her precious  
cone of ,west ,indian loaf sugar1 and   
sugar-paper purple was reasonably fast4 
,so ran the thoughts of the dear1       
straight-featured ,puritan wife as she  
sorted her colors and worked her        
pattern4  ,at this period of her        
experience of the new life of the       
colonies1 the chief end of her          
embroidery was to help in creating a    
civilized home1 to add to what had been 
built simply for shelter and protection1
 some of the features which lived and   
grew only in the atmosphere of safety   
and content4 ,hospitality was one of the
 features of ,new ,england life1 and the
 first addition to the family shelter   
was a bedroom1 which bore the title of  
the best bedroom1 and a tall four-post  
bed1 which was the best bed4 ,the       
adornment of this holy altar of         

friendship was an urgent duty4  ,when ,i
 began this allusion to the best        
bedroom1 ,i left the housewife sorting  
her tinted crewels for its adornment1   
and she still sat1 happily cutting the  
beautiful homespun linen into lengths   
for the two bed valances1 the one to    
hang from the upper frame which         
surrounded the top of her four-post     
bedstead1 and the other1 which hung from
 the bed frame itself1 and reached the  
floor1 hiding the dark space beneath the
 bed4 ,the high-post bedstead had long  
groups of smooth flutes in the upward   
course of its posts1 and no footboard1 a
 plain-sawed headboard and smooth       
headposts4 ,there must be a long curtain
 at the head of the bed1 which would    
hide both headboard and plain headposts1
 and this curtain she meant should have 
a wide border of crewelwork at the top  
and bunches of flowers scattered at     
intervals on its surface4               
,illustration3 ,,bed ,,set4 ,keturah    
,baldwin pattern1 designed1 dyed1 and   

worked by ,the ,deerfield ,society of   
,blue and ,white ,needlework4           
,deerfield1 ,mass4  ,illustration3 ,,bed
 ,,covers worked in candle wicking4     
,courtesy of ,colonial ,rooms1 ,john    
,wanamaker1 ,new ,york  ,none of        
,mistress ,schuyler's blue-and-white for
 her6 ,it should carry every color she  
could muster1 and the upper valance     
should have the same border as the head 
curtain4 ,the lower valance would not   
need it1 for the counterpane would hang 
well over1 and she meant somehow to bend
 the border design into a wreath and    
work it in the center of the            
counterpane1 and double-knot a fringe to
 go entirely around it1 the same as that
 which should edge the upper valance4   
,it was a luxurious bed dressing when it
 was finished1 and nothing in it of     
material to differentiate it from the   
embroideries which were being done in   
,england at the very time4 ,there were  
no original features of design or       
arrangement4 ,the close-lapping stitches

 were set in exactly the same fashion1  
and1 considering the absolute necessity 
of growing and manufacturing all the    
materials1 it was a wonderful           
performance4  ,it was not alone bed     
hangings which were subjects of ,new    
,england crewelwork2 there were mantel  
valances1 which covered the plain wooden
 mantels and hung at a safe distance    
above the generous household fires4     
,these were wrought with borders of     
crewelwork1 and finished with elaborate 
thread and crewel fringes4 ,they were   
knotted into diamond-shaped openings1   
above the fringes1 three or four rows of
 them1 the more the better1 for in the  
general simplicity of furnishing1 these 
things were of value4 ,then there were  
table covers and stand covers and wall  
pockets of various shapes and designs1  
and1 in short1 wherever the housewife   
could legitimately introduce color and  
ornamentation1 crewelwork made its      
appearance4  ,in the very infancy of the
 art of embroidery in ,america1 the     

primitive needlewoman was possessed of  
means and materials which fill the      
embroiderers of our rich later days with
 envy4 ,homespun linen is no longer to  
be had1 and dyes are no longer the pure1
 simple1 hold-fast juices which certain 
plants draw from the ground2 and try as 
we may to emulate or imitate the old    
embroidered valances which hung from the
 testers of the high-post bedsteads and 
concealed the dark cavities beneath1 and
 the coverlet besprinkled with bunches  
of impossible flowers done in           
home-concocted shades of color upon     
heavy snow-white linen1 we fall far     
short of the intrinsic merits of those  
early hangings4  ,there are many        
survivals of these embroideries in ,new 
,england families1 who reverence all    
that pertains to the lives of their     
founders4 ,bed hangings had less daily  
wear and friction than pertained to     
other articles of decorative use1 and   
generally maintained a healthy existence
 until they ceased to be things of      

custom or fashion4 ,when this time came 
they were folded away with other        
treasures of household stuffs1 in the   
reserved linen chest1 whence they       
occasionally emerge to tell tales of    
earlier days and compare themselves with
 the mixed specimens of needlework art  
which have succeeded them1 but cannot be
 properly called their descendants4     
,the possession of a good piece of old  
crewelwork1 done in this country1 is as 
strong a proof of respectable ancestry  
as a patent of nobility1 since no one in
 the busy early colonial days had time  
for such work save those whose abundant 
leisure was secured by ample means and  
liberal surroundings4 ,the incessant    
social and intellectual activity        
demanded by modern conditions of life   
was uncalled for4 ,no woman1 be she     
gentle or simple1 had stepped from the  
peaceful obscurity of home into the     
field of the world to war for its prizes
 or rewards4 ,if the man to whom she    
belonged failed to win bread or renown1 

the women who were bound in his family  
starved for the one or lived without the
 luster of the other4  ,i have shown    
that even in the early days of flax     
growing and indigo dyeing the ,new      
,england farmer's wife had come into her
 heritage1 not only of materials1 but of
 the implements of manufacture4 ,she had
 the small flax wheel which dwelt in the
 keeping room1 where she could sit and  
spin like a lady of place and condition1
 and the large woolen wheel standing in 
the mote-laden air of the garret1       
through which she walked up and down as 
she twisted the yarn4  ,later1 the      
colonial dame1 if she belonged to the   
prosperous class--for there were        
classes1 even in the beginning of       
colonial life--had her beautifully      
shaped mahogany linen wheel1 made by the
 skillful artificers of ,england or     
,holland1 more beautiful perhaps1 but   
not more capable than that of the farm  
wife1 whittled and sandpapered into     
smoothness by her husband or sons1 and  

both were used with the same result4    
,the pioneer woodworker had a lively    
appreciation of the new woods of the new
 country1 and made free use of the      
abundant wild cherry for the furniture  
called for by the growing prosperity of 
the settlements1 its close grain and    
warm color giving it the preference over
 other native woods1 excepting always   
the curly and bird's-eye maple1 which   
were novelties to the imported artisan4 
,i remember that curly maple was a much 
prized wood in my own childhood1 and    
that after carefully searching for the  
outward marks of it among the trees of  
the farm1 ,i asked about the shape of   
its leaves and the color of its bark1 so
 that ,i might know it--for children    
were supposed to know species of trees  
by sight in my childhood4 ,why1 said my 
mother1 it looks like any other maple   
tree on the outside2 it is only that the
 wood is curly1 just as some children   
have curly hair4 ,even now1 after all   
these years1 a plane of curly maple     

suggests the curly hair of some child   
beloved of nature4  ,the beautiful      
curly1 spotted and satiny maple wood    
was1 however1 out of fashion when the   
roving shipmasters began to bring in    
logs of ,santo ,domingo mahogany in the 
holds of their far-wandering barks1 and 
the cabinetmakers to cut beautiful      
shapes of sideboards1 and curving legs  
and backs of chairs1 as well as the tall
 carved headposts and the head and      
footboards of luxurious beds from them4 
,it was not only that they were a       
repetition of ,english luxury1 but that 
they made more of themselves in plain   
white interiors1 by reason of insistent 
color1 than the blond sisterhood of     
maples could do4 ,cherry1 which shared  
in a degree its depth of color1 held its
 world for a longer period1 but no wood 
could withstand the magnificence of pure
 mahogany red1 with the story of its    
vegetable life written along its planes 
in lines and waves1 deepening into      
darks1 and lightening into ocher and    

gold along its surfaces4  ,if the       
cabinetry of ,new ,england is a         
digression1 it is perhaps excusable on  
the ground of its close connection with 
the crewel work of ,new ,england1 of    
which we are treating1 and to which we  
shall have something of a sense of      
novelty in returning1 since at least the
 complexion of our colonial embroidery  
has experienced a change4  ,so1 in spite
 of the success of the early ,puritan   
woman in producing tints necessary to   
the various needs of colored crewelwork1
 the supremacy of indigo as a dye led to
 a lasting fashion of embroidery known  
as blue-and-white4 ,it was the assertion
 of absolute and tried merit in         
materials which led to its success4 ,we 
sometimes see this emergence of         
persistent goodness in instances of some
 human career1 where indefatigable      
integrity outruns the glamour of        
personal gift4 ,this was the fortune of 
the blue-and-white1 which not only      
created a style1 but has achieved       

persistence and has broken out in       
revivals all along the history of       
,american embroidery4 ,it has been      
somewhat identified with domestic       
weaving1 for the loom has always been a 
member of the ,new ,england family1 the 
great home-built loom1 standing in the  
far end of the kitchen1 capable of      
divers miracles of creation between dawn
 and sunset4  ,on this much-to-be-prized
 background of homespun linen the       
different shades of indigo blue could   
be1 and were1 very effectively used1 and
 it is worthy of note that it repeated  
the simple contrasts of the ,canton     
china or the blue ,canton which were the
 prized gifts brought to their families 
by the returning ,new ,england seamen in
 the profitable ,india trade1 which soon
 became a commercial fact4              
,blue-and-white had at first been       
evolved by tight-bound circumstances4   
,excellent practice in shades of blue   
had given it a certified place in the   
embroidery art of ,america1 but we do   

not find it in collections of old       
,english embroidery4 ,it is one of the  
small monuments which mark the path of  
the woman colonist1 narrowed by         
circumstances1 which created a          
recognized style4 ,it is not to be      
wondered at that blue-and-white         
crewelwork made a place for itself in   
the history of embroidery which was a   
permanent one4 ,the circumstances of    
,puritan life being so simple and direct
 would induce a corresponding simplicity
 of taste1 and simplicity is apt to     
seize upon first principles4  ,every    
colorist knows that strong but peaceful 
contrast is one of the first laws of    
color arrangement1 and the unconscious  
yoking of white and blue placed one of  
the strongest color notes against       
unprotesting and receptive white4 ,this 
made a new manner or style of           
embroidery4 ,its permanence may have    
been influenced by the art of one of the
 oldest peoples of the world1 and as we 
have said1 the prevalence of ,canton    

china upon the dressers and filling the 
mantel closets and serving the tables of
 the rich1 was beginning to appear in   
all houses of growing prosperity1 even  
where pewter ware and dishes carved from
 wood still held the place of actual    
service4  ,the ,puritan housewife could 
arrange her grades of blue according to 
the ,chinese colors of this oldest      
domestic art of the world1 and be       
correspondingly happy in the result4    
,chinese design1 however1 had no        
influence in the growing practice of    
embroidery1 and here also an instinctive
 law prevailed4 ,she recognized that    
even the highly artificial landscape art
 of her idolized plates would not suit  
the flexible and broken surfaces of her 
equally cherished linen1 or the         
surroundings of her life4  ,it was small
 wonder that this became a favorite     
style of embroidery and has in it the   
seeds of permanence4 ,a table setting of
 snow-white or cream-white homespun1    
scalloped and embroidered in lines of   

blue crewels1 shining with the precious 
,canton blue1 was1 and would be even at 
this day1 a thing to admire4  ,the first
 deviation from the habitual crewelwork 
is to be found in the blue-and-white1   
for although the same stitch was        
employed1 it was more often in outline  
than solid4 ,the designs were sketches  
instead of patterns as had formerly been
 the case4 ,although this variety of    
work comes under the head of colonial   
crewelwork1 there was in it the         
beginning of the changes and variety    
effected by differing circumstances and 
influences--those vital circumstances   
which leave their traces constantly     
along the history of needlework4 ,it was
 owing to various reasons that outline  
embroidery largely took the place of    
solid crewelwork4  ,the question of     
design must have been a rather difficult
 one1 as there were no designs1 and     
almost no sources of design for         
needlework1 and at this stage of the art
 in ,new ,england original design seems 

not to have suggested itself4 ,it would 
certainly have been quite natural to    
have copied pine trees and broken       
outlines of hills1 but as this class of 
embroidery was almost entirely used for 
hangings and decorative furnishings1 the
 ,pilgrim mothers seem to have had an   
instinctive sense that such design was  
incongruous4 ,consequently they copied  
,english models4 ,we find designs of    
crewelwork of the period in ,english    
museums identically the same as in the  
,new ,england work1 thorned roses and   
voluminously doubled pinks1 held        
together in borders of long curved lines
 or scattered at regular intervals in   
groups and bunches4  ,my grandmother    
explained to me in that long-ago period1
 where her great age and my inquisitive 
youth met and exchanged our several and 
individual surplus of thought and talk1 
that to a certain extent ladies of      
colonial days copied many of their      
designs from what were called ,india    
chintzes4 ,these chintzes seem to have  

been the intermediate wear between      
homespun of either flax or wool and the 
creamy satins or the thick paduasoy1 the
 more flexible lutestring silks1 worn by
 great ladies of the period1 and the    
wrought ,india muslins for less         
conventional occasions4 ,india chintzes 
were printed upon white or tinted       
grounds of hand-spun cotton1 in colors  
so generously full of substance as to   
have almost the effect of brocaded      
stuffs1 and adaptations from their      
designs were suitable for embroidery4 ,i
 remember the three-cornered and square 
bits of ,india chintz which my          
grandmother showed me in long-preserved 
housewives1 or huz-ifs1 as she called   
them4 ,they were lengths of domestic    
linen on which small squares or         
triangles of chintz were sewn1 making a 
series of small pockets1 each one       
stuffed with convenient threads or bits 
of colored sewing silks1 or needle and  
thimble4 ,these were pinned at the belt 
of the active housewife1 and hung       

swaying against her skirts if she rose  
from her sewing1 or were conveniently at
 hand if she sat patching or            
embroidering4 ,i remember that some of  
my grandmother's huz-ifs still held     
threads of different colored crewels    
wound on bits of cardboard1 and any     
embroiderer might envy the convenience  
of such holders4  ,i do not see1 in     
fact1 why there should not be a revival 
of huz-ifs1 a pleasant new fashion1     
founded upon the old1 holding in        
harmonious variety all the wonders of   
modern manufacture1 as well as making   
mementos of former gowns of one's own   
and of one's friends4 ,they might be    
studied gradations of color and design1 
and be enriched by harmonious bindings4 
,if my dwindling time holds out1 perhaps
 ,i shall institute or assist at such a 
renewal of old conveniences1 in spite of
 sharp contrast of purposes1 adding to  
home costume a grace of pendent color4  
,i was talking of design1 when huz-ifs  
intruded1 and was saying that at the    

period when blue-and-white took on the  
outline practice design was a difficult 
question2 indeed1 it is always a        
difficult question for embroiderers4 ,it
 is so important a part or quality of   
the art of embroidery4 ,in fact1 it is  
the business of the successful          
embroiderer to know as much about design
 as she must about stitchery and color4 
,after the advent of blue-and-white1    
embroidery took on many different       
features4 ,curiously enough1 when it was
 confined to decorative uses1 its       
character immediately changed4          
,crewelwork of the period was not given 
to hangings and furniture1 but to       
clothing4 ,an embroidered apron became  
of much more importance than a bed      
valance or counterpane4 ,the young girl 
began by embroidering her school aprons 
with borders of forget-me-nots and      
mullein pinks1 in colored crewels4  ,i  
remember seeing among my grandmother's  
savings an apron of gray unbleached     
linen1 quite dark in color1 with a      

border of single pinks entirely around  
it4 ,the design had evidently been drawn
 from the flower itself1 and the whole  
performance was essentially different   
from that of a slightly earlier period4 
,the materials of homespun linen and    
home-dyed crewels were the same4 ,the   
thing which was different and showed    
either a cropping-out of original       
thought or a bias toward the style of   
embroidery lately introduced by the     
famous school of ,bethlehem1            
,pennsylvania1 was an over-and-over     
stitch instead of the old crewel method4
 ,this over-and-over stitch was apparent
 in all crewel embroidery devoted to    
personal wear1 but was never found in   
articles used for house or decorative   
purposes4 ,it was certainly a proper    
distinction1 as the flat of crewel was  
not capable of shadow and was more      
inherently a part of the textile1 as    
much so1 indeed1 as a stamped or woven  
decoration would have been4  ,it was not
 long before the over-and-over stitch   

demanded silks and flosses instead of   
crewels for its exercise1 and silk or   
satin for the background of its         
exploits4 ,there were satin bags covered
 with the most delicate stitchery1 and  
black silk aprons with wreaths of myrtle
 done with silks or flosses1 and1       
finally1 satin pelerines exquisitely    
embroidered in designs of carefully     
shaded roses4 ,although nothing         
remarkable or epoch-making happened in  
the art of embroidery1 it retained an   
even more than respectable existence4   
,the skill1 taste1 and love for the     
creation of beauty1 which were the      
heritage of the race1 were kept alive4  
,,chapter ,,iii -- ,,samplers ,,and ,a  
,,word ,,about ,,quilts   ,a chapter    
upon ,samplers1 by right1 should precede
 the discussion of colonial embroidery1 
although the practice of mothers in     
crewelwork was simultaneous with it4    
,they were carried on at the same time1 
but the embroidery was work for grown-up
 people1 while samplers were baby       

work--a beginning as necessary as being 
taught to walk or talk1 to the future of
 the child4 ,fortunately1 the very      
infant interest in samplers has tended  
to their preservation1 and when the     
child grew to womanhood the sampler     
became invested with a mingling of      
family interests and affections1 and    
she1 the executant1 came to look upon it
 with motherliness4 ,the loving pride of
 the mother in the child's              
accomplishment also tended to the care  
and preservation of the first work of   
the small hands4  ,as late as the       
twenties of the eighteenth century1     
infant schools still existed and        
samplers were wrought by infant fingers4
 ,eighty-five years ago1 ,i myself was  
in one of a row of little chairs in the 
infant school1 with a small spread of   
canvas lying over my lap and being sewn 
to my skirt by misdirected efforts4 ,my 
box held a tiny thimble and spools of   
green and red sewing silk1 and ,i tucked
 it under alternate knees for safety4   

,sarah ,woodruff6--,i wonder where she  
is now8--sat next to me in my sampler   
days1 and her canvas was white1 while   
mine was yellow4 ,her border was worked 
with blue1 and mine with green4 ,with a 
child's inscrutable and wonderful       
awareness of underlying facts1 ,i knew  
that ,sarah ,woodruff's father was      
richer than mine1 and that the white    
canvas and blue border1 which the       
teacher said went with it1 was an       
indication of it4 ,i have it now1 the   
little faded yellow parallelogram of    
canvas1 on which the germ of the very   
fingers with which ,i am now writing    
wrought with painstaking care--,executed
 by ,candace ,thurber1 her age six      
years4 ,they have since had various     
fortunes and experiences1 these fingers1
 and have wrought to the satisfaction1  
,i hope1 of their foregone line of      
,puritan ancestors4  ,the sampler has   
special claims upon the world1 because  
it is probable that all forms of textile
 design originated with it4 ,in fact1   

design for needlework began with small  
squares formed by crossing stitches at  
the junction of textile fiber4  ,in     
sequences these squares formed lines1   
blocks1 and corner1 and in double-line  
juxtaposition made the form of border   
probably the oldest ornamental          
decoration in the world1 generally known
 as a ,roman border4 ,this decoration   
escaped from textiles into stone and    
building materials1 and in fact appeared
 in the elaboration of all materials1   
from the fronts of temples to the       
ornamentation of a crown4 ,the most     
ancient examples of design are founded  
upon a square1 and this points          
inevitably to the stitch covering the   
crossing of threads1 the cross-stitch1  
which preceded all others and remained  
the only decorative stitch until weaving
 sprang into so fine an art that        
interstices between threads are         
unnoticeable4 ,then1 and not until then1
 the long over-stitch1 the opus         
plumarium1 which we call ,kensington1   

was invented1 and served to make        
,english embroidery famous in early     
,english history4 ,this was the stitch  
used by the ,pilgrim mothers in their   
crewel embroidery1 as we use it to-day  
in most of our decorative presentations4
  ,illustration3 ,,sampler worked by    
,adeline ,bryant in #ahbf1 now in the   
possession of ,anna ,d4 ,trowbridge1    
,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4  ,in spite of the  
achievements of the opus plumarium1 we  
are indebted to simple cross-stitch1 to 
the obligations of the mathematical     
square of hand weavings1 for all the    
wonderful borderings which have been    
evolved by ages of the use of the       
needle1 since decoration began4 ,we do  
not stop to think of the artistic       
intelligence or gift which made         
mathematical spaces express beautiful   
form1 any more than we stop in our      
reading to think of the sensitive       
intelligence which drew a letter and    
made it the expression of sound1 and yet
 most of us use the result of some      

exceptional intelligence and feel the   
exaltation of what we call culture4     
,the stitch itself is entitled to the   
greatest respect1 as the very first form
 of decoration with the needle--an art  
growing out of and controlled by the    
earlier art of weaving4 ,decorative     
bands of cross-stitch come to us on     
shreds of linen found in the sepulchers 
of ,egypt and the burial grounds of the 
prehistoric races of ,south ,america4 ,i
 have seen1 in a collection of textiles 
found in their ancient burial places1   
the most elaborate and beautiful of     
cross-stitch borders1 wrought into the  
fabrics which enriched ,pizarro's       
shiploads of loot sent from ,vicuna1    
,peru1 to the court of ,spain at the    
time of the wonderful and barbarous     
,conquest4 ,all of the old ,roman       
borders are found in this collection1   
the best designs the world has produced1
 those which architects of the period   
used upon the fronts and in the         
interiors of their first creations4 ,and

 here arises the ever recurring question
 of thought-sharing between the most    
widely removed of the earlier human     
races4 ,how did early ,peruvians and    
far-off ,latins think in the same forms1
 and how did they come to select certain
 ones as the best1 and cleave to them as
 a common inheritance8 ,but leaving the 
puzzle of design and returning to the   
cross-stitch1 which was its first       
interpretation or medium1 and to the    
little ,puritans who shared its         
acquaintance and practice with the women
 of all ages1 we may see how the ,new   
,england sampler opened the door of     
inheritance4  ,as ,eve sewed her        
garments of leaves in the ,garden of    
,eden1 so each one of these little      
,puritan ,eves1 so far removed in the   
long history of the race from the first 
one1 was heir to her ingenuities as well
 as her failings1 from her patching     
together of small and inadequate things1
 to her creative function in the kingdom
 of the world1 as well as to her        

attempts to sweeten life1 and to her    
failures and successes4  ,illustration3 
,left--,,sampler embroidered in colors  
on cru linen1 by ,mary ,ann ,marley1    
aged twelve1 ,august #cj1 #ahbj4 ,from  
,providence1 ,r4 ,i4  ,right--,,sampler 
embroidered in brown on cru linen1 by   
,martha ,carter ,fitzhugh1 of ,virginia1
 in #agic1 and left unfinished at her   
death4  ,courtesy of ,essex ,institute1 
,salem1 ,mass4  ,the learning to do an  
,a or a ,b in cross-stitch was the      
beginning of household doing1 which is  
the business of woman's life4 ,the      
decorative and the useful were evenly   
balanced in sampler making4 ,all this   
skill in lettering could be applied to  
the stores of household linen in the way
 of marking1 for cross-stitch letters1  
done in colored threads1 were a part of 
the finish of sheets and pillowcases and
 fine toweling which made so important a
 part of the riches of the household1   
and it led by easy grades of familiarity
 to more comprehensive methods of       

decoration4 ,in truth1 the letters first
 practiced in cross-stitch opened the   
door to all future elaborations1 and    
were the vehicle of moral instruction as
 well2 for little ,puritans took their  
first doses of ,bible history in        
carefully embroidered text1 and their   
notions of pictorial art from           
cross-stitch illustrations4 ,one finds  
upon some of the early examples pictures
 of ,adam and ,eve in the ,garden of    
,eden1 with the ever present author of  
sin1 climbing the stem of the tree of   
life1 or ,jacob's dream of angels       
ascending and descending a ladder1      
intersecting clouds of blue and         
smoke-colored stitches4  ,these         
pictorial samplers are certainly        
interesting1 but those which confine    
themselves to simple cross-stitch with  
borders1 and the name of the little     
child who wrought them1 touch a note of 
domestic life which is more than        
interesting4  ,the sampler was purely   
,english in its derivation and followed 

the ,english with great fidelity1       
although redolent of ,puritan life and  
thought4 ,sometimes1 indeed1 it carried 
cross-stitch to the very limit of its   
capability in an attempt to render      
,bible scenes pictorially1 but for the  
most part it was confined to the        
practice of various styles of lettering 
consolidated into text or verse4  ,the  
material upon which they were worked was
 generally of canvas1 either white or   
yellow1 and this was of ,english        
manufacture4 ,as all manufactures were  
things of price1 later samplers were    
often worked upon coarse homespun       
linens1 which1 barring the variations in
 the size of the threads inevitable in  
hand-spinning1 made a fairly good       
material for cross-stitch4              
,illustration3 ,left--,,sampler worked  
by ,christiana ,baird4 ,late eighteenth 
century ,american4  ,courtesy           
,metropolitan ,museum of ,art1 ,new     
,york  ,right--,,memorial ,,piece worked
 in silks1 on white satin4 ,sacred to   

the memory of ,major ,anthony ,morse1   
who died ,march #bb1 #ahje4  ,courtesy  
of ,essex ,institute1 ,salem1 ,mass4    
,illustration3 ,,sampler of ,moravian   
embroidery1 worked in #ahjf1 by ,sarah  
,ann ,smith1 of ,smithtown1 ,l4 ,i4     
,sampler making was a home rather than a
 school taught industry1 going down from
 mother to daughter along with darning  
and other processes of the needle1 and  
having no relation1 except that of its  
dexterity1 to the distinct style of     
decorative embroidery called crewelwork1
 which accompanied it1 or even preceded 
it4  ,the collecting of samplers has    
become rather a fad in these days1 and  
as they are almost exclusively of ,new  
,england origin1 it gives an opportunity
 of acquaintance with the little        
,puritan girl which is not without its  
charm4 ,as most of their samplers were  
signed with their names1 the            
acquaintance becomes quite intimate1 and
 one feels that these little ,puritans  
were good as well as diligent4 ,here is 

,harmony ,twitchell's name upon a blue  
and white sampler4 ,what child whose    
name was ,harmony could quarrel with    
other children1 or how could this other1
 whose long-suffering name was          
,patience1 be resentful of the          
roughnesses of small male ,puritans8    
,hate-evil and ,wait-still and          
,hope-still and ,thanks and ,unity must 
have sat together like little doves and 
made crooked ,a's and ,b's and ,c's and 
picked out the frayed sewing-silk       
threads under the reproofs of the       
teacher of the ,infant ,school1 ,miss   
,mather or ,miss ,coffin or ,miss       
,hooker1 whose father was a clergyman1  
or even ,miss ,bradford1 whose uncle was
 the ,governor8  ,all this is in the    
story of the sampler1 and so the        
teaching and practice of the canvas went
 constantly forward4 ,the method was so 
simple1 quite within the capacity of an 
alphabet-studying child4 ,to make an ,a 
in cross-stitch was to create a link    
between the baby mind and the letter    

represented4 ,there was no choice1 no   
judgment or experience needed4 ,the     
limit of every stitch was fixed by a    
cross thread1 one little open space to  
send the needle down and another through
 which to bring it back1 and the next   
one and the next1 then to cross the     
threads and the thing was done4 ,yes1   
the little slips could make a sampler1  
every one of them1 and when it was made1
 sometimes it was put in a frame with a 
glass over it1 and ,patience's mother   
would show it to visitors1 and ,patience
 would taste the sweets of superiority1 
than which there is nothing to the      
childish heart1 nor even to mature      
humanity1 so sweet4  ,illustration3     
,left--,,sampler worked by ,nancy       
,dennis1 ,argyle1 ,n4 ,y41 in #ahaj4    
,right--,,sampler worked by ,nancy      
,mc,murray1 of ,salem1 ,n4 ,y41 in      
#agic4  ,courtesy ,mrs4 ,e4 ,m4         
,sanford1 ,madison1 ,n4 ,j4             
,illustration3 ,,petit ,,point ,,picture
 which belonged to ,president ,john     

,quincy ,adams1 and now in the ,dwight  
,m4 ,prouty collection4  ,courtesy      
,colonial ,rooms1 ,john ,wanamaker1 ,new
 ,york  ,there were ,infant ,schools in 
my own days1 little congregations of    
children not far removed from babyhood1 
who were taught the alphabet from huge  
cards1 and repeated it simultaneously   
from the great blackboard which was     
mounted in the center of the room4 ,in  
the schools1 as well as at home1 every  
little girl-baby was taught to sew1 to  
overhand minutely upon small blocks of  
calico1 the edges turned over and basted
 together4 ,when a perfect capacity for 
overhand sewing was established1 the    
next short step was to the sampler1 and 
the tiny fingers were guided along the  
intricacies of canvas crossings4 ,the   
dear little rose-tipped fingers6 the    
small hands6 velvet soft and satin      
smooth1 diverse even in their           
littlenesses6 ,they were taught even    
then to be dexterous with woman's       
special tool1 the very same in purpose  

and intent with which queens and dames  
and ladies had played long before4  ,the
 sampler world was a real world in those
 days1 full of youth and as living as   
the youth of the world must always be1  
but now it is dead as the mummies1 and  
the carefully preserved remains are only
 the shell which once held human        
rivalries and passions4   ,quilts  ,the 
domestic needlework of the late         
seventeenth and early eighteenth        
centuries1 should not be overlooked in a
 history of embroidery1 it being often  
so ambitiously decorative and the       
stitchery so remarkable4 ,the patchwork 
quilt was an instance of much of this   
effort4 ,it was unfortunate that an     
economic law governed this species of   
work1 which prevented its possible      
development4 ,the ,new ,england         
conscience1 sworn to utility in every   
form1 had ruled that no material should 
be bought for this purpose4 ,it could   
only take advantage of what happened1   
and it seldom happened that cottons of  

two or three harmonious colors came     
together in sufficient quantity to      
complete the five-by-five or six-by-six 
which went to the making of a patchwork 
quilt4 ,nevertheless one sometimes comes
 across a rising sun or a setting sun   
bedquilt which is remarkable for        
skillful shading1 and was an inspiration
 in the house where it was born1 and    
where the needlework comes quite within 
the pale of ornamental stitchery4  ,this
 variety of domestic needlework1 and one
 or two others which are akin to it1    
survived in the northern and middle     
states in the form of quilting until at 
least the middle of the nineteenth      
century1 while in the southern states1  
especially in the mountains of ,kentucky
 and ,north ,carolina1 it still survives
 in its original painstaking excellence4
  ,among the earlier examples of these  
quilts one occasionally finds one which 
is really worthy of the careful         
preservation which it receives4 ,i      
remember one which impressed itself upon

 my memory because of the humanity      
interwoven with it1 as well as the skill
 of its making4 ,it was a construction  
of blocks1 according to patchwork law1  
every alternate block of the border     
having an applied rose cut from printed 
calico in alternate colors of yellow1   
red1 and blue4 ,these roses were        
carefully applied with buttonhole       
stitch1 and the cotton ground underneath
 cut away to give uniform thickness for 
quilting4 ,the main body of the quilt   
was unnoticeably good1 being a          
collection of faintly colored patches of
 correct construction4 ,the quilting was
 a marvel--a large carefully drawn      
design1 evidently inspired by branching 
rose vines without flowers1 only the    
leafage and stems being used1 and all   
these bending forms filled in with a    
diamonded background of exquisite       
quilting4 ,the palely colored center was
 distinguished only by its needlework1  
leaving the rose border to emphasize and
 frame it4  ,there was a bit of personal

 history attached to this quilt in the  
shape of a small tag1 which said3  ,this
 quilt made by ,delia ,piper1 for       
occupation after the death of an only   
son4 ,bolivar1 ,southern ,missouri1     
#ahde4  ,the same kind friend who had   
introduced me to this quilt1 finding me 
appreciative of woman's efforts in fine 
stitchery1 took me to call upon other   
pieces which were equally worthy of     
admiration4 ,one was a white quilt of   
what was called stuffed work1 made by   
working two surfaces of cloth together1 
the upper one of fine cambric1 the lower
 one of coarse homespun4 ,upon the upper
 one a large ornamental basket was      
drawn1 filled with flowers of many      
kinds1 the drawing outlines being       
followed by a back stitchery as regular 
and fine as if done by machine1 looking1
 in fact1 like a string of beaded       
stitches1 and yet it was accomplished by
 a needle in the hand of a skillful but 
unprofessional sewer4 ,the picture1 for 
it was no less1 was completed by the    

stuffing of each leaf and flower and    
stem with flakes of cotton pushed       
through the homespun lining4 ,the       
weaving of the basket was a marvel of   
bands of buttonholed material1 which    
stood out in appropriate thickness4 ,the
 centers of the flowers had simulated   
stamens done in knotted work4           
,illustration3 ,left--,,sampler in      
drawnwork1 cru linen thread1 made by    
,anne ,gower1 wife of ,gov4 ,john       
,endicott1 before #afbh4                
,center--,,sampler embroidered in dull  
colors on cru canvas by ,mary           
,holingworth1 wife of ,philip ,english1 
,salem merchant1 married ,july #afge1   
accused of witchcraft in #afib1 but     
escaped to ,new ,york4 ,from the ,curwen
 estate4  ,courtesy the ,essex          
,institute1 ,salem1 ,mass4              
,right--,,sampler worked by ,hattie     
,goodeshall1 who was born ,february #ai1
 #aghj1 in ,bristol4  ,courtesy         
,metropolitan ,museum of ,art  ,i think 
this stuffed work was rather rare1 for  

,i have only seen two specimens1 and as 
it required unusual and exhaustive skill
 in needlework1 the production was      
naturally limited4 ,the practice was one
 of the exotic efforts of some one of   
large leisure and lively ambitions who  
belonged to the class of prosperous     
citizens4  ,patchwork1 as it was        
appropriately called1 was more often a  
farmhouse industry1 which accounts for  
its narrow limits1 since1 with choice of
 material1 even a small familiarity with
 geometrical design might bring good    
results4 ,it might have easily become   
good domestic art4 ,geometrical borders 
in two colors would have taken their    
place in decorative work1 and the       
applied work1 so often ventured upon1   
was the beginning of one very capable   
method4 ,the skillful needlework1 the   
elaborate quilting1 the stitchery and   
stuffing are worthy of respect1 for the 
foundation of it all was great dexterity
 in the use of the needle4     ,,chapter
 ,,iv -- ,,moravian ,,work1             

,,portraiture1 ,,french ,,embroidery1   
,,and ,,lacework   ,while the ladies and
 house mistresses of ,new ,england were 
busy with their crewelwork1 the children
 with their little samplers1 and farm   
housemothers sewed patchwork in the     
intervals of spinning and weaving1 an   
entirely different development of       
needlework art had taken place1         
beginning in ,pennsylvania4 ,embroidery 
in ,america did not grow exclusively    
from seed brought over in the           
,mayflower4 ,it sprang from many        
sources1 but its finest qualities came  
from the influence of what was called   
,bethlehem ,embroidery4  ,the advent of 
this style of needlework was            
interesting4 ,it originated in a        
religious community founded in #agbb at 
,herrnhut1 ,germany1 by ,count          
,zinzendorf4 ,it was a strictly         
religious1 semimonastic group of single 
men and single women1 whose hearts were 
filled with zeal for mission work4 ,at  
that period1 ,i suppose ,america seemed 

a possible and promising field for such 
efforts1 and accordingly forty-five of  
the brothers and as many of the sisters 
turned their faces toward this new      
world4 ,one can fancy that when the     
thought first entered their minds1 of   
coming to a land peopled by savage      
,indians1 with but a bare sprinkling of 
the ,lord's people1 they trembled even  
in their dreams at the thought of the   
cruel incidents they might encounter in 
that wilderness toward which they were  
impelled by apostolic zeal1 and the     
unquiet sea upon which they were about  
to embark foreshadowed an unknown       
future4 ,but there was small danger for 
them upon the sea2 surely they could not
 sink in troubled waters1 these etherial
 souls6 ,the heavenly quality of them   
would upbear the vessel and cargo4 ,they
 would come safe to land1 no matter how 
tempestuous the elements6  ,i suppose1  
at all periods of the world1 prophet and
 martyr stuff might be sifted out from  
the man-stuff of the times if the race  

had need of them4 ,in normal states of  
growth1 we call them cranks and look for
 no results from their existence4 ,but  
the elusive spirit of love never dies4  
,it appears and reappears in the history
 of all races and times1 and leaves its 
mark upon them in various shapes of     
beneficence4  ,these missionary brothers
 and sisters had chosen as the theater  
of their labor that part of our broad   
land which was pleasantly christened    
,pennsylvania1 and selecting a portion  
of the southern area1 they founded their
 colony and called it ,ephrata4  ,it    
existed for forty years1 constantly     
increasing its membership1 and living a 
life reaching out toward a perfection of
 goodness which seemed quite possible to
 their apostolic souls4  ,time1 however1
 brought changes of circumstance and of 
mind1 and after many philanthropic      
phases1 in #agdi the mingled elements   
and aspirations of the enlarged         
congregation were merged into two       
boarding schools1 one for boys1 which   

was the germ of ,lehigh ,university1 and
 another for girls at ,bethlehem1 which1
 under the careful fostering of the     
sisters1 became the birthplace of the   
famous ,moravian needlework4 ,so were   
melted into the modern form of          
scholastic instruction the various      
efforts of religious activity1 the      
eternal reaching out for conditions in  
human life in which it is easy and      
natural to be good and happy4 ,it had   
not been accomplished in this           
semimonastic life1 but the efforts      
toward it had their influence1 and1 you 
may judge by the quality of its         
founders1 had never died4               
,illustration3 ,,needlebook of ,moravian
 embroidery1 made about #ahej4 ,now in  
the possession of ,mrs4 ,j4 ,u4 ,myers1 
,bethlehem1 ,pa4  ,illustration3        
,,moravian ,,embroidery worked by ,emily
 ,e4 ,reynolds1 ,plymouth1 ,pa41 in     
#ahcd1 at the age of twelve1 while at   
the ,moravian ,seminary in ,bethlehem1  
and now owned by her granddaughter4     

,courtesy of ,claire ,reynolds ,tubbs1  
,gladstone1 ,n4 ,j4  ,the two schools   
very early in their history seem to have
 established a reputation for learning  
and culture which made them a desirable 
influence in the formative lives of the 
children of the most thoughtful1 as well
 as the most prominent and prosperous1  
,american families4 ,indeed1 the school 
for girls became so popular as to lead  
to an extension and founding of several 
branches in other of the southern       
states4 ,the art and practice of fine   
needlework became a popular and         
necessary feature of them1              
distinguishing them from all other      
schools4 ,tambour and fine needlework   
were among the extras of the school1 and
 charged for1 as we learn from school   
records1 at the rate of seventeen       
shillings and sixpence1 ,pennsylvania   
currency4  ,it was not alone tambour and
 fine needlework1 as we shall see later1
 that was taught by the ,moravian       
,sisters1 but the ribbon work1 crpe     

work1 and flower embroidery1 and picture
 production upon satin4 ,these pictures1
 however important as performances1 were
 not the most common form of needlework 
taught by the ,sisters4 ,flower         
embroidery was the usual form of        
practice1 and it was of a quality which 
made each one a wonder of execution and 
skill4 ,the materials were satin of a   
superb quality for the background1 or   
,eastern silk of softness and strength1 
and the silks used in the stitchery were
 generally slack twisted silk threads of
 very pure quality1 and in certain      
cases1 where they would not be likely to
 fray1 lustrous flosses of ,eastern     
make4 ,the stitch used in these flower  
pieces was an over-and-over stitch1 or  
what was called satin-stitch1 which was 
without the lap of ,kensington stitch4  
,there was in every piece of embroidery 
done under the instruction of the       
accomplished and devoted ,sisters       
certain virtues1 certain effects of     
conscientious and patient work1 mingled 

with the love of good and beautiful art1
 which were plainly visible4 ,it had in 
all its flower pieces1 and they were    
many1 the quality of beautiful charm4   
,the ministry of nature may have had    
something to do with this1 since the    
lives of the executants were open to its
 influences4  ,illustration3 ,,moravian 
,,embroidery from ,louisville1 ,ky4     
,one can make a mental picture of those 
early days beside the peaceful ,lehi1   
where the ,sisters taught and nurtured  
the young girls of very young ,america1 
and trained them in such beautiful and  
womanly accomplishments4 ,the scattered 
bits of needlework which remain to us   
are so fine1 so clear1 so thoroughly    
exhaustive of all excellence in         
technique1 that they are to the art of  
embroidery what the ivory miniature is  
to painting4 ,we cannot but hail the    
memory of the ,sisters of ,bethlehem    
with respect and admiration4  ,i became 
familiar with the work of this community
 when ,i was arranging an historic      

exhibition of ,american ,embroidery for 
the ,bartholdi ,fair in #ahhc4 ,few     
people may remember that1 among the     
means for the installation of the       
,bartholdi ,statue of ,liberty which    
welcomes the world at the entrance to   
the harbor of ,new ,york1 was an effort 
called the ,bartholdi ,fair1 held in the
 then almost new and very popular       
,academy of ,design at the northwestern 
corner of ,fourth ,avenue and           
,twenty-third ,street4 ,knowing the     
value of ,bethlehem work1 ,i made an    
effort to secure a representative       
collection1 with the result of gathering
 a most interesting group of specimens1 
mainly by the interest and help of ,mr4 
,henry ,baldwin of ,lehigh ,university1 
to whom ,i was referred for assistance  
in my purpose4 ,i have before me now the
 correspondence which ensued1 a most    
painstaking1 kind and patient one on his
 part1 giving me much interesting       
history of the ,bethlehem mission1 as   
well as its life and progress4 ,among   

the legends is one--that during our     
,revolutionary war1 ,pulaski recruited  
some of his ,legion at ,bethlehem1 and  
ordered a banner1 which was carried by  
his troops until he fell in the attack  
upon ,savannah4 ,this banner is now in  
the rooms of the ,maryland ,historical  
,society1 and ,i find the question of   
its having been an order from ,count    
,pulaski1 or a gift to the ,legion1 is  
one of very lively interest in the      
community4  ,this exhibit of #ahhc was  
as complete an historical collection of 
,american needlework as was possible1   
and ,i have a list of ten articles      
loaned from collections in ,bethlehem1  
which reads as follows3  #a4            
,embroidered pocketbook of black silk   
with flowers in bright colors4 ,former  
property of ,bishop ,bigler4  #b4       
,embroidered needlebook of white satin  
with bright flowers1 date #ahjj4  #c4   
,embroidered needlebook of white satin  
with bright flowers and vines1 dated    
#aghf4  #d4 ,sampler1 dated #agdj4  #e4 

,yellow velvet bag embroidered with     
ribbon work4  #f4 ,black velvet bag     
embroidered in crpe work with flowers4  
#g4 ,white satin workbag embroidered in 
fine tracery of vines4  #h4 ,a box with 
embroidered pincushion on top4  #i4 ,a  
blue silk pocketbook with very fine     
ribbon work4  #aj4 ,a paper box done    
with needle in filigree4  ,it will be   
seen by this list how varied were the   
forms of needlework taught at           
,bethlehem4 ,the crpe work mentioned in 
,no4 #f is1 probably owing to the       
perishable character of its material1   
very rare1 but was extremely beautiful  
in effect4 ,bits of colored crpe were   
gathered into flower petals and sewed   
upon satin1 roses laid leaf upon leaf   
and built up to a charming perfection1  
while the stems and foliage were        
partially or wholly embroidered in silk4
  ,the ribbon embroidery of ,no4 #e1 has
 been revived by the ,new ,york ,society
 of ,decorative ,art and practiced with 
great success4 ,the flower embroideries1

 in the specimens exhibited1 were of two
 sorts--the small groups being done with
 fine twisted silks in a simple over and
 over stitch1 called at that time satin 
stitch1 alike on both sides1 except that
 on the right side the flowers and      
leaves were raised from the surface by  
an under thread of cotton floss called  
stuffing4 ,this did not prevent1 as it  
might easily have done1 an unvarying    
regularity and smoothness1 which was    
like satin itself1 thread laid beside   
thread as if it were woven instead of   
sewed4  ,in the larger flowers1 the     
sewing silk had been split into flosses1
 or perhaps the prepared flosses were   
used in the tent stitch1 which is now   
known as ,kensington4 ,the colors of all
 these specimens were as fresh as       
natural flowers1 speaking eloquently in 
praise of early processes of dyeing4    
,illustration3 ,,linen ,,towels         
embroidered in cross-stitch4            
,pennsylvania ,dutch early nineteenth   
century4  ,courtesy ,metropolitan       

,museum of ,art  ,these things seem to  
fairly exhale gentility1 that           
quality-compact of everything superior  
in the life of early ,american          
womanhood4 ,i have especially in mind   
one cushion where flowers1 apparently as
 fresh in color as when the cushion was 
young1 are laid upon a ground of silk of
 the pinky-ash color1 once known as     
ashes of roses4 ,the real charm of the  
thing1 that which lends it a tender     
romance1 is the legend worked upon the  
back of the cushion in brown silk       
stitches which are easily mistaken for  
the round-hand copperplate writing of   
the period--,wrought where the peaceful 
,lehi flows4 ,one seems to breathe the  
very air of the secluded valley1 peopled
 by brethren and sisters set apart from 
the strenuous duties of the builders of 
a new nation1 and distinguished for     
learned and devoted effort toward the   
perfection of moral1 and spiritual1     
rather than the conquests of material1  
life4  ,the ,sisters had many orders    

from the outside world1 as well as from 
visitors1 and the profit upon these     
helped to maintain the school4 ,many of 
these orders were in the shape of       
pocketbooks1 pincushions1 bags1 etc41   
having a bunch1 or wreath1 or cluster of
 flowers on one side1 wonderfully       
wrought in silken flosses or sewing     
silks1 and on the other1 some pretty    
sentiment or legend done in dark brown  
floss in the most perfect of round-hand2
 so perfect1 in fact1 that it would     
require the closest scrutiny to decide  
that it was not handwritten script4     
,these plentiful orders for things were 
induced by the several attractions of   
the situation1 the remoteness from      
warlike and political disturbances1 and 
the relationship of so many young girl  
lives1 as well as the interest which    
attached to the school and community1   
making a constant demand in the shape of
 small articles of use or luxury1       
decorated by the skillful fingers of the
 ,sisters4  ,parallel with this fine    

practice of flower embroidery1 was a    
period of far more important needlework1
 which we may call ,picture ,embroidery4
 ,this also owed its introduction to the
 ,moravian ,school of ,bethlehem1       
although it was probably of early       
,english origin1 going back to that     
period when ,english embroidery was the 
wonder of the world2 and the opus       
plumarium1 or feather-pen stitch1 or    
tent stitch1 or ,kensington stitch1 as  
it has been known in succeeding ages1   
first attracted attention as a medium of
 art4  ,passing from ,england to        
,germany it became purely               
ecclesiastical1 and even now one        
occasionally finds in ,germany1 and less
 often in ,england1 bits of             
ecclesiastical embroidery of            
unimaginable fineness1 commemorating    
,christ's miracles and other incidents  
of ,bible history4 ,i know of one small 
specimen of ancient ,english art1       
covering a space of five by seven       
inches1 where the whole ,garden of ,eden

 with its weighty tragedy is represented
 by inch-long figures of ,adam and ,eve1
 and a man-headed snake1 discussing     
amicably the advantages of eating or not
 eating the forbidden fruit4  ,such     
elaboration in miniature embroidery made
 good the claim of ,english needlework  
to its first place in the world1 since  
nothing more wonderful had or has been  
produced in the whole long history of   
needlework art4 ,it was undoubtedly from
 this school1 filtered through          
generations of secular practice1 that   
the ,moravian picture embroidery came to
 be a general ,american inheritance4    
,to adapt this wonderful method to the  
uses of social life was an admirable    
achievement1 and whether by the sisters 
of the ,moravian school1 or the growth  
of pre-,american influence and time1 we 
do not certainly know1 the fact remains1
 however1 that it was here so cunningly 
adapted to the circumstances and spirit 
of colonial and early ,american days as 
to seem to belong entirely to them1 and 

it would seem quite clear that          
,bethlehem was the source of the most   
skillful needlework art in ,america4 ,it
 was there that the fine ladies of the  
late eighteenth and early nineteenth    
centuries1 who sat at the embroidery    
frame in the intervals when they were   
not sitting at the harp1 acquired their 
skill4  ,it was the romantic period of  
embroidery that makes a very telling    
contrast to the earlier crewel and later
 muslin embroidery of the ,new ,england 
states4 ,the pieces were seldom larger  
than eighteen or twenty inches square1  
the size probably governed by the width 
of the superb satin which was so often  
used as a background4 ,not invariably1  
however1 for ,i have seen one or two    
pieces worked upon gray linen where the 
surface was entirely covered by         
stitchery1 landscape1 trees1 and sky    
showing an unbroken surface of satiny   
texture4 ,pictures from ,bible subjects 
are frequent1 and these have the air of 
having been copied from prints2 in fact1

 ,i have seen some where the print      
appears underneath the stitches1 showing
 that it was used as a design4 ,these   
,scripture pieces seem to have employed 
a lower degree of talent than those     
having original design1 and were        
probably the somewhat perfunctory work  
of young girls whose interests were     
elsewhere4 ,one picture which ,i have   
seen was treasured as a record of a very
 romantic elopement--the lover in the   
case1 riding gayly away with his beloved
 sitting on a pillion behind him1 and no
 witnesses to the deed but a small      
sister1 standing at the gate of the     
homestead with outstretched hands and   
staring eyes4  ,illustration3           
,left--,,the ,,meeting ,,of ,,isaac     
,,and ,,rebecca--,moravian embroidered  
picture1 an heirloom in the ,reichel    
family of ,bethlehem1 ,pa4 ,worked by   
,sarah ,kummer about #agij4  ,courtesy  
of ,elizabeth ,lehman ,myers            
,right--,,suffer ,,little ,,children    
,,to ,,come ,,unto ,,me--,cross-stitch  

picture made about #ahbe1 now in the    
possession of the ,beckel family1       
,bethlehem1 ,pa4  ,courtesy of          
,elizabeth ,lehman ,myers  ,the most    
important picture which ,i have seen in 
portrait needlework came to light at the
 ,baltimore ,exhibition1 and was a      
piazza group of five figures1 a burly   
sea-captain seated in a rocking chair in
 a nautical dress and his own grayish   
hair embroidered above his ruddy face1  
his wife in a white satin gown seated   
beside him1 and his three daughters of  
appropriately different ages grouped    
around1 while the ship ,constance was   
tied closely to the edge of the blue    
water which bordered the foreground of  
the picture4 ,the composition of this   
picture was evidently the work of some  
experienced artist1 for its incongruous 
elements kept their places and did not  
greatly clash4 ,taken as a whole it was 
an astonishing performance1 quite too   
ambitious in its grasp for the novel art
 of needlework1 and yet a thing to      

delight the hearts of the descendants1  
or even casual possessors4  ,the        
,moravian teaching and practice spread  
the principles of needlework art so     
widely that it developed in many        
different directions4 ,the wonderful    
silk embroidery applied to flowers was1 
like the arts of drawing and painting1  
capable of being used in copying all    
forms of beauty4 ,it was sometimes1 not 
always1 successfully applied to         
landscape representation1 and grew at   
last into a scheme of needlework        
portraiture1 in this form perpetuating  
family history4 ,it was sometimes used  
in conjunction with painting1 the faces 
of a family group being done in water   
color upon cardboard by professional    
painters who were members of the art    
guild1 who wandered from one social     
circle to another1 supplying the wants  
of embroideresses ambitious of          
distinction in their accomplishments4   
,the small painted faces were cut from  
the cardboard upon which they had been  

painted and worked around1 often with   
the actual hair of the original of the  
portrait4 ,i have seen one picture of a 
,southern beauty1 where the golden hair 
had been wound into tiny curls1 and sewn
 into place1 and the lace of the        
neckwear was so cleverly simulated as to
 look almost detachable4 ,of course such
 pictures were the result of individual 
experiment on the part of some very able
 and ambitious needlewoman4             
,illustration3 ,,abraham ,,and ,,isaac4 
,kensington embroidery by ,mary         
,winifred ,hoskins of ,edenton1 ,n4 ,c41
 while attending an ,english finishing  
school in ,baltimore in #ahad4          
,courtesy of ,mrs4 ,r4 ,b4 ,mitchell1   
,madison1 ,n4 ,j4  ,one can imagine that
 the effect of them in social life was  
to add greatly to the vogue of the art  
of needlework4 ,the most numerous of    
these relics were called mourning       
pieces--bits of memorial embroidery--the
 subject of the picture being generally 
a monument surmounted by an urn1        

overhung with the sweeping branches of a
 willow1 while standing beside the      
monument is a weeping female figure1 the
 face discreetly hidden in a pocket     
handkerchief4 ,the inscriptions1 ,sacred
 to the memory1 etc41 were written or   
printed upon the satin in ,india ink1   
and often the letters of the name were  
worked with the hair of the subject of  
the memorial4  ,in these pieces it is   
rather noticeable that the mourning     
figure is always draped in white1 which 
leads to the conclusion that it is a    
purely emblematic figure of an emotion1 
rather than a real mourner4 ,the shading
 of the monument was generally done in  
,india ink1 so that the actual          
embroidery was confined to the trunk and
 long branches of weeping willow1 and   
the dress of the figure1 and the ground 
upon which willow and monument and      
figure stand4 ,the faces being always   
hidden by the handkerchief1 and a tinted
 satin serving for the sky1 the         
execution of these memorial pictures was

 comparatively simple4 ,they certainly  
bear an undue proportion to those happy 
family portraits where mother and       
children1 or husband and wife1 sit in   
love and simplicity before the pillared 
magnificence of the family mansion4     
,illustration3 ,left--,,fire ,,screen   
embroidered in cross-stitch worsted4    
,from the ,mc,mullan family of ,salem4  
,courtesy ,essex ,institute1 ,salem1    
,mass4  ,right--,,fire ,,screen1 design1
 ,the ,scottish ,chieftain1 embroidered 
in cross-stitch by ,mrs4 ,mary ,h4      
,cleveland ,allen4  ,courtesy ,essex    
,institute1 ,salem1 ,mass4              
,illustration3 ,,fire ,,screen worked   
about #ahej by ,miss ,c4 ,a4 ,granger1  
of ,canandaigua1 ,n4 ,y4  ,perhaps the  
greater simplicity and ease of execution
 of the mourning pieces had something to
 do with their greater number4 ,they may
 have been the first spelling of the    
difficult art of pictorial embroidery4  
,the best of these picture embroideries 
were certainly wonderful creations as   

far as the use of the needle was        
concerned1 and ,i fancy were done in the
 large leisure of some colonial home    
where early distinction in the art of   
needlework must have gone hand in hand  
with the skill of the traveling portrait
 painter4 ,these dainty productions1    
with their delicately painted faces and 
hands1 are far more often found than    
those with embroidered flesh4 ,in some  
of these1 faces painted with real       
miniature skill upon bits of parchment  
have been inserted or superimposed upon 
the satin1 the edges1 as ,i have said1  
carefully covered by embroidery1 done   
with single hair threaded into the      
needle instead of silk4 ,in one case    
which ,i remember1 the yellow hair of a 
child was knotted into a bunch of solid 
looking curls covering the head of a    
small figure1 while the face of the     
mother was surmounted by bands of a     
reddish brown4 ,this little touch of    
realism gave a curious note of pathos to
 the picture of a life separated from   

the present by time and outgrown habits1
 but linked to it by this one tangible  
proof of actual existence4  ,the drawing
 or plan of these pictures was evidently
 done directly upon the satin ground1 as
 one often finds the outlines showing at
 the edge of the stitches2 but in the   
few specimens ,i have found where they  
were worked upon linen it had been      
covered with a tracing on strong thin   
paper1 and the entire design worked     
through and over both paper and canvas4 
,those which were done upon linen seemed
 to belong to an earlier period than    
those worked on satin1 which was perhaps
 an ,american adaptation of the earlier 
method4 ,certainly the soft thick ,india
 satin1 which was the ground of so many 
of them1 made a delightful surface for  
embroidery1 and blended with its colors 
into a silvery mass where work and      
background were equally effective4 ,two 
of these have survived the century or   
more of careful seclusion which followed
 the proud clat of their production4    

,one of the fortunate heirs to many of  
these exhibited treasures told me of a  
package or book containing heads in     
water color1 evidently to be used as    
copies for the faces which might be     
found necessary for efforts in          
embroidery4 ,the painting of these was  
perhaps a part of the education or      
accomplishment considered necessary to  
girls of prominent and successful       
families of the day4  ,under favorable  
circumstances1 such as a convenient     
relation between artist and needlework1 
this art would have developed into      
needlework tapestry4 ,the groups would  
have outgrown their frames1 and left    
their picture spaces on the walls1 and1 
stretching into life-size figures1 have 
become hangings of silken broidery1 such
 as we find in ,spain and ,italy1 from  
the hands of nuns or noble ladies4      
,illustration3 ,,embroidered ,,picture  
in silks1 with a painted sky4  ,courtesy
 of ,essex ,institute1 ,salem1 ,mass4   
,illustration3 ,,cornelia ,,and ,,the   

,,gracchi4 ,embroidered picture in      
silks1 with velvet inlaid1 worked by    
,mrs4 ,lydia ,very of ,salem at the age 
of sixteen while at ,mrs4 ,peabody's    
school4  ,courtesy of ,essex ,institute1
 ,salem1 ,mass4  ,the influence of the  
,bethlehem teaching lasted long enough  
to build up a very fine and critical    
standard of embroidery in ,america4 ,it 
would be difficult to overestimate the  
importance of the influence of this     
school of embroidery upon the needlework
 practice of a growing country4 ,its    
qualities of sincerity1 earnestness1 and
 respect for the art of needlework gave 
importance to the work of hands other   
than that of necessary labor1 and these 
qualities influenced all the various    
forms of work which followed it4 ,the   
first divergence from the original work 
was in its application1 rather than its 
method1 for instead of having a strictly
 decorative purpose its application     
became almost exclusively personal4     
,flower embroidery of surpassing        

excellence was its general feature4 ,the
 materials for the development of this  
form of art were usually satin1 or the  
flexible undressed ,india silk which    
lent itself so perfectly to             
ornamentation4 ,breadths of cream-white 
satin1 of a thickness and softness      
almost unknown in the present day1 were 
stretched in ,chippendale embroidery    
frames1 and loops and garlands of       
flowers of every shape and hue were     
embroidered upon them4 ,they were often 
done for skirts and sleeves of gowns of 
ceremony1 giving a distinction even     
beyond the flowered brocades so much    
coveted by colonial belles4  ,this      
beautiful flower embroidery was1 like   
its predecessor1 the rare picture       
embroidery1 too exacting in its         
character to be universal4 ,it needed   
money without stint for its materials1  
and luxurious surroundings for its      
practice4 ,some of the beautiful old    
gowns wrought in that day are still to  
be seen in colonial exhibitions1 and are

 even occasionally worn by              
great-great-granddaughters at important 
mimic colonial functions4  ,floss       
embroidery upon silk and satin was not  
entirely confined to apparel1 for we    
find an occasional piece as the front   
panel of one of the large1 carved fire  
screens1 which at that date were        
universally used in drawing-rooms as a  
shelter from the glare and heat of the  
great open fires which were the only    
method of heating4 ,as the back of the  
screen was turned to the fire and the   
embroidered face to the room1 its       
decoration was shown to admirable       
advantage1 and one can hardly account   
for the rarity of the specimens of these
 antique screens1 except upon the       
supposition that the roses1 carnations1 
and forget-me-nots were still more      
effective when wrought upon the scant   
skirt of a colonial gown1 instead of    
being shrouded in their careful         
coverings in the deserted drawing-room1 
and my lady of the embroidery might more

 effectively exhibit them in the lights 
of a ballroom4 ,in recording the changes
 in the style and purposes of           
embroidery1 from the days of homespun   
and home-dyed crewel to the almost      
living flowers wrought with lustrous    
flosses upon breadths of satin which    
were the best of the world's            
manufacture1 one unconsciously traverses
 the ground of domestic and political   
history1 from the days of the ,pilgrims 
to the pomp of colonial courts4         
,french ,embroidery  ,the character and 
purposes of the art varied with every   
political and national change4 ,in the  
middle of the eighteenth century1 a     
demand had gone out from the new and    
growing ,america1 and wandering over the
 seas had asked for something fine and  
airy with which to occupy delicate      
hands1 unoccupied with household toil4  
,the carefully acquired skill of the    
earlier periods of our history became in
 succeeding generations almost an       
inheritance of facility1 and easily     

merged into the elaborate stitchery     
called ,french embroidery4 ,i can find  
no trace of its having been taught1 but 
plenty of proofs of its existence are to
 be seen on the needlework pictures     
under glass still hanging in many an    
old-fashioned parlor1 or relegated to   
the curiosity corner of modern          
drawing-rooms4 ,it is possible that the 
close intimacy existing between ,france 
and ,england at that period may have    
influenced this art4 ,many ,french      
families of high degree were seeking    
safety or profit in this country1 and   
the convent-bred ladies of such families
 would naturally have shared their      
acquirements with those whose favor and 
interest were important to them as      
strangers4 ,there was another form of   
this ,french embroidery1 the materials  
used being cambrics1 linens1 and muslins
 of all kinds1 the most precious of     
which were the linen-cambrics and ,india
 mulls4 ,the use of the former still    
survives in the finest of ,french       

embroidered pocket handkerchiefs1 but   
the latter is seldom seen except in the 
veils and vests of ,oriental women1 or  
in the studio draperies of all          
countries4  ,illustration3 ,,cape of    
white lawn embroidered4 ,nineteenth     
century ,american4  ,courtesy           
,metropolitan ,museum of ,art1 ,new     
,york  ,illustration3 ,,collars of white
 muslin embroidered4 ,nineteenth century
 ,american4  ,courtesy ,metropolitan    
,museum of ,art1 ,new ,york  ,the       
threads used were flosses of linen or   
cotton1 preferably the latter1 which    
were almost entirely imported4 ,with    
these restricted materials1 wonders of  
ornamentation were performed4 ,the      
stitch1 quite different from that of    
crewelwork or picture embroidery of the 
preceding period1 was the simple over   
and over stitch we find in ,french      
embroidery of the present day4 ,the     
leaves of the design or pattern were    
frequently brought into relief by a     
stuffing of under threads4  ,everything 

was embroidered2 gowns1 from the belt to
 lower hem1 finished with scalloped and 
sprigged ruffles in the same delicate   
workmanship1 were everyday summer wear4 
,slips and sacques1 which were not quite
 as much of an undertaking as an entire 
gown1 were bordered and ruffled with the
 same embroidery4 ,the amount and beauty
 of specimens which still exist after   
the lapse of nearly a century is quite  
wonderful4 ,small articles1 like        
collars1 capes and pelerines1 were      
almost entirely covered with the most   
exquisite tracery of leaf and flower1 a 
perfect frostwork of delicate stitchery1
 with patches of lacework introduced in 
spaces of the design4  ,the designs were
 seldom1 almost never1 original1 being  
nearly always copied directly from what 
was called boughten work1 to distinguish
 it from that which was produced at     
home4  ,many beautiful and skillful     
stitches were used in this form of work4
 ,lace stitches1 made with bodkins or   
piercers1 or darning needles of         

sufficient size to make perforations1   
were skillfully rimmed and joined       
together in patterns by finer stitches1 
and open borders1 and hemstitching1 and 
dainty inventions of all kinds1 for the 
embellishment of the fabrics upon which 
they were wrought4  ,with these         
materials and these methods most of the 
women of the different sections of the  
country busied themselves from a period 
beginning probably about #agaj and      
extending to #ahdj1 and it is safe to   
say1 notwithstanding the apparent       
simplicity of life between those dates1 
that at no period in the history of     
woman was as much time and consummate   
skill bestowed upon wearing apparel4    
,many a young girl of the day           
embroidered her own wedding dress1 and  
during the months or years of its       
preparation suffered and enjoyed the    
same ambition which goes on in the      
present1 to the acquirement of some     
wonder of ,french composition1 or costly
 ornament of point lace and pearls4     

,illustration3 ,left--,,baby',s ,,cap   
,white mull1 with eyelet embroidery4    
,nineteenth century ,american4          
,courtesy ,metropolitan ,museum of ,art 
,right--,,baby',s ,,cap ,embroidered    
mull4 #ahbe4  ,courtesy ,mrs4 ,isaac    
,pierson1 ,canandaigua1 ,n4 ,y4         
,illustration3 ,,collar of white        
embroidered muslin4 ,nineteenth century 
,american4  ,courtesy ,metropolitan     
,museum of ,art  ,everything was        
embroidered4 ,the tender1 downy head of 
the newly born baby was covered with a  
cap of delicatest material incrusted to 
hardness with needlework4 ,the baby's   
caps of the period are a perfect chapter
 of human emotions2 mother-love1        
emulation1 pride1 and declaration of    
family or personal position are         
skillfully expressed in a multiplicity  
of decorative stitches4 ,a six-foot     
length of baptismal robe carried for    
half its length the same elaborate      
stitchery4 ,long delicate ruffles were  
edged with double rows of scallops4     

,double and triple collars and pelerines
 of muslin were to be found in the hands
 of all women of high or low degree4    
,articles of wearing apparel were done  
upon a soft fine muslin called mull1    
breadths of which were embroidered for  
skirts1 lengths of it were scalloped and
 embroidered for flounces1 and          
hand-lengths of it were done for the    
short waists and sleeves of the pretty  
,colonial gowns worn by our delicate    
ancestresses4 ,one of these gowns1      
stretched to its widest1 would hardly   
cover a front breadth of the habit of   
one of our well-nurtured athletic girls 
of the present1 and the athletic girl   
can show no such handiwork as this4     
,beautiful embroidery it was that was   
lavished upon muslin gowns1 baby's caps 
and long1 long robes1 and upon aprons1  
pelerines and capes4 ,over stitch       
instead of tent stitch was the order of 
the day4 ,tent stitch and the use of the
 globes was no longer advertised as a   
part of school routine4 ,instead of     

this1 there were the most delicate      
overstitches and multitudinous          
lace-stitches which we nowhere else     
find1 unless in the finest of ,asian    
embroidery4  ,a large part of the       
eighteenth and the first quarter of the 
nineteenth century was a period of      
remarkable skill in all kinds of        
stitchery4 ,it was not confined to      
embroidery1 but was also applied to all 
varieties of domestic needlework4       
,hemstitched ruffles were a part of     
masculine as well as feminine wear1 and 
finely stitched and ruffled shirts for  
the head of the household were quite as 
necessary to the family dignity as      
embroidered gowns and caps for its      
feminine members4  ,it would be         
difficult to enumerate all the uses to  
which the national perfection of needle 
dexterity was put4 ,it was1 indeed1 a   
national dexterity1 for although its    
application was widely different in the 
eastern and southern states1 the two    
schools of needlework1 as we may term   

them1 met and mingled to a common       
practice of both methods in the middle  
states4  ,illustration3 ,,embroidered   
,,silk ,,wedding ,,waistcoat1 #ahbi4    
,from the ,westervelt collection4       
,courtesy of ,bergen ,county ,historical
 ,society1 ,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4         
,illustration3 ,,embroidered ,,waist    
,,of ,a ,,baby ,,dress4 #ahej4 ,from the
 collection of ,mrs4 ,george ,coe4      
,courtesy of ,bergen ,county ,historical
 ,society1 ,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4         
,perhaps one may account for the        
prevalence of this kind of work1 as it  
existed at a period of very limited     
education or literary pursuits among    
women4 ,domestic life was woman's       
kingdom1 and needlework was one of its  
chief conditions4 ,but whatever cause or
 causes stimulated the vogue of this    
variety of embroidery1 we find it was   
universal among rich and poor1 in city  
and country1 for nearly three-quarters  
of a century4 ,the narrow roll of       
muslin1 for scalloped flounces and      

ruffling1 and the skeins of ,french     
cotton went everywhere with girls and   
women1 except to church and to          
ceremonious functions where men were    
included4 ,needlework was far more than 
an interest1 it was an occupation4  ,the
 varieties of tambour work and open     
stitchery of various ornamental kinds   
were possible for all capacities4 ,it   
was a general form of fine needlework1  
happily available to women of the       
farmhouse1 as well as of the mansion1   
and its exceeding precision and beauty  
gave a character to the purely          
utilitarian stitchery of the day which  
has made a high standard for succeeding 
generations4 ,the hemstitched ruffles of
 shirts1 the stitched plaits of simpler 
ones1 the buttonholed triangles at the  
intersection of seams--all these        
practically unknown to modern           
construction--were probably the result  
of the skillful and careful needlework  
ornamentation of simple fabrics4  ,as an
 occupation1 ,french embroidery         

practically displaced the making of     
cabinet pictures of graceful ladies in  
scant satin gowns which had occupied the
 embroidery frame1 or decorated         
drawing-room walls4 ,flowers ceased to  
blossom upon pincushions1 and the       
engrossing and prevalent occupation of  
needlework was entirely devoted to      
personal wear4  ,illustration3          
,,embroidery ,,on ,,net4 ,border for the
 front of a cap made about #ahbj4       
,courtesy of ,mrs4 ,a4 ,s4 ,hewitt      
,illustration3 ,,veil 7unfinished7 hand 
run on machine-made net4 ,american      
nineteenth century4  ,courtesy of       
,metropolitan ,museum of ,art1 ,new     
,york  ,at this period1 however1 ships  
were coming into ,boston and other      
eastern ports almost daily or weekly1   
instead of at intervals of weary months4
 ,ships were going to and returning from
 ,china and the ,indies and the islands 
of the sea1 laden on their return       
voyages not only with spices and liquors
 and sweets of the southern world1 but  

with satins and velvets and silks and   
prints1 and delicately printed muslins  
and cambrics2 and the fair linen and    
cotton flosses disappeared from the     
hands of needlewomen4 ,manufacturers had
 brought their looms to weave designs   
into the fabrics they produced and to   
simulate the work of the needle in a way
 which made one feel that the very      
spindles thought and wrought with       
conscious love of beauty4  ,the larger  
demands of luxurious living increased   
also the necessary work of the needle1  
and while the looms of ,france and      
,switzerland were busy weaving broidered
 stuffs1 the needles of sewing women    
were kept at work fashioning the        
necessary garments of the millions of   
playing and working human beings4 ,it   
was the era which gave birth to the     
,song of the ,shirt1 a day of personal  
and exacting practice4   ,lacework  ,the
 disappearance of the practice of       
,french embroidery was as sudden as the 
dropping of a theater curtain1 but a    

coexistent art called ,spanish lacework 
lingered long after muslin embroidery   
had ceased to be4 ,it was chiefly used  
in the elaboration of shawls1 and large 
lace veils1 which were a very graceful  
addition to ,colonial and early         
,american costume4 ,there is no         
difficulty in tracing this kind of      
decorative needlework4 ,it came from    
,mexico into ,new ,orleans1 and from    
there1 by various secrets of locomotion1
 spread along the southern states4  ,the
 veils were yard squares of delicate    
white or black lace1 heavily bordered   
and lightly spotted with flowers1 while 
the shawls were sometimes nearly double 
that size1 and of much heavier lace1 as 
they had need to be1 to carry the wealth
 of decorative darning lavished upon    
them4  ,the design was always a foliated
 one1 generally proceeding from a common
 center1 representing a basket or a knot
 of ribbon1 which confined the branching
 forms to the point of departure4 ,the  
edges were heavily scalloped1 with an   

extension of the ornamentation which    
included a rose or leaf for the filling 
of every scallop4 ,the centers of       
flowers1 and even of leaves1 were often 
filled with beautiful variations of lace
 stitches worked into the meshes of the 
ground1 and were very curious and       
interesting4  ,illustration3 ,,lace     
,,wedding ,,veil1 #cf  #dj inches1 used 
in #ahjf4 ,from the collection of ,mrs4 
,charles ,h4 ,lozier4  ,courtesy of     
,bergen ,county ,historical ,society1   
,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4  ,illustration3    
,,homespun ,,linen ,,needlework called  
,benewacka by the ,dutch4 ,the threads  
were drawn and then whipped into a net  
on which the design was darned with     
linen4 ,made about #ahjj and used in the
 end of linen pillow cases4  ,courtesy  
of ,bergen ,county ,historical ,society1
 ,hackensack1 ,n4 ,j4  ,darning with    
flosses upon both white and black       
bobbinet1 or silk net1 was a very common
 form of the art1 and veils of white    
with seed or all-over designs darned in 

white silk floss1 may be called the     
personal needlework of the period1 and  
some of the shawls were superb stretches
 of design and stitching4 ,this art1    
although so beautiful in effect1        
demanded very little of the skill       
necessary to the preceding methods of   
embroidery4 ,the lace was simply        
stretched or basted over paper or white 
cloth1 upon which the design was heavily
 traced in ink2 the spaces which were to
 be solidly filled were sometimes       
covered with a shading of red chalk1 and
 when this was done1 it was a matter of 
simple running over and under the meshes
 of the net1 in directions indicated by 
the shape of the leaf or flower4 ,the   
work could be heavier or lighter1       
according to the design and size or     
weight of the flosses used4 ,i have seen
 a wedding veil worked upon a beautiful 
white silk net1 carrying a sprinkling of
 orange flowers1 darned with white silk 
flosses1 and a heavy wreath around the  
border4 ,certainly no veil of priceless 

point lace could be so etherially       
beautiful as was this relic of the past1
 and certainly no commercial product1   
however costly1 could carry in its      
transparent folds the sentiment of such 
a bridal veil1 wrought in love by the   
bride who was to wear it4  ,i have seen 
one beautiful shawl1 where the entire   
design was done in shining silver-white 
flosses1 upon a ground of black net1    
with the effect of a disappearance of   
the background1 the wreaths and groups  
of flowers seeming to float around the  
figure of the wearer4  ,in one or two   
instances1 also1 ,i have seen shawls in 
varicolored flosses producing a silvery 
mass of ornamentation which was most    
effective1 but they were experiments    
which evidently did not commend         
themselves to ,north ,american taste4   
,the same method of darning was used    
upon what was then called1 bobbinet     
footing1 narrow lengths of bobbinet lace
 which were extensively used as ruffles 
for caps and trimming and garniture of  

capes and various articles of personal  
wear4  ,cap bodies were also worked in  
this method2 in fact1 the decorative    
treatment of caps must have been a      
trying question4 ,the dignity of the    
married woman depended somewhat upon the
 size of the cap she wore1 and it was as
 necessary to convention that the       
crow-black locks of the matron of       
twenty-five should be hidden1 as that   
the scant locks of sixty should be      
decently shrouded4  ,insertings of      
darned footing1 alternating with bands  
of muslin1 were largely used in the     
construction of gowns1 and1 in short1   
this style of needlework1 while not as  
universal or absorbing as ,french       
embroidery1 continued longer in vogue   
and perhaps amused or solaced some who  
had little skill or time for the more   
exacting methods of embroidery4         
,,chapter ,v -- ,,berlin ,,woolwork     
,it surprises us in these latter days of
 demand for the best conditions in the  
prosecution of decorative work1 that it 

should have lived at all through the    
days of existence in one-roomed log     
cabins of early settlers and the        
conflicting demands of pioneer life4 ,it
 survived them all1 and the little1     
fast-arriving ,puritan children were    
taught their stitches as religiously as 
their commandments2 and so ,american    
embroidery grew to be an art which has  
enriched the past and future of its     
executants4  ,after the two periods of  
,french and ,spanish needlework passed  
by1 there appeared what was known as    
,berlin woolwork4 ,those who in earlier 
times were devoted to fine embroidery   
solaced their idleness with this new    
work--certainly a poor substitute for   
the beautiful embroidery of the         
preceding generation1 but answering the 
purpose of traditional employment for   
the leisure class4 ,this came into vogue
 and was rather extensively used for    
coverings of screens1 chairs1 sofas1    
footstools and the various specimens of 
household furniture made by workmen who 

had served with ,adam1 ,chippendale and 
,sheraton1 and who had brought books of 
patterns with them to the prosperous1   
growing market of the ,new ,world4      
,berlin woolwork was a method of        
cross-stitch upon canvas in colored     
wools or silks--in fact1 an extension of
 sampler methods into pictures and      
screens1 or the more utilitarian chair  
and sofa covers4 ,it was sometimes      
varied by using broadcloth or velvet as 
a foundation1 the canvas threads being  
drawn out after the picture was         
complete4 ,we occasionally find entire  
sets of beautiful old mahogany chairs1  
with cushions of cross-stitch           
embroidery1 the subjects ranging over   
everything in the animal or vegetable   
world1 so that one might sit in turn    
upon horses1 bead-eyed and curled lap   
dogs1 or wreaths of lilies and roses4   
,occasionally1 also1 a glassed and      
framed picture of elaborate design and  
beautiful workmanship is seen1 but as a 
rule it must be confessed that in       

,america this method of embroidery1 as  
an art1 failed to achieve dignity4 ,this
 was not in the least owing to the      
actual technique of the process1 since  
beautiful tapestries have been          
accomplished1 taking canvas as a medium 
and foundation for a dexterous use of   
design and color4  ,the square blocks of
 the canvas stitch are no more          
objectionable in an art process than the
 block of enamel of which priceless     
mosaics are made1 but one can easily see
 that if every design for mosaic work   
could be indefinitely reproduced and    
sold by the thousands1 with numbered and
 colored blocks of glass1 something--we 
hardly know what--would be lost in even 
the most exact reproductions4  ,original
 design1 however simple1 is the         
expression of a thought1 and passes     
directly from the mind of the originator
 to the material upon which it is       
expressed2 but when the design becomes  
an article of commercial supply it loses
 in interest1 and if the process of     

production is simple1 requiring little  
thought and skill1 the work also fails  
to call out in us the reverence we      
willingly accord to skillful and        
painstaking embroidery4  ,illustration3 
,,bed ,,hanging of polychrome           
cross-stitch appliqud on blue woolen    
ground4  ,courtesy of ,brooklyn ,museum 
,illustration3 ,,needlepoint ,,screen   
made in fine and coarse point4 ,single  
cross-stitch4  ,courtesy of the         
,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms  ,yet we    
must acknowledge there are many examples
 of ,berlin woolwork which possess the  
merits of beautiful color and exact and 
even workmanship4 ,some of them are done
 upon the finest of canvas with silks of
 exquisite shadings1 and where figures  
are represented the faces are worked    
with silk in single stitch1 which means 
one crossing of the canvas instead of   
two1 as in ordinary cross-stitch4 ,the  
latter was of course better suited for  
furniture coverings1 both in strength   
and quality of surface1 while the method

 of single stitch succeeded in          
presenting a smooth and well-shaded     
surface1 sufficiently like a painted one
 to stand for a picture4 ,indeed1       
veritable pictures were produced in this
 method and were effective and          
interesting4 ,in these specimens the    
faces and hands1 while worked in the    
same cross-stitch1 were varied by being 
done on a single crossing of the canvas 
with one stitch1 while the costumes and 
accessories of the picture were done    
over the larger square of two threads of
 the canvas1 with the double crossing of
 the stitch4  ,the faces were1 in some  
cases1 still further differentiated by  
being wrought in silk instead of wool   
threads4  ,the embroidered chair and    
sofa covers had quite the effect of     
tapestries1 and were far better than a  
not uncommon variation of the same      
needlework1 where the broadcloth or     
velvet background held the embroidery4  
,the designs were copied from patterns  
printed in color upon cross-ruled paper1

 and consisted of bunches of flowers of 
various sorts1 or pictures of dogs1 and 
horses1 and birds4 ,a white lap dog     
worked upon a dark background was the   
favorite design for a footstool1 and    
this small object tapered out the       
existence of decorative cross-stitch1   
until it grew to be in use only as a    
decoration for toilet slippers4 ,the    
final end of this style of work was long
 deferred on account of the fact that a 
pair of cloth slippers1 embroidered by  
the hands of some affectionate girl or  
doting woman1 was a token which was not 
too unusual to carry inconvenient       
significance4 ,it might mean much or    
little1 much tenderness or affection1 or
 a work of idleness tinctured with      
sentiment4  ,illustration3              
,left--,,hand-,,woven ,,tapestry of fine
 and coarse needlepoint4  ,courtesy of  
the ,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms         
,right--,,tapestry woven on a hand loom4
 ,the design worked in fine point and   
the background coarse point4 ,a new     

effect in hand weave originated at the  
,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms4  ,courtesy 
of the ,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms  ,the
 mechanical and commercial effect of    
this stitchery discouraged its use2 its 
printed patterns and the regularity of  
its counted stitches giving neither     
provocation nor scope to originality of 
thought or design4 ,this was not the    
fault of the stitch itself1 since       
cross-stitch was the first form of      
needle decoration4 ,it is1 in fact1 the 
,a ,b ,c of all decorative stitchery1   
the method evolved by all primitive     
races except the ,american ,indian4 ,it 
followed1 more or less closely1 the     
development of the art of weaving4 ,when
 this had passed from the weaving       
together of osiers into mats or baskets1
 and had reached the stage of the       
weaving of hair and vegetable fiber into
 cloth1 the decoration of such cloth    
with independent colored fiber was the  
next step in the creation of values1    
and1 naturally1 the form of decorative  

stitches followed the lines of weaving4 
,simple as was its evolution1 and its   
preliminary use1 cross-stitch has a past
 which entitles it to reverence4 ,with  
many races it has remained a habitual   
form of expression1 and1 as in ,moorish 
and ,algerian work1 is carried to a     
refinement of beauty which would seem   
beyond so simple a method4 ,it has given
 form to a lasting style of design1 to  
geometrical borders1 which have survived
 races and periods of history1 and still
 remain an underlying part of the world 
of decorative linens4  ,it is           
interesting to note that it had no place
 in aboriginal embroidery1 and marks its
 creation as following the art of       
weaving4 ,it is a long step from this   
traditional past of its origin to the   
short past of the stitchery of ,america1
 where the little fingers of small      
,puritan maids followed the lines       
evolved by the generations of the       
earlier world4     ,,chapter ,,vi --    
,,revival ,,of ,,embroidery1 ,,and ,,the

 ,,founding ,,of ,,the ,,society ,,of   
,,decorative ,,art   ,when ,french      
needlework had had its day1 and the     
evanescent life of ,berlin woolwork had 
passed1 for a period of half a century  
needlework ceased to flourish in        
,america4 ,indeed1 the art seemed to    
have died out root and branch1 and only 
necessary and utilitarian needlework was
 practiced4 ,it seems strange1 after all
 the wonderful triumphs of the needle in
 earlier years1 that for the succeeding 
half or three-quarters of a century     
needlework as an art should actually    
have ceased to be4 ,it had died1 branch 
and stem and root1 vanished as if it had
 never been4 ,during at least half a    
century we were a people without        
decorative needlework art in any form4  
,the eyes and thoughts of women were    
turned in other directions4  ,of course 
there is always a reason for a change in
 public taste1 something in the         
development of the time leads and       
governs every trend of popular thought4 

,it may be the attraction of new        
inventions1 or the perfection of new    
processes1 or even1 and this is not     
uncommon1 the charm and fascination of  
some rare personality1 whose ruling is  
absolute in its own immediate vicinity1 
and whose example spreads like circles  
in water far and far beyond the         
immediate personal influence4 ,we cannot
 trace this apparent dearth of the art  
to one particular cause1 we only know   
that in ,america the practice and study 
of music succeeded to its place in      
almost every household4 ,the needle1    
that honored implement of woman1 bade   
fair to be a thing almost of tradition1 
something which would be in time        
relegated to museums and collections1 to
 be studied historically1 as we study   
the implements of the ,stone ,age1 and  
other prehistoric periods4  ,i remember 
an amusing story told by a ,baltimore   
friend1 not given to the manufacture of 
instances1 that during those years of   
dearth soon after the ,civil ,war she   

was visiting a lovely southern family   
who had lived through the days of       
privation4 ,one day there arose a great 
cry and disturbance in the house1 which 
turned out to be a quest for the needle1
 where was the needle4 ,nobody could    
find it1 although it could be proved    
that at a certain date it had been      
quilted into its accustomed place on the
 edge of the drawing-room curtain of the
 east window4 ,finally it was found on  
the wrong curtain1 minus the point1 and 
this disability gave rise to a          
discussion4 ,should it be taken to town1
 and have the point renewed by the      
watchmaker8 ,this decision was          
discouraged by the daughter of the      
house1 who related that the last time   
she had taken it for the same purpose1  
the watchmaker had said to her1 ,miss   
,cassy1 ,i have put a point on that     
needle three times1 and ,i would        
seriously advise you to buy a new one4  
,it was only in ,america that the needle
 had ceased to be an active implement4  

,in ,england it had never been so       
constantly or feverishly employed4 ,for 
the second time in its long history1 its
 work became purely personal4 ,the same 
necessity which impressed itself upon   
the poor little mother of mankind1 when 
she sought among the fig leaves for     
wherewithal to clothe herself1 was upon 
the domestic woman1 who sewed cloth into
 skirts instead of vegetable fiber into 
aprons4  ,illustration3                 
,left--,,embroidered ,,mits             
,right--,,white ,,cotton ,,vest         
embroidered in colors4                  
,eighteenth-nineteenth century          
,american4  ,courtesy ,metropolitan     
,museum of ,art  ,illustration3 ,,white 
,,mull embroidered in colors4           
,eighteenth-nineteenth century          
,american4  ,courtesy ,metropolitan     
,museum of ,art  ,illustration3         
,,embroidered ,,valance1 part of set and
 spread for high-post bedstead1 #aghh4  
,worked in crewels on ,india cotton1 by 
,mrs4 ,gideon ,granger1 ,canandaigua1   

,new ,york4  ,it is curious to contrast 
the effect of this loss of embroidery in
 the two countries1 ,england and        
,america4 ,doubtless there were other   
reasons than the lost popularity of     
needlework as an art1 that in ,england  
it should have resulted in the life or  
death practice of necessary needlework1 
and in ,america1 that the facile fingers
 of woman simply turned to the ivory    
keys of the piano for occupation4 ,but  
the fact remains that starvation        
threatened the woman of one country1    
while in the other they were practicing 
scales4 ,in ,england it was a period of 
stress and strain1 of veritable work for
 a living1 the period of ,the ,song of  
the ,shirt4 ,happily1 in this blessed   
land1 where hunger was unknown1 we were 
not conscious of its terrors1 and       
perhaps hardly knew why the cambric     
needle and the darning needle were the  
only ones in the market4 ,embroidery    
needles had gone out4 ,then came the    
relief of the sewing machine1 born in   

,america1 where it was scarcely needed1 
but speedily flying across the ocean to 
its life-saving work in ,england1 where 
the tragedy of the poor seamstress was  
on the stage of life4 ,like many another
 form of relief1 it was not entirely    
adequate to the situation4 ,its first   
effect was to create a need of          
remunerative work4 ,the sewing machine  
took upon itself the toil of the        
seamstress1 but it left the seamstress  
idle and hungry4 ,this was a new and    
even darker situation than the last1 but
 ,englishwomen came to the rescue with a
 resuscitated form of needlework and    
embroidery tiptoed upon the empty stage1
 new garments covering her ancient form1
 and was welcomed with universal        
acclaim4  ,most cultivated and fortunate
 ,englishwomen had a certain knowledge  
of art and were eager to put all of     
their uncoined effort at the service of 
that body of unhappy women1 who1 without
 money1 had the culture which goes with 
the use and possession of money4 ,these 

unfortunate sisters1 who were rather    
malodorously called decayed gentlewomen1
 became eager and petted pupils of a new
 and popular organization called the    
,south ,kensington ,school4 ,its        
peculiar claims upon ,english society   
gave it from the first the help of the  
most advanced and intelligent artistic  
assistance4 ,the result of this was not 
only a resuscitation of old methods of  
embroidery1 but the great gain to the   
school1 or society1 of design and       
criticism of such men as ,burne-,jones1 
,walter ,crane1 and ,william ,morris4   
,it was with this vogue that it appeared
 in ,america1 and attracted the         
attention of those who were afterward to
 be interested in the formation of a    
society which was founded for almost    
identical purposes4 ,not indeed to      
prevent starvation of body1 but to      
comfort the souls of women who pined for
 independence1 who did not care to      
indulge in luxuries which fathers and   
brothers and husbands found it hard to  

supply4 ,so1 from what was perhaps a    
social and mental1 rather than a        
physical1 want1 grew the great remedy of
 a resuscitation of one of the valuable 
arts of the world1 a woman's art1 hers  
by right of inheritance as well as      
peculiar fitness4  ,with true business  
enterprise1 the new ,english ,society   
prepared an important exhibit for our   
memorial fair1 the ,centennial1 held in 
,philadelphia to mark the one-hundredth 
anniversary of national independence4   
,this exhibit of ,kensington ,embroidery
 all unwittingly sowed the seed not only
 of great results1 but in decorative art
 worked in many other directions4 ,the  
exhibits of art needlework from the ,new
 ,kensington ,school of ,art in ,london1
 their beauty1 novelty and easy         
adaptiveness1 exactly fitted it to      
experiment by all the dreaming forces of
 the ,american woman4 ,they were good   
needlewomen by inheritance and sensitive
 to art influences by nature1 and the   
initiative capacity which belongs to    

power and feeling enabled them at once  
to seize upon this mode of expression   
and make it their own4 ,it was the means
 of inaugurating another era of true    
decorative needlework1 perfectly adapted
 to the capacity of all women1 and      
destined to be developed on lines       
peculiarly national in character4 ,the  
effect of this exhibit was not exactly  
what was expected in the sale of its    
works1 and long afterward1 when         
discussing this apparent failure1 in the
 face of an immediate adoption in       
,america of the ,society's methods and  
productions1 ,i explained it to myself  
and an ,english friend1 by the national 
difference in the race feeling for art1 
and especially for color4               
,illustration3 ,,detail of linen        
coverlet worked in colored wool4        
,courtesy of ,brooklyn ,museum          
,illustration3 ,,linen ,,coverlet       
embroidered in ,kensington stitch with  
colored wool4  ,courtesy of ,brooklyn   
,museum  ,it seems to me1 after the     

observation and intimacy of years with  
the growing art of decoration in this   
country1 that the color gift is a race  
gift with us4 ,english art-work is      
nearly always characterized by subdued  
and modified harmony1 while that of     
,america has vivid and striking notes   
which play upon a higher key1 and still 
melt as softly into each other as the   
perfect modulations of the best ,english
 art4 ,i was very conscious of this     
during the year of my directorship of   
the ,woman's ,building and exhibits in  
the ,world's ,columbian ,fair at        
,chicago1 that place of wonderful       
comparisons of the art-work of the      
world4 ,i could nearly always recognize 
work of ,american origin by its singing 
color-quality1 as different from the    
sharp semibarbaric notes of ,oriental   
art as from the minor cadences of       
,english decorative work4 ,but to return
 to the effect of the ,english exhibit  
at the ,philadelphia ,centennial3 it was
 followed by the immediate formation of 

the ,society of ,decorative ,art in ,new
 ,york ,city1 which became the parent of
 like societies in every considerable   
city or town in the ,united ,states4 ,by
 its good fortune in having a president 
who belonged by right of birth1 and     
certainly of ability and achievement1 to
 the best of ,new ,york society1 the    
movement enlisted the sympathy and      
interest of the influential class of    
,new ,york women1 while there was       
waiting in the shadow a troop of able   
women who were shut out from the costly 
gayeties of society by comparative      
poverty1 but connected with it by       
friendships and associations1 often1    
indeed1 by ties of blood4  ,embroidery  
became once more the most facile and    
successful of pursuits4 ,graduates from 
the ,kensington ,school were employed as
 teachers in nearly all of the different
 societies1 and in this way every city  
became the center of this new-old form  
of embroidery1 for what is called       
,kensington ,embroidery is in fact a    

far-away repetition of old triumphs of  
the ,british needle4 ,i use the word    
,british advisedly1 for it was when     
,england was known as ,britain among the
 nations that her embroidery was a thing
 of almost priceless value4 ,in modern  
,english embroidery1 the days of ,queen 
,anne have been the limit of backward   
imitation2 and1 in fact1 ancient        
,english embroidery was a process of    
long and assiduous labor1 as well as of 
knowledge and inspiration4 ,our hurried 
modern conditions would not encourage   
the repetition of the hand-breadth      
pictures in embroidery of the earliest  
specimens1 where countless numbers of   
stitches were lavished upon a single    
production4 ,the embroidered picture of 
,the ,garden of ,eden described in      
chapter four is a specimen of the minute
 representation4 ,these specimens are1  
to the art of needlework1 what the      
,dutch school of painting is to the     
great mural canvases of the present day4
  ,the development of the nineteenth    

century in ,america was only at first an
 exact reflection of ,english methods4  
,the first thing which marked the       
influence of national character and     
taste was1 that ,english models and     
designs almost immediately disappeared1 
only a few such1 consisting of those    
which had been given to the art by      
masters of design like ,morris and      
,marcus ,ward1 were retained1 and       
,american needlewomen boldly took to the
 representation of vivid and graceful   
groups of natural flowers1 following the
 lead of ,moravian practice and of      
flower painting1 rather than that of    
decorative design4  ,as a natural       
result1 crewels were soon discarded in  
favor of silks1 and natural             
extravagance1 or national influence1 led
 to the use of costly materials instead 
of the linens of ,english choice and    
preference4 ,so the old flower          
embroidery of ,bethlehem had a second   
birth4 ,american girl art-students soon 
found their opportunity in the creation 

of applied design1 and before embroidery
 had ceased to be a matter of           
representation of flowers in colored    
silks1 the flowers grew into restrained 
and appropriate borders1 or proper and  
correct space decoration1 and the day of
 women designers for manufacturers had  
come4  ,the circulars of the first      
,society of ,decorative ,art were not   
only comprehensive1 but were ambitious4 
,its objects were set forth as follows3 
#a4 ,to encourage profitable industries 
among women who possess      artistic   
talent1 and to furnish a standard of    
excellence and a      market for their  
work4       #b4 ,to accumulate and      
distribute information concerning the   
various      art industries which have  
been found remunerative in other        
countries1 and to form classes in ,art  
,needlework4       #c4 ,to establish    
rooms for the exhibition and sale of    
,sculptures1      ,paintings1 ,wood     
,carvings1 ,paintings upon ,slate1      
,porcelain and      ,pottery1 ,lacework1

 ,art and ,ecclesiastical ,needlework1  
,tapestries      and ,hangings1 and1 in 
short1 decorative work of any           
description1      done by women1 and of 
sufficient excellence to meet the       
recently      stimulated demand for such
 work4       #d4 ,to form ,auxiliary    
,committees in other cities and towns of
 the      ,united ,states1 which        
committees shall receive and pronounce  
upon      work produced in1 or in the   
vicinity of1 such places1 and which1 if 
approved by them1 may be consigned to   
the salesrooms in ,new ,york4       #e4 
,to make connections with potteries1 by 
which desirable forms for               
decoration1 or original designs for     
special orders1 may be      procured1   
and with manufacturers and importers of 
the various      materials used in art  
work1 by which artists may profit4      
#f4 ,to endeavor to obtain orders from  
dealers in ,china1 ,cabinet      ,work1 
or articles belonging to ,household ,art
 throughout the ,united      ,states4   

#g4 ,to induce each worker thoroughly to
 master the details of one      variety 
of decoration1 and endeavor to make for 
her work a      reputation of commercial
 value4       ,the ,society meets an    
actual want in the community by         
furnishing a      place where orders can
 be given directly to the artist for any
 kind      of art or decorative work on 
exhibition4       ,it is believed that1 
by the encouragement of this ,society1  
the      large amount of work done by   
those who do not make it a profession   
will be brought to the notice of buyers 
outside a limited circle of             
friends4 ,the aggregate of this work is 
large1 and when directed      into      
remunerative channels will prove a very 
important department      of industry4  
,the necessary expenses of the ,society 
for the first1 and possibly      the    
second1 year will be defrayed by a      
membership fee of ,five      ,dollars1  
as well as by donations2 but after that 
time it is      expected that all       

expenses will be met by commissions upon
 the sale      of articles consigned to 
it4       ,the contributions of all     
women artists of acknowledged ability   
are      earnestly requested4 ,by their 
co-operation it is intended that a      
high standard of excellence shall be    
established in what is offered      to  
the public1 and1 by seeing truly        
artistic decorative work1 it is         
hoped many women who have found the     
painting of pictures      unremunerative
 may turn their efforts in more         
practical directions4       ,all work   
approved by the ,committee of           
,examination will be      attractively  
exhibited without expense to the artist1
 but in case      of sale a commission  
of #aj per cent will be charged upon the
 price      received4  ,there was good  
teaching from the first1 but very       
independent judgment1 and it was not    
long before the more liberal and less   
chastened ,american mind followed       
national impulses4 ,why1 said the       

practical ,american1 shall we spend time
 and effort in doing things which are   
not adequate in final effect to the     
labor and cost we bestow upon them1 and 
which do not really accord with costly  
surroundings1 and1 in addition to these 
detriments1 can and probably will be    
eaten by moths when all is done8 ,the   
result of this interrogative reasoning  
was an immediate resort to satins and   
silks and flosses1 wherewith larger and 
more important things than tidies were  
created--lambrequins1 hangings1         
bedspreads1 screens1 and many other     
furnishings1 all wrought in exquisite   
flosses1 and more or less beautiful in  
color4  ,the institution of this        
,society of ,decorative ,art was in     
every respect a timely and popular      
movement4 ,it followed the example of   
the ,english ,society in making         
needlework the chief object of          
instruction4 ,our artists became        
interested in the matter of design1 as  
the ,english artists had been1 and under

 their influence the scope of embroidery
 was much enlarged4 ,i remember the     
first contribution which indicated      
original talent was a piece of          
needlework by ,mrs4 ,w4 ,s4 ,hoyt of    
,pelham1 which was peculiarly ingenious1
 making a curious link between the      
cross-stitch tapestries of the ,german  
school and the woven tapestries of      
,france4 ,this needlework was done upon 
a fabric which imitated the corded      
texture of tapestries1 and was stamped  
in a design which carried the color and 
idea of a tapestry background4 ,upon    
this surface ,mrs4 ,hoyt had drawn a    
group of figures in medival costumes1   
afterward working them in single        
cross-stitch over the ribs produced by  
the filling threads of the fabric4 ,the 
figures and costumes were done in faded 
tints which harmonized with the         
background1 the stitches keeping the    
general effect of surface in the fabric4
 ,it will be seen that the result was   
extremely like that of a tapestry of the

 fifteenth century4 ,this was followed  
by an exhibit of various landscape      
pictures of ,mrs4 ,holmes of ,boston1 a 
daughter-in-law of the poet and writer4 
,mrs4 ,holmes had chosen silks and bits 
of weavings for her medium1 using them  
as a painter uses colors upon his       
palette4 ,a stretch of pale blue silk1  
with outlined hills lying against it1   
made for her a sky and background1 while
 a middle distance of flossy white      
stitches1 advancing into well-defined   
daisies1 brought the foreground to one's
 very feet4 ,flower-laden apple branches
 against the sky were lightly sketched  
in embroidery stitches1 like the        
daisies4 ,it was a delicious bit of     
color and so well managed as to be as   
efficient a wall decoration as a water  
color picture4  ,in what may be called  
pictorial art in textiles ,mrs4 ,holmes 
was not alone1 although her work        
probably incited to the same sort of    
experiment4 ,miss ,weld of ,boston sent 
a picture made up in the same way1 of a 

background of material which lent itself
 to the representation of a field of    
swampy ground where the spotted leaves  
of the adder's tongue1 the yellow       
water-lily1 with its compact balls1 and 
the flaming cardinal flower are growing1
 while swamp grasses are nodding above4 
,this was as good in its way as any     
sketch of them could be1 and affected   
one with the sentiment of the scene1 as 
it is the mission of art to do4 ,miss   
,weld1 ,miss ,carolina ,townshend of    
,albany1 ,mrs4 ,william ,hoyt of ,pelham
 and ,mrs4 ,dewey of ,new ,york1 each   
contributed very largely to the         
formation of characteristic and         
progressive needlework art in ,america4 
,there were other individuals whose work
 was inciting many1 who have also1      
perhaps unknown to themselves1 helped in
 this progress4 ,indeed1 ,i remember    
many pieces of embroidery1 loaned for   
the ,bartholdi ,exhibition of #ahhc1    
which would have done credit to any     
period of the art1 and each piece       

undoubtedly had its influence4  ,the    
work of schools or societies had been   
much less marked by original            
development4 ,during the ten years of   
their existence the four largest        
societies1 those of ,new ,york1 ,boston1
 ,philadelphia and ,chicago1 have been  
under the direction of ,english         
teachers1 and have followed more or less
 closely the excellencies of the        
,english ,school4 ,even in ,boston1     
where1 owing to the decided cultivation 
of art and the early introduction of    
drawing in the public schools1 one would
 have looked for a rather characteristic
 development1 ,english designs and      
,english methods have been somewhat     
closely followed4  ,in attempting to    
account for this fact one must remember 
that it is against the nature of        
associated authority to follow          
individual or original suggestions4     
,there must be a broad and well-trodden 
path for committees to walk together in1
 and the track of the ,kensington       

,school is broad and authoritative      
enough for such following4 ,the example 
and incitement of the various societies 
were the seed of much good and          
progressive art in ,america4 ,in saying 
this ,i do not by any means confine the 
credit of the growth or development of  
needlework to this society alone1 for   
there have been other influences at     
work4 ,what ,i mean to say is this1 that
 the other kindred societies1 like the  
,woman's ,exchange1 the ,needlework     
,societies1 the ,household ,art         
,societies1 and the ,blue-and-,white    
,industries started from this one root1 
and are as much indebted to the original
 society as things must always be to the
 central thought which inspired them4   
,compared with ,english work of the same
 period1 they were distinguished by a   
certain spontaneity of motive and a     
luxuriance of effect1 which has made    
these specimens more valuable to present
 possessors1 and will make them far more
 precious as heirlooms4 ,this sudden    

efflorescence of the art was1 however1  
almost in the hands of amateurs1 except 
for the occasional effort by some of the
 advanced contributors of the ,new ,york
 and ,boston societies4  ,illustration3 
,,quilted ,,coverlet worked entirely by 
hand4  ,courtesy of ,brooklyn ,museum   
,illustration3 ,,detail of above        
coverlet4  ,courtesy of ,brooklyn       
,museum  ,the commercial development of 
embroidery in this country has been in  
the direction of embroidery upon linen1 
and in this line each and every society 
of decorative art has been a center of  
valuable teaching4 ,at the ,columbian   
,exposition1 to which all prominent     
societies contributed1 the perfection of
 design1 color and method1 the general  
level of excellence1 was on the highest 
possible plane4 ,in its line nothing    
could be better1 and it was encouraging 
to see that it was not amateur work1 not
 a thing to be taken up and laid down   
according to moods and circumstances1   
but an educated profession or occupation

 for women1 the acquirement of a        
knowledge which might develop           
indefinitely4  ,of course the trend of  
the decorative needlework was almost    
entirely in the direction of stitchery  
pure and simple1 devoted to table linen 
and luxurious household uses1 and this  
grew to a point of absolute perfection4 
,table-centers and doilies embroidered  
in colors on pure white linen reached a 
point of beauty which was amazing4 ,when
 ,i saw1 at the ,world's ,columbian     
,exposition1 the napery of the world1   
wrought by all races of women1 ,i was   
delighted to see that the line of linen 
embroidery which was the direction of   
the common effort did not in the least  
surpass the work sent by the ,decorative
 ,art societies of most of our ,american
 cities4     ,,chapter ,,vii --         
,,american ,,tapestry   ,the ,society of
 ,decorative ,art1 has proved itself a  
means for the accomplishment of the two 
ends for which it was founded--namely1  
the fostering and incitement of good    

taste in needlework and artistic        
production1 and the encouragement of    
talent in women1 as well as providing a 
means of remunerative employment for    
their gifts in this direction4  ,while  
the success of this ,society was a      
source of great satisfaction to me1 ,i  
had in my mind larger ambitions1 which1 
by its very philanthropic purposes1     
could not be satisfied1 ambitions toward
 a truly great ,american effort in a    
lasting direction4  ,i therefore allied 
myself with a newly formed group of men1
 all well-known in their own lines of   
art1 ,louis ,tiffany1 famed for his     
,stained ,glass1 ,mr4 ,coleman for color
 decoration and the use of textiles1 and
 ,mr4 ,de ,forest for carved and        
ornamental woodwork4 ,my interests lay  
in the direction and execution of       
embroideries4 ,i can speak              
authoritatively as to the effect upon it
 of the other arts1 and ,i can hardly   
imagine better conditions for its       
development4 ,the kindred arts of       

weaving and embroidery were carried on  
with those of stained glass1 mural      
painting1 illustration1 and the other   
expressions of art peculiar to the      
different members4 ,the association of  
different forms of art stimulated and   
developed and was the means of producing
 very important examples both in        
embroidery1 needle-woven tapestries and 
loom weaving4  ,as ,i was the woman     
member of this association of artists1  
it rested with me to adapt the feminine 
art1 which was a part of its activities1
 to the requirements of the association4
 ,this was no small task4 ,it meant the 
fitting of any and every textile used in
 the furnishing of a house to its use   
and place1 whether it might be curtains1
 portieres1 or wall coverings4 ,i drew  
designs which would give my draperies a 
framing which carried out the woodwork1 
and served as backgrounds for the       
desired wreaths and garlands of         
embroidered flowers4 ,i learned many    
valuable lessons of adaptation for the  

beautiful embroideries we produced4 ,the
 net holding roses was a triumph of     
picturesque stitchery1 and most         
acceptable as placed in the house of the
 man whose fortunes depended upon fish1 
and many another of like character4     
,illustration3 ,,the ,,winged ,,moon    
,designed by ,dora ,wheeler and executed
 in needle-woven tapestry by ,the       
,associated ,artists1 #ahhc4  ,then one 
day appeared ,mrs4 ,langtry in her then 
radiance of beauty1 insisting upon a    
conference with me upon the production  
of a set of bed-hangings which were     
intended for the astonishment of the    
,london world and to overshadow all the 
modest and schooled productions of the  
,kensington1 when she herself should be 
the proud exhibitor4 ,she looked at all 
the beautiful things we had done and    
were doing1 and admired and approved1   
but still she wanted something          
different1 something unusual4 ,i        
suggested a canopy of our strong1       
gauze-like1 creamy silk bolting-cloth1  

the tissue used in flour mills for      
sifting the superfine flour4 ,i         
explained that the canopy could be      
crosses on the under side with loops of 
full-blown1 sunset-colored roses1 and   
the hanging border heaped with them4    
,that there might be a coverlet of      
bolting-cloth lined with the delicatest 
shade of rose-pink satin1 sprinkled     
plentifully with rose petals fallen from
 the wreaths above4 ,this idea satisfied
 the pretty lady1 who seemed to find    
great pleasure in the range of our      
exhibits1 our designs and our workrooms1
 and when her order was completed1 she  
was triumphantly satisfied with its     
beauty and unusualness4 ,the scattered  
petals were true portraits done from    
nature1 and looked as though they could 
be shaken off at any minute4 ,i came to 
see much of this beautiful specimen of  
womanhood1 who played her part in the   
eyes of the world2 and of things of more
 lasting importance than her somewhat   
ephemeral career1 ,i should be tempted  

to tell amusing conclusions4 ,she was an
 ,oriental butterfly1 which flitted     
along our sober1 serious by-path of     
business and labor1 looking for honey of
 any sort to be gathered on its sober   
track4  ,when ,mr4 ,tiffany came to me  
with an order for the drop-curtain of a 
theater1 ,i did not trouble myself about
 a scheme for it1 knowing that it had   
probably taken exact and interesting    
form in his own mind4 ,it was a         
beautiful lesson to me1 this largeness  
of purpose in needlework4 ,the design   
for this curtain turned out to be a very
 realistic view of a vista in the woods1
 which gave opportunity for wonderful   
studies of color1 from clear sun-lit    
foregrounds to tangles of misty green1  
melting into blue perspectives of       
distance4 ,it was really a daring       
experiment in methods of appliqu1 for no
 stitchery pure and simple was in place 
in the wide reaches of the picture4 ,so 
we went on painting a woods interior in 
materials of all sorts1 from tenuous    

crpes to solid velvets and plushes4 ,it 
was one of ,mrs4 ,holmes' silk pictures 
on a large scale1 and was perhaps more  
than reasonably successful4 ,i remember 
the great delight in marking the        
difference between oak and birch trees  
and fitting each with its appropriate   
effect of color and texture of leaf2 and
 the building of a tall gray-green      
yucca1 with its thick satin leaves and  
tall white pyramidal groups of velvet   
blossoms1 standing in the very          
foreground1 was as exciting as if it    
were standing posed for its portrait1   
and being painted in oils4  ,the variety
 of our work was a good influence for   
progress4 ,we were constantly reaching  
out to fill the various demands1 and1   
beyond them1 to materialize our ideals4 
,as far as art was concerned in our     
work1 what we tried to do was not to    
repeat the triumphs of past needlework1 
but to see how far the best which had   
been done was applicable to the present4
  ,if tapestries had been the highest   

mark of the past1 to see whether and how
 their use could be fitted to the       
circumstances of today1 and1 if we found
 a fit place for them in modern         
decoration1 to see that their production
 took account of the methods and        
materials which belonged to present     
periods1 and adapted the production to  
modern demands4  ,illustration3         
,,seventeenth ,,century ,,design        
,,tapestry ,,panel  ,courtesy of the    
,edgewater ,tapestry ,looms  ,we soon   
came to the ideal of tapestries which   
loomed above and beyond us and had been 
reached by every nation in turn which   
had applied art to textiles1 but in all 
except very early work the              
accomplishment had been more of the loom
 than of hand work4 ,my dream was of    
,american ,tapestries1 made by          
embroidery alone1 carrying personal     
thought into method4 ,we decided that   
there was no reason for the limitation  
of the beautiful art of needlework to   
personal use1 or even to its numerous   

domestic purposes4 ,this most intimate  
of the arts of decoration has been in   
the form of wall hangings for the bare  
wall spaces of architecture from the    
time when dwellings passed their first  
limited use of protection and defense4  
,after this first use of houses came the
 instinct and longing for beauty1 and   
the feeling which prompts us in these   
wider days of achievement to cover our  
wall spaces with pictures1 moved our    
far-off forefathers and mothers to offer
 their skill in spinning1 and weaving1  
and picturing with the needle hangings  
to cover the bareness of the home4 ,this
 impulse grew with the centuries1 until 
tapestries were a natural art expression
 of different races of men1 so that we  
have ,italian1 ,spanish1 ,french1 ,dutch
 and ,english tapestries1 each with     
national tastes and characteristics of  
production4 ,as time went on1 inevitable
 machinery undertook the task of making 
wall hangings1 with the whole-hearted   
help of all who had given their lives to

 art1 and tapestries had become a part  
of the riches of the world4 ,when the   
greater part of the world's wealth was  
in the possession of ,popes and         
,princes1 it was usual to expend a      
goodly portion of it in works of art4   
,pictures and tapestries and exquisitely
 wrought metal work1 weavings and       
embroideries1 made priceless by costly  
materials and the thoughts and labor of 
artists1 were reckoned not as a sign of 
wealth but as actual wealth4 ,they were 
really riches1 as much as stocks and    
bonds are riches today4 ,such things    
were accumulated as anxiously and       
persistently as one accumulates land or 
houses1 or railroad bonds or stocks1 and
 the buyer was not poorer2 but in fact  
he was richer for money expended in this
 fashion4 ,this everyday financial fact 
lay underneath and supported the        
beautiful pageant of the fifteenth and  
sixteenth centuries1 gilding them with a
 radiance which has attracted the       
admiration and excited the wonder of all

 succeeding years4  ,that flower and    
culmination of labor which we call art  
was the capital of those early          
centuries1 and took the place of the    
,bank1 the ,bourse1 and the ,exchange   
which later financial ideas have        
created4  ,it is in a great measure to  
this fact1 as well as to the intense    
love for1 and appreciation of1 art which
 distinguished this period1 that we owe 
the wonderful treasures which have      
enriched the later world4 ,they belong  
no longer to princes and prelates1 but  
to governments and museums1 and are     
object lessons to the student and the   
artisan1 and an inheritance for both    
rich and poor of all mankind4  ,except  
in the light of these treasures of art1 
it would be difficult to understand how 
far-reaching and comprehensive was the  
greed of beauty which possessed and     
distinguished the centers of tapestry   
production4 ,the museums of the world   
are made up of what remains of them4    
,the pictures and tapestries1 the       

weavings and embroideries1 the carvings 
and metal work which the world is       
studying1 belonged to the daily life of 
those past centuries4 ,the stamp of     
thought and the seal of art were set    
upon the simplest conveniences of life4 
,the very keys of the locks and hinges  
of the doors were designed1 not by mere 
workers in metal1 but by sculptors and  
artists who were pre-eminent for genius4
 ,it was in the spirit of this period   
that ,benvenuto ,cellini modeled        
saltcellars as well as statues1 and his 
compeers designed carvings and gildings 
for state carriages1 and painted        
pictures upon the panels4 ,painters of  
divine pictures designed cartoons and   
borders for tapestries1 and wreaths and 
garlands for ceiling pilasters4  ,among 
the names of painters who designed      
cartoons for tapestries1 we find those  
of ,leonardo da ,vinci1 ,raphael1       
,titian1 ,guido and ,giulio ,romano1    
,albert ,drer1 ,rubens and ,van ,dyck4  
,indeed1 there is hardly a great name   

among the painters of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries which has not     
contributed to the value of the         
tapestries dating from those times4     
,among them all none have a greater     
share of glory than the series known as 
,the ,acts of the ,apostles1 designed by
 ,raphael for ,pope ,leo ,x1 in the year
 #aeae4 ,the history of these cartoons  
is full of interest4 ,after the weaving 
of the first set of these tapestries1   
which was hung in the ,sistine ,chapel  
and regarded as among the greatest      
treasures of the world1 the cartoons    
remained for more than a hundred years  
in the manufactory at ,brussels4 ,during
 this period one or more sets must have 
been woven from them1 but in #afcj seven
 were transferred to the ,mortlake      
,tapestry works near ,london1 having    
been purchased by ,charles ,i1 who was  
advised of their existence by ,rubens4  
,the ,mortlake tapestry had been        
established by ,james ,i1 who was       
greatly aided by the interest of the    

then ,prince of ,wales1 and the ,duke of
 ,buckingham4 ,it is charming to think  
of ,baby ,charles and ,steenie busying  
themselves with the encouragement of art
 in the way of the production of        
tapestry pictures1 and after the        
accession of the ,prince1 to follow the 
progress of this taste in the purchase  
of the famous cartoons1 and the         
employment of no less a genius than ,van
 ,dyck in the composition of new and    
more elaborate borders for them4 ,it was
 probably during the reign of ,charles  
that these glorious compositions went   
into use as illustrations of ,biblical  
text1 for we find ,paul preaching at    
,athens1 ,peter and ,paul at the        
,beautiful ,gate of the ,temple1 and    
,the ,miraculous ,draught of ,fishes    
figuring as full-page frontispieces to  
many old copies of ,king ,james' ,bible4
 ,after the tragic close of the reign of
 ,king ,charles1 the treasures of       
tapestries he had accumulated were      
dispersed and sold by order of          

,cromwell2 but the cartoons remained the
 property of the nation and1 though lost
 to sight for another hundred years or  
so1 finally reappeared from their       
obscurity1 at ,hampton ,court1 and in   
these later years1 at the ,kensington   
,museum1 have again taken their place as
 one of the most valuable lessons of    
earlier centuries4 ,it was probably the 
story of these cartoons which inspired  
the determination which had taken       
possession of us1 to do a real tapestry1
 something greatly worthy of            
accomplishment4  ,illustration3 ,,the   
,,miraculous ,,draught ,,of ,,fishes    
,arranged 7from photographs made in     
,london of the original cartoon by      
,raphael1 in the ,kensington ,museum7 by
 ,candace ,wheeler and executed in      
needle-woven tapestry by the ,associated
 ,artists4  ,when we came to the        
decision to create tapestries1 the      
actual substance of them1 as well as the
 art1 was a thing to be considered4 ,the
 wool fiber upon which they were usually

 based was a prey to many enemies4 ,dust
 may corrupt and moths utterly destroy  
fiber of wool1 but dust does not        
accumulate on threads of silk1 neither  
are they quite acceptable to the        
appetite of moths4 ,therefore1 we       
reasoned1 if we did work which was      
worthy of comparative immortality1 it   
must be done with comparatively         
imperishable material4 ,fiber of flax   
and fiber of silk shared this advantage1
 and the silk was tenacious of color1   
which was not the case with flax2       
therefore we chose silk and went bravely
 to our task of creating ,american      
tapestries4  ,having decided upon our   
material1 we consulted with our friendly
 and interested manufacturers1 and      
finally ordered a broad1 heavily marked1
 loosely woven fabric which would hold  
our precious stitches safely and show   
them to advantage4 ,the woof of the     
canvas upon which we were to experiment 
was also of silk1 not fine and twisted  
like the warp1 but soft and full enough 

to hold silk stitchery4 ,in this way the
 face of the canvas1 or ground1 could be
 quite covered by a full thread of      
embroidery silk passed under the slender
 warp and actually sewn into the woof4  
,illustration3 ,,minnehaha ,,listening  
,,to ,,the ,,waterfall  ,drawn by ,dora 
,wheeler and executed in needle-woven   
tapestry by ,the ,associated ,artists1  
#ahhd4  ,being thus fully equipped for  
the production of real tapestries1 well 
adapted to the processes of what ,i     
called needle weaving1 since the needle 
was really used as a shuttle to carry   
threads over and under the already fixed
 warp1 the next decision rested upon the
 subject of this new application of the 
art and the knowledge we had gained by  
study and practice and love of textile  
art4 ,with a courage which we now wonder
 at1 we selected perhaps the most       
difficult1 as it certainly is the most  
beautiful1 of surviving tapestries1 ,the
 ,miraculous ,draught of ,fishes1 the   
cartoon of which1 designed by ,raphael1 

is at present to be seen and studied at 
the ,kensington ,museum in ,london4 ,the
 decision to copy this was perhaps      
influenced by the fact that it was the  
only original cartoon of which ,i had   
knowledge1 and my summer holiday in     
,london was spent in its study1 and     
schemes for its exact reproduction4 ,as 
it was spread upon a wall in museum     
fashion1 a drawing could not be actually
 verified by measurements1 but an       
expedient came to me which proved to be 
satisfactory4 ,i had two photographs1 as
 large as possible1 made from the       
cartoon1 and one of them1 being very    
faintly printed1 copied exactly in      
color2 the other was ruled and cut into 
squares1 and was again photographed and 
enlarged to a size which would bring    
them1 when joined1 to the same          
measurements as the original cartoon4   
,these1 very carefully put together1    
made a working drawing for my tapestry  
copy1 and the lighter photograph1 which 
had been most carefully water-colored1  

gave the color guide for the copy4  ,it 
was interesting to find the perforations
 along the lines of the composition     
still showing in the photographed       
cartoon1 and we made use of them by     
going over them with pin pricks1        
fastening the cartoon over the sheet of 
silk canvas woven for the background1 so
 that there was no possibility of       
shifting4 ,prepared powder was sifted   
through the lines of perforation and    
fixed by the application of heat1 and we
 then had the entire composition exactly
 outlined upon the ground4 ,after that  
the work of superimposing color and     
shading by needle weaving was a labor of
 love and diligent fingers during many  
months4 ,every inch of stitchery was    
carefully criticized and constantly     
compared with the colored copy1 and at  
last it was a finished tapestry and was 
hung in a north light on one of the     
great spaces of the studio1 where it was
 an object of expert examination and    
general admiration4  ,illustration3     

,,aphrodite  ,designed by ,dora ,wheeler
 for needle-woven tapestry worked by    
,the ,associated ,artists1 #ahhc4  ,it  
is by far the most important work       
accomplished by needle weaving which has
 ever been made in ,america1 and is as  
veritable a copy of the original as if  
it were painted with brush and pigment1 
instead of being woven with threads of  
silk4 ,the low lights of the evening    
sky1 the reflections of the boats1 and  
the stooping figures of the fishermen1  
the perspective of the distant shore1   
and the wonderful grouping in the       
foreground1 keep their charm in the     
tapestry as they do in the picture4     
,even the mystery of the twilight is    
rendered1 with the subtle effect we     
feel1 but can scarcely define1 in the   
original drawing4  ,it has been a       
curiously direct process from the hand  
of the great master1 to this new        
reproduction1 although it stands so far 
from his time and life4 ,his very       
thought was painted by his very hand    

upon the paper of the cartoon1 and this 
painted thought has been photographed   
upon another paper which has served as a
 guide to the copy4  ,it makes us       
sharers in the art riches of ,raphael's 
own time1 to see a new embodiment of his
 thought appearing as a part of the     
nineteenth century's accomplishments and
 possessions4  ,after this achievement  
we naturally began to look for          
appropriate use for the small           
tapestries1 but here came our stumbling 
block4 ,the breed of princes1 who had   
been the former patrons of such works of
 art1 were all asleep in their graves1  
and knew not ,america1 or its ambitions1
 and our native breed was not an        
hereditary one1 building galleries in   
palaces1 and collecting there the       
largest of precious accomplishments in  
artistic skill in order to perpetuate   
their own memories1 as well as to enrich
 their descendants4 ,our princes were   
perhaps as rich as they1 and possibly as
 powerful1 but their ambitions did not  

usually extend to a line of posterity4  
,their palaces were contracted to a     
three score and ten size2 for each of   
them1 no matter how wide his capability 
of enjoyment1 knew that it was personal 
and ended when his little spark of life 
should be extinguished4 ,i gladly       
record1 however1 that in these later    
days some of them have made the         
,american world their heirs1 and are    
building and enriching museums and      
colleges1 making them palaces of growth 
and enlightenment1 and so giving to the 
many what an older race of princes built
 and enriched and guarded for the few4  
,but in the meantime what were we to do 
about our tapestries8 ,they were costly1
 very costly to produce1 and although we
 took account of the delight of their   
creation and put it on the credit side  
of our books1 along with the fact that  
the weekly pay roll of the tapestry room
 went for the comfort and maintenance of
 the students whom we loved and         
cherished1 ,i soon realized the fact    

that a commercial firm could not be     
burdened with the fads of any one       
member4 ,before ,i had carried this     
conclusion to its logical end1 we had   
opportunities of using our skill        
worthily in several of the new great    
houses of the time4 ,when the ,cornelius
 ,vanderbilt house was erected on ,fifth
 ,avenue and ,fifty-,seventh ,street we 
received an order for a set of          
tapestries for the drawing-room walls4  
,these were executed from ideal subjects
 and of single figures4 ,i remember the 
,winged ,moon among them1 which was an  
ideal figure of the new moon lying in a 
cradle of her own wings4 ,this was but  
one of the set1 one or two of which we  
afterward made in replica for an exhibit
 in ,london4 ,there was no lack of      
subjects in our background of ,american 
history4 ,the legends and beliefs of our
 ,north ,american ,indians were full of 
them1 and one of the first we selected  
was the lovely story of ,minnehaha1     
,laughing ,water1 from ,longfellow's    

,hiawatha4 ,the sketch had been sent to 
us by ,miss ,dora ,wheeler1 as the prize
 composition of the ,saturday           
,composition ,class at ,julien's ,studio
 in ,paris4  ,the literary past of the  
country furnished subjects enough and to
 spare1 and if we wished to walk into   
the shadowy realms of legend and        
fiction1 there were the picturesque     
legends of the ,american ,indian from   
which to choose4 ,our subjects were     
often one-figure designs1 as such pieces
 were suitable in size to wall spaces   
and door openings4 ,of course commercial
 considerations could not be lost sight 
of in our enthusiasm for progress in    
textile art4 ,potter ,palmer1 the       
multimillionaire of ,chicago1 was       
building at the time a palace home on   
the ,lake ,shore1 and one auspicious day
 ,mrs4 ,palmer bestowed her beautiful   
presence upon us1 and was mightily taken
 with our tapestries4 ,her clever mind  
was attracted by the bookishness of some
 of the panels of incidents from        

,american literature1 and several of    
them went to beautify the great house on
 the ,lake ,shore1 in the form of       
several panels of portraits4 ,mrs4      
,palmer was a delightful patron1 her own
 enjoyment of art1 in any of its forms1 
amounted to enthusiasm1 and her great   
physical beauty1 to a beauty lover1 made
 every visit from her an epoch4 ,i have 
never seen the face of an adult woman   
who has had the experience of wifehood  
and motherhood which retained so        
perfectly the flawless beauty of        
childhood4 ,i have often gazed at the   
angelic face of some child1 and wondered
 why each year of life should wipe out  
some exquisite line of drawing1 or      
absorb the entrancing shadows which rest
 upon the face of childhood4 ,it was a  
great satisfaction to personally assist 
in the furnishing of the home of this   
beautiful aristocrat1 whose own law     
allowed of no infringement by our mighty
 three1 having been shaped in a mind    
enriched by much classical study and    

constant acquaintance with the          
beautiful4  ,when our embroideries and  
needlework had taken their place in this
 country1 we were asked to make part of 
an ,exhibition of ,american ,art in     
,london4 ,this we were very glad to do1 
for the artistic gratification of being 
able to measure what we were doing with 
the best art of the kind abroad4 ,it was
 also pleasant to be considered worthy  
company with the best in our own land1  
to rub shoulders with our best painters1
 our great makers of stained glass1     
leaders who take genuine pleasure in    
ideal work4 ,of course this applies to  
amateur work only1 as professional      
decoration must accord with the general 
plan which has been selected4           
,illustration3 ,,fighting ,,dragons     
,drawn by ,candace ,wheeler and         
embroidered by ,the ,associated         
,artists1 #ahhe4  ,i had reason to think
 that the ,exhibition made by the       
,associated ,artists at ,chicago was of 
lasting use to all lovers of needlework1

 the world over1 since so many other    
races came there to get their world     
lessons4 ,i learned much that was of    
value to me from familiar study of the  
exhibits from different countries1 from 
their excellencies and differences and  
the reasons why such wide divergences   
existed1 and from observation of the    
people themselves who produced them--for
 many of the exhibits were in charge of 
practical needleworkers who knew the    
history of their art from its very      
beginning4 ,i found more of interest in 
,oriental art from seeing that it was   
not merely a perfunctory repetition of  
stitches and patterns1 but that there   
was a stanch1 almost a religious1       
integrity in doing the thing exactly as 
it had been done by generations of      
forefathers1 and that the silks and     
tissues and flosses and threads of gold 
were the best the world produced4 ,in   
the presence of such fidelity1 what     
mattered it that the borders and blocks 
were formed of angles1 or zigzags1 or   

squares1 or any other fixed and         
mechanical shapes8 ,the spirit of it was
 true to its race and traditions4 ,in   
the face of it1 all our beautiful copies
 of flowers1 and growths1 and gracious  
forms of nature seemed almost           
experimental--the art of growing and    
changing nations4  ,but as we do not    
make the early art of long existent     
races models upon which to shape our    
search for the most beautiful1 the      
persistence of ,eastern form in         
embroidery need not prevent our progress
 in design4 ,i made an interesting note 
of this persistence of ,eastern design1 
when1 many years ago1 ,i had an         
opportunity of examining some mummy     
wrappings from a burial ground at ,lima1
 ,peru4 ,they were wonderful weavings of
 aboriginal cloth1 bordered with        
embroidery done in dyed or colored      
threads of flax1 in designs as purely   
,eastern as can be found in any ancient 
or modern ,eastern embroidery4 ,how     
could it happen that the ornamental     

designs of the ,far ,east and the ,far  
,west should touch each other8 ,was it  
similarity of thought knowledge1 the    
kinship of the human mind1 or some      
long-forgotten means of transmission of 
the material and actual1 of which we    
all-knowing moderns do not even dream8  
,this wonderful ,south ,american        
embroidery of past ages antedated many  
antique remains of the art of stitchery 
which we treasure with as wide a margin 
of time as lies between their day and   
ours4  ,embroidery has become a         
dependence and a business for thousands 
of women1 and it is this which secures  
its permanence4 ,we may trust skillful  
executants who live by its practice to  
keep ahead of the changing fancies of   
society and invent for it new wants and 
new fashions4 ,and this1 because their  
chance of living depends upon it1 and it
 promises to be a permanent and growing 
art4 ,it may1 and will1 undoubtedly1    
take on new directions1 but it is no    
longer a lost art4 ,on the contrary1 it 

is one where practice has attained such 
perfection that it is fully equal to any
 new demands and quite competent to     
answer any of the higher calls of art4  
,,chapter ,,viii -- ,,the ,,bayeux      
,,tapestries   ,while a description of  
this most important work of women's     
hands may seem somewhat irrelevant in a 
book devoted to the development of the  
art of embroidery in ,america1 it is so 
important a link in the subject of      
stitchery1 executed as it was in the    
eleventh century1 that a short chapter  
on this most interesting and vital      
subject may not come amiss4  ,among all 
our present possessions of early skill1 
perhaps nothing is more widely known    
than what is called the ,bayeux         
,tapestry4 ,this much venerated work is 
not tapestry at all1 but a pictorial    
record in outline1 done with a needle1  
as simply as though written in ink1 at  
least according to our present          
understanding of what is known as       
tapestry4  ,we read of the subject1 and 

the name of ,william the ,conqueror     
looms large in the imagination4 ,we     
think of the tapestry as a great        
illustrated page of history1 large in   
proportion not alone to the deeds it    
chronicles1 but to their importance in  
the story of one of the greatest1       
perhaps1 of the modern races2 and across
 this illustrated page we fancy the     
prancing of war horses and the prowess  
of the knight1 the passing of seas and  
the march of armies1 with all the       
attendant tragedy of circumstance4  ,but
 this is only in one's mind4 ,the       
reality is a more or less tattered strip
 of grayish-white linen1 two feet in    
width and two hundred and thirty feet   
long1 and along this frail bridge       
between the past and present march the  
actors in the great conquest4 ,it seems 
but an inadequate pathway1 but it has   
borne its phalanxes of men1 its two     
hundred horses1 its five hundred and    
fifty-five dogs and other animals1 its  
forty-one ships1 its numberless castles 

and trees1 its roads and farms safely   
through all the intervening years from  
#ajff to #aiai1 and it still holds them4
  ,in truth1 we wonder much over this   
production of the past1 and not alone   
over the heroes who career so mildly in 
their armor of colored crewels on the   
linen background4 ,we wonder1 in the    
first place1 how a continuous web of    
over two hundred feet in length could   
have been woven4 ,then1 we know that    
lengths of woven stuffs are limited only
 by the requirements of commerce1 and   
that ,matilda was of ,flanders1 and her 
father had learned the princely trick of
 loving and encouraging manufactures1   
and had1 indeed1 taught it to his       
daughter1 and that ,flanders was a noted
 center of manufacture4 ,then we decide 
that if ,matilda had called for a strip 
of linen two thousand feet long1 whereon
 to write the warlike history of a      
spouse who began his gentle part toward 
her 7for so history avers7 by pulling   
her from her horse and rolling her in   

the mud because she refused to marry    
him1 it would have been forthcoming as  
easily as two hundred4 ,should the      
,queen of ,england require a stretch of 
linen as long as from ,england to       
,america1 whereon to record the         
successes of her reign1 who doubts that 
it would be supplied her8               
,illustration3 ,,three ,,scenes ,,from  
,,the ,,bayeux ,,tapestry  ,so1 when the
 question of this web is disposed of1 we
 wonder who drew all these figures of   
men and horses1 for ,queen ,matilda and 
her ladies to overlay with stitchery1   
and why his name has not come down to   
us4 ,we decide within our minds1 for it 
never occurs to us to impute such       
ability in drawing to the ,queen or her 
ladies1 that it was the work of some    
monkish brother who varied his          
illuminating labor upon missals and     
copies of the ,scripture by doing these 
worldly and interesting things4  ,we    
think of the never to be forgotten      
,gerard in ,the ,cloister and the       

,hearth1 and wonder if it was some      
monastery-trained youth like him who    
rested from the creation of saints and  
angels upon vellum1 to draw fighting    
knights upon linen1 and whether1        
perchance1 his hushed heart burned      
within him at the stir and valor of the 
deeds he portrayed4 ,and then some one1 
better informed than we1 points out the 
figure of a dwarf1 nicely labeled as    
,turold--for many of the actors in this 
embroidered story are labeled in        
delicate stitches--and tells us that his
 was the hand that set the copy for all 
the happy and beloved maids of the      
,queen1 and the hapless and perhaps     
equally beloved ,saxon maids4 ,we       
wonder1 again1 how these skillful and   
noble ,saxons like to find themselves   
thus writing their own infelicities and 
humiliations for all the world to see1  
and then--for so does the human mind go 
groping into motives and springs of     
action--we wonder if their famous skill 
in needlework1 of which the wide-awake  

,matilda must surely have known1 put it 
into her head to make this curious      
life-record of her great lord1 and we   
reflect that if it were so1 it would    
only be another facet of her many-sided 
ability4  ,but that was underneath the  
surface4 ,outside was the queenly       
magnificence and wifely glorification of
 her lot1 a smooth current of           
irresistible prosperity4 ,underneath was
 the whirling and buzzing of the wheels 
of thought1 the springs of motion which 
governed the great current4  ,in truth1 
two such clever thought centers as      
,william of ,normandy and ,matilda of   
,flanders seldom in the world have made 
a conjunction1 or we would have had more
 great conquests to record4 ,we may     
fancy what we will in the far background
 which this slender length of linen     
reaches1 all the byplay which           
accompanied the guarded life of the     
castle1 the religious life of the       
cathedral and monastery1 the colored and
 bannered pomp of duke and noble4  ,it  

was all mightily picturesque1 with its  
contrasts of gorgeousness and privation1
 but probably ,matilda the dexterous    
thought that times were good enough when
 she could sit in safety1 surrounded by 
her maids and priests1 and write her    
royal journal as she pleased1 with a    
threaded stylus2 and well for us that   
she elected to do this1 although her    
records are written in so quaint a      
fashion that amusement and interest are 
twin spectators of the result4  ,two    
borders1 upper and lower1 remind one    
irresistibly of a child's processional  
picture on a slate4 ,the figures are    
done in outline only1 colors            
corresponding to those used in the body 
of the work4 ,each border is some six   
inches wide1 and has the air of a little
 running commentary or enlargement of   
the main story4 ,there are variations   
and incidents which could not perhaps be
 put down in the main body1 where all   
the figures are worked solidly in the   
stitch which has been rechristened      

,kensington stitch4 ,the horses are     
worked in red-brown and gray crewels1   
some of them duly spotted and dappled1  
the banners and gonfalons carefully     
wrought in the colors and devices       
belonging to them4 ,the whole work      
follows scrupulously the scenes of the  
,conquest1 giving the lives of the      
actors both in ,normandy and ,england1  
as well as the transit from one country 
to the other4  ,the first scene         
evidently represents ,edward the        
,confessor giving audience to ,harold1  
the last of the ,saxon kings4 ,the next 
gives the embarkation of ,harold1 and   
the third his capture in ,france4  ,then
 comes the death of ,edward1 and the    
tapestry story struggles ineffectually  
with the incidents of his death and     
funeral2 and the election of ,harold as 
,king of ,england1 showing him seated   
crowned and in royal robes under a very 
primitive canopy4 ,after this1 the scene
 shifts again to ,france1 and portrays  
the preparations for invasion made by   

the ,duke of ,normandy1 who was called  
by the people of the country he invaded 
,william the ,conqueror1 and who have   
continued to know him only by that name 
through all succeeding centuries1 the   
shame and sorrow of vanquishment quite  
buried under the glory of the           
performance1 ,saxon and ,norman uniting 
in esteem of the successful result4     
,all this history is duly set forth in  
archaic simplicity by the stitches of   
,queen ,matilda1 who1 in preserving the 
record of the deeds of her doughty lord1
 has set down also a record of herself  
as the ideal wife1 who glorifies her    
husband1 and merges all she is of woman 
into that condition--and still it is    
only a strip of linen worked in crewels4
 ,all the triumphs of the great         
,conqueror are written upon it1 but none
 of the disappointments4 ,the needlework
 story does not relate 7how could it    
when ,matilda's active1 trained and     
industrious fingers had been stilled by 
death87 the sorrows which overcame even 

her fortunate hero--that his body was   
robbed of its clothing1 and lay naked   
and dishonored beside a disputed grave1 
where even the solemn claim of death to 
burial was resisted until an old wrong  
done in the body was righted4 ,and      
though his son reigned after him1 and he
 founded a royal line1 perhaps one of   
the greatest enjoyments of his          
successful life consisted in watching   
the fingers of his well-beloved ,matilda
 as they worked this linen record4  ,of 
course it is the great events it        
portrays and the human interest it holds
 which make this tapestry exceedingly   
valuable1 for1 artistically1 it is of no
 more value than a child's sampler4     
,but1 simple as it is1 volumes have been
 written about it4 ,scholars and        
historians have pored over its pictured 
history1 money without stint has been   
spent in paper reproductions of it1 and1
 finally1 the whole important embroidery
 society of ,leeds1 ,england1 spent two 
industrious years in copying it1 and    

earned fame and envy thereby4  ,the     
wonderful remains of the work of skilled
 fingers serve to dignify the art of    
which it is capable1 and to sing a      
varied song in the ears of the modern   
embroiderer1 who follows her own will in
 spite of time-hallowed examples4 ,the  
women of today1 #aibj1 have been called 
to work that is widely different from   
that of the ages when embroidery was a  
natural recourse and almost universal   
practice1 but it is an art which has    
done too much for the progress of the   
world1 in all its different phases1 to  
die1 or to cease to progress4 ,there    
will always be quiet souls1 whose lives 
have been made so by circumstances1 who 
will find solace in the practice of     
needlework1 so we may safely leave with 
them an art which has done so much for  
mankind4                      ,,the     
,,end         99       99       99      
99       99  ,transcriber's note3  ,the 
following corrections have been applied 
to the text3  ,porcupine quill work     

seems to have been no longer practiced1 
'no' is missing in the original text    
which were novelties to the imported    
artisan4     corrected from 'novelites' 
,miss ,mather or ,miss ,coffin or ,miss 
,hooker     'of' corrected to 'or'