Laces. T. L. Barratt Ltd., Peterboro Sample Book

Peterboro, England. N.d., circa 1900. Folio-sized book, measuring 15 by 10 inches, 38 by 25 cm. Unpaginated, 36 pp of actual lace samples. 96 samples in all, many "registered designs", in varying colors: ecru, ochre, rose, black, white. Also different materials, including artificial silk and mercerized (cotton). The elaborate designs, with their floral, geometric, abstract, foliate, butterfly, etc. motives, were ones that applied to hosiery, doilies, tablecloths, veils, dress detailing and virtually anything in which lace was used. This is a scarce, very well-preserved relic from an earlier era of the garment industry. Ex-lib, but inobtrusively so, with a discreet, faint library stamp on the FEP and similar library classification info in a small table on the FFEP. Clean otherwise.