An Elizabethan Inheritance: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

An Elizabethan Inheritance provides an account of the social, economic and artistic environment in which the owners of Hardwick Hall furnished the house with such sumptuous textiles.

History

Levey, Santina M.

Europe

Natl Trust

Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, England, houses a world-famous collection of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century textiles. The fact that these exquisite pillow covers, wall hangings, bedcovers, carpets, and upholsteries, many decorated with superb embroidery, have survived in such good condition is little short of miraculous, and due in part to the formidable Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick, who built the house in the 1590s. In her will, Bess instructed her heirs to 'have speciall care and regard to p'serve the same from all manner of wett, mothe and other hurte or spoyle thereof'. In this first illustrated and scholarly account of the collection, Santina Levey places the textiles in their day to day context. Using ledgers and other archival material she describes the origins of the different types of textiles, whether purchased ready-made or put together and decorated by embroiderers, whose work is illustrated by stunning close-up details. Inventories, letters, and personal reminiscences are used to chart the later history of the house and the inevitable alterations that four hundred years of use wrought on the original furnishings. Complete with a glossary and bibliography, this is an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in Elizabethan textiles.

Elizabethan Treasures: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

Valenciennes, Honiton, Bucks Point, Reticella, Brussels Bobbin Lace, Blonde, Bedfordshire Maltese, Hollie Point and Carrickmacross . . . Why did all these varieties of lace develop as they did? When were they first made? Who made them? How were they marketed? Who bought them and wore them? These are some of the questions asked and answered in this complete and authoritative study. No major book on lace has been published in English since the revised edition of Mrs Palliser's History of Lace appeared in 1902, yet the intervening period has seen enormous strides made in the study and understanding of the lace industry and of its relationship to the history of dress, to textiles and to the development of the decorative arts in general. In writing about lace in the context of fashionable dress and the development of styles and movements of taste, Santina Levey has drawn on extensive researches in these related fields. For lace only existed because fashionable dress required it and the many varieties only came into existence because the lace-makers were able to respond to changing demands. On the occasions when they did not or could not respond, whole sections of the industry collapsed. This book covers the period from the early sixteenth-century to the First World War and is arranged chronologically to accommodate the underlying changes in fashionable dress and in the lace worn with it, but, within each chapter, the different types of lace are dealt with one by one. Greatest attention is given to the leading fashion laces but less important laces are also described; these range from simple domestic trimmings and cheap copies worn lower down the social scale, to 'fossilized' versions of once fashionable laces which continued to be made for peasant communities and for some conservative societies in the New World. The distinguishing technical features of each lace are described and particular attention is given to the close copies of the historical lace which were made in the late nineteenth century. Although not designed as a how-to-do-it manual, the many enlarged details included in the illustrations and the magnified technical details in the Glossary would enable the experienced lace-maker to recreate a number of the patterns, while the rich variety of designs should be a source of inspiration to those working across the wholes spectrum of textile and flat-pattern designing. The book is fully indexed and the technical terms and names used in the text are gathered together in a GLOSSARY for ease of reference. The Glossary also includes and explains terms of doubtful validity which are not used in the text but which appear in many older books on the subject.

Lace: A History

Routledge

This work contains bobbin lace patterns with directions for working them and an illustrated historical introduction.

Le Pompe, 1559: Patterns for Venetian Bobbin Lace

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

Robin & Russ Handweavers

The third of a seven-volume series which provides an illustrated history of British textile design from the middle ages to the 1990s, showing highlights of the V&A's collection of woven, printed and embroidered textiles. This title looks at embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750.

Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750

King, Donald

Victoria & Albert Pubns

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Pavilion

Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, more famously known as Bess of Hardwick, was born around 1527 and became one of the most influential women of the age. Bess was a great builder, starting in the 1550s with her house at Chatsworth and culminating some 40 years later with the New Hall at Hardwick. All her homes, including Chatsworth and the two halls at Hardwick, were adorned with sumptuous contents and furnishings, the value of which equalled or exceeded that of the buildings themselves. Bess was a meticulous record-keeper, and in 1601 probate inventories were compiled of her three houses. Published together for the first time, these extraordinary records provide a fascinating insight into one of the world's most important collections of 16th-century furniture and textiles. Commentaries by Peter K. Thornton and Santina M. Levey, both formerly of the Victoria and Albert Museum, explain the range and significance of the inventories.

Of Household Stuff: The 1601 Inventories of Bess of Hardwick

Thornton, Peter K

Anova Books

The collection of late 16th-century embroidery, needlework and wrought linen at the National Trust's Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is the most important of its type in Britain, and probably in the Western World. Largely commissioned and acquired by the redoubtable Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury -- known as 'Bess of Hardwick' -- these pieces, some 200 in total with many of the highest quality, range from small fragments of exquisite needlework to a dramatic set of huge wall hangings depicting 'Heroic Women of the Ancient World'. Most have remained at Hardwick for over 400 years. Bess of Hardwick moved in the highest echelons of contemporary society and was on close terms with Queen Elizabeth I. The collection therefore constitutes an invaluable document of social history, reflecting the interests and values of the Queen, her courtiers and Elizabethan patrons of the arts. In the first ever catalogue of this extraordinary collection, Santina Levey looks at each piece in turn, explaining the context to its creation, its symbolism, materials, workmanship and history. Grouped by type, many of the pieces are surprisingly well documented and Levey throws new light on the ways in which they were displayed and even re-used at different periods of their past. She also explains the remarkable range of techniques used on the embroideries, and provides fascinating new information on design sources and motifs.

The Embroideries at Hardwick Hall: A Catalogue

National Trust Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Levey, Santina M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Levey, Santina M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Levey, Santina M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

An Elizabethan Inheritance: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

Elizabethan Treasures: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

Lace: A History

Le Pompe, 1559: Patterns for Venetian Bobbin Lace

Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750

An Elizabethan Inheritance: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

Of Household Stuff: The 1601 Inventories of Bess of Hardwick

The Embroideries at Hardwick Hall: A Catalogue