° ° Needlework Specimens. Instructions on Needle-Work and Kn...

Hammer

£2,800

° ° Needlework Specimens. Instructions on Needle-Work and Knitting, as Derived from the Practice of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church, in the Sanctuary, Westminster, 2nd edition, 8vo, original blind-stamped brown cloth, upper cover gilt lettered, with 9 mounted specimens of handiwork (complete), Roake and Varty et al, London, 1838 Exceedingly rare: Copac lists only three copies of the second edition (V & A, University College London and the National Trust).

The book commences by detailing how the girls were taught the principles of the Madras system, following Dr. Bell's Manual of Instructions (1827). Daily sessions involved the children seated on benches arranged on three sides of a square, supervised by assistant teachers, engaging in needlework or knitting based on their skill levels. Each girl possessed a numbered bag to store her handiwork. The concluding page features a price list for various completed tasks, emphasizing that payment is accepted only in ready money, with the Mistress authorised to collect the amounts.

The chapters cover diverse skills such as 'Hemming,' 'Sewing and Felling,' 'Stitching,' 'Gathering,' 'Button-Holes,' 'Shirt-Making,' 'Whipping-Frills, &c.,' 'Herring-Bone,' 'Darning,' 'Marking,' and 'Knitting.' The showcased miniature specimens exhibit incredibly fine stitches, consisting of a blue printed cotton pinafore, a linen shift-sleeve, a fine lawn infant's shirt, a fine cotton gentleman's shirt, a frilled and tucked baby's bonnet, a long woollen under-garment with silk trim, a darning sampler, a cross-stitch alphabet sampler in red thread, and a cream worsted stocking, (9).