If you have been keeping a watch on upcoming auctions at Bonhams, I hope you haven't overlooked this interesting group of small needlework items that composes Lot 255 carrying an estimate of £300-£400. Here you can see a watch cloth that would have been stitched as a present for a friend to pop inside their fob watch to protect the glass from scratches. Maybe you can just make out the facing birds and the words - A Token of Friendship. It has been framed by someone as a decorative item.
Another unusual item is this temperance stitched cloth. It is not a sampler but something you would have on the wall of your parlour as a reminder to yourself and a sign to visitors that members of your house were committed abstainers from alcohol. Temperance societies started springing up in the UK from the 1830s - first it was simply to abstain from hard spirits, but later all alcohol was included in the remit when signing the Pledge. Quakers and Non-Conformists headed the movements and to this day many continue to be teetotallers, to the extent that communion is celebrated in their churches with non-alcoholic wine. This is Lot 242 with an estimate of £150-£250.
You might also like to see:
oh my gosh i love these pieces. i am so happy you find and share these marvelous stitched treasures. thank you thank you!!!!
ReplyDelete