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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

PART 2, East Devon Bobbins

PART 3, Collectors Guide

APPENDICES

An Amateur Collector’s Dictionary of Antique English Lace Bobbins and Tools.

Part 1. East Midland and Associated areas.

Part 2. East Devon Bobbins (Honiton Bobbins)

The Results of a Personal Journey Discovering the World of Lace Bobbins and Tools.

By Brian Lemin.

Editor: Rochelle Southerland

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

This Dictionary would not have been possible without the generous access I have had to the Diana Smith Collection. To my knowledge it is the foremost private collection in the United Kingdom. Diana Smith is a knowledgeable curator, archivist, teacher and owner.

Here follows a “partial” list of friends who contributed the research or generously donated their bobbin images for use. (Note on the word “partial”. I have to admit that I have not been the most ardent archivist of the bobbin images on my computer and I may have forgotten names of donors or mixed up at least part of my image collection. I apologise)

Jean Barrat;

Jonathon Page;

Lorna Whitley (Probably my first mentor and educator)

Lynne Cumming;

Margaret Pengelly;

May Wakely; (now deceased)

Pat Perryman; (especially East Devon bobbins)

Pompi Parry; (especially Downton Bobbins)

Shirley Povey

The following are collections to which, I have been given generous access. I may not have used their collection in this dictionary, non-the-less, their generosity is much appreciated and has provided me with endless hours of study and inspiration.

Baker, Knight, Hueston (Jenny Baker)

Cookson

Eke

Gar

Gunningham

Hammet

Horton

Perryman

R and S

Smith (see above)

Spring

Springett (Christine and David) I have their generous permission to use a large number of their collected bobbins.

Taunton Collection (who was personal friend and whose early demise was much felt by the Sewing Tool Collectors).

Varney

Whiting

I want also to mention the following museums that were especially helpful:

The Luton Museum who hosted my early research and study tour; and the

All-Hallows Museum (Honiton).

The Higgins Museum (Bedford)

Finally, two things I want to say;

1. It is the help and support of so many members of the Arachne community that is so appreciated and thanked. Their help and support over the years could be considered as “immense”. Thank you

2. It is a quirk of mine that, since I stopped working, I have, thankfully left behind the academic writing requirement. Please note, I have tried to make my descriptions understandable, but not couched in the academic rigour of writing.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

Jean (my wife) and I love our hobbies and support each other immensely, but the hours that I spent researching bobbins and sitting at the computer instead of having “sparkling” (?) conversation with her, deserves my special thanks to her. She also understands that when I type “lace” into Google images, I can get a most delightful result, but markedly less useful to the query that I wanted to get answers too.  [that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!]

I want to acknowledge the work of such collectors as; Francis Baker, Denys Bellerby, Charles Freeman, Tom Huetson, Arthur Knight, Thomas Wright, John Yallop, Gertrude Whiting who, through their collections and publications, have done such a great deal to memorialise the glorious bone and treen of the lace maker. How I wish I could have had the opportunity to have talked with them rather than just read their histories and view their collections. What a wealth of knowledge died with them and how fortunate for us that they were interested enough in this special area of history.

Of course, I must acknowledge the great research that has been done by contemporary writers such as Christine and David Springett, who have done more than anyone in this modern era to add to the knowledge and insights that we have of the bobbins and their makers and to thank them for their help and encouragement that they have personally given me, especially in the early part of my bobbin research. I have also been in touch with Jeffrey Hopewell whose small but very thorough works have done a great deal to inform and educate lace makers and collectors about lace bobbins. There were others too, who have written most knowledgeably about their special areas of lace bobbins. Their names will be found in the bibliography.

I am undoubtedly most grateful to a contemporary bobbin collector and writer, Diana Smith. Her generosity in sharing her knowledge and images of bobbins from her collection is most appreciated.

Other articles on aspects of lace bobbins that I have written can be found on:

https://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/webdocs.html

Be warned you need to scroll down a long way before the Lemin pops up!

At the time of publication, I do genuinely believe that I have been granted the copyright to illustrations in the dictionary. The main sources being bobbin collectors and supporters of my research who are members of “Arachne”, an on-line support email list for Lace Makers. I have used images that have been donated by public institutions for study purposes, which this Dictionary clearly is.

Collectors are encouraged to purchase two books which I believe can be good resources for them. These are:

Freeman, Charles. Pillow Lace in the East Midlands. Borough of Luton Museum an Art Gallery. 1958 Reprinted 1980.

Not in production, still available on the Internet from time to time. If it is, then it is a very worthwhile book to have. In fact, this was the first book I bought and could be said it was this book that started this bobbin quest.

Christine & David Springett. Success to the Lace Pillow

This book provides a history, classification and identification of 19th Century East Midland lace bobbins and their makers, adding a further 16 years of research to their first book published in 1981. This book is used by Phillips, the international auction house, to classify bobbins in their auctions. It served as a benchmark and inspiration to established bobbin collectors and encouraged new ones to start collecting.

Self-published from:

C&D Springett
8 Strath Close
Rugby
Warwickshire

A further two purchases that could be considered useful are:

Wright, Thomas The Romance of the Lace Pillow. H.H.Armsrtong. Olney

1919. Reprinted Ruth Bean Carlton 1982. An excellent historical account and includes interesting things about lace bobbins.

And

Huetson, T. L. Lace and Lace Bobbins. A history and Collectors Guide.

David and Charles. Newton Abbot. 1973.

INTRODUCTION

Lace Bobbins are fascinating tools; each one can tell a story. Their history is fascinating, especially when a bobbin largely ignores dates and talks about people. As you go through this book do remember that at the end of each bobbin that clicked on the pillow was a person who was hard working, often very poorly paid but highly skilled in Lace Making.

Other than Christine and David Springett’s publications, bobbin books were not written by makers of bobbins or wood turners; possibly collectors, historians or dealers. This is evident from the words used to describe the bobbins. Terms such as baluster and ornamental can be challenged on a number of grounds as being substantially incorrect, though I would accept that it is capable of being argued from a layperson’s perspective.

The names given to bobbins of certain types are another confusing issue. There is the oral tradition as recorded by Wright which, as Freeman states (p33) "has since disappeared" but we must accept what has happened, and move on. This dictionary prefers to place the oral tradition name first, and any other names after it.

The dictionary also uses the geographical identity of bobbins and thus uses the term East Devon bobbins rather than “Honiton”. It will be seen that I much prefer to use the term “East Devon” bobbins rather than “Honiton” bobbins. [In the same manner as we use “East Midland Bobbins]

On a personal note, I started as a bobbin maker and started asking questions about the various antique bobbins I was discovering and, broadly speaking, no one could answer them. So, I started researching for answers myself, and “with little help from my friends” this Dictionary has the results.

An Amateur Collector’s Dictionary of Antique English Lace Bobbins and Tools.

It is for private study purposes only.

PARTS OF THE BOBBIN.

I have included two pictures here, but the basic premise is that whatever words we use we will be able to interpret them within reason. Let us start at the top and work down.

BULB< SHORT NECK<HEAD

These comprise the parts where the thread is wound around to anchor the bobbin in place. This collection of turnings can be described as “large; bulbous; narrow, long, short” all of which are fairly subjective to the person describing the bobbin.

For example, I would describe the above as; “bulbous, with a very narrow small-neck, curving graciously but sharply to a head a little narrower than the bulb.”

This is what I would call “squat with an extremely short, short-neck”

This I would describe as “flat bulb with sharp chamfer to the short-neck and small conical head”.

THE “LONG NECK”.

Well the long neck can be “short”; “long” or “conical”. If the neck is normal length, then it does not warrant a description.

Possibly the bottom neck is short, the middle, normal then the top, long, but the long can be much longer too! The middle neck is clearly conical, so too are the others to some extent, but many necks are parallel.

SHANK/SHAFT/BODY.

This dictionary prefers to use the word; Shank. [“Handles” is word that has been used also]

NECKS, Single and Double.

One of the strange mysteries to some collectors is why we talk about single and double “necks”? Well it is because the necks are the portions of the bobbin that come in contact with the thread. The East Midland bobbins (with the exception of the South Bucks bobbins) have developed a style of double necks. Most bobbins from the Continent have single necks, but we in the UK, seem to have double necks on our bobbins. Here is an illustration that shows the difference.

Note on various names. Sometimes the reader might find different names are used for the same objects. This is due to the fact that the names for various things were very parochial to the area in which the names were used, and two (or more!) distinct names have emerged in history.

A.

Acts of Parliament

Yallop in chapter two of his book calls 1617 to 1707, “the age of legislation”. Wright and Palliser also cover various legislation in their books. I will briefly say that whilst there is a great deal of legislation about lace and lace making (mostly protectionist measures for the English lace making industry), there is no legislation that I have discovered relating to lace bobbins or their manufacture. I should mention that there are many reports on the health and welfare of lace makers (children in particular) but as far as I know there is no specific legislation related to the makers.

adapted types

Bobbins that have been adapted for use in different styles of lace making rather than for the purpose they were made. i.e. Dumps or Bobtails that were drilled and spangled for use in a later style of lace making. Adapted bobbins were extremely valuable in bobbin historical research as they offer clues as to their dates and the development of lace making styles.

This is a normally unspangled South Bucks bobbin.

admonitions

An admonition phrase as inscribed on a bobbin. Freeman type xix. (See appendix)

Keep your temper.

advertising bobbins

Bobbins that had inscriptions advertising businesses or a business person, usually lace traders. Sometimes called “trade bobbins”

A Gift from Lesters. They were lace dealers.

afficot

A wooden tool about 70 mm long (varies). It has a bulbous end, which is held in the palm of the hand, and a pointed and somewhat curved projection. This point is used to raise and impart a gloss (by judicious rubbing), in certain needle lace patterns. It is said to resemble a lobster’s claw and indeed it is thought to be a wooden replacement for the original lobster-claw tool.

alphabets

An alphabet inscribed on a bobbin.

antler

Used occasionally for bobbin-making, either as an inlay, or for the whole bobbin. Because there is very little extra antler on a bobbin blank cut from an antler, a dark smudge can sometimes be seen on the shaft. This is because the turner did not have enough diameter on his blank to fully turn away the edge of the blank. Springett tells us that antlers from the Indian deer were the only ones that produce thick enough blanks for bobbin turning. This gives rise to the reasonable speculation that antler bobbins were turned in India.

annular rings

Glass ring trading beads. They were plentiful but, whilst not rare, they are not frequently seen on spangles. See Beads for illustration.

apophthegms

A short saying, maxim, aphorism stating a truth, which is inscribed on a bobbin. Freeman type xxii. (see appendix)

MAKE CLEAN WORK

aqua fortis

Nitric acid, used for staining lace bobbins. When fresh it has a greenish stain but this darkens with age. The lace makers knew it as "Agnes forty", a colloquial name based on the similar sound of aqua fortis, (somewhat akin to rhyming slang). In my experiments with nitric acid staining I have found that I produce a much darker stain that would be hard to call “greenish”.

Synonyms. Nitric Acid, Agnes forty.

This looks as though the chemical was left on the wood long enough to “burn” it!

arrows

A form of decoration used mainly to describe the pewter inlay of "arrows" or "wings of the butterfly, found on Beds Fly bobbin (see later). The arrows were probably alternatively described as crow’s feet or resembling a broad arrow, possibly an anchor lying on the ground. Often these arrows make a symmetrical pattern on the bobbin overall. Sometimes the wings were not opposite each other i.e. not symmetrical, but protrude from one side. According to Springett, the direction of the arrows offers a clue as to the “handedness i.e. left or right handed. Jessie Compton’s beds fly bobbins can have as many as 5 pairs of arrows in the circumference of the shank.

Synonyms. Fly/s, crow’s feet, anchor, broad arrow, arrow, butterfly wings.

See butterfly, inlay, fly, Beds fly, Bedfordshire fly

B.

babe

A small bobbin contained within the body of the shank, or in a recess in the shank of a bobbin. Made usually from wood or bone, but can also be made of brass.

Synonym: baby bobbin.

A selection of “babes” in their “cradle” within the shank of a bobbin.

baby bobbin

A bobbin with a hollow shank or recess in the shank, containing a loose miniature bobbin that is called a babe. These are found in a number of bobbin styles.

See church window, cow and calf, cow in calf, grandmother bobbin, mother and babe, mother in babe, twisted chamber bobbin, secret bobbin, and babe. See picture above.

An “orphan” baby bobbin (say about 10mm to 15mm)

ball and reel

A type of decoration that has a ball (technically called a bead) followed by a raised curve or concave shape, followed by another ball giving an overall impression rather like a cotton reel.

baluster turned bobbin

A generic name for a fancy turned bobbin. Baluster is an architectural term for the design of a narrow wooden column. Applied to bobbins it is likened to the Baluster stems of English wine glasses in circa 17th C; or indeed the ornate baluster rods framing a beautiful staircase. It implies a symmetry and overall design pleasing to the eye. Some question the use of this term historically. Sometimes called an ornamentally turned bobbin but from a maker’s viewpoint the term "fancy turned" would be more accurate as “ornamentally turned” implies the use of a special ornamental turning machine lathe that is rarely, if ever, used by bobbin makers.

Synonym. Ornamentally turned, fancy turned.

banded

1. Decorated with coloured bands. This is applied as a separate colour to either a shallow groove or a deeper turned groove. Alternatively, a coloured bobbin is returned to the lathe and bands of colour were removed to reveal the original colour of the wood or bone, which gives the appearance of banding. See also Beds Method

2. Decorated with bands of wire often joined to each other by a single spiral of

wire leading from one band to another. Better named “wire banded”.

Two examples, but banding can be varied a lot.

banister

A name derived from a decoration of a bobbin that looks like a stair banister, or (more correctly) baluster.

Not necessarily this turning design, but this is a good example

Bartholomew (Saint)

See Saint Bartholomew.

barley sugar twist bobbin

A bobbin with a decoration of spiral grooves running down the shank. There can be a number of twists i.e., single, double, treble and probably the most that can be fitted on a shank are four twists. The twists were counted as points of origin on the shank, rather than the number of turns. This can be quite a difficult decoration for the maker to perfect. If you were looking for perfection in a twist, look for equidistance between twists and if a sharp edge to the twists were part of the design, make sure they were sharp and not dulled. The twists need not necessarily be the full length of the bobbin shank. These bobbins are also categorised as “turned and carved” as the twist has to be carved.

Wooden bobbins can often have deeper and less spiralled configuration than this bone example in the illustration above.

Batavia

The name of a ship sunk off the West Coast of Australia on June 4^th 1629 on the Morning Reef. Two almost complete lace bobbins were recovered from this wreck together with some other fragments of bobbins. Reproductions of these bobbins were often called Batavia bobbins. They were of a continental style and not East Midlands style. The full story of the Batavia, reads much like horror story, but the bobbins are useful historical tools.

A replica of one of the bobbins found on the ship

beaded head pin. A pin that has its head replaced with a glass bead, sometimes a few beads. The “crushed” wire heads of early pins enabled this to be done quite easily. These were pushed or glued on to the pin.

Bead heads, usually glass beads.

beaded shank bobbin

(1) A bobbin with part of the normal shank replaced with beads threaded on a thick wire and fixed into the collar at one end and the tail at the other. Usually there were five beads on the shank. On a personal note, the term “beads” used in this entry cover two distinct artistic genres (wood turning and beading) It would be nice if we could find a name to distinguish clearly as to which type of bobbin to which we are referring.

Synonym dewdrop.

(2) A bobbin decorated by turned beads that were semi-circular rounds along the bobbin shank. They can be found in a variety of combinations: continuous, double treble etc.

Synonym. Bead shank bobbin

beaded bobbin

Decorated with small coloured beads threaded on wire and coiled around the shank. They were arranged to form a pattern, usually set into spiral or other grooves in the shank. There were various names for the bead designs according to the pattern that the bead decoration created. e.g. Chevron, Spiral, Vertical, Beaded Shank etc. When making these bobbins, I make a few of them then add the beads at night whilst “watching” the TV. I have often imagined the old bobbin makers adding value to his bobbins by putting the beads on his bobbin by the light of a candle, or rush lamp. What a difficult job it would have been as I find it hard enough in front of the TV with a reasonable light over my shoulder.

Synonym. bead inlay or wire beaded.

Beads

Note: This entry spans the wide range of beads used for weighting and decorating bobbins. Many varieties of beads and other baubles were used historically but most often glass or china beads were used. Though certain beads have stories and superstitions associated with them (See Christine Springett’s book in the bibliography) the different shapes and sizes have no significance to the making of lace. Only the English East Midland bobbins were spangled. European bobbins were not spangled. The collective name for this ring of beads is a “spangle”.

Beads are quite old and many of the designs you find on antique bobbins come from designs made for trade in the British Colonies of that time. Beware, many antique bobbins have been re-spangled in modern times.

As you look at the illustrations below, please remember that there is a huge variation in possible designs for each type/named bead.

A variety of spangles and beads

The choice of beads in the above table relates only to those mentioned in historical writing and in more recent social history publications. Readers need to know that there are probably many hundreds of beads with names, both antique and modern.

Bedford lace origins

There were many theories about the origins of the lace industry in England. The most quoted of these theories is that of the influx of refugees to England as the result of the persecution in Europe of the Huguenots in the mid 1500’s and following. It is maintained that as the result of this migration the Flemish refugees brought their lace making skills with them, and thus the start of the lace industry.

Yallop challenges this theory and offers an alternative. He maintains that astute English businessmen, who operated on the trade routes between England and Europe, saw the potential in having an English lace making industry and imported a few lace makers to commence the industry. Yallop's study is very scholarly and has used original sources to come to this conclusion. As yet I am unaware of any scholarly attempt to disprove his theory and establish the one above, though I am given to understand that his theory has flaws in it. I suspect the real answer is some amalgam of both theories.

The most romantic of the theories, though least acceptable in fact, is that Queen Catherine of Aragon taught lace making to some of the inhabitants of Ampthill when she resided there in 1531.

Bedford-fly bobbin

Synonyms. Beds Fly, flys. Arrows.

Beds fly

See Bedfordshire fly.

Bedfordshire leopards

These were wooden and later bone bobbins studded with small pewter spots. The name reflects the spots of a leopard. The bobbin is usually drilled and pewter rods inserted or pewter is melted into the holes. Sometimes the spots were filled indentations as opposed to holes. Sometimes brass spots were used. The results were different designs. Where a hole goes right through the shank then the spots were opposite whereas when they were just indented the spots might appear anywhere the maker wanted. There was a belief by the old-time lace makers that touching pewter helped those suffering from “rheumatism and the like.” You will observe that in quite a few antique bobbins that the spots protrude considerably past the circumference of the shank. This was a deliberate technique employed by the maker and I cannot believe that the hands of the lace makers could stand the constant abrasion of the pewter spots without some physical soreness of the fingers. In fact, the protruding spots are due to the degradation process of the pewter. As it degrades it expands. In other designs, I think that the pewter just falls off, but in those that protrude it is because it is in a hole of some depth and as it extrudes it is held there.

Synonyms. Leopard/s

See Leopards

Bedfordshire method

This is a method of colouring decoration. Wright (p131, 132) reports, "Sometimes in bobbins that were not inscribed, the whole would be left coloured except for the rings and the neck which were made to resume their original state. This was achieved by returning the bobbin to the lathe and turning away the colouring.” This is called the Bedfordshire method of banding. Bobbins that have been treated in this way were very attractive, especially bone bobbins that have been dyed first, then banded in this manner.

You can see where the dye has been “turned” off (i.e. on the lathe) below the neck

Bedfordshire tigers

Inlaid with pewter bands around the shank. It is named after their likeness to the tiger’s stripes. The decoration is cut into the bobbin shaft, usually with a slight undercut to hold the pewter in the bands. The bobbin is placed in a prepared mould and the molten pewter is poured in. When it is hardened, the bobbin is returned to the lathe and cleaned up. The bands or stripes may be few or many and vary in width though they were usually the same width on any single bobbin and more often they were thin rather than wide. As with other pewter decoration there may well be other decorations in pewter or turned together with the tiger strips.

See also Tiger.

A Bedfordshire (Beds) Tiger

Bedfordshire trailer bobbin

A Huntingdon name for a thick, stout, often single necked bobbin. It is unspangled but is sometimes seen adapted for spangles. It is fitted with loose pewter or wooden rings called "gingles", mostly in wood but sometimes in bone with bone gingles. The historical description is, "…have pewter rings around them but instead of being inlaid into the bobbin they were loose; these rings were called gingles and they fit loosely in a groove around the bobbin so that they can rattle about.” There can be any number of rings from one to nine, on each bobbin. Five or seven were the usual number of gingles, bone bobbins usually have bone gingles. Wooden gingles do not last as long as bone and pewter, which is probably why few were seen today. Often you will see these gingles replaced with a ring of seed beads. Some refer to these trailers not as Bedfordshire trailers but Huntingdon trailers

Note for Collectors: A pragmatic approach for collectors (but not historical or indeed provable) would be to classify double necked trailers as Huntingdon Trailers and single necked trailers as South Buck trailers.

Synonyms. trolley bobbins, trollies.

A single neck trailer with loose pewter rings.

Bees Knees

A fancy decoration of the shank. A series of elongated knops along the shank, that resembles the (enlarged!) shape of a bee’s leg or knee.

berry pin.

A pin with a spherical head. The pin is usually made of steel but other materials can be seen Early pins did not have a fixed head so the lace makers took a berry (usually a goose grass burr) and pushed over the top to form a head. When it dried it stayed on the pin quite well. A modern berry pin would have a glass spherical head.

Synonym. Seed headed bead

Berry head pins.

birdcage bobbin.

An East Midland's bobbin with long openings, or windows in the sides through which the contents of the windows can be seen. These windows were usually pierced after the bobbin is turned and this could give the impression that it was turned and drilled hollow, but it is not. Fine brass wire is wound spiral fashion around the shank to cover the openings, each strand of wire is slightly spaced from the next so that the contents within the windows on the shank can be seen through the "cage wire" but not fall out. The contents can be seeds, beads, or other objects. There may be single or multiple "cages" in the shank.

bird-in-the-bush

A Northampton name for a church window bobbin with a mother in babe section in the middle of the shank. Said to be made by order from a British sailor named John Chinaman. When a lover gave one to his sweetheart he is said to tell that it was a gift from “Jack”.

Biblical texts

A text inscribed on a bobbin. Freeman type xx.

God is Love

birdcage spangle

A particularly attractive style of spangle, where strands of small beads on wire surround a larger bead to form a cage around it. Sometimes the centrepiece is itself a stranded bead decoration e.g. an oval, which is then surrounded by a cage of strands of beads. Some are most intricate and beautiful too.

birthdays

Names and dates of birth etc. As inscribed on bobbins. Freeman type xiv.

Bishops crozier

An old name for a bobbin that is turned with about 4 cylinders that are separated by narrow sections of shaft within which is a loose ring. They may be made of wood or bone and very frequently the loose rings are missing. As it can be seen by the illustration below, some of these bobbins can be very highly decorated and very beautiful to look at.

bitted bobbin

An inlaid bobbin with slanting cuts made in the shank. These sliced holes were then filled with similar sized pieces of bone or wood of a contrasting colour (bits). Dark coloured wooden bobbins were inlaid with a light-coloured wood, occasionally a light-coloured bobbin inlaid with dark wood. Described as looking like small fingernails stuck into the side of the bobbin. This is because the cuts and insertions we reconstructed before the bobbin is turned (i.e. when it is square) When this is turned the straight cuts appear as finger nails or ticks, depending on how the "bits" were inserted into the shank. Another technique is to cut small segments from the shank and pieces of wood of contrasting colour stuck into the recesses formed. An historical description is, "bits" or "slivers" of wood let into the surface of the shank in various interesting ways”. Two styles of bitted bobbins are seen; the first style involves simple straight saw cuts. The second style has curved saw cuts. These latter were probably the most technically difficult of all bobbins to produce. One maker identified by Springett as the “bitted man” produced wonderful examples of these bobbins.

Bitted bobbin by the Bitted Man.

Fingernail bitted

black beads

See Mourning bobbin.

A bobbin with a Mourning Spangle

Black-eyed girls

Nickname for the lace makers of the village of Fritwell.

Fritwell Parish Church

blacksmith

The local blacksmith would be the man to make or repair the wood turner’s tools and his lathe.

blessings

A blessing inscribed on a bobbin. Freeman type xviii

Bless James

bloodshot eyes

A Kitty Fisher bead that has red on white dots. This would not be so complimentary to her as Kitty Fisher had Blue Eyes and implied that she had possible had too much to drink. I am sure the young lace makers would have enjoyed this light-hearted fun.

See Kitty Fisher beads and beads. See Beads for illustration

Bobbin [lace]

A tool usually made of wood or bone occasionally metal, rarely ivory, which holds the thread when making bobbin lace. East Midland types of bobbins have spangles of beads for weight; others (Honiton, Downton, Bedfordshire and European or Continental) rely on the weight of the wood only.

The parts of a typical East Midlands bobbin can be seen on the picture below.

See: double head, double neck, long neck, rim, shank, short neck, single head, spangle, tail collar. See also the introduction to this Dictionary.

bobbin bag

A cloth bag made to store bobbins in. They seem to be a bag made from any material to hand, sometimes it has an open top and pinned to the side of the pillow, sometimes it has a draw string top and hung in a convenient place. My interpretation of this is that they made a bag of any fabric available to a design which the maker liked. I did see some illustrations of very ornate bags used on the continent.

Synonym. bobbin case,

See also, bobbin box.

Mary Tingey at her pillow with her bobbin bag hanging from the side

bobbin box

A box, usually made of wood, used for storing bobbins. Often has a wire hinge, which is just that i.e. some wire threaded through holes in the lid and the back panel of the box. Some have an arrangement like a split pin and fixed to one side with a staple. Other actually has a modern type hinge as we understand it. The box usually has proportions that were nominally the size of a spangles bobbin in one dimension. Though I suspect that often any available box was used to store bobbins.

bobbin in a box

A loose bobbin inside a hollow shank. Not a traditional name for this type of bobbin

Synonyms. Jack-in-the-box, secret bobbin.

bobbin case

(1) A bag for bobbins made by folding part of a piece of fabric over and stitching it at intervals to form pockets that hold one or two bobbins, this keeping them untangled and ready for use. A flap covers and protects them, and two strings were added to secure the bag when rolled.

(2) A modern type has pockets made along both sides and a zip to secure it after the case has been folded.

(3) Many people have made cases of their own design, especially in modern times.

(4) A bag pinned to the pillow with separate compartments for wound and unwound bobbins. See bobbin bag, above.

bobbin classifications

Some writers have used various classifications in their writings. (Bullock, Freeman, Huetson, Wright) At the present time only Freeman has a classification suitable for collectors to use in cataloguing their collections. He has devised a numerical classification for bobbins. I have in my possession the catalogue of a once famous collection, which has now been broken up and sold (Baker, Huetson, Knight, collection). I am personally much in sympathy with the classification used in this catalogue devised by Jenny Baker, the daughter of Mr. Baker. Regarding treatment of inscriptions, see Freeman at the end of this article also Wright pp137-175.

bobbin colours

A large range of colours can be found applied by painting or dyeing. Red, blue, green, brown, jade, white and all shades associated with these colours. Also, there were combinations using rings of colour, colour turned away to reveal the natural colour of the wood or bone etc. depending on the imagination of the maker. The colours used for incised decoration that were not taken from natural sources i.e. log chips, were bought in powder form and mixed with gum Arabic and applied with a crow quill into the indentations.

See Bedfordshire method

bobbin maker

Turned mostly treadle lathes that the reader will more readily understand by referring them to the treadle sewing machine, but instead of treadle operating the sewing machine it turned the wooden blank via a stock and drive spur. As it revolved the turner applied his tools to the work to produce the bobbin. It was possible in early bobbin history that turners used a pole lathe, which is a more primitive method of turning the work in the lathe involving long branches that bent in opposition to a single pedal moved by the operator. A rope was coiled around the shaft in such a way as to produce rotation in two ways as the branch bent and pulled the rope. The turner could only cut when the work was turning towards them.

Strictly speaking, a bobbin maker turned his bobbins on a lathe of some type but there were many examples of hand carved bobbins, but none of these (i.e. hand carved) in my opinion offer enough similarity to indicate that a person was making them as an occupation, rather as a gift for his wife or sweetheart.

bobbin makers

For a list of bobbin makers see article on bobbin “makers” later.

bobbin materials used

Mostly wood and bone, but also examples can be found made of brass, iron, pewter, silver, glass, horn, ivory and wire. Springett shows bobbins made from Jet. Wright lists the following types of woods used for bobbin making; plum, damson, box, ebony, rosewood, maple, spindle-wood, yew, blackthorn, may, cherry, apple, and oak.

bobbin overall

I fully admit that this is a strange entry, but I have found the term in the notes that I take when I am reading about bobbins. Its source is not known by me but my notes tell me that it refers to the Beds fly and pewter inlay. I include this in case someone comes across such a term in their reading.

bobbin winders

Sometimes called a turn. There were various designs, made of wood comprising a flywheel connected to the bobbin holder that spun the bobbin so that the thread could be quickly wound on it from a secondary skein holder. Later they were made of metal. Sometimes they had drawers built into the stand for the spare bobbins. For collectors, a form of classification could be based on the wheel construction. These can be seen to be solid, bent wood, solid with piercing, solid with grooves etc. Further descriptions could be added describing the bobbin boxes associated with many of the winders, i.e. table clamped, chip carved, free standing, pillow clamped etc.

Synonym. turn

bobtailed bobbin

The earliest bobbins—called Dumps or Bobtailed Bobbins—were ordinarily of box-wood, quite small and without spangles; and they were used to make only the finest kinds of Bucks Point, the thread of which would have been broken by heavier or spangled bobbins.

Synonyms. bobtails, dumps.

.

bodgers

Heavy bobbins/large, usually with no spangles, single head. They said to be made of leftover pieces of wood from chair making. Sometimes the turning reflects chair leg design.

See also South Bucks bobbins.

Top bobbin can be called a bodger

bone beads

Beads made from bone. Quite large numbers were made in China. Frequently they were intricately carved or decorated, sometimes dyed. Some of the carved beads used were originally made for rosaries. Making bone beads would have been well within the capabilities of the English bobbin turner who could decorate and dye them as required. He would have a ready source of bone from the pieces left over from his bobbin turning. See beads for illustration.

bone bobbins

Bobbins made from bone. They were probably the most sought after bobbins because they lasted longer and the whole were very well turned and decorated. They begin to look like ivory after they have been used for a while which leads owners to believe that they have ivory bobbins. Ivory bobbins were very rare and subject to careful identification of the material, it is better to assume that all, so called, “ivory” bobbins were in-fact made of bone. They lend themselves to more intricate turning and decoration than the wooden bobbins and also were better for colouring. They also have a lovely feel to them.

bone head pin. A pin decorated with a bone head. Often inscribed with initials. Some times in particular shapes, i.e. a heart shape when the initials would be of the two lovers.

bone inlaid bobbin

A wooden bobbin with pieces of bone inlaid into the shank. These were often held in place with rivets (usually of pewter) as the coefficients of expansion bone and wood were different and the glue would work the inlay loose. There were many examples of the bone inlay being missing from a bobbin.

bones used as bobbins

When the term bones have been used in early literature in relation to lace bobbins, it has usually been assumed that the writer was being literally and meant that bones were used as bobbins. I have little doubt in my mind that there were examples of the bones being used as bobbins, but would argue that it would have been only for a short time in the development of bobbin lace, or used for reasons of the user being poor or thrifty. My arguments for this stance follow in abbreviated form.

Thomas Fuller wrote a book entitled Worthies of England, published in 1662. In it he has this to say about bone lace.

“Bone lace is named because it was first made with bone (since wooden) bobbins.” …His parenthesis.

He then goes on to explain that the convention used in Latin and English names of utensils. …It is that the memory of the material that they were first made from is retained in the contemporary name. Thus, cochlea is a spoon regardless of the material that they have been made from over the years, because spoons were first made from cockleshells… You can read this quote in Yallop. I support this quote for two reasons, it is an early quote and the writer felt it important to explain or clarify his use of the name bone lace. Mrs Palliser says that the Honiton lace makers derived the term bone lace from using fish bones as a substitute for pins. [ my opinion is that in East Devon, lace makers living near the coast could well have used fish bones for pins]

See also bonne lace.

bonne lace

Signified good lace. Sometimes offered as an explanation (incorrect) for the term bone lace.

bottle neck

A bobbin shape. Like a bottle neck!

See Indian club

bottom bead

The central bead of a spangle. Usually larger and more ornate than the others. Also, called a centre bead. See beads for other illustrations of beads.

bound bobbin

A bobbin about (bound) with fine brass wire. Occasionally the whole shank was covered but more often it is but a small sections (bands) connected with a continuing spiral along its length. The wire was recessed slightly into the bobbin so that it was level or just below the surface. This makes it more comfortable to use. With constant use the wire becomes highly polished and takes on a pleasant golden look. Brass wire is almost always used, rarely copper wire or silver wire. The thickness used for this decoration is about 32 gauge, much thinner than the wire used for spangle that would be about 22 to 24 gauge. Bone bobbins were also decorated this manner and look much more pleasant and attractive than the wooden ones. Coloured decorations often accompany the wire binding.

Synonyms. Brass Bound, Wired, Spiral Wire, wire bound and wired bobbin.

box stand

A simple box cut out at the short sides to a shape that would take a bolster pillow.

Brackley

Their Nick name was, “the Skegs”.

Branscombe wriggled

Branscombe is an area where Honiton lace was made. The "wriggle" decoration is a series of coloured grooves in a Honiton bobbin that we refilled in with sealing wax of different colours. The sealing wax is softened with methylated spirits until a thick consistency is achieved. It is then applied to the grooves, allowed to dry and returned to the lathe to be cleaned up with tools or sandpaper. Yallop tells us that a study of 180 sets of these bobbins he observed the following:

“The rings were arranged in groups, from 1 to 11, but some as large as 23 were observed. Groups of 1-7 were fairly equally represented, but groups of four poorly represented.”

brass bobbins

Bobbins made from brass. Wright tells of a brass bobbin made in Olney that when unscrewed revealed a baby bobbin and when that baby bobbin was unscrewed it revealed yet another baby bobbin. There were many ornate examples including birdcage, mother and babe etc. and plain ones too. As they were rather heavy for ordinary use there is some speculation that they were made more for novelty use rather than practical use. Brass bobbins were fairly common.

See Metal

brass bound

A bobbin shank bound with fine brass wire. Occasionally the whole shank was covered but more often it is but a small sections (bands) connected with a continuing spiral along its length. The wire was recessed slightly into the bobbin so that it was level or just below the surface. This makes it more comfortable to use. With constant use the wire becomes highly polished and takes on a pleasant golden look. Brass wire is almost always used, rarely copper wire or silver wire. The thickness used for this decoration is about 32 gauge, much thinner than the wire used for spangle that would be about 22 to 24 gauge. Bone bobbins were also decorated this manner and look much more pleasant and attractive than the wooden ones. Coloured decorations often accompany the wire binding.

Synonyms. Brass Bound, Wired, Spiral Wire. Wire bound and wired bobbin.

brass pinned bobbin. Brass pins are driven into the shank and cut off level with it. Similarly, thorns were driven in to form a pattern. Initials of a person’s name or their Christian name, is most often the chosen when the bobbin has an inscription.

Synonyms. pinned bobbin, pin spot,

See also. inlay. inlaid thorns

Note the V on the shank

brass pins

See article on pins later. The pins were made of latten, a mixture of yellow metal (usually brass) and tin. They were thus made so that they did not rust. Whilst most brass pins were imported before lace making became an English industry, soon the English manufacturers produced the best pins and the continental countries preferred the English pins.

brass wire

Used for decoration of bobbins and for spangling bobbins with beads.

Bucks

An abbreviation of Buckinghamshire.

Bucks bobbin

See South Bucks bobbin.

bugle (1)

A term for a pin decorated with beads and used in the South Bucks area. Until 1824 pinheads were separate rings of wire fixed around the end of a pin and, as these heads could be removed, the beads would be pushed on to one pin and held in place by the head removed from another pin.

bugle (2)

A type of drawn bead that varied greatly in size and length. Generally, they were much longer than their diameter, but as they come in all lengths the very smallest of them appear round. See beads.

bulb

The part of a bobbin between the short and the long necks. Mostly they were round or ogee in shape. See parts of bobbin under “Bobbin (lace) above.

See also bobbin.

bur[r] head

A pin with a head made of a burr from cleavers or goose grass. Galium aparine the green burr was skinned and pushed over the pinhead where, over a period of a few weeks, it would shrink as it dried and become a firm head.

Synonyms. hard head, hariffe pin and sweetheart.

See also striver.

butterfly/inlay bobbin

Inlaid with pewter in the form of a "butterfly,” Sometimes the projections occur only one side of the band, sometimes on both. Named after the look of a butterfly's wing, but better described as arrowhead or crows foot, also described as an anchor lying on its side.

Synonym. Bedfordshire fly.

C.

candy wired

A decoration comprising a parallel pair of wires, usually brass and sometimes-beaded wires, snaking around the bobbin body.

Sadly, the candy wire is missing.

Here is one that is complete

candle stool or candle block

Used to provide light on the pillow to enable the lace makers to have extra light needed to work by. It often looks like a three-legged stool of suitable height with the circular "seat" (or hole board) drilled (cups) for the placement of a number of flasks filled with snow water around the edge. The centre hole was drilled to take a nozzle that contained a candle. The nozzle was the means whereby the candle height was adjusted so that the light shining from it passed through the water filled flasks and focused on the pillow. There were beautifully crafted tables that follow a similar design to the stool model. I suspect that these were made at a much later date. It is my impression that the tables were more prevalent on the continent of Europe than in England.

See also cup, flash, flash cushion, hole board, hutch and nozzle.

Candlemas day (Feb 2^nd)

The end of the period when the lace makers were required to work by candlelight. It began at Tanders. See article by author: A Calendar of Lace Makers Celebration.

candle light holidays

Holidays in Cranfield Nov 5^th, when they began to work by candle light and Feb 14^th, when they ceased working by candlelight. See article by author: A Calendar of Lace Makers Celebration.

camel beads

A small wound bead, flat on two sides with a hole through the shorter axis (something like a doughnut). They can be found in a few different colours but they were most frequently opaque turquoise or opaque yellow. They were produced for trading with tribal people and were said to have been a popular ornament on camel harnesses, hence the name. See beads for illustration.

candle block/stool

Used to provide light on the pillow to enable the lace makers to have extra light needed to work by. It often looks like a three-legged stool of suitable height with the circular "seat" (or hole board) drilled (cups) for the placement of a number of flasks filled with snow water around the edge. The centre hole was drilled to take a nozzle which contained a candle. The nozzle was the means whereby the candle height was adjusted so that the light shining from it passed through the water filled flasks and focused on the pillow. There were beautifully crafted tables that follow a similar design to the stool model. I suspect that these were made at a much later date. It is my impression that the tables were more prevalent on the continent of Europe than in England.

See also cup, flash, flash cushion, hole board, hutch and nozzle.

cane beads

Beads cut from cane glass tubes with a shaped cross section, usually hexagonal, used to weight spangles. A cane is the result of the drawn method of bead making. See beads for illustration

caterpillar

A form of fancy turning. The shank is filled with alternate beads (beads here were used to describe a turned shape rather like a hemisphere, not a glass bead.) spaced with narrow inverse Vs. The beads may have coloured dots on them. The overall impression is that of a caterpillar

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catches

A phrase that surprises the reader. (They get caught) As inscribed on a bobbin.

Freeman type xxvii.

...”dint you never see a bobbin afor”

Catterns day

St Catherine’s day, 25^th November. Traditionally the Patron Saint of lace makers. The celebrations included a special home-brewed drink and a cake made from sweetened dough and caraway seeds known as a Cattern Cake. See article by author: A Calendar of Lace Makers Celebration.

Cattern cake

See Catterns Day.

Centre/central bead

See bottom bead.

Chad pot

An earthenware pot in which lace makers placed hot embers/charcoal in to warm themselves. In England, it has been said they put the “pot” under their skirts. On the Continent, they seemed to have boxes in which the pot was placed and lace makers could put their feet on it. I may be wrong, but I can find no evidence of the box equipment being used in England. I suspect such evidence will be found one day. These pots, which were of rough brown ware, used to be filled every morning, at the cost of a farthing, with hot wood ashes, obtained from the nearest baker's. A pot so filled would keep hot half a day or longer. When it began to cool, the insertion among the embers of the nozzle of a pair of bellows, followed by a few puffs, would revive the heat. Synonyms. Dickie pot, fire pot, chad pot. Some areas call it a “pipkin”.

A chad pot, “stand alone” (English) version

A chad pot on top of a box

Presumably the place for the feet when the chad pot was giving warmth from under the box

The chad pot in the box

Note: See above, the English lace makers do not seem to have used the “box”.

Chafing dish

Probably a kind of fire pot used by Honiton lace makers.

Synonyms. Dickie pot, fire pot, chad pot.

chevron beaded

A left and right-handed spiral is cut into the shank and a beaded wire is wound around the shank with beads dropped off in each groove to form a chevron design.

chip carved

Ornamentation not turned on a lathe but carved with a knife or chisel in geometric patterns. Usually a hand-whittled bobbin.

Christian names

As inscribed on inscribed bobbins. Sometime prefixed with dear or sweet. Freeman.

type ii

Clapham

Their nickname was “Johns and Joan’s”.

cryptic bobbin

A bobbin inscribed with coded message. Many are still un-coded. See Wright in bibliography or article that follows

chubby pricker

A pricker with a bulbous handle that fits into the palm of the hand.

church window bobbin

A shank that was pierced with longitudinal openings (slots) opposite each other; reminiscent of church windows. The openings were sometimes slanting. The windows may have a variety of contents such as miniature bobbins, balls etc. Historically this appears to be a generic term for this type of hollowed shank, but it is often used to describe a church window shank without any contents.

Note for collectors:

Church window. A bobbin that has window-shaped cuts that you can see straight through i.e. there are only two slots, they are opposite each other and the slots are empty.

Mother in Babe. A bobbin that has window-shaped cuts which contain a small bobbin or insert of that shape.

Other inserts. A bobbin that has window-shaped cuts which contains inserts other than a small bobbin or insert of that shape. I am personally attracted to the term “Lantern” as an alternative to “Other Inserts.” If this were to be adopted the contents of the lantern would need to be specified.

See examples below.

Church Window

Mother in Babe

Lantern Bobbin

Synonyms. Lantern, church window, twisted chamber, Mother-in-Babe, Mother and Babe,

cleaning bobbins

Cleaning wooden bobbins should be undertaken carefully and sparingly especially if they are antique. Use a polish made from bee’s wax and turpentine, avoiding the long neck (where thread is spooled). Do not use polish on coloured decoration. Bone bobbins can be cleaned using plain toilet soap. Use both soap and water sparingly, applying and rubbing gently with a very soft brush. Rinse well and dry with a soft cloth. Do not allow to remain wet any longer than necessary and avoid wetting any wood, metal or coloured decoration.

cloths

Cloths that were used to cover the pillow in various layers for different purposes. Names given to then were backcloth, hind cloth, heller, and drawter.

See Pillows.

cold ironing

Using an afficot to raise or smooth parts of needle lace.

See afficot above

collar.

The wider band immediately below the neck of a bobbin.

See Bobbin (lace) above

coloured bobbin

When a maker decided to colour his bobbins he traditionally soaked them in dye. At least part, or the whole of the bobbin being immersed in dye. Usually red, green or purple, sometimes with part cut away later on the lathe to reveal plain bone or wood beneath. Dye was derived from boiled wood chips or fruit juices.

See also staining, mottled.

coloured dots on bobbins

Small depressions were made (drilled frequently) in wooden or bone bobbins, usually in a decorative pattern (e.g. domino) or in the form of an inscription, and then coloured with powder mixed with gum Arabic or possibly with sealing wax dissolved in methylated spirits. Bobbins with this type of decoration were sometimes referred to as piqued.

See also piqued, domino/spots.

Wire from grooves missing

commemorative bobbin

A bobbin that bears an inscription or picture, engraved, inscribed, painted or pyrographed, to commemorate a particular event that is of personal importance to the owner. e.g. the birth of a child, or of international importance such as the Queen's silver Jubilee.

See also hanging bobbin.

compound inlay bobbin

A bobbin that has more than one type of inlay that is used separately in the design of other bobbin types i.e. the butterfly, leopard, and tiger bobbins. One example is a Leptig (not an historical name) that combines the tiger stripes and the leopard spots decoration

constructed centres

Good close-grained wood is used for the top and tail of the bobbin and a more attractive material displayed between them. These can be solid, such as burr wood, bone or "constructed” like Tunbridge mosaic.

See Tunbridge Mosaic

continental bobbin

An unspangled bobbin of the kind used in most European countries.

corking pin or corkings

A large brass pin used to secure equipment, such as bobbin bag, pincushion, pricking and so on, to the pillow.

Cornaline D’Aleppo

A small bead, with a white core surrounded by a pinkish, rose-coloured glass.

Sometimes known as "white lined rose". Made in Aleppo, Syria. Used as a trade

bead. See beads for illustration.

Cottier bobbin

A French bobbin where the bottom third of the shank unscrews to reveal a small reel upon which the thread is wound. The thread leaves by way of a very small hole a little higher on the shank. It serves to keep the thread clean.

covering cloth

One of the covering cloths for the pillow. They each have different names.

See cloths above

cow in/and calf bobbin

A wooden, bone, or occasionally brass bobbin in two parts which were joined with a screw or push fit. They have a hollowed shank containing a miniature bobbin, the calf, which is attached to the lower part of the bobbin (occasionally to the upper). Sometimes called Jack-in the-Box (incorrectly). Historical description. “Outwardly looks quite plain but has a hidden secret. Pulled apart there is a tiny bobbin, the calf, attached to the bobbin tail end. If made of brass, the two sections sometimes screwed together. Said by Wright to be a variety of the gold lace bobbin.

See also baby bobbin. See article by Author Towards a Standard Nomenclature for Lace Bobbins. The “cow-in-calf” – “jack-in-the-box” confusion.

Note for collectors:

Firstly, I would like to address the basic terminology of whether it be Cow in Calf or cow and calf.

These bobbins can have top openings or bottom openings (most usual, as illustrated below)

These are the alternatives that present:

1. That the cow in calf is a representation of a cow being pregnant and as such has the bobbin attached to the part that pulls off.

2. That the cow and calf refers to the cow after it has delivered its calf and has a loose bobbin inside the shank.

3. Generically they could be named “Secret Bobbin” as they cannot be seen until the bobbin is opened.

See examples in the following photo:

cricket bat splice

A splice that joins the neck to the shank similar in form to the V shaped joint of a cricket bat handle to the blade. May be a wooden neck and a bone shank. Thought to be used to repair a bobbin. I concur with Springett when he says that some of these splices formed part of an original bobbin design i.e. made deliberately rather than a repair. I tend to make a subjective judgement regarding original design or repair based upon the quality of the splice and the consistency of the splice to the overall design and decoration on the bobbin. I have experimented with this splice and found it a difficult task and very time consuming, another fact that raises questions in my mind about the viability of repairing a bobbin in this manner, except it may have been part of the makers “guarantee”!

crocodile

A form of decoration that comprises horizontal and vertical lines inscribed on the shank of the bobbin. It is said to resemble a crocodile (or its skin).

Cromwell, Oliver.

Under the puritan rule following the English civil war, the use of lace was discontinued by the middle and lower classes (Wright p 47,48).

cross gartering

A generic term for more complicated beaded wire decorations around the shank.

crumb bead

A wound bead, which has been rolled in tiny glass chips whilst still molten. Can be in many colours. The crumbs can be melted in (i.e. smooth) or left rough (i.e. raised).

See also impressed crumb bead, raised crumb bead. See beads for illustration.

cryptic bobbins

Bobbins that are inscribed with various codes or difficult to understand shorthand.

See article on Cryptic bobbins.

cuts

A description of a bead. Usually square cuts. They were not cut but rather melted off a rod of glass and pressed into a square with a file; this leaves the characteristic indentations on the glass bead. They are found in white, red, green and blue. See Beads for illustration.

cryptograms

A code or cryptic message inscribed on a bobbin. (see cryptic bobbins) Freeman type xxvi.

+UR +UB AN + + UR TO ME

Cross you are, cross you be, and too cross you are to me.

crystal bead.

A glass bead with ground facets, usually regular in design. See beads for illustration

cudbear

Chips of this wood were boiled and used as a dye for the bobbins.

See logwood.

cup

The wooden rod that fits into the socket, in a candle block/stool that supports a flash.

See Candle block above

curses

A curse inscribed on a bobbin. Freeman type xvii.

cushion

See pillow.

cut bead

See square cut.

D.

dating bobbins

This demands more detail than appropriate in this Dictionary. See Springett for more detail. Beware of accepting the date inscribed on a bobbin. These may have been ordered at any time as a memorial etc. Hanging bobbins can be reasonably accurate to date as they were sold as souvenirs. Election bobbins can be dated fairly well through the records. At this time, women did not have the vote, but they could certainly influence their menfolk. The styles of bobbins can be said to vary with the fortunes of the industry. There were a lot of general inscriptions in the early 1800s but far fewer inscriptions during the latter part of that century. When the industry was in decline the quality, the level and amount of decoration reduced considerably. Springett states “It is probably true to say that very few decorative or inscribed bobbins were made in the traditional manner after 1890.” Thereafter bobbins were much less fine and their decoration was rather plain. Colouring limited to a few coloured bands.

decorated pin

A pin decorated with beads, goose grass seeds or sealing wax as headpins and/or

footpins

See also bugle, bur[r] head, divider, and striver.

derived

Bobbins that are clearly East Midland in design but have many of the characteristics of the culture of the country in which they were made. In general, it is thought that the art of lacemaking was taken to English Colonial countries by missionaries.

Sri Lankan bobbins

designs

The designs used on lace bobbins are almost inexhaustible. There were dozens of standard shapes that wood turners use and the bobbin maker uses various combinations of these shapes to pleasing to the eye, yet still be practical for use. Just what makes a beautiful bobbin is hard to say. I have attempted to discuss this in an article later in this dictionary; I do not think that I have reached a definitive answer. It is true to say that modern bobbin makers, whilst not perhaps copying the designs of the older makers draw heavily upon their work. There were combinations of shapes that were given names, for example, ball and reel, bees knees, caterpillar and types of bobbins for example church windows and bird cage.

detachable heads. Early pins had heads that were made of small pieces of wire that were pressed on to the wire pin with a press. There were “easily” detachable. An easier explanation would be “opposite to a fixed head pin”.

Devon bobbins (See also Part 2 of this dictionary)

A generic name for those bobbins used for Honiton lace. They are a single headed unspangled and generally smooth to allow the bobbin to be used for sewing. There are a variety of incised decorations used though for the most part the bobbins were plain. For a fuller understanding of East Devon bobbins, readers should take time to read the article on East Devon bobbins that follows the end of the Dictionary

Synonym. Honiton bobbins. East Devon Bobbins

.

dewdrop

A synonym for a bobbin that has actual beads for the shank

See Bead shank

Dicky pot (dick pot)

See fire pot, chad pot

divider pin

A highly decorated, long pin, used to separate the bobbins on a pillow. They may have a wooden, bone or perhaps ivory head or just a nice bead or series of beads to make it look different and to be easily seen on the pillow.

See also stacking pin.

An Antique divider pin

Domino-spots bobbin

Small indentations were made on the shank of the bobbin with the point of a fine drill, which was then filled with colour. Red, dark blue and black were the most used colours. In many instances, they resemble a domino.

See also coloured spots on bobbins.

double fairing

A right-handed and left-handed spiral groove each filled with coloured tinsel and crossing one another regularly, creating a plaid form of pattern.

double fluted spiral

Two opposite spirals each converging at the centre of the shank. Used for beads, wire, tinsel decoration

Synonym: Double Fairing

double head

This is the description of the typical head of an East Midlands bobbin. It is divided into two parts by a chamfered groove called the short neck in which the hitch should rest. Not used on Honiton bobbins.

Synonym. Thistle head (incorrectly)

See also single head, see diagram in Bobbin (lace) above

down

Another term for a parchment pattern used in some districts.

Downton bobbin

Straight, single headed, unspangled bobbin used in the Downton area near Salisbury, may be decorated with inscribed bands and designs. It is somewhat fatter and shorter than the Honiton bobbin. It usually has a short neck. They are plain or variously decorated with a wide range of geometrical and artistic styles of designs. There are also names, dates and inscriptions incised on them. The decoration appears to be incised in a similar manner to the Honiton bobbins. There is a notable absence of turned decoration even to the extent of rings that are turned on the lathe which quite a few Honiton bobbins have. The colour on the decoration appears to be the typical red and or black wax which is introduced to fill the incisions (chips or scratches)

draw or drawter

A linen or patchwork slip used to cover the lace on the pillow to protect it.

drawing room pillow

A derogatory term used by some professional lace makers for the new half pillow.

drawn bead

A method of bead making in which cylindrical beads are produced by blowing (usually) a bubble of air into molten glass and drawing it out into a hollow tube (cane). After annealing, the tube is cut into beads. They are cut in various lengths from various cane diameters. Drawn beads can sometimes appear round on the very small beads.

See also bugle, cane beads. See Beads for illustration

dump bobbin

A small, delicate bobbin used to make fine lace where a larger bobbin with a spangle would have been too heavy for the fine thread used. It had a single head and was not spangled. They were smaller than other bobbins both in length and thickness. It will be found that many dumps have been drilled and a spangle attached at some later date.

See also, Bobtailed Bobbins, Bobtails. South Bucks bobbin dumps.

Small Dump Bobbin

drying bottle

A bottle with straight sides. It was wrapped around the bottle with flannel, on which the lace was supported and held with fine stitches. It was then washed and dried on the bottle. A stick was placed into the neck of the bottle then stuck into the ground to aid the drying.

dyed bobbin

A finished bobbin is immersed in dye to colour it. Sometimes dyed bone bobbins would have some of the dyed material removed by further turning, revealing the white bone beneath. The dye was sometimes made by boiling chips of certain wood of some fruit juices.

E.

eaches

Pieces of linen sewn on to the ends of parchment to enable it to be pulled firmly before pinning.

East Midlands bobbin

This is the generic term for the type of bobbin that is now commonly used for a wide variety of lace making. Its origins are in the East Midlands of England. From the great variety of surviving antique bobbins, it can be said that the East Midland bobbin is somewhat more slender than the Bedfordshire bobbin. Modern bobbins do not distinguish these differences with a special name. They have a double head See explanation and diagram at the start of this dictionary)and a spangle; they were about 5 to 8mm in diameter and about 70 mm in length. They were used for making the continuous (thread) laces of the area.

Synonyms. Midlands bobbin, English bobbins

A selection of East Midland bobbins

election bobbin

In these time women in England did not have the vote, but clearly the politicians felt that they could influence their menfolk!

See politicians

emery pincushion

A pincushion containing emery powder, or a mixture of emery powder and sand. As the pin is pushed in and out the abrasive powder helps keep pins polished.

engraved bobbin

Bobbins that were decorated by cutting/incised designs, names slogans etc. on the shank. Better called incised than engraved.

evil eye

A wound bead decorated with a complex eye. The trail of the wind starts at one hole, spirals around to finish at the other hole.

See also flush spot eye, raised eye bead, snake bead. See Beads for illustration

eye bead

A bead decorated with eyes (coloured dots). They may be simple or complex eyes. A single eye of a contrasting colour or eyes that have different colour superimposed on them, which look like pupils etc. See Beads for illustration.

See evil eye bead, flush spot eye, horned eye, Kitty Fishers eye bead, and raised eye. See beads for illustration.

Eye bobbins

Eye a village where some old bobbins were found

See Suffolk bobbins. See Coulton in bibliography

F

faceted bead

A cane bead ground to produce facets, usually irregular in shape. See beads for illustration.

fairing/s

An open spiral groove cut into the shank holds a sliver of tinsel held in place with a single strand of brass wire. Silver, gold or coloured metallic paper/tinsel such as used for wrapping chocolates was cut into thin strips and inserted into grooves cut in the shank. These were considered gaudy bobbins and were sold at local fairs and given as gifts to the lace makers or bought by them as a memento of their visit to the fair.

Synonyms, tinsel inlay. Tinsel, Tinselled, Fairing, Tinsel spirals, Tinsel and Wire

fakes

Identifying fake bobbins is not an easy task if they are well copied and is beyond the scope of this publication. I offer the following thoughts on the subject. One needs a good knowledge of antique bobbins and of what we might call a good understanding of a normal bobbin. You need to ask yourself questions such as, does it fit into what it is purported to be? Does it have the right aging? The right look? The right wear? Look closely at the hole for the spangle (that will show a degree of wear) and the wire that holds the spangle (possibly re-spangled) See if there are any colour differences between the neck and the shaft. (The neck should be paler as it is covered with thread and not subjected to light) Look at the message, the length of it and the type of printing used, the number of dots per letter, the use of finials, capitals or lower case. Compare heads and tails with known maker’s examples. Look at the beads on the spangle, the style of spangle and appropriate beads for its age.

Do be careful about buying antique bobbins of any value. Antique dealers misname them and poorly date them. I suggest buying from a reputable bobbin dealer.

Above, a beautiful bobbin by Joseph Haskins

I know this is a fake because I made it! It is after a bobbin made by Joseph Haskins, similar to the top picture.

famous people

Baring the name of a famous person Freeman type vii

feather bead

See plume. See beads for illustration

festivals or Catterns

The great holiday of the lace-makers was Tanders (St. Andrew's Day Nov. 3oth), but in some parts of Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, the leading festival was Catterns (St. Catherine’s Day), Nov. 30^th, St. Catharine being the patron saint of the spinners, to whom the lace makers considered themselves related. As time went on, Catharine the Saint became confused with Katharine of Aragon (wife of Henry the Eighth) of Kat Stitch fame, who was born on Dec 6th. Minor holidays that were kept variously in different places were St Thomas' day Dec 21^st, Shrove Tuesday, Candlemas day Feb 2nd. Candlelight holidays were kept at Cranfield (Nov 5th and Feb. 14^th) Palm Sunday (Fifth Sunday) May Day. Cut-off day was celebrated every 5 weeks when the lace was cut off for the buyer. The lace makers at Honiton made a great day of Queen Anne’s coronation in 1702 and most likely the all kept Nutting-day September 3^rd. It was the first day that they used candles in the South West lace making area. It seems that they made great celebrations for many national events but did not keep St Catherine’s day.

See article Feasts and Holidays for lace makers

first exodus: 1563-1568

Persecution of Protestants in the Low Countries by Phillip II, led to many of them fleeing to England. The first groups who made parchment lace settled in Kent in 1563. Other arrivals at Dover were those whose occupations were described as bone lace and Spinners. The lace makers from Michelin made their way to Cranfield in Bedfordshire in 1568. Later groups went to Buckinghamshire, Newport Pagnell, Olney and Buckingham. (Wright Ch. IV.) It should be noted that Yallop disputes details of this migration in relation to the start of the lace making industry in England.

fire pots

An earthenware pot filled with hot wood ashes or charcoal, used to keep the feet of the lace workers warm.

Also known as Dicky Pot (Bucks) Hotpots or Chad pots in South Bucks.

fish bone

Used by poor lace makers as a substitute for pins. This contributes to the origin of “bone” in the term “bone lace”. That with the idea that bones were used as bobbins builds a case for it. The authors opinion (but no proof) that this is quite possible.

flanking pins

A pin with a conspicuous head placed along the foot and the head of the lace in order to keep a firm edge. The pin would almost always have been decorated by the lace maker with beads or another distinctive décor.

flash

A glass flask containing water was used to focus light from a candle for the

lace maker to work by. The water was said to be snow water, probably because of its purity. The flash could be an adaptation of the laboratory flasks positioned in an upside-down manner with a plug in the neck to retain the water. Sometimes the flask was separate from the candle block and if so it was laid upon a rush ring to cushion it an enable it to stand upright. They also used bottles of similar shape that were used to import oil into the UK

Synonyms. Flask.

See also candle block stool, lace maker’s lamp

flash stool

See candle block stool.

flask

See flash.

flask cushion.

A plaited rush ring that was put around the flask to protect it from jarring and enable it to stand upright.

flush spot eye

A bead decoration of "eye" spots melted in leaving a smooth surface on the bead.

See also evil eye bead, Kitty Fishers eye, raised spot bead (the opposite of this entry). See beads for illustration.

fly

See Bedfordshire fly

foil bead

Beads in which pieces of tin-foil have been embedded into the glass. See beads for illustration.

footpins. Ornamented pins used for the “foot” of the lace.

flour bag

A bag of flour or starch used by the lace maker to dry their hands.

Four-penny spot

A bone bobbin that has four largish spots arranged in an elongated plus sign. Possibly known as a domino spot.

forth exodus

This came about as the result of the French Revolution. Again’ those lace makers fleeing France came to Cranfield and other Bedfordshire villages and also many to Devon, though modern scholarship questions this influx to Devon (see Yallop).

frippery

The great houses of the time had a frippery room that was set aside for the display and preservation of the family’s collection of beautiful things that included lace.

Fritwell

Their Nick name was “the Black-Eyed Girls from Fritwell”.

free gift

The politicians of the day got up to all kinds of tricks to “buy” their votes. Giving an inscribed bobbin as a gift was hoped to influence the lace maker to vote for that politician. The same advertising was used by bobbin goods retailers (Lesters)

G.

gassed thread

Lace thread was sometimes called this, as part of the process of the cotton was to pass it slowly through a gas flame to remove all film.

gimp bobbin

A special bobbin that was usually larger or conspicuous in other ways that carried the gimp thread. Often had gingles.

Bedfordshire Trailer or Gimp (Gymp) Bobbin

gingle

Also spelt Jingle. A loose ring that fits into grooves around the bobbin. These rings rattle as the bobbin is used. The rings were usually made from pewter but can be found of bone or wood though the wood rings were rare as they wore out. Often the broken jingles were replaced with beads on a wire or elastic.

Synonym. Jingle. Some use the term to imply a spangle, doubtfully historically correct, but Gertrude Whiting uses these terms

Metal gingles on a gimp bobbin. Pewter appears to be degrading

See also spangle.

glass bobbin

Bobbins made from glass. Until modern types of glass became available glass bobbins were more as keepsakes or given as prizes rather than used as tools.

glass head. Pins having fixed glass heads. Hopewell reports that they were usually imported from France.

glum

A Buckinghamshire dialect word denoting the silent period between working songs.

gokes

Nickname for the lace makers of Yardley Gobion. I can’t resist commenting that I think that goke is a great word and that I would have enjoyed using it, in jest of course. I had a friend who once lived there!

gold lace bobbins

Bobbins plain in appearance and about 110mm long. Early gold lace for the vestments of the clergy was really embroidery and was practised in England long before what we now call lace making was introduced. There is some discussion that the Mother in Babe bobbins may well have been used also.

Suggested by Wright as a Gold thread bobbin

Suggested by Springett as a Gold thread bobbin also tapestry

gold thread

A large, plain, wood bobbin with a single neck section forming a reel to hold the metal thread used in making gold thread lace.

See also, Gold Thread, Metal Thread, Gold Lace Bobbins

goose grass seed heads. As described in “burr heads above.

grandmother bobbin

A bobbin containing a miniature bobbin, which in turn had a hollow shank in which lies a smaller bobbin.

Synonym. Three-in-one bobbin.

From South Bucks

Grendon

Their Nick name was “The moon Rakers”.

guard

A piece of acetate used to protect work underlying the current work. It was slipped between layers.

Synonyms. shield, Susan.

H.

Haddenham

Their Nickname was “the Thatcher’s Wives”.

hair all North Crawley!

Rhyming slang for “hair all awry”. An allusion to the crookedness of Crawley Brook.

halse

A Midlands term for winding a bobbin.

handle

Synonym. for shank, but used infrequently. Used more to describe the shank of continental bobbins.

hanging bobbin

A bobbin that bears an inscription commemorating the hanging of a criminal. There were seven hangings recorded by inscriptions on bobbins. Matthias and William Lilley 1829. Sarah Dazeley 1843, Joseph Castle 1860, Franz Muller 1864, William Worsley 1868. William Bull 1871, Miles Wetherall 1868. These do not come up for sale often and are thus rather expensive though they are not as well turned as many other bobbins.

hardhead

See bur[r] head.

hariffe pin.

Pins having wax or burr heads.

See bur[r] head.

head

This is the bulbous top of the bobbin that prevents the thread from sliding off.

See also double head, single head.

headpin

A pin decorated with a bead that was used to mark the headside.

heart-shaped cushion

A traditionally shape pincushion used by lace makers.

Synonyms. Sweetheart pincushion, strawberry pincushion, lace maker’s pincushion.

heel ball.

In the days before the advent of the photocopying machine lace makers used 'Heel Ball' to obtain copies of old lace pricking's. The process involved tracing or grease proof paper laid over an old pricking and held firmly in place. The 'Heel Ball' was then rubbed over the area of the paper covering the pattern therefor revealing an (almost) exact copy. In those early days’ museums were quite happy to allow this though it was probably not good for the old pricking's and would probably not be allow today. 

'Heel ball' dates back to the earliest days of Brass Rubbing, in the Victorian era, when the wax that was used was often Cobblers "heel ball", a stiff wax used to colour the heel of new shoes. 

hindcloth or hiller

A cloth that covers the whole pillow when not in use.

Synonym. covering cloth.

hinged spangle.

A shaped piece of bone (sometimes of wood) that is fixed, by a pin acting as an axle, to a suitably shaped tail of the bobbin in the manner of a hinge. The hanging spangle often has a bead fitted into a hole. Very rare to see then these days.

See shackle

historical.

Historical events as inscribed on bobbins. Freeman type xv.

hole board.

The top of a candle block stool with holes in which the nozzle and cups were placed. Used to hold the candles and flasks, which illuminated the work of the lace makers.

See Candle block above

Honiton bobbin

A small single headed, unspangled bobbin used to make Honiton lace. The end of the shank is either a somewhat blunted point to enable the taking of sewing's. Also called a lace stick, though modern authorities challenge this. Often stained or decorated with non-lathe turned designs that will not impede the taking of sewing's. Beer had highly decorated bobbins, crosses, fish, and anchors. Branscombe were known for their coloured rings and bolder designs including the use of aqua fortis.

A better generic name for Honiton bobbins would be East Devon, which is a term I generally use, but not within this dictionary as it has not been adopted as a standard.

See article later

Synonyms. Devon bobbin, lace sticks.

Honiton Lace bobbins-decoration.

Because of the nature of making lace where the bobbin is passed through the design, the decoration is simple compared to that of the Bedfordshire bobbin. Decoration is confined to staining, incising and filling of groves, incisions with wax or other coloured stains. They were also inscribed and had pictures cut into them. Yallop has classified the designs as follows: Circumferential rings, Abstract patterns, Depictions of natural or manmade objects, human figures, initials, dates, words (inscriptions).

Birds and brick design

Honiton lace industry - origins

See Yallop pp 12-26. He puts forward authoritative arguments for to accepting the immigration of the Flemish to the area as the origins of the lace industry, instead he argues for the entrepreneurial start of the industry that had the necessary relevant skills (the cloth industry of Devon) the availability of the raw materials (fine flax thread available in Axeminster) and an established industry and marketing network (via the cloth industry) Possible adjuncts to this scenario is that of London merchants wanting to establish business and the possible influence of the trading routes of Europe and Britain. His arguments are most persuasive; they are certainly scholarly and until other evidence is put forward should be the accepted theory though some have thought it has its flaws.

hoop

A synonym used for a spangle. Not much used.

horned eye/spot bead

See raised eye. See Beads for illustration

horn slider

A thin layer of horn, film, acetate (or similar materials) that was placed below the cover cloth for protection whilst allowing a lace maker to make a pricking whilst seeing the lace.

horse

A wooden stand upon which the pillow is rested. There are a variety of designs but the main differences are the number of legs. A two-legged stand rested upon the lace maker’s knees whilst the three-legged stand could stand on its own.

Synonyms. Pillow horse, maid, pillow stand and in some areas, a “lady”. See pillow stand for illustration.

Huguenot (s)

A short fattish bobbin with a single neck. It was unspangled, though some have been adapted to take a spangle. Mainly found in the High Wycombe area of Buckinghamshire. Used in the Aylesbury and Thames districts.

See also, Thumpers

hutches

Plaited rush or straw baskets in which flasks were kept safely whilst not in use.

I.

impressed crumb bead

A crumb bead with the tiny chips pressed flush with the surface. See beads for illustration.

incised decoration

A bobbin decoration that has been produced by scoring, cutting dashes or otherwise

making holes and/or incisions in the bobbin. Often these decorations were coloured. Pyrography could possibly be considered in the kind of decoration.

Indian beads

A drawn bead made in the traditional manner. They look much like other beads but it is possible to look at where they are broken, or cut, off (the perforation) and see some white area on the edge. Early beads of this type were made in India but later were made in Eastern Europe. See beads for illustration.

Indian club

A bobbin that resembles an Indian club which was used widely as an exercise “weight” swung in the hands. Quite few bobbins would fit into this general design shape.

Synonym. Bottle neck

An Indian club. Readers will see this similarity to many bobbins.

initials

Initials or pairs of initials on inscribed bobbins. Mostly found on East Devon Bobbin (Honiton) Freeman type 1

NG initials

inlaid bobbin

A bobbin decoration produced by removing a part of the bobbin and replacing it with similar material of a contrasting colour or different material. Bitted, butterfly, compound, tiger, leptig, spiral pewter are all examples of variations of inlays.

inlaid thorns

Just as brass pins were driven into the shank and cut of level with the shank, similarly thorns were driven in to form a pattern. Mostly a name or initials of a person were formed.

See also, Pin Spot Inlay, Brass Pin Inlay,

Thorn inlay (Bitted Man)

inscribed bobbin

A bobbin that bears an inscription, message, saying, name and so on as a decoration, the letters being formed by a series of coloured, burnt or painted dots.

See also commemorative dots. Mottoed

(a) General Inscriptions

 Inscribed bobbins have text or illustrations added to the shanks (usually). They appear frequently on bone bobbins and quite often on wood bobbins; exceptionally on metal bobbins. They are mostly of class 7 ( see types below) in design, though occasionally of classes 9, 10, 11, 19 and 21. The inscription is almost invariably carried out in drilled dots then coloured (paint or sealing wax), though some carved, pyrographed (burnt) and a very few fully painted examples exist. In the case of wooden bobbins, it is also found punched in dots on applied or inlaid pewter bands, or picked out with inlaid wood, thorn or metal pins (studs). Many inscribed bobbins, especially those with names, are dated. Careful study of the styles of lettering and techniques can often help in identifying the maker of the bobbin.

Type

1.  Initials or pairs of initials

2.  Christian name(s),

3.   Relationships,

4.   Names

5.   Names and places

6.   Names and occupations

7.   Famous people

8.   Royalty

9.   Politicians and Elections

10.   Murderers

11.   Transportation

12.   Suicide

13.   Memorials

14.   Birthdays

15.   Historical events

16. Presentations:

17.   Curses

18.   Blessings

19.   Admonitions

20.   Biblical texts

21.   Pious phrases

22.   Apophthegms

23.   Popular songs and poems =

24.   Verses

25.   Alphabets

26.   Cryptograms

 27.   Catches

28.   Aspiration:

29.   Invitation 

30.   Warning:

31. Flirtation

32.   Protest

33.   Question:

34.   Proposal:

35.   Refusal:

37.   Acceptance:

38.   Injunction:

39.   Declaration

40.   Plighted love

Ipswich bobbin

This is not an English bobbin. From an active lace making community in Ipswich Massachusetts, between 1700s to early 1800s.A single head bobbin with a parallel shank and unspangled. The bobbin is shorter than the typical East Midland bobbin but they are unique in that the shank is hollow or alternatively made from very lightweight woods. Five types have been described; reed, light coloured wood, dark wood, native bamboo.

See Cotterell, M. IOLI Bulletin 17:4 Summer 1996/7.

irons

Various types of irons used for crimping and ironing. There were specific lace irons.

ivory

Very few bobbins were made from ivory. It is easy to confuse an old, well-used bone bobbin with ivory. It is best to assume that the bobbin is made from bone unless the surface is very fine indeed, and then take it to an expert who will be able to identify the material without destructive tests.

J.

Jack-in-the-box bobbin

A wooden or bone bobbin in two parts joining with a screw or push fit, having a hollow shank containing loose miniature bobbin that jumps out (falls) when it is opened. Sometimes incorrectly called a Cow and/in calf. The historical descriptions are; a) “Outwardly looks quite plain but has a hidden secret. Pulled apart there is a tiny bobbin”. b) “Made in two sections, one fitting tightly into the other. The inside of the shank was hollow and contained a loose miniature bobbin. If made of brass, the two sections sometimes screwed together”. Said by Wright to be a variety of gold-lace bobbins.

Synonym. Secret bobbin,

jet bobbins

Bobbin made from jet. Quite rare.

Two South Buck “Jet” bobbins

jewel

See Tally.

jingle

See gingles though some call “Spangles” Jingles.

jinkum

An Oxfordshire name for “spangle”. Possibly a corruption of the word spangle?

Johns and Joans

Nickname for the lace makers of Clapham, Bedford.

K.

Katherine of Aragon

Wife of Henry VIII. Made lace famous. She delighted in working with the needle curiously, she was also often found, busy at work with her maids, and with a Skein of red silk around her neck. She appeared to favour cut work, with

patterns brought from Spain. This was not lace as we now understand it but Wright postulates that she also made bobbin lace too and also taught the people of Bedford her skills. I have searched diligently for pictures of her working at her lace or any other craft, but failed. Perhaps there is one out there?

key

A groove at the bottom of a channel cut for the pewter to hold to prevent turning or falling out. Usually cut with a fine saw and slightly undercuts the wood or bone of the bobbin shaft.

The undercut in this diagram is somewhat exaggerated

kingpin

A Bedfordshire term for a decorated pin. I was decorated with beads by the lace maker and had various functions on the pillow

See also bugle, limmick.

Kings Sutton

Their nick name was “the Ripe Beauties”.

Kitty Fisher

An 18th century actress, said to have lovely eyes!

Kitty Fisher's eyes

A grey bead decorated with eye spots of white each having a small blue spot in the centre, said to represent the beautiful eyes of the 18^th century actress after whom the bead is named. Sometimes there were pink spots, to represent her mouth; sometimes the blue is replaced by red. The eyes may be raised or melted in, probably more often raised. See Beads for illustration.

L.

lace drying bottle

A bottle with straight sides. It flannel was wrapped around the bottle, on which the lace was supported and held with fine stitches. It was then washed and dried on the bottle. A stick was placed into the neck of the bottle then stuck into the ground to aid the drying.

Drying bottle

lace buyer

Self-evident term. They also supplied the lace makers with thread, pins and other equipment. There appears to be some evidence that they collected the work every 5 weeks. The day that they came was called cut off day. There is also some evidence that some of them exploited the lace makers in various ways.

See Lace tokens

lace card

Made of cardboard, round which the lace was wound on the pillow.

lace chest.

A container for storing equipment that is not currently in use.

Lace lamps

See candle block/stool. Often there were three circles of workers around the candle-stool—whence the terms First, Second, and Third Lights; and the stools were sometimes on different levels, those nearest the flasks being the highest. On a shelf at no great distance from the candle-stool would be seen the Tinder-box, which was usually circular and of tin. At the bottom was the tinder (burnt rag), and above the tinder was a circular cover on which rested the flints and the iron striker. In the lid of the box was a candle holder. In order to get a light, a spark had to be struck so that it fell on to the tinder. A slip of wood tipped with sulphur having been applied to the spark, the candle could then be lighted.

The term “Lace Lamp” as applied beautiful glass oil lamps, is not correct and I have dealt with this topic in one of my web docs articles listed in the appendix.

lace men

Dealers in lace who used to visit the makers, measure the lace they were selling and buy it from them, often with lace tokens.

lace stick

1. A Honiton bobbin. Some modern authorities disclaim this name (Yallop)

2. Yardstick used by dealers to measure the lace they were buying. They measured fabric in ells. An ell is a former measure of length (equivalent to six hand breadths) used mainly for textiles, locally variable but typically about 45 inches in England and 37 inches in Scotland.

Two differing Yardsticks

lace tell.

A song sung by lace makers to help them keep a good rhythm and maintain speed when they found the repetitious work monotonous. Some tells would include an immediate goal of a set number of pins to work during the course of the song. Particularly used in lace schools but in general use too.

To estimate pins placed in an hour, and to assist

themselves in the counting the lace pupils used to chant in

a sing-song voice the amount of work to be got

over:

20 miles have 1 to go,

19 miles have I to go,

18 miles have I to go

lace token

Special coins produced for dealers/buyers and used for paying lace makers. They were redeemable only in certain shops. Introduced as the result of the shortage of small change, which was hampering the businesses of the time. (1648-1679) Sometimes found on a spangle.

lace making centres

Geographical areas that were well known for lace making.

lace maker's lamp

A stand topped with a round, hollow glass container, when filled with water it focuses light from a candle. Its design takes many forms. Yallop reports that this device could create a value of 50 lux, which is equivalent to the level of light that modern museums use to illuminate their delicate articles!

See article that follows.

See also flash.

Though these are Continental in origin, they best represent small scale lighting for lace making. See Candle block, candle stool for larger scale lighting. please note: in the authors opinion, the lamps antique dealers call “Lace Makers Lamps” are not the lamps lace makers used. See article: The Great Deception

lace men

See lace dealers and buyers

laminated bobbins

When one or more very thin sheets of wood have been glued between thicker pieces and the bobbin turned from the resulting "sandwich", the thin layers appear as stripes that may occur along the length of the bobbin or slantwise across it. I have not personally seen antique examples of these.

lancet windows

Another name for the church window holes, cut into the shank of the bobbin.

lanking pins. A pin that has a conspicuous head, placed along the foot and the head of the lace in order to keep a firm edge. The head can be ornamental or possibly a special bead or beads.

lantern and ball

See Lantern bobbin.

lantern bobbin.

A bobbin with its shank pierced with windows (slots), occasionally spiralling (twisted chamber) but usually vertical, usually in sets of two or four, with pairs opposite each other, between which beads, lead shot or bone balls can be seen. The contents were inserted through the slots, but the centre can be hollowed out by drilling upwards from the end of the bobbin, and after the contents have been inserted the end is plugged so that the join cannot be seen. These are seen on both east Midland and South Bucks bobbins.

See also church window, twisted chamber.

Synonym. church window, lantern and ball.

lady

See pillow horse

lazy Susan

A needle with a very fine eye, set into a handle point first used for making sewings. Sometimes the needle was curved.

leads

A sheet of lead on which the draft parchment was laid for pricking.

leather covered bobbins

Bobbin with a lead base that were covered with leather 130 mm long. In the possession of Pamela Nottingham. Possibly used for decorative chords.

leopard bobbin

An inlaid bobbin having spots produced by inserting metal rods or contrasting coloured wooden dowels into holes drilled through the shank and smoothing them off flush with the surface. The spots were sometimes filled indentations as opposed to holes through the bobbin. Can be used with other forms of inlay.

See also leptig, pewter inlay.

leptig bobbin

(Not a traditional name) A compound inlay bobbin having a combination of spots as for a leopard bobbin and bands as for a tiger bobbin. i.e. it has both pewter spots and stripes. See also, Compound inlay, Pewter inlay.

lettering

Letters can be pricked, incised or drilled, usually being filled with colour when finished. Pyrographed letters have the characteristic burn marks left. Letters are also formed with pins or thorns inserted and cut off flush. The lettering was rather poor for the most part and the spelling often deplorable. The style of lettering is a good indication of the identity of the maker. The lettering can be spiral or horizontal and is often rather untidy i.e. it does not follow a straight line. One researcher known to the author has developed an index of printing styles associated with a maker and it is a very useful tool for the identification of bobbin makers.

An impressive spiral inscribed bobbin (probably David Haskins) I need to add that there are many that have more words than this on them. Quite favourite bobbins of mine!

lifter

1. a tool to lift pins that have been pushed into the pillow deeply. See pin lifter

A home fashioned pin lifter

2. A long square or round device for lifting needle lace to make it easier to insert the needle.

A square ring lifter and a ring stick

limmick

A North Buckinghamshire term for a pin decorated with coloured beads.

logwood chips

Used for colouring bobbins. The chips were boiled to produce a dye.

See cudbear.

long neck

The long narrow part of the bobbin upon which the thread is wound. See Bobbin (lace) above

long toms

Fine brass pins that were specially made for lace making.

Synonym. yellow pins.

love and courtship

An inscribed bobbin. Freeman has listed aspects of love and courtship in his types xxvii – xlix.

See Freeman’s list

lysopol

A very mild washing agent, which is used by some conservationists in cleaning bobbins.

lucet

A tool used for making square chord. It is lyre shaped. May be made of wood, bone or ivory.

M.

maid

See pillow horse.

makers of bobbins

I owe this information to C & D Springett, who have done a great deal of work on this subject. (see Success to the Lace Pillow in bibliography that follows the end of the dictionary)

Maker Number 1. Characterised by lettering of election slogans; a distinctive tail-end comprising round or oval bead with a line inscribed around its widest part; the head has a squashed bulb surmounted by a very triangular top section; collars of his tapered bobbins are heavily ridged.

Maker Number 2. Known for his distinctive pewter designs which were both complex and attractive; the condition of the pewter is generally poor; the top of the bobbin is frequently dyed; above the last ring he puts two grooves leaving a ridge between the grooves.

Maker number 3. Specialised in bitted bobbins of a most intricate and attractive nature; longer than average collar; unusually long short neck.

Maker number 4. Fine elaborate bobbins, but made simple ones too; a long tapered neck and generous sized bulb; tall short neck that suddenly flares out; to a distinctive rim.

Jesse 1793 - 1857and James 1824 – 1889 Compton. From Deanshanger. Jesse father, James son; distinguished by their spiral inscriptions; the slighter bobbins of Jesse; shape of the bulb and length of the neck.

Bobbin Brown. 1793 - 1872 Cranfield. Bold neat spiral inscriptions, tail has a shallow pint; bulb like rim.

Archibald Abbot. 1815 – 1885 Bedford. Stamped his name on many of his bobbins, known for his screw thread decoration.

Joseph, 1779 - 1855 David 1819 and Robert Haskins. Leighton Buzzard. These too made fine bobbins each of these makers had differing characteristics. Josephs were finely turned and lavishly decorated, arguably the best of the bobbin turners whose work we have today. David’s have a distinctive tapered neck and generous bulb. Robert was the lesser of this family of makers. His bobbins were somewhat fatter and had a limited range of decoration.

Samuel, (a pillow maker) and Arthur Wright 1857 -? seems to have learnt his bobbin making skill from Bobbin brown as his bobbins have similarities. Both were from Cranfield.

Blunt End Man, mid-19^th century. Characteristic for his roughly cut blunt ends.

Other recorded makers.

Research by the Springetts was only able to identify a certain number of makers. Some collectors have noted maker characteristics in their bobbins, that allows them to make a reasonable assessment that they are all made by the same maker. These are not published assumptions and they have not been able to name their makers; however, they are useful observations that can be applied to their collection.

The makers below are recorded in publications or genealogical research discoveries.

Richard Adams. Stoke Goldington.

William Johnson. 1798 Olney.

Richard Kent early 1700s Olney.

George Limbis. Renhold.

John Underwood born 1802 Rushden

Paul Neal. Hanslop.

William Pridmore. Elstow.

Risley. Elstow. Sold his bobbin around the villages from a dogcart.

Thomas Sparke Brayfield.

Percy Keech 1930s Stevington.

Les Green. (20^th C) Olney. Heads had a strong V on a flat bulb.

Saunders. Waddeston. (20^th C) Ran a factory producing chunky bobbins with heads that have a distinct V section on top of a squashed bulb. The also made bone bobbins, but mainly wooden.

Harris and Son, Cockermouth. (20^th C) Made various lace making equipment and a variety of rather poorly finished bobbins heads and bulbs that differ little on top of each other.

E.P. Rose. (20^th C) Made a variety of lace equipment. They are best identified by looking at their catalogue, which Springett reproduces.

Note: Serious Collectors should consider the purchase of, Success to the Lace Pillow. Christine and David Springett.

malmesbury bobbins

Malmesbury is a town situated in the northern area of Wiltshire.

The bobbins are similar to Honiton bobbins in length and diameter and though most have a distinct, almost decorative collar to the neck, some bobbins do not have distinct neck at all. The shank is parallel and is squared off at the bottom of the shank. They have a single neck and on the whole they are plain. The most decoration they have is of a few inscribed rings and sometimes a short turned concave design just below the neck.

marker pin

A generic name for pins that were used for various marking functions on the pillow. They were individually decorated with beads

marvering

A technique to produce vertical lines and decoration on a bead. It was rolled over a corrugated surface before it hardened.

It was rolled, whilst hot on such ridges. The vertical designs vary. See beads for example.

Mary Queen of Scots

Said to be a wearer, designer and maker of lace. At her execution on February 8th 1587she “wore on her head a dressing of lawn edged with bone lace, and a veil of lawn, edged roundabout with bone lace." (Wright pp 41,42.)

melon beads

A bead in the shape of a melon (but not in size!). See beads for illustration

metal

Bobbins were made from a variety of metals, though brass and pewter were the most popular.

memorial

Name, date of death etc. as inscribed on bobbins. Freeman type xiii

Memorial for Elizabeth Dawkes

Mercerised yarn

Named after a process developed by John Mercer in 1844. The cotton was treated with caustic soda that made it soft and more readily dyed.

metal thread bobbins

Large wooden bobbins, the single neck section forming a reel to hold the metal thread used in making gold thread lace.

See also, Gold Lace Bobbins, Gold Thread

Midlands bobbin See East Midlands bobbins, South Bucks bobbins.

millefiori beads.

A "thousand flowers". Made from chips of layered drawn glass. The drawn rods were somewhat like the confection known as "rock" where the intricate designs in the glass are visible from the ends. The end chips were pressed into wound core beads. There is infinite variety of designs and they were very popular. See beads for illustration.

miniature bobbin

A tiny bobbin placed inside a baby bobbin. Possibly too literal a description.

See babe.

moon rakers

Nickname for the lace makers of Grendon. Wright reports that the men were reputed to have raked the moon out of the village pond, thinking that it was a cheese! (Wright p 31)

mother and/in/’n babe

The shank of the bobbin was pierced with vertical slits, the whole effect being that of a church window. There could be a pair or four of long windows or many tiers of windows. In each compartment, there was usually a tiny bobbin, or "babe".

See also, Church Window,

mottled bobbin

A bobbin treated with nitric acid (aqua fortis) also called Agnes forty, usually applied only to patches to give a tortoiseshell appearance, and sometimes is greenish in appearance. Most often seen on East Devon bobbins. Nitric acid is very dangerous and should not be used without training.

mottoed bobbins

A bobbin that has an inscription, message, saying, name and so on as a decoration.

mourning

When a loved one died, the bottom bead of a spangle would be exchanged for a black

one. After a family bereavement, all the beads on the spangle could be exchanged for black.

Mourning Spangle

murderers

Names of murderers and perhaps date hung as inscribed on bobbins. Freeman type x.

HANGINGS,

(On Biddenham Gallows, Bromham Road, just outside Bedford.)

Matthias and 'William Lilley. 1829. Elstow, Beds.

(At Bedford Jail.)

Sarah Dazeley, hung 1843. Lavendon, Bucks.

Joseph Castle, hung 1860. Ravenstonee, Bucks. North Crawley, Bucks.

William Worsley, hung 1868. Weston Underwood; Oakley~

William Bull, hung ,1871 Ampthill, Beds.

SUICIDE.

Joseph \West. Cranfield

Transportation.

Rannson Dillingum, Botany Bay. Ampthill.[Actually Richard Dillingham)

N.

nailsea

A type of bead used on a spangle. See beads for illustration

named bobbins

A bobbin inscribed the name of the lace maker or family member. Other named bobbins may have names of politicians, trader’s sweethearts etc. Freeman type iv

names and places

A name and a place. Freeman tells us that they can appear in sets each bobbin baring the name of a member of a family. Freeman type v.

Yardley Hastings

names and occupations

Some of the occupations inscribed on bobbins are, sweep, shepherd etc. Freeman type vi

J. Mason. Mason. Trade Bead

native types

Bobbins copied by natives of other countries where lace making was introduced by missionaries and others. Have characteristics of art from the country in which they copied.

neck

The narrow part of a bobbin, between the head and the shank, on which the thread is wound. Also, occasionally called (incorrectly) a shank, but our modern understanding of the term shank is that of the body of the bobbin. See Bobbin (lace) above

needle lace tools

Used for aspects of needle lace making. The illustration of these tools are not antique. (Made by the author)

needle pin

A sewing needle, usually size 8 or finer, set in a handle and was used for taking needle pin sewings in Honiton lace. The taper towards the needle indicates a good functional design.

nine beads

A colloquial term for the traditional number of beads used in a spangle. “It had a nine-bead spangle”.

noquette

A protective covering of the cotton on the neck of the bobbin. Made of thin horn, parchment, celluloid or acetate, and sometimes stitched in place to keep the cotton clean. Not used in England.

nozzle

(1)The socket in a candle block/stool that holds the candle. It is adjustable so

the height of the candle can be altered, as it burns lower.

(2) The socket of a bobbin winder that holds the bobbin.

nut beads

Nuts used as beads. See beads for illustration.

nutting day

The first day for making lace by the light of the candle by Honiton lace makers in the south west of England. September 3^rd.

O.

oddity

Just what it says. It does not fall into any special or recognised category.

old chessmen

A wooden bobbin that could be described as of “substantial” thickness with fancy turning confined to the lower half or 2/3rds of the shank. Used in the area of Olney.

Synonyms: Chessmen

old grandfather

Quite a heavy bobbin of substantial thickness, with well defined “lumpy” baluster turning. Name used in the Olney area.

old maid bobbin

A plain, slender East Midlands bobbin. No decoration. See also Old Maid.

oldest bobbin

Late 1600s or early 1700s. Found in a dig at Gloucester. Single necked, somewhat like a South Bucks Bobbin but not so curvaceous.

See Morris.

England’s oldest “Dated” bobbin, is an East Devon Gimp. See article “England’s Oldest dated bobbin”

ornamental turning

(1) A better term would be fancy turning or fancy turned. A bobbin with decorative shapes produced while being turned on a lathe in a great variety of shapes. Technically and ornamental turning is done on a complex special lathe

See also baluster.

(2) A term that implies that the article has been turned on a special lathe that allows very complex turning and decoration to be applied to the article. It is the first term that almost always applies to the topic of lace bobbins.

ornamental bobbin

A bobbin decorated in manner that makes them look “pretty”.

P.

pair

With few exceptions, bobbins were always used in pairs.

Synonym. A couple.

parchments

These were the patterns for the lace makers. The patterns were pricked on to the parchment. Made from parchment they were in strips about 14 inches long, but sometimes they were made with pasteboard stiffened with shellac. The parchment is said to have been made in Hampshire, St Neots, Olney and Newport Pagnell. If parchment was not available (or too expensive) they would use cardboard.

Paisley Bead

A typical “paisley” design on the bead. See beads for illustration

patron saints

A Spanish legend tells how the Virgin Mary showed St Ursula how to make lace and she in turn passed it on to 11,000 other persons, which is how lace making spread around the world. The Spanish churches show St Ursula as patron saint of the textile makers, but St Anne (the Virgin Mary’s mother) as the patron saint of lace makers. In England the patron saint of lace makers has traditionally been St Catherine.

pay

This varied over the centuries of lace making. It is recorded that in 1699, children were paid 20 pence a week, adults 6 shillings and eight pence a week. During the Napoleonic wars for adults the rate was 25 shillings a week. During the low period of the industry in 1882 the adults were paid 1 shilling a week and a child 4 pence a week.

pegged

1. Letters traced on the shank in tiny studs similar to pinned bobbins.

2. The leopard’s pewter spots

Synonym: Brass pinned

penknife bobbin

As the name implies, a bobbin made by whittling with a knife. They can vary between being expertly carved and very intricate to rather crudely carved. Some carved mother and babes are among the best bobbins created.

Synonyms. chip carved bobbin, pocket knife bobbin and shut knife bobbin, clasp knife.

pepper pot bobbin

A wood or bone bobbin that has slots pierced through the shank (church window fashion) through which peppercorns can be seen.

pewter

Pewter is an alloy of tin, i.e. a mixture. The better the quality of pewter the higher the percentage of tin is in the alloy. For example, Springett tells us that the composition of some pewter was 78% tins, 2% lead and the rest antimony. Unfortunately for us this high-quality pewter had degraded so much that most of his bobbins have now lost their pewter. Those makers that used a poor-quality pewter (e.g. Bobbin Brown) have been fortunate enough to have the pewter remain intact for our pleasure. Clearly it is the tin content that causes the degradation. It is alleged that Jesse Compton’s pewter was of this “high quality” that degraded quickly. This is challenged by some knowledgeable collectors, possibly due to imperfect identification of the maker?

Some bobbins were made solely of pewter.

See pewter degradation

pewter degradation

Tin exists in three forms, depending on the temperature. At temperatures between 13 and 160 C, it is called white tin, and the atoms are packed closely together to form the metal. Hence, it is a dense metal, i.e. it is hard.

Below 13 C the atoms re-arrange to become more loosely packed. This shows first as wart like structures on the surface, and eventually leads to the tin crumbling into a powder. This is called "tin pest". The pewter has to be subjected to long periods of sub 13 deg. C, very easy in Europe hence the number of bobbins with degraded pewter that are seen.

See also pewter

pewter inlay

A generic term to describe tigers, butterflies, leopards, leptigs, compound inlays, and other pewter inlays.

pill-cloths

A covering used on Honiton lace pillows

pillows

A variety of shapes and sizes were used. The “square” pillow was used mostly in the East Midlands. Honiton workers preferred the circular pillow.

pillow cloth

A cover of butcher blue cloth that went over a new pillow. It came covered in hessian canvas.

pillow horse

A three-legged stool that supported the pillow. The pillow also rested on the lace maker’s knee. The bowed horse was a design of horse that allowed the horse to hold the pillow and stand upright without the help of the lace makers knee. There are many designs including some that fold.

Synonyms. Maid, single horse, bowed horse. Lace Maker’s Horse.

pin

The earliest pins comprised a small pointed piece of stiff wire originally not with an integral head. The original heads were small pieces of wire crimped to the top of the pin. Lace makers preferred to use brass pins and often decorated with beads those with special functions on the pillow.

See brass pins, decorated pins

Examples of 8 different size pins

PINS:

The early brass pins made in England had a globular head of fine twisted wire made separately and secured to the shank by compression from a falling block and die. Like a hammer!) They were removeable heads and consequently, the heads often came off whne not expected. It was not until 1840 that the kind with solid heads now universally in use appeared on the market. The workers liked to use pins with red waxed or beaded heads for the Headside' (or Turnside) of the lace, and gold wax or green beaded pins for the Footside. Sometimes, however, for these purposes they used pins on which were threaded six or more tiny beads of blue and white or red and white placed alternately. In North Bucks these pins are called Limicks, in South Bucks Bugles, in Beds King Pins, and like the other coloured pins they added greatly to the beauty of the pillow. In making limicks, after the beads had been ' Also called Dykeside if the lace has dykes.

This entry collects together the main groups of pins used in lace making around 100 plus years ago. Those with the text in italics are Historical Examples, with reasonable provenance.

The names given to various pins differed from area to area as also did the approach to decorating their pins with various beads.

You will find the various pin entries in their place within the dictionary.

TABLE OF ANTIQUE PINS USED IN LACE MAKING