The pattern book comprises about twenty pages of small samples of mainly Bucks Point lace, with a few pieces of Bedfordshire, mounted on paper. The pages were in a leather bound book that originally belonged to a dealer, possibly John Spencer of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. Two of the pages are of black lace, the remainder are white. The book was used to show what lace was available for private order. It was purchased by Luton Museum in 1952. The book is an artefact of local historical interest, as lacemaking was once an important industry in the area. (Luton is in the English county of Bedfordshire, in the 'East Midlands', which are in fact not far north of London.)
Photographs were made of the pages, and these were available for sale at the
Museum. The book and the single pages have been an important resource for lace designers
and historians. However, the single pages have been unobtainable for some 20 years and the
condition of the book itself became so worn that the Museum eventually had to retire it.
In 1994, the Museum stated its desire to have the book restored; it was estimated that the
restoration would cost about 8000 English pounds. Many lacemakers around the world
contributed (and their friends and relatives). The book was restored by the Royal School
of Needlework. The lace was carefully removed from the paper, washed, restored where
necessary, and remounted onto acid free card stock. The pages are now collected into a
box, and are available for private viewing by arrangement with the Museum staff.
I spent a fascinating morning perusing the book in January 1997. I took photographs of two pages which were previously shown here with permission from the museum. A reproduction of all the pages is now available for purchase from C & D Springett.