1842 Lace shawl
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1840-1855 A shawl in embroidered net lace.
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Detail of the border on the lower edge
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Detail of the border at the top
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Enlarged detail of the lace on the top border
Description
The shawl is machine-made cotton net with an all-over embroidered pattern of trailing stems with leaves and flowers in quite heavy white cotton thread.
It is made in three sections with diagonal seams which are 10" apart at the neck edge and 27" apart where they meet the lower edge; the centre panel curves down and is 19" deep at the centre back. The whole shawl measures 92" from end to end.
The top has a midlands bobbin lace edging, 1" wide, which also goes round the lower edge above two rows of midlands lace, 3" wide, with a different design; a third row of the wider lace is inserted between those going round the lowest part of the shawl, from about 8" away from where the seams meet the edge.
Contemporary illustrations
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Fashion plate in Le Moniteur de la Mode, September 1844
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Portrait of Charlotte Furstin und Altgrafin zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Krautheim, 1847
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Fashion plate in Les Modes Parisiennes, September 1854
Contemporary items
1848 Striped silk taffeta dress
More shawls from the Hopkins Collection can be seen in Shawls, available from the Hopkins Costume Trust bookshop.