Part 4 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD VALENCIENNES.

(_Author's Collection._)]

VI

THE PILLOW LACES OF FRANCE

Valenciennes, ”Vraie” and ”Fausse”--Lille--Chantilly-- Blonde--Caen and Brittany.

_Valenciennes._

Valenciennes was formerly part of Flanders, being in the province of Hainault. It became a French town in 1668 by treaty. Being a Flemish town, the lace made there was purely Pillow lace, and in fineness of thread and beauty of design it rivalled in its early stages some of the fine old Flemish laces, which are more like ornamental cambric than anything else.

There are two kinds of Valenciennes lace, known as ”Vraie” and ”Fausse.”

These names are very misleading, as they merely denote the laces made in the town itself, or in the outskirts.

Early Valenciennes can only be distinguished from Flemish laces of the same age by the difference in the _ground_. By reference to the little chart of lace st.i.tches the distinction will easily be seen, the Valenciennes being much closer and thicker in the plait, and having four threads on each side of its diamond-shaped mesh. Conventional scrolls and flowers were used as designs for the toile, the ground and the pattern being made at the same time.

This lace is said to have been worked, like that of Brussels, in dark, damp cellars, the moist atmosphere being necessary to prevent the tiny thread breaking. The lace-workers became nearly blind, and quite useless, long before they reached thirty years of age.

So expensive was the fabric that a pair of ruffles for a gentleman's coat would sell for 4,000 livres. Madame du Barri made extravagant use of this lovely lace. In her wardrobe accounts are mentioned, in 1771, head-dress, throatlets, fichus, and ruffles, ”all plisse de Vraie Valenciennes.” The amount of lace used for a head-dress alone is said to have cost 2,400 livres.

The ”Vraie Valenciennes” was practically indestructible, earning the nickname of the ”Eternal Valenciennes” from its durability. The well-to-do bourgeoise used to invest her savings in real lace, treasuring and wearing it on all best occasions for a lifetime.

The lace-makers of the town itself were so satisfied with their own lace that they proudly boasted that if a length commenced in the town of Valenciennes were taken and completed _by the same worker, and with the same thread_, outside their own damp atmosphere, the exact point of difference would be shown in the piece.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ”OLD LILLE.”

(_Author's Collection._)]

The earliest Valenciennes laces show a closer design than that made later, which, by the way, many connoisseurs much prefer. The latter type is of clearer ground and more open design. The flowers do not follow the large scroll-like pattern of Flanders, but suggest the detached sprays and festoons of Alencon and Argentan. In both types there is no cord outlining either pattern or edge. All is flat as a piece of fine lawn.

_Lille._

By no means a _favourite_ lace at any time, Lille ranks next in merit as a hand-made lace. The mesh is clearer and larger than most French or Belgian laces, being made by the simple twisting of two threads on four sides. The patterns are simple, and are outlined with a loose flax thread of silky appearance. The straight edges which characterise Old Lille lace certainly did not lend elegance to it. A large manufacture in black lace was commenced, and the black silk mantles of the eighteenth century were lavishly trimmed with it. It is entirely out of favour at this day, however, only the finest white variety being sought after.

Lace is still manufactured at Lille, but the patterns of Mechlin are copied, although the tiny square dots, one of the distinguis.h.i.+ng points of old Lille, are still used.

_Chantilly._

The white laces of Chantilly much resemble Lille, having the same fine, clear ground and a thick, silky-looking thread outlining the pattern. A little lace school was established by the d.u.c.h.esse de Rohan early in the seventeenth century, and for quite a hundred years white laces were made, and became popular. Marie Antoinette used this pretty lace as well as Valenciennes extensively to trim her favourite lawn dresses and fichus when she and the ladies of her Court retired to the Pet.i.t Trianon to play at being shepherdesses.