Textiles and Stuff 

An ideal present for the collector! The embroidery is of high quality and the hat would make a wonderful item for display. It is an old traditional embroidered Chinese child’s hat which was made especially for a festival and embroidered by hand. It is has a basic cap shape in black cotton sateen, with narrow braid at the edge. This is embroidered all round with beautiful flower sprays in shades of pink, red and blue. The top of the hat is decorated with a cockerel with wings with red and green pompoms and glass silver coloured beads. Below this is a silver metal figure sewn on at the front and some braid with small red pompoms. At the back of the hat is a curved point with a pompom on a spring to give movement. The hat is lined in cream cotton. There is very little wear, and the hat is in excellent condition. The colours are very bright and fresh and the hat would be an interesting example for a collection.

This is an old traditional embroidered Chinese child’s hat which was made especially for a festival and embroidered by hand. It has a basic cap shape in maroon cotton sateen, with narrow braid at the edge. The top of the hat is decorated with two silk flowers with four petals each, on a sprung stalk which causes movement. On both sides are birds protruding, each holding two tassels in bright colours. The crown is decorated with separately made leaves and flowers, each individually finely embroidered with different flowers and insects, and at the centre top wiith a flower standing up, containing a girl juggling with four coloured balls. Parts of the hat are decorated with tiny beads and a metal flower with a central stone. The hat is lined in dark pink printed cotton. There is very little wear, a few beads are missing, but overall the hat is in excellent condition. The colours are very bright and fresh and the hat would be an unusual example for a collection. This hat is post free in the U.K. Please contact me for overseas postage.

This is a deep border in a very fine cream tape lace of the Art Nouveau period. The design is typical of the era with interlaced swirls and tightly embroidered tiny rings in buttonhole stitch. It has been used and was probably a high stand up collar. It is in good condition but there are a couple of holes in the net, which are shown in the photograph. It has not been washed. It is 9 inches deep and 37 inches long, a beautiful example.

This is a wonderful example of a wool winder or swift made of mahogany. It stands 27 inches high on a broad circular base and revolves easily, with an extension of over 28 inches. It is finished at the top with a beautifully turned knob. It folds up very neatly, as can be seen from the photographs. Two of the slats have been restored, new silk ribbon ties them together at top and bottom, and the copper wire attaching the slats replaced. The wool winder is in excellent condition and is immanently usable, or for use as a piece of decorative and historical interest. Please contact me with regard to postal charges.

A wonderful gift for somebody seetting up home, or even for your spare room! This is a delightful antique Edwardian bedspread, dating from the beginning of the 20th Century. It is made up of 24 cream linen squares, each embroidered with garden and wild flowers such as fuchsias, briar roses, lily-of-the-valley, blackberries, forget-me-not and pansies. The squares are joined together with cotton lace of a Maltese type, probably machine made, and the whole bedspread is edged with a double band of the same lace. The bedspread is backed with cream silk and is cream in colour, although in the photograph it appears almost white. The embroidery is executed in both woollen and silk threads and the colours are very bright and fresh. The measurements are approximately 55 inches (140 cms.) by 77 inches (195 cms.). Although there is a very slight discolouration on a couple of the squares, these are hardly noticeable and the bedspread is in very good condition, very usable and a very attractive piece of embroidery. The bedspread has been photographed with a silk bed valance of the same period which is also for sale if required.

This is an old bonnet in crocheted cotton made in a traditional way with drawstrings to adjust the size and fit. It ties under the chin and has a very pretty back with a large flower filling the whole. It would fit an adult and measures 9 inches deep from crown to brim and 39 inches round the brim. It is an attractive bonnet and a fine addition to a period outfit. It is in excellent condition.

This is a very beautiful example of an antique handkerchief of the Victorian period with a deep border of Honiton bobbin lace. The handkerchief is made of fine cotton lawn and has a wide border of lace in the traditional pattern of roses and daisy like flowers interspersed with rose leaves. The border is decorated with crown like shapes in between the flowers. The handkerchief measures 13 inches (33 cms.) square and is in very good condition. There are a couple of faint brown marks and a few of the brides have become detached but these are not prominent and this is a very attractive piece of lace.

This is a very attractive example of a filler, probably dating from the early nineteenth century. It was worn under the dresses of the time, which had very wide and low necks and was therefore named a tucker or filler. It is made of a fine cotton fabric with a delicate collar, in a dainty type of whitework edged with bobbin lace. The whitework is very finely done, in a design of a lattice with tiny circles alternating with flower sprays and leaves. The back section has a tape at the waist which was tied round the waist at the front and the front sections of the bodice were pinned at the waist to keep it in position. The measurements are as follows the back from the neck edge to hem is 12 inches (30 cms.) and the front from the shoulder to the hem is 14 1/2 inches (36.5 cms.). The shoulder seam measures 7 inches (17.5 cms.). The side seams are finished with a hand stitched hem. The filler is in good condition. There are two very small areas of weakness on the collar, one of which can be seen in the last photo and there are a few small brown marks on the back of the filler and one on the lace on the collar, but these are very small imperfections on what is an exquisite piece of needlework. This is a very flattering filler and would make a great addition to a period costume.

This is a brass Continental thimble case combined with a tape measure which is in the shape of a tankard. It has an embossed pattern of peasant figures in a landscape and a lid which lifts to reveal the thimble case. The tape in the base is marked in centimetres and it is wound in by rotating the base of the tankard. It is in excellent condition.

This dress is probably 18th Century and altered in Victorian times, and the bodice has been boned. It would originally have had boning up the front of the bodice but I think the extra boning is a later addition. It is made of a heavy silk brocade which is similar to some of the Spittalfields designs, in a pale gold enhanced with gold coloured metal thread. The design is floral, an overall design of sprays of roses and daisies. The bodice has a low neck with a silk ribbon tie and is fastened at the front with hooks and eyes. The half sleeves have cuffs of spotted net and double caps on the shoulders. The inside waist tie bears the name C Applin & Co., 10 Cork Street, Burlington Gardens. The skirt is of quilted pink silk satin which is lined with a stiff cotton and padded, and at thehem has an inner finely pleated frill of three layers of lace. The quilting is a basic diamond pattern and is machine stitched. There are brocade panniers at each side. There are a few areas of weakness in the brocade especially on the shoulders and also areas of wear at the waist of the skirt and a couple of slits and a small hole in the skirt itself. There are small areas of wear and discolouration under the arms. The silk drawstring at the neck has been replaced, as has the silk binding inside the neck through which it runs, but these could easily be removed if a return to the original is desired. It is an interesting dress for display or for a collection.

This is a delightful example of a lady’s cap in cotton machine lace, pearls and peach coloured velvet ribbon. These caps were worn mainly in the 1870s and then went out of fashion fairly quickly and so are rarely seen these days. There is a basic frame of wire which supports the lace, with lavish decoration with artificial pearls which are blown glass, rather than solid. There are three loops of peach velvet ribbon at the front. It was worn on the top of the head and fixed to the coiffure with elastic or pins. The only restoration has been the replacement of the millinery wire which was broken and rusty.

This is a beautiful three-quarter length wrap around black silk velvet coat from the late 1920s. It is knee length and has a ruched collar and three-quarter length raglan sleeves, tapering with gentle pleats at the wrist, and the coat is gathered on to the collar both at the back and front. The back hangs straight. It is fully lined with black satin. Measurements This is a loose fitting coat and would fit anyone from 38 inch to 42 inch bust (U.K. size 16 to 18). Centre back to hem measurement 35 inches, outer sleeve measurement 25 inches. It is in excellent condition, probably never worn and is a wonderful garment.