Women's Work: Embroidery in Colonial Boston

As soon as I saw this on Amazon, I knew I had to have it. This book was written for me. I own hundreds of needlework books, many on samplers and the history of needlework, and this book has zoomed to the list of my 10 favorite books. I purchased this a few weeks ago and have taken all this time to write a review as I had to devour every word and pore over each picture thoroughly. It's so unfortunate that Amazon does not put the "Look Inside" feature specifically for books like this: I put a small fraction of the luscious pictures on Images so you can get a sense of the treasure of information inside this book.From the embossed cover (which really highlights the colors of the embroidery it depicts) to the annotated text to the in-depth close-ups, this book astonishes me in its brilliant historical research. Pamela A. Parmal is the Curator of Textiles and Fashion Arts at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. She also authored  Samplers from A to Z  along with several other books associated with the MFA. This book of literary genius takes research to the next level: see the first 3 Images above. 2 embroideries from the collection were chosen to be analyzed at the chem department at Boston University. Knowing that all thread from colonial times had to be hand-dyed from natural sources, minute cuttings from the threads were taken from the back to determine their biological components. Then they were put under UV light to discern the absorption properties of each shade. The researchers could now determine not only the source of each colorant but also how faded it was by exposure to air and the sun. I have highlighted one of the two embroideries and it fascinates me that the red dye was from bugs!! (These are known as "cochineal" dyes but it would have been too destructive to determine the specific insect.)From the "stomacher" which was the most highly decorated part of a woman's dress to the bed hangings to the pictorials, samplers and family crests, we get a glimpse of the embroiderers' families right down to which section of Boston they hailed from. The family histories alone of the 6 women highlighted must have taken years of research.The fine details (written for nerds like me) are relegated to to the annotations at the back of the book leaving the story of the embroideries highly readable. You can't open up a page without seeing at least one COLOR photo of an embroidery. Often, both leaves hold the photo of a single picture. Unframing and displaying the backs of embroideries is only now being done by needlework authors or museum curators. As you see, I can't say enough about this book. Perhaps I'm on the same wavelength as the author since I have studied almost all the sources listed in the bibliography and discussed in the annotations. You may also like: Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1700-1850 American Crewelwork: Over 100 How-to Stitching Diagrams Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850 American Needlework Treasures: Samplers and Silk Embroideries from the Collection of Betty Ring With Needle and Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley, 1740-1840 English Embroidery in the Metropolitan Museum 1580-1700: 'Twixt Art and Nature (Published in Association with the Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture)Samplers and stitches; a handbook of the embroiderer's art Samplers (Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks) SAMPLERS & TAPESTRY EMBROIDERIES, Second Edition

Beautiful collection of images and historical information.

Good reference book with great pictures.

It was okay. The inside of the book cover was messed up. I decided not to return because the book because I had my hand slapped about returns by Amazon.

The book is good for what it is, that is, a historical treatise on women who promoted needlework in their time in New England. I was hoping for more detail about how these items were made, materials, stitches, etc., but that's not where the book goes. It's mostly about who studied where and who influenced or designed who's work. And I was very disappointed in the photographs which are a bit hazy and mostly black and white. The cover of the book is deceiving because it shows one of very few pieces that are that lovely and depicted in color.

This book contains a good mix of background text and illustration. The authors use primary sources (such as advertisemens for schools) in recreating the background of colonial embroidery, of which we know much too little. Illustrations are excellent; high resolution colors bright.

I was very pleased to find a lot of great quality pictures accompanying informative text. If you are at all interested in the stitching history, women's history really, then this is a must have book.

Gives you a much fuller picture on so many levels of interest to a 21st century embroidery history and culture enthusiast.

a lovely book, great colour detailed pictures and choc full of wonderful examples of needlework to drool over. Recommend it