Old Books

At some point I decided to start a library and collect all the books I could find on Italian Needlework. This was (and still is) an expensive endeavour as usually I end up paying twice the cover price of the book because the shipping costs from Italy are so high. Long ago I told myself it was worth it and so I stopped being freaked out by costs and learned to treasure my books for the individual delights that they are. Sure I sacrifice, I don't spent a lot on going out to restaurants, etc. so I allow myself the cost of building my library. I try to limit myself to those books I would really like to have but once in awhile I splurge and buy ones that are just great eye candy.

The first old book I bought was one year at Christmas. An original 1925 edition of Elisa Ricci's Ricami Italiani Antichi e Moderni, Le Monnier, Firenze [Italian Embroideries, Ancient and Modern]. This book is outrageously priced at antique book stores in Italy but I happened across a copy being sold from England for about half of what it was usually going for. I don't even remember where I purchased it from but it wasn't through Ebay or any of the big book chains. The bookstore told me that it wasn't in great shape but that it had all it's pages. That was good enough for me. I told myself it was an essential book to research on Italian Needlework and that sooner or later I would have to have it – and I might never find it so "reasonably" priced. Ah! ...the ways we can justify things to ourselves! I worried and sweat for a month waiting for it to arrive. When it did I understood the shipping costs as it weighs 3.5 lbs!


Hardcover, embossed and gilt. I didn't own anything like it. It is kind of worn away around the edges and two pages were folded over. Other than that, it is pristine. Moreover I don't think anyone ever really studied it. The pages are clean on the edges and there were even four pages that hadn't quite been cut apart properly so that they were still attached to the preceding one at the top edge.

And the contents! I had never seen one book with so many different Italian embroidery techniques and though the photographs are all black and white, there are a great many of them. Of course the text is in Italian and so I had to set about researching some embroidery terminology translations but in the end it has and still does given me countless hours of enjoyment.

A few years later an Italian woman who was (still is!) researching the life and work of the author was able to have this text reprinted in a smaller paperback format. She enriched the text with a detailed index and it is the copy that I use most for research now. I still take the original edition out quite often as the pictures are larger – being that the book is much larger – so I can get out a magnifying glass and really study the details.

Oh I was so hooked after that on old books!

Since those days, the internet has opened up many opportunities and it is much easier now to spend my money. I also now know a bit more about what I'm looking for. Now I have to weigh the pros and cons of each purchase... is it out of copyright and available on websites like the Antique Pattern Library or the Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics? How much of the content is text and how much is patterns or pictures? Will I be able to easily find another copy another time? Other things to consider are things like: does it come from a smoke-free environment? Has it been kept in a moldy basement? If these things are important to you, ask the bookseller. I once bought a stitch encyclopedia that had to sit outside in a bag with a carbon filter and a bag of coffee beans for a really long time before I could handle leafing through it.

Best of all old embroidery books give us a window to the past. A different way of life, a slower pace. A time when there was more opportunity to embroider, and more things to be embroidered!

Websites I like to haunt for old Italian needlework books are:
Maremagnum
Abebooks Italy
LibriBooks
MareLibri
Ebay Italy
Please note that most of these website also sell modern books so watch for publication dates!

You can learn more about Elisa Ricci at TuttoRicamo under the headings "History" and "Prominent Characters", you can also read a review of Ricami Italiani Antichi e Moderni in the "Books" section under "Antique Books" (right hand side of the page), click on "comments".

Needlework in Florence

If you've got some time and want to see needlework while you're in Florence, you should definitely hit a few museums. There are many to choose from and I will admit that I haven't been into half of them, so I can only tell you about what is in the ones I've seen.At the Duomo [Cathedral] there is the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo which houses the incredible collection of Or Nué (Silk Shaded Goldwork) in the Sala d'Altare [Altar Room]: some 20-odd panels depicting the life of St. John the Baptist. The designs for these absolutely amazing embroideries are attributed to Antonio and Paolo Pollaiolo, and the work is some of the best surviving examples of Florentine Goldwork from the Renaissance. Don't miss other embroideries along the wall opposite to these treasures, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the mastery of skill!


The Galleria di Costumi [Costume Gallery] at the Palazzo Pitti is a great place to see embroidery of all kinds used to ornament different styles of dress down through the ages - and in theatre clothing as well. Don't leave without checking out the funeral clothing that has recently been restored of the Grand Duke Cosimo de'Medici, his wife Eleonora di Toledo and their son Don Garcia.
After many years of being closed for restoration, the Palazzo Davanzati is a needleworker's dream. It houses a small but impressive collection of the finest needle lace and other techniques of laces and embroideries. Many pieces that are pictured in Elisa Ricci's books can actually be seen up close here. One room houses some textile equipment like a spinning wheel and many other tools, on the wall are several samplers of various techniques including one spectacular sampler of Reticello. Don't miss the cabinet in this room (it's quite dark in there) which holds many pull-out panels (remember to look on both sides of every panel!) and drawers containing a myriad of different embroideries and laces. The next room is better lit and is full of needlework including some very intricate pieces of Aemilia Ars needle lace from Bologna. Remember to pull out all the drawers in the cabinets in this room to see everything!


Museums I haven't been to, but want to investigate in Florence are: the Bargello Museum which houses one of the famous Guicciardini trapunto quilts (the other one being in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) and the Loretta Caponi Museum (on the website look under the smaller heading "Loretta Caponi" and then "La Collezione Loretta Caponi" to start a slide show of pieces).

You can learn more about Aemilia Ars, Reticello and Goldwork (Metal Thread Embroidery) at Tuttoricamo, (click on the British flag for the English version then 'Techniques') - while you're there look under 'Prominent Characters' to learn more about Elisa Ricci and under 'History' for the Guicciardini quilts.

I'd love to hear from you if you've discovered other needlework in Florence - please leave a comment below!

Aquila Bobbin Lace

Okay, so this isn't Needlework per se, however it is Italian and stitching-related so I'm bending my own rules already. Also, I guess I should have started my alphabetical listing with this one... but hey, I'm new to this and not quite as organized as I'd like.

Aquila Bobbin Lace, or Tombolo Aquilano originates in the surrounds of Aquila, Italy. I've been thinking about them a lot lately as it's been almost a year since the devastating earthquake of April 6, 2009. The press seems to have forgotten all about those people living in tents, but I haven't.

The tales of Aquila lace date back to the 1490s when Queen Isabella, the wife of King Ferdinand I of Naples visited the city and greatly admired the particular beauty of the local lace. Since Elisa Ricci tells us in her Old Italian Lace (1913) that the first signs of lace are in frescoes at San Gimignano dating to about 1465, then perhaps it's possible that Aquila lace is indeed so ancient. In any case the beauty of this lace is undeniable. It is classified as a continuous filament lace worked in very fine linen or silk thread. It can be worked with a great number of bobbins, adding and subtracting as the work continues. With the 'ancient stitch' patterns of alphabets, butterflies, flowers and ribbons can be made, while with the 'new stitch' (created in the 19th century) geometrical designs are created.

You can see some examples of this lace here:
click on the images for a closer look.

Some pictures of both ancient stitch [punto antico] and new stitch [punto nuovo] can be seen here at Le Mani d'Oro [Hands of Gold].

You can read more about Elisa Ricci at the Italian Embroidery website Tuttoricamo, click on the British flag for the English pages and look under 'prominent characters'.