Thérèse de Dillmont, Encyclopedia of Needlework, c. 1890, Very Rare First English Edition,Victorian Needlework & Embroidery Antiquarian Book, •Free Shipping

Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont, c. 1890, Very Rare First English Edition From Alsace, France: Victorian Needlework & Embroidery Antiquarian Book, *Free Shipping

This is an exceptionally scarce First English Edition of Thérèse de Dillmont’s celebrated Encyclopedia of Needlework, first published circa 1890 and printed in Mulhouse, Alsace, France. The First Editions of this beloved book are very difficult to find.

Only months after her marriage, Thérèse de Dillmont traveled to the fashionable spa town of Baden-Baden for a cure. Sadly, she died there on May 22, 1890, at only 43 years old, said to be a victim of the influenza epidemic then raging. Her Encyclopedia of Needlework had already begun its extraordinary international success, but Dillmont never lived to see just how influential her book would become.

Originally published in French as Encyclopédie des ouvrages de dames, Thérèse de Dillmont’s incredibly popular volume became one of the great practical reference works on 19th-century needlework. French, German, and English editions were offered at the time, but this earliest English edition is particularly scarce, especially in this condition and in its distinctive early Paris Green cloth binding.

The book contains 578 pages devoted to the extraordinary range of needlework practiced during this time in Victorian history. Hundreds of illustrations accompany detailed instructions in sewing, mending, embroidery, knitting, crochet, macramé, netting, lace making, whitework, drawn work, cut work, tapestry, decorative stitches, materials, tools, threads, and related techniques. It should be noted that none are in color, as these are only found in much later editions of this book.

What makes this early edition particularly important is its proximity to the work it describes. This was not a later interpretation of Victorian needlework. It was written for women who were actually executing these intricate techniques to create the textiles that survive and which are so desirable today.

For the textile collector, historian, or accomplished needleworker, this 136-year-old book provides direct access to period methods as they were taught and practiced.

This copy is the early English edition without color illustrations and in the early green binding. Its title page, pagination, printer’s information, contents, advertisements, illustrations, DMC tables, endpapers, and other publishing details correspond with the c. 1890 edition held by the Getty Research Institute. Many of these identifying pages are shown in the photographs accompanying this listing and support the c. 1890 date given by Getty.

The Paris Green cloth binding is printed in black, with the title incorporated into an attractive foliage design extending across the front cover and spine. Inside are brilliant gold-and-black endpapers printed in a repeating DMC diamond pattern. The book retains gilt along the upper and lower edges.

This particular copy also has a lovely history of its own. Its early owner signed the title page in pencil: Julia Van Vleet. Of course, when I discovered that another Julia had owned the book, I had to see whether I could find her.

I found a woman with that distinctive maiden name who was born in Darke County, Ohio, and later died in Michigan. She lived to a ripe old age. Although I cannot establish conclusively that she is the Julia who signed this book, the geographical trail is intriguing, particularly because I acquired the volume from an antiquarian bookseller in Michigan approximately twenty years ago.

Still tucked inside is a small torn piece of period newspaper that Julia used as a bookmark. I have left it exactly where I found it. Perhaps she slipped it between the pages while consulting an embroidery pattern or technique. More than a century later, her little bookmark is still there.

This is a wonderful surviving copy of an important Victorian needlework reference, desirable both as a collectible 19th-century textile book and as a practical resource for anyone interested in understanding, recreating, or keeping alive the fine needlework techniques from that period. It will make an invaluable reference book for those who collect antique linens, clothing, and other Victorian textiles.

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Condition

The book is in very good overall condition considering that it is approximately 136 years old.

The original Paris Green cloth binding is tight. The corners are bumped, and there are a few very small stains and fine wrinkles in the cloth of the front cover. The black lettering and foliage decoration remain attractive and clearly visible. The book was not published with a dust jacket.

All pages are present and intact. The volume was printed on inexpensive paper, approximately one quality step above newspaper stock, resulting in significant overall toning. Despite the toning, the interior is overall clean and unmarked apart from Julia Van Vleet’s penciled signature on the title page, as shown in the photographs.

The brilliant gold-and-black DMC diamond-pattern endpapers remain particularly striking. Brilliant gilt remains along the upper and lower edges of the book but is substantially worn from the fore edge, consistent with the book’s long history of careful use.

There are no odors or other markings in the book. Overall, its condition is consistent with a volume that was carefully used, read, and referred to by its original owner...lovingly so.

It should be noted that this book will be shipped to you in archival tissues and bag inside a USPS Priority Mail box for the best protection in transit.

Measurements

Medium Octavo:

61/4" x 9.25"
15.9 cm x 24.1 cm

Numbered Pages:  578 pp

Provenance

Privately owned, with the early penciled ownership signature of Julia Van Vleet on the title page and her period newspaper bookmark retained within the volume.

The book subsequently entered the antiquarian book trade in Michigan, where I acquired it approximately twenty years ago. It has remained in my private collection since that time.