RENAISSANCE LACES MIGRATE TO NEW YORK CITY

Starting in the middle to late nineteenth century, a renaissance in lace making already was taking place in the homeland. To reclaim their embroidery and needle lace heritage, and to provide some income for the destitute regions, the royaly and people of means established respected schools and industries of lace making to try to recapture the nearly forgotten lace making skills of past centuries. Burano in the Venetian lagoon was one well known school, while dozens of others were established throughout Italy in the last half of the nineteenth century.

Typically, wealthy and noble families dug among their heirlooms, and these table runners, alter cloths, pillow covers and clothing items sewed as examples to be studies and copied by lace making students.

The Italian Lace School in New York opened its doors in 1905 by several wealthy American women. These ladies had observed the renaissance of lace making in Italy and felt that the young Italian-American women should have the same opportunity to express their artistic heritage, as well as to find employemnt, that was more uplifting than that available in the sweatshops of turn-of-the-century New York City.

The first teacher brought from Italy was Carolina Amari, a respected Italian lace maker, designer and teacher. She came with patterns, lessons, and partially worked pieces for the new students to complete. In November of 1905, the school opened with six students, and by December the first exhibition was held. Students were paid a small amount roughly what they earn in other industry with the expectation that the products of their class work would soon by available for sale.

The school was set up in essentially the same fashion as other successful schools in Italy, largely with the patronage of wealthy families. Exceptionally fine pieces of cut work, embrodiery and laces dating from the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries served as models and patterns, with the stitches and designs replicated as closely as possible. Lovett describes the Italian work of these centuries as, "the first happy mingling of embroidery and lace."

Lovett also gives a detailed description of the work of the Italian lace school; "although called 'lace', most of the work hither to done by the school comes properly under the head of 'embroidery.' The distinction made is that in embroidery there is a material upon which the worker executed the design instead of creating the fabric as well as the ornament as is done in lace. Heavy unbleached linen is the material used for the most elaborate pieces, such as sideboard covers, curtain and pillow covers, bags and brushes and comb cases. The heavy linen is worked in thread of the same color...Part of this embroidery is decorated in closed, and part in open work. A variety of embroidery stitches are used, each producing a special effect, and each of these has a name. The materials must have a very even threads, as counting threads as carefully produces the pattern as if the material were canvas. Of the stitches there is 'punto reale', a close heavy work, something like satin stitch, and used for heavy designs. 'Punto ricco', which makes the curling stems and raised flowers and which will be more familiar if spoken of an open stitch for the flower stems, and buttonhole stitch for the flowers.'Punto a retticella', is the open lace-like portions in the square, circles, or the strips which alternate with the closed pattern. To effect this part of the material is cut away and part of the threads drawn out, leaving certain threads or groups of threads to hold the opening together. On these threads, supporting them and decorating them, is worked an elaborate open pattern in buttonhole, rope, or darning stitches to give them the familiar English names. The edge of the square is finished with 'punto quadro', a small cross or square stitch used to prevent raveling. The stitch also borders inset or strips of a finer lace."

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