The EmbroideressWednesday, December 24, 2003
A CHRISTMAS EVE TREASURE
Amazing, ring of doorbell at 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve- US Postal Service delivering a media mail box containing a book I had ordered for a modest $20.00 from Second Story Books in Rockville, Maryland. I first saw the book on e-Bay whilst surfing about but didn't want to pay a huge price for an ex libris copy of a book on a textile subject rather marginal to my usual interests. After a search I found it on an Alibris listing and ordered it. It turned out to be a pristine copy of a 9 pound art book titled Great Tapestries, the Web of History from the 12th to the 20th Century by Edita S.A. Lausanne (1965). It is full of stunning color plates (including amazing detail plates) and tipped in plates. The four sections (Gothic Tapestry, Classical Tapestry, Contemporary Tapestry and The Weaver's Art) are comprised of page after page of text by some of the world's authorities. For example the Gothic Tapestry section is written by Pierre Verlet the then curator of the Musee de Cluny and curator of the Department of Objets d'Art at the Louvre. The section on the weaver's art is one of the most illustrative looks at tapestry weaving I have seen. If it is in your local library or you see a copy available and you are interested in weaving/textile history, medieval history or just lust for gorgeous books - don't pass this one up.
Amazing, ring of doorbell at 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve- US Postal Service delivering a media mail box containing a book I had ordered for a modest $20.00 from Second Story Books in Rockville, Maryland. I first saw the book on e-Bay whilst surfing about but didn't want to pay a huge price for an ex libris copy of a book on a textile subject rather marginal to my usual interests. After a search I found it on an Alibris listing and ordered it. It turned out to be a pristine copy of a 9 pound art book titled Great Tapestries, the Web of History from the 12th to the 20th Century by Edita S.A. Lausanne (1965). It is full of stunning color plates (including amazing detail plates) and tipped in plates. The four sections (Gothic Tapestry, Classical Tapestry, Contemporary Tapestry and The Weaver's Art) are comprised of page after page of text by some of the world's authorities. For example the Gothic Tapestry section is written by Pierre Verlet the then curator of the Musee de Cluny and curator of the Department of Objets d'Art at the Louvre. The section on the weaver's art is one of the most illustrative looks at tapestry weaving I have seen. If it is in your local library or you see a copy available and you are interested in weaving/textile history, medieval history or just lust for gorgeous books - don't pass this one up.
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