 Pictures and Mottoes
Pictures were embroidered in wools, silks and beads generally on the
larger count of perforated card and represented all sorts of visual
images amongst these were; cabbage roses, spaniels, Swiss hamlets and
“The Old Church” which had an emphasis on the graveyard.
Mottoes bore words to live by such as, God Bless our Home, Learn to Do Good, Consider the Lilies and Abide with Me. These large works were usually embroidered in wool and hung at eye level on a wall or door so they could easily be seen and remembered. Commonplace in the home during 1870 to1890 they were available from publishers, stationers and dry goods stores in a wide variety of designs and sentiments. Measuring approximately 9 inches by 21 inches these large cards were printed with the patterns on them eliminating the need for additional diagrams or instructions. For those who wanted to stitch their own, the paper or card was also now manufactured in sheets as large as 17” by 21 inches and included choices of foiled papers, photographs, and chromos (colored pictures to cut out) to embellish the design with. |
