File

This file
is composed of women's magazines devoted largely to forms of needlework like
embroidery, crochet and lace. Documenting various techniques associated with
needlework, it demonstrates how the feminine ideal promoted in the first
decades of the 20^th century involved encouraging female readers of
these magazines to master this art.

The file
includes nine issues of Corticelli Home Needlework magazine published
between 1901 and 1906. Created to promote Corticelli products, these
publications were produced by the Canadian division of the Corticelli Silk
Company Ltd., a silk thread manufacturer based in Saint-Jean, on the Richelieu
River. These lavishly illustrated magazines demonstrate various lace and
embroidery techniques and stitches (for example, Mountmellick embroidery,
Honiton lace, floral designs) and provide patterns and instructions for
creating or decorating a variety of items (household linens, handkerchiefs,
cushions, clothes, crocheted and beaded handbags, hats, parasols, etc.). An
article in the fourth quarter issue of 1905 looks at using "pyrography in
dress ornamentation." The first quarter issue of 1901 explains how to
embroider the coats of arms of the University of Ottawa and Trinity
College in Port Hope, Ontario, while that of the second quarter of 1902
reflects the monogram fad. These magazines also examine topics in greater
depth, like the Allen S. Cole article on antique embroidery, illustrated with
photographs of artefacts preserved in London's South Kensington Museum.
Finally, the magazines include several articles about interior decorating. Some
illustrations reveal the influence of Art Nouveau and the interest in
Japanese-inspired themes.

In
addition, the file contains one issue of Ladies' Home Journal from the
same era (August 1903), published by the Curtis Publishing Company in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It features instructions for creating Indigenous
beadwork, as well as place mat patterns and embroidery motifs inspired by
nature. However, the Journal is not devoted solely to needlework. This
issue contains several short stories aimed at women, a photo essay ("How
We Climbed to the Top of Mont Blanc"), sheet music ("The Dolly
Madison Two-Step"), and practical columns (fashion, food, laundry, gift
ideas).

Finally,
the file contains eight issues of the American magazine Needlecraft
published in 1925 and 1926. Focussed on embroidery, crochet and sewing, this
publication provides patterns and instructions for making and decorating
clothes, household linens, decorative objects, practical items and gifts.
Nearly every issue includes an article by Louise B. Moss, Associate Professor
of Domestic Sciences, Pennsylvania State College, examining a topic related to
food or childrearing. The magazine also features recipes and a series of
articles by John Morrison Curtis about interior decorating.

One copy of
the London monthly Weldon’s Practical Needlework completes the file.
Dated 1924, this issue explains how to make Buckingham, Bedford, Maltese, and
Bruges laces.