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.