A Must Have Book

When looking for tid-bits to accompany my previous post on neckerchiefs, I discovered first a neat description of a carriage bag then what I would call a Must Read Book for anyone who sews any type of reproduction anything from the mid-nineteenth century. This description happens to be in said book:

To Make Up Carriage Bags

Very nice frames are sold for these. They are of a stout calico on the outside, and a nice striped ditto inside, with a handkerchief pocket. The sides are of leather; and the upper of the frame and the handles are the same. The work should be one piece for both sides – the canvas, of cloth edges turned in at the sides, and sewed to the edges of the bag. At the top, the edge of the canvas must be laid under the leather, which is stitched down over it. The handles are merely tacked on. They must be removed for mounting, and afterwards carefully sewed down in the same places over the canvas. Cover all the seams, and the edges of the leather along the top, with a fine silk cord. Observe that the work must be made to fit the frame, not the latter to the work, as frames are made only in certain gradations of size, except to order; and what is call an out size, even if smaller, always more expensive.

I would love to have an illustration of the frame the author writes about. Depending on what that frame really looks like, I can picture a few different versions of this bag coming together.

Now on to this must read book.

If you have not read The Lady’s Dictionary of Needlework; A Complete Guide to all the Signs, Terms, and Contractions Used in Every Sort of Fancy Work with Illustrated Instructions for the Elementary Stitches, hop over to Google Books and download it. I am pretty certain I have stumbled on this book before while compiling shawl information, but I never scrolled cover to cover so to speak. I should have. This book is packed full of useful information – a glossary of material, stitches and oodles of how-tos. This is one I would very much like to see reproduced or at least reprinted so I could pull it from the shelf as needed. Lacking that, I foresee a trip to my printer sometime soon to see about printing up a copy for myself.