Elizabethan Treasures: The Hardwick Hall Textiles

Levey, Santina M.

Reprint Hardback (1st ed 1998) A4 format, 112 pages, c.100 illustrations, 81 plates in full colour. Hard covers and internals immaculate, no previous owner marks, DJ vg showing minimal edge curl, no tears or damage. Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire houses a world famous collection of 16th and 17th century textiles, many of which have survived in amazing condition. This is largely due to the instructions of the Countess of Shrewsbury, Bess of Hardwick, who built the hall in the 1590's and exhorted her heirs to 'have speciall care and regard to p'serve the same from all manner of wett, mothe and other hurte or spoyle thereof.' Some of the pieces were worked by Bess herself, but in total they represented a capital investment greater than that of the house itself. Using ledgers and other archival material the author describes the origins of textiles, whether purchased ready-made or put together and decorated by embroiderers, whose work is illustrated in stunning close-up. Inventories, letters, and personal reminiscences chart the later history of the house and the inevitable alterations that 400 years of use wrought on the original furnishings. Complete with glossary and bibliography, this is a valuable reference book for students of Elizabethan textiles.

Our Ref: S5583

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