Representative women of New England/Florence G. Weber
FLORENCE GERTRUDE WEBER.-Florence Gertrude, the only child of Charles and Henrietta (Ingram) Bickford, was born in Boston, April 8, 1870. She was married to Emile J. Weber, by the Rev. E. Winchester Donald, September 22, 1897. Mrs. Weber's education was obtained at the Winthroj) Grammar School and the Girls' Latin School, where she was graduated in 1889. Then some years were passed in the study of art — modelling, drawing, and water- color sketching — and two years were devoted to the history of European countries. During this season of study she became deeply im- pressed with the development in the Middle Ages of the feminine arts of embroidery, weaving, and lace-making. By inheritance the art of the needle was hers. Curiously, the task of reconstruction always possess(>(l for her great charm. In the mending of formidable lent in any textile, the finer the stuff and the larger the hole, the more absorbing was the occupation. A gift of insight into the construction of things was also coupletl with technical skill, and thus, when she mended a fabric, she came to understand readily how it had been woven. One day, while she was mending for an acquaintance a point lace collar which had met with an accident, there came to her this thought: "If any woman can make that lace, I must be able to do so also." Fine laces had always been dear to her heart, and she possessed a few simple pieces of Valenciennes, English thread, and Honiton.
Like all well-onlered Boston girls, she went first for information to the Public Library. There were many volumes on the history of lace, and a few about how to make it, most of the latter being in German, French, Italian, or Russian. Here the Latin School training, in going to the root of matters, came in, as well as the instruction in French. German had been learned outside of the school, so she read all the German and the French books. Then, as some Italian books contained interesting illustrations, she set herself to work to study Italian, so that she could translate these also. In the meantime she began to produce bits of Venetian point lace, but the lack of proper thread was a great obstacle. Securing some little balls of the finest to be hail here, she cut out a few inches at a time where it ran fine, and rejected the rest; but even this was not suitable for fine mesh, which is the fond of Brussels point.
At this stage of her progress, pillow lace making began to invite her attention. No materials were at hand. Torchon lace was not what she sought it was the "piece lace," such as Honiton and Duchesse, and here she came to a halt. Not a book in the library offered any technical information. At the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Copley Hall in 1899 was a case containing laces made by an Italian woman, whose address was given in the catalogue. While the lace was of the torchon variety, Mrs. Weber felt that at least she could acquire the use of the bobbins, and the next day took her first lesson. The little Italian woman spoke no English, and Mrs. Weber's Italian at that time was not of the conversational kind. The whole of the following day was spent struggling over that narrow pattern of torchon.
"It was quite the most hopeless thing I ever attempted," she says. "I could see, however, how it should be done, although I could not do it myself. At night my spirits were at a low ebb, and I ached physically and mentally. The next morning, when I went to work again, the difficulties vanished, and I made several inches without a flaw. I took another lesson and learned a new pattern. I showed my teacher a l)it of Duchesse lace, and to my amazement she failed to even recognize it as pillow lace. With my third lesson I found that I could see ' how to make every pattern my Italian lady had; and there were some fifty different laces, from half an inch to eight inches in width. I went home and proceeded to cut up some Duchesse lace under a microscope. I cut blissfully away, as the days went by, until I had sacrificed several dollars' worth, and had found out all but one thing — how to fasten the leaves together. Although they were not sewed, they were firmly joined; and still they were made in order, one at a time. For a long time the way was hidden.
"Next I turned my attention to strip laces—Mechlin, Valenciennes, and English thread. Here, more than ever, I felt the lack of proper material. I had to resort to ravelling out the finest handkerchief linen and using the threads to acquire the technique of Mechlin and Valenciennes. I made the lives of the shopkeepers miserable trying to get fine lace thread. Finally one shopman asked his buyer to get me some, and I paid him eight dollars for what now costs me sixty cents. With this fine thread I succeeded m producing all kinds of fine laces by copying those I owned and others that were very kindly lent to me. I set about finding out where in Europe I could send for materials, and soon began to import all kinds of fine threads, bobbins, and pins."
One day, while Mrs. Weber was looking over an old English book on lace, she came across a list of tools for lace-making. "Among them," she says, "was a tiny hook, described as 'useful in drawing the threads through when joining the leaves.' Here was the clew to the mystery which for three years I had been unable to solve—how the leaves and scrolls were fastened together without being sewed."
About this time there were shown to Mrs. Weber laces that had been left in an estate, to be sold by the executors. Among them was a great square of Venctian point lace and a Duchesse lace skirt—a flounce four yards long and a yard and an eighth deep, with twenty- four point lace medallions set into the pattern. These two large pieces of lace, too old-fashioned in shape to use, too modern to be of interest to collectors, were a problem to the trustees of the estate. She suggested that the lace was made of small pieces, and could be remade into small articles, making it salable. She was asked to figure the number of articles possible, the value when completed, and the cost of making them, and, having done this, was given the chance to do as she had suggested, with pleasing results to all concerned. This brought her curious bits of mending from those who bought the laces. All kinds of lace work came to her, and she began to collect lace, aiming to make a representative collection of laces made at the present day.
The Arts and Crafts Society attracted her. She knew that among its members were those who had struggled with technical difficulties in various crafts. She applied for membership, was received most pleasantly, listened to with interest, and at length was asked if it were possible to establish a lace industry here. Miss Anne Withington, the head of the W^omen's Residence of the South End Settlement, had become imbued with the idea of establishing some industries for girls and women, to be cooperative in plan and to give employment to girls of fine taste and ability, who would in this way be saved from hopeless drudgery in factories and shops. The industries were to be a refining influence in the neighborhood, and lace was to be one of them. She applied to the Arts and Crafts Society for a lace-maker the same week that Mrs. Weber joined the society.
After much advice from persons already versed in industrial work, also after several generous givers had furnished the money, with the Arts and Crafts Society to influence it, Mrs. Weber to introduce it, and the Women's Residence of the South End to house it, the first lace industry in this country was begun February 18, 1901, with one pupil. Miss Elizabeth Feely. Her progress was watched with interest, and in the first week was begun a simple, narrow insertion of English thread lace, that was salable at sixty cents a yard. Other girls came, but either they were not adapted or circumstances took them away. In six weeks, however, another lace-maker had conie to stay, Miss Alice Riorden; and these two girls for many months carried on "the industry." Their progress was encouraging. They began at once with the very fine thread, and learned first to make the beautiful lace known as the English thread. Then they were taught to make separate figures and to ornament them with delicate fillings peculiar to old Honiton. Small things were turned out—at first, tie ends, doilies, little collars. Then orders came for more pretentious articles. The girls learned to clean laces in the European manner. Rare things came to Mrs. Weber to be restored, from Portsmouth, N.H., Fitchhurg, from St. Louis even. New girls joined the industry, and it began to pay its own way. Since the first six months of its existence there has not been a day when there were not orders ahead to be filled. At present six lace-makers are busy all the time, and several outside the shops are filling orders for special varieties that can be made at home.
So much has been accomplished by one New England woman in the face of great difficulties. American girls, absolutely untrained, have in one year been taught to make the finest laces, equal, it is claimed, to any produced in the world at the present day by workers whose families have been lace-makers for generations.