A TECHNICAL HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURE OF VENETIAN LACE (VENICE - BURANO). Originally published in 1888. it would appear that the first step in lacemaking was to embroider on a solid ground, which was then cut away and pierced. Next came the ornamentation of articles of dress by drawing out the threads of the texture, and by making edgings, or trimmings, by interweaving these threads with the needle without there being any ground - the ground being furnished bv the work itself... The only practical way of treating of the development of any industry is to follow it through its natural changes, and so to proceed, little by little, from the simplest methods to the most complicated. Perhaps there may be exceptions to this rulk but they are more likely to occur when the art has reached a more advanced stage. They arise, however, from historical reasons to which it is not necessary to refer in an attempt to collect together the elements of one of the most elegant of industries. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.