The intent of the book, Beeton's Book of Needlework, was clearly laid out in its introduction by Mr. Samuel Butler-- it consists of Minute! and EXACT! descriptions and instructions for needlework practiced by women in Victorian England and the European continent. What is not exact, however, is the absence of the woman herself from her own book's beginning. Who was this woman who was devoted to assisting her sex in daily household management and refinement, and why did she feel that needlework was the next section of her mission to improve women's work?
The idea of combining a series of minute and exact instructions in fancy needlework with useful patterns was conceived some years ago by one whose life was devoted to the inculcation of the practical duties of woman's life, and to assisting her sex in their daily work of HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT. Her great wish was that her BOOK OF NEEDLEWORK should be as valuable in its way to her Countrywomen as her work upon Household Management was useful in showing the best mode of providing for the diurnal wants of families.
Isabella Mary Beeton (nee Mayson) was already a published editor and writer in England by the time the needlework book was released in 1870. Her previous book was a compilation of household management articles published in her husband's ladies' magazines, titled The Book of Household Management, comprising information for the Mistress, Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-Maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and Under House-Maids, Lady’s-Maid, Maid-of-all-Work, Laundry-Maid, Nurse and Nurse-Maid, Monthly Wet and Sick Nurses, etc. etc.—also Sanitary, Medical, & Legal Memoranda: with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort. This heftily-titled work was an ambitious effort to bring a newly-arrived middle class of Englishwomen up to speed with the prodigious task of managing a prosperous home during the Second Industrial Revolution. It was an immediate best-seller, and what better response to success could a hard-working Englishwoman have than to make a second book devoted to refining and gracing an already well-managed home with pretty and useful needlework?
Sadly, Mrs. Beeton was not able to finish this second book. After her fourth child, she contracted childbed fever and died in 1865. The needlework book was completed by other contributors (most notably Cornelia Mee, who authored many books on needlework of her own, including Exercises in Knitting).
Beeton's Book of Needlework, completed in 1870, seems to have been created in tone and content as a tribute to her spirit. Books about needlework in Beeton's day generally assumed that the aspirant already knew how to do the needlework described, and merely wished to try a new design or pattern. Mrs. Beeton assumed differently, and taught the very basics-- what materials to choose, how to hold the needle or hook, how to execute the stitches. In this, she again anticipated the needs of a new middle class of women, who had the time and resources to run a household elegantly, as well as efficiently, and to spend their leisure time in making ornamental needlework, rather than exclusively clothing and bedding necessities. Modern comparisons between Mrs. Beeton and Martha Stewart seem to fit, but don't quite match the sense one gets from her work: usefulness and elegance are of equal importance to our Victorian needlewoman. Many of the prettiest items in the book are key holders and letter boxes.
In this blog, we will attempt to recreate the patterns in Beeton's Book of Needlework. For those of us who admire Mrs. Beeton of the so-called "vanished hand", this will be as much a labor of love and admiration as the original work was upon its completion. In this day and age, many people do not engage in fiber arts, make their own clothing, or know what materials and labor go into garments and household items. Mrs. Beeton's basic instructions must be translated for the modern person who might not be able to find Berlin wool or toile ciree at Michael's or Walmart. There were no standard yarn sizes, no needle sizes, no agreed-upon clothing sizes for shopping off the rack. Our aim is to not only create her designs as she designed them, but also to translate them to modern terminology and measurements so that you can do them yourself, while keeping everything in the public domain. We hope to be of assistance to the costumer and historical reenactor, as well as to the adventurous fiber artist, student, or friend of all things Beeton."Only those who knew the extent of the late Mrs. Beeton's design, will miss, in the pages now before them, "the touch of a vanished hand."
