Table Cloth border pattern no. 1 thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case 95, Shelf C, Box 101

Table Cloth border pattern no. 1

Embroidery Design
1835 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Pen and ink design for a table cloth border pattern featuring a continous leaf motif by in 1835. Lady Temple gave Sarah Bland (1810-1905) this design to trace at St. Leonards-on-Sea in 1835. Bland probably traced this design from a commercially available pattern from a magazine such as The Lady's Newspaper given by Lady Temple. The Blands stayed in the coastal resort of St. Leonards-on-Sea. which was fashionable in the nineteenth century.

This design is in an album which includes Bland's collection of her own botanically accurate designs, simplified patterns from accurate botanical observation, patterns traced from magazines, commercial, printed Berlin wool work patterns, gifts of patterns, including commercial ones from friends and relatives. The designs include those for petit-point, bead-work, decoration for dresses, collars and cuffs, aprons, slippers, tablecloths and covers, cushions, bags, penwipers, initial letters, alphabets etc. In Bland's case, the gift of designs demonstrates connections between relatives of merchant and banking families and is of historical significance in bonding such families.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTable Cloth border pattern no. 1 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink on tracing paper
Brief description
Pen and ink design for a table cloth border pattern featuring a continuous leaf motif, 1835, by Sarah Bland (1810-1905).
Physical description
A repeating pattern of leaves and tendrils.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.5cm
  • Width: 26cm
Style
Production typeDesign
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'From Lady Temple. ) / St.. L. 1835. - ' (In handwriting in pen and ink at bottom left of design.)
  • 'Table Cloth border pattern / no 1-' (Inscription in the bottom right hand corner)
Credit line
Given by Mrs D. McGregor
Object history
The object has been in the Bland family until it was given to the V&A by Mrs McGregor (née Bland).

Historical significance: Within the study of embroidery, men tend to be recorded as professional embroiderers or pattern drawers, whereas women worked more ambigiously with designs for embroidery. Women's amateur as opposed to professional designs for embroidery raise problems because amateur work has tended to be regarded as less significant. Embroidery was a pastime but was also an economic activity. Upper middle class women's property was closely linked to their status within the family as daughters, wives and widows and only allowed semi-independence. This semi-independence was underpinned by legal, politial, and social practices which subordinated them. Nevertheless, it was combined with recognition of their economic worth within the family enterprise. However, women were restricted as they often could not be openly involved in working for money. See L. Davidoff and C. Hall (Reference Tab). Bland could not be seen to be working but it is likely that she embroidered accessories for dress, penwipers, tablecloths, book covers, and cushions as gifts which were her contribution to the household, wider family, and friendship. The quality of her samplers and designs shows the value of such gifts in terms of relationships with family and friends.

Material about the perceptions of a woman's role is pertinent to the discourse on women and therefore gender history. In Bland's case, the gift of designs demonstrates connections between relatives of merchant and banking families and is of historical significance in bonding between such families.
Historical context
The Blands were related to the banking family of the Barclays . Sarah Bland (1810-1905) was listed as a 'gentlewoman' in the 1851 census return and is not recorded as having any occupation in the census returns for 1871 and 1901 which is consistent with her social status. The Blands stayed in the coastal resort of St. Leonards-on-Sea. This design was shared between Lady Temple and Sarah Bland and shows the gift of a pattern within a social network of women at the resort.

St. Leonards was developed by James Burton (1761-1837), builder and developer from 1828-1830. The 'Dispatch' coach started travelling between London and St. Leonards in 1830. This journey took seven and a half hours. In June 1846, the South Coast Railway from London to St. Leonards was opened. The census return recorded the Blands as living in the same crescent as James Burton's son, the architect, Decimus, in 1841.

The botanical painter, Marianne North (1830-1884) wintered in the nearby resort of Hastings and knew the artist William Henry Hunt 91790-1864), famous for his paintings of birds' nests. The resorts were a favoured place for artists. Bland also painted botanical illstration whilst in St. Leonards and she toured other parts of Sussex to record wild flowering plants
Production
This design was probably traced by Sarah Bland from one given to her for the purpose by Lady Temple at St. Leonards.
There are three samplers by Sarah Bland in the collection of the Textiles and Fashion Department: T.238-1967; T.239-1967 and T.240-1967.

Attribution note: This design was traced from another one.
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Association
Summary
Pen and ink design for a table cloth border pattern featuring a continous leaf motif by in 1835. Lady Temple gave Sarah Bland (1810-1905) this design to trace at St. Leonards-on-Sea in 1835. Bland probably traced this design from a commercially available pattern from a magazine such as The Lady's Newspaper given by Lady Temple. The Blands stayed in the coastal resort of St. Leonards-on-Sea. which was fashionable in the nineteenth century.

This design is in an album which includes Bland's collection of her own botanically accurate designs, simplified patterns from accurate botanical observation, patterns traced from magazines, commercial, printed Berlin wool work patterns, gifts of patterns, including commercial ones from friends and relatives. The designs include those for petit-point, bead-work, decoration for dresses, collars and cuffs, aprons, slippers, tablecloths and covers, cushions, bags, penwipers, initial letters, alphabets etc. In Bland's case, the gift of designs demonstrates connections between relatives of merchant and banking families and is of historical significance in bonding such families.
Bibliographic references
  • Parry, J.D. An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Coast of Sussex, Eastbourne, Hastings, St. Leonards [...] forming a guide to all the Watering Places. London: Wright, Brighton and Longman, 1833, p.238.
  • Davidoff, L and Hall, C. Family Fortunes, Men, Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850. London: Routledge, 2002. 387 p.
Collection
Accession number
E.372:39-1967

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Record createdFebruary 8, 2009
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