Plate No. 4, "Cowslip & Primrose: Table-cloth" of The Lady's Crewel Embroidery Book, Second Series, by E. M. C. [Elvira Mary Courbould]
Designer Elvira Mary Courbould [E. M. C.] British
Publisher Hatchard British
Not on view
Fourth plate of The Lady's Crewel Embroidery Book, Second Series by E. M. C. [Elvira Mary Courbold], published by Hatchard, in Picadilly, London, and possibly dated 1879. This type of books would be purchased for women to engage in needlework activities and embroidery at the home, decorating a variety of textiles for interiors or to be used in the making of dresses for the members of the household. This plate, titled "Cowslip & Primrose: Table-cloth" contains a design for an embroidered tablecloth made up of alternating bundles of cowslip and primrose, and bordered with a strip of small stylized flowers with four petals and simple round pistils. The design presents only one corner of what would have been a rectangular tablecloth, showing that the motifs could have been repeated as many times as needed in order to fill the desired size for the tablecloth.
