This sample of Valenciennes lace was collected by Frances Bury Palliser and donated to the museum in 1869. It is a fine, densely patterned bobbin lace of the type often used to trim linen garments. According to Mrs Bury Palliser, by 1851 there were only two lacemakers left who could make true Valenciennes, both in their eighties. By this time Valenciennes was the term commonly applied to bobbin or machine trimmings used on nightwear, undergarments and children’s dress.
