A lacemaker's light

I found this amongst my stash today. I've always wanted to make a miniature lace pillow with real worked lace on it - this is still on the ten year plan, lol :)

These lights were used by lacemakers in the days before electricity, or even gas lighting. They needed good light for doing detailed work at night, and the glass globes reflected and focused the light of the candle directly onto the work, much like a magnifying glass can do. The candle height was adjustable as the candle burned down.

A lacemaker's lot was not a happy one - usually a woman made only one pattern of lace ad infinitum (boring . . .), and was paid by the yard. The payment was low, and part of the payment was sometimes in goods at a local merchant, who was also the lace dealer. Quite often the dealer could pay less, claiming low quality, if he was a scoundrel. This was a typical type of arrangement in the 18th and 19th centuries for craftspeople doing outwork.

This all ended with the arrival of machines which could produce lace cheaply.

I thought that this type of lighting arrangement would be an interesting one for alchemy and wizard scenes - or just add a candle beside your crystal ball . . .

I can't remember who made this - I bought it at the Sydney Minis Fair about ten years ago when I lived in Australia. It's very nicely made.

You can see a 1:1 pic of these lights here - and a good article about them.

Glenda