Devon Pillow Lace; Its History and How to Make It (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 Excerpt: ...towns naturally receive more than those who, in distant villages, expect their work to be called for, and some are obliged to walk five or six miles to gain the larger sums paid by the shop. In comparing notes with a North Country weaving industry, the author was surprised to find that in a wild hill district the workers received just double the average pay of the Devon lace maker, and yet the people were no better off. The matter gradually explained itself. Cottages averaged 4s., as against is. 6d. to 2S. 6d. weekly in South Devon. Rates were more than double owing to the expense of keeping up miles of roads running through sparsely populated districts, and the long hard winters required treble the outlay in fuel that would be needed in a warmer climate. In fixing a scale of pay, in deciding on what constitutes a living wage, all such conditions come under consideration. In Devon it is very usual to find a mother and two daughters all making lace together. Their full pay for a week's work will be about one-third less to each than that of the father or son; but while the men are out all day, the women save that extra wear and tear on their clothes, and with their lace making combine the house work, washing, and other duties. Saturday is generally given up to a thorough house cleaning in the morning; and marketing, together with returning the lace, is left to the afternoon; so the working week may be considered as five days. Naturally, the workers themselves vary a great deal, both in speed and in the quality of their work; but the above is given in the belief that it is a fair estimate for the more advanced centres. A really good worker, giving up most of her time to her pillow, after paying her proportion of household expenses, will have no difficulty in p...