Victorian Alphabets, Monograms and Names for Needleworkers: From Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s Magazine

113 Pages·2013·14.37 MB·English

by  Rita Weiss

DOVER PICTORIAL ARCHIVE
SERIES
HERALDIC DESIGN: ITS ORIGINS, ANCIENT FORMS AND MODERN
USAGE, Hubert Allcock. (0-486-42975-X) VICTORIAN PATTERNS AND
DESIGNS IN FULL COLOR, G.A. and M.A. Audsley. (0-486-25756-8)
PLANTS AND FLOWERS: 1,761 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR ARTISTS AND
DESIGNERS, Alan E. Bessette and William K. Chapman (eds.). (0-486-
26957-4) ORNAMENTAL DESIGNS FROM ARCHITECTURAL SHEET
METAL: THE COMPLETE BROSCHART & BRAUN CATALOG, CA.
1900, Jacob Broschart & Wm. A. Braun. (0-486-27039-4) A GRAMMAR OF
JAPANESE ORNAMENT AND DESIGN, Thomas W. Cutler. (0-486-42976-
8) TREASURY OF CHINESE DESIGN MOTIFS, Joseph D’Addetta. (0-486-
24167-X)
PICTORIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HISTORIC ORNAMENT 100 PLATES,
H. Dolmetsch. (0-486-42834-6) CHINESE LATTICE DESIGNS, Daniel
Sheets Dye. (0-486-23096-1)
DESIGNS FROM PRE-COLUMBIAN MEXICO, Jorge Enciso. (0-486-22794-
4)
DECORATIVE FRAMES AND BORDERS, Edmund V. Gillon, Jr. (ed.). (0-
486-22928-9) ART NOUVEAU FRAMES AND BORDERS, Carol Belanger
Grafton. (0-486-24513-6)
BANNERS, RIBBONS AND SCROLLS, Carol Belanger Grafton. (0-486-
24443-1)
400 FLORAL MOTIFS FOR DESIGNERS, NEEDLEWORKERS AND
CRAFTSPEOPLE, William Briggs and Co., Ltd., Carol Belanger Grafton
(ed.). (0-486-25162-4) HUMOROUS VICTORIAN SPOT
ILLUSTRATIONS, Carol Belanger Grafton. (0-486-24896-8) 1,001
FLORAL MOTIFS AND ORNAMENTS FOR ARTISTS AND
CRAFTSPEOPLE, Carol Belanger Grafton. (0-486-25352-X)
SILHOUETTES: A PICTORIAL ARCHIVE OF VARIED
SILHOUETTES: A PICTORIAL ARCHIVE OF VARIED
ILLUSTRATIONS, Carol Belanger Grafton (ed.). (0-486-23781-8)
TREASURY OF ANIMAL ILLUSTRATIONS: FROM EIGHTEENTH-
CENTURY SOURCES, Carol Belanger Grafton (ed.). (0-486-25805-X)
TREASURY OF ILLUMINATED BORDERS IN FULL COLOR, Carol
Belanger Grafton. (0-486-25699-5) TREASURY OF JAPANESE DESIGNS
AND MOTIFS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN, Carol Belanger Grafton
(ed.). (0-486-24435-0) FULL-COLOR VICTORIAN VIGNETTES AND
ILLUSTRATIONS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN: 344 ANTIQUE
CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS, PRINTED ONE SIDE ONLY, Carol Belanger
Grafton (ed.). (0-486-24477-6) SCOTTISH TARTANS IN FULL COLOR,
James Grant. (0-486-27046-7)
HISTORIC ORNAMENT, C. B. Griesbach. (0-486-23215-8)
ANIMALS: 1,419 COPYRIGHT-FREE ILLUSTRATIONS OF MAMMALS,
BIRDS, FISH, INSECTS, ETC., Jim Harter (ed.). (0-486-23766-4)
TRANSPORTATION: A PICTORIAL ARCHIVE FROM 19TH-CENTURY
SOURCES, Jim Harter. (0-486-24499-7) WOMEN: A PICTORIAL
ARCHIVE FROM NINETEENTH-CENTURY SOURCES, Jim Harter. (0-
486-23703-6) HANDBOOK OF DESIGNS AND DEVICES, Clarence P.
Hornung. (0-486-20125-2)
VINTAGE SPOT ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHILDREN: 795 CUTS FROM THE
TEENS AND TWENTIES, Judy M. Johnson (ed.). (0-486-26351-7)
SYMBOLS, SIGNS AND SIGNETS, Ernst Lehner. (0-486-22241-1)
ART DECO DESIGNS AND MOTIFS, Marcia Loeb. (0-486-22826-6)
JAPANESE DESIGN MOTIFS, Matsuya Company. (0-486-22874-6)
PUEBLO DESIGNS: THE “RAIN BIRD,” H. P. Mera. (0-486-22073-7)
HANDBOOK OF ORNAMENT, Franz S. Meyer. (0-486-20302-6)
WILLIAM MORRIS FULL-COLOR PATTERNS AND DESIGNS, William
Morris. (0-486-25645-6) DESIGNS AND MOTIFS FROM INDIA, Marty
Noble. (0-486-43403-6)
SOUTHEAST ASIAN DESIGNS, Marty Noble. (0-486-43106-1)
5000 DECORATIVE MONOGRAMS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE,
J. O’Kane (ed). (0-486-42979-2) TRADITIONAL FLORAL DESIGNS AND
MOTIFS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE, Madeleine Orban-
Szontagh. (0-486-26106-9) RACINET’S HISTORIC ORNAMENT IN FULL
COLOR, Auguste Racinet. (0-486-25787-8) DECOUPAGE: THE BIG
COLOR, Auguste Racinet. (0-486-25787-8) DECOUPAGE: THE BIG
PICTURE SOURCEBOOK, Eleanor Rawlings (ed.). (0-486-23182-8) ART
DECO SPOT ILLUSTRATIONS AND MOTIFS: 513 ORIGINAL
DESIGNS, William Rowe. (0-486-24924-7) MACHINERY AND
MECHANICAL DEVICES: A TREASURY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY
CUTS, William Rowe. (0-486-25445-3) DECORATIVE ART OF THE
SOUTHWESTERN INDIANS, Dorothy S. Sides. (0-486-20139-2) ISLAMIC
DESIGNS IN COLOR, N. Simakoff. (0-486-27477-2)
CELTIC STENCIL DESIGNS, Co Spinhoven. (0-486-26427-0)
BIG BOOK OF GRAPHIC DESIGNS AND DEVICES, Typony Inc. (0-486-
26261-8)
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DESIGNS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE,
Eva Wilson. (Not available in the United Kingdom or Egypt.) (0-486-25339-
2) NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN DESIGNS FOR ARTISTS AND
CRAFTSPEOPLE, Eva Wilson. (Not available in the United Kingdom.) (0-
486-25341-4) WILDFLOWER DESIGNS AND MOTIFS FOR ARTISTS
AND CRAFTSPEOPLE, Charlene Tarbox. (0-486-27700-3) ART
NOUVEAU FLORAL PATTERNS AND STENCIL DESIGNS IN FULL
COLOR, M. P. Verneuil. (0-486-40126-X)
Paperbound unless otherwise indicated. Available at your book dealer, online at
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Copyright © 1974 by Dover Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright
Conventions.

This Dover edition, first published in 1974, is a new collection of alphabets,
monograms and names selected from Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s
Magazine, 1852-1880. This edition contains an introduction and instructions for
transferring designs.

DOVER Pictorial Archive SERIES
This book belongs to the Dover Pictorial Archive Series. You may use the
designs and illustrations for graphics and crafts applications, free and without
special permission, provided that you include no more than ten in the same
publication or project. (For permission for additional use, please write to:
Permissions Department, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New
York, N.Y. 10014.) However, republication or reproduction of any illustration
by any other graphic service, whether it be in a book or in any other design
resource, is strictly prohibited.
9780486156309
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 74-79939

Manufactured in the United States of America
Dover Publication, Inc.
31 East 2nd Street
Mineola, N.Y. 11501
Table of Contents
DOVER PICTORIAL ARCHIVE SERIES
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction
Alphabets
Names
Monograms
Introduction
Needlework and embroidery were among the most popular relaxations
enjoyed by the Victorian housewife, and there was hardly an item in her home
that escaped being monogrammed. Handkerchiefs, tablecloths, sheets, towels,
pillow cases, napkins and her own personal clothing were all decorated with
embroidery thread.
The young girl began early, embroidering simple alphabets as she gathered the
linen for her trousseau. By the time she was married and settled in her own
home, her more professional ability as an embroiderer demanded new and more
interesting markings for embroidery.
Answering this need for new and varied embroidery material, the popular
women’s publications of that era, Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s
Magazine, each month published complete alphabets, monograms, initials and
names for the embroiderer. This book is a selection of the best of these designs
published between 1852-1880. Today’s needleworker will find these designs
readily adaptable for a wide variety of modern uses, such as embroidering blue
jeans and sports clothes.
In the Victorian era the traditional method of transferring patterns was a
technique known as “pricking.” A series of holes was made along the lines to be
reproduced, and powdered chalk was forced through the perforations. When the
pattern was removed, a fine line of chalk delineated the design.
The modern needleworker, however, may prefer the following simple and
quick method of transferring designs:

Step 1. Gather the materials needed for transferring and embroidering.
You will need:
Tracing paper
Large piece of cardboard (oak tag or tablet back)
Large piece of cardboard (oak tag or tablet back)
Straight pins
Tracing wheel, dull pencil or other stylus
Ruler
Dressmaker’s carbon paper (in a color that contrasts with the color
of the fabric)
Flat smooth surface (such as a table)
Background fabric
Threads (yarns) for embroidery
Embroidery tools (frame, needles, thimble, scissors, etc.)
Step 2. Make a tracing by putting a sheet of tracing paper over the design and
drawing over each line with a lead pencil. We do not advise tracing directly from
the book onto the fabric because the page might tear and render the designs on
the overleaf page unusable.

Step 3. Transfer the design. Place the cardboard on a flat surface; this not only
protects the surface of the table from scarring under the pressure of the tracing
wheel but also provides the firm padding under the fabric necessary to produce a
smooth line. Carefully position your tracing on the fabric and pin it at the four
corners. If the design is to be centered, use a ruler to determine the midpoint.
Before we proceed with the transfer process, let me say a word about carbon
papers. Do not use typewriter carbon; it will smudge and rub off on the fabric
and is almost impossible to remove. Dressmaker’s carbon, available at notions,
fabric and dime stores, comes in packs of assorted colors in strips about 7 x 20
inches. It has a hard waxy finish and is designed for our purpose.
Slip the carbon, color-side down, between the tracing and the fabric,
temporarily removing one of the corner pins if necessary. Do not pin the carbon
in place. With a hard, even pressure, trace a few lines with a tracing wheel or
similar tool. Raise one corner of the tracing and the carbon to check the
impression. If the results are too faint, apply more pressure; if too heavy, less
pressure. Too heavy a line is difficult to hide with embroidery and too light a
line is hard to see, but keep in mind that the transfer does have a tendency to
fade a bit as it is handled and so should be a little on the heavy side. After