Introduction: Missing Persons and Hidden Heritages in European Lace Making

Abstract

This introduction highlights the connections and continuities between the articles in this special issue around the hidden aspects underpinning design and labor in the lace trade, over the period of the industrial revolution to the mid 20th century, across England, Belgium, and France. The papers draw on archival records, which include not only traditional text-based accounts, textile samples, and pattern designs, but also business records and songs, to uncover hidden information about processes, experiences, and labor, in the perpetuation of the lace trade over the period. “Missing Persons and Hidden Heritages in European Lace Making” demonstrates that examining these records will uncover the contributions and losses incurred by a range of hidden hands, bodies, and minds.

Keywords:

• archives
• design
• gender
• labor
• lace
• Nottingham
• production

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the participants of the Missing Persons symposium held at Nottingham Contemporary in January 2017, for engaging with us on this topic from a variety of perspectives. This volume is the result of the historical perspective presented from a selection of the participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julie Botticello

Julie Botticello holds a PhD in anthropology from University College London and has worked in UK higher education for over 10 years. Her research centers on people, knowledge, and equity. She works with marginal populations, maintaining an interest in post-colonial populations, migrants to the UK, and the British working classes. Her research interests concern alternative epistemologies, including embodied knowledge, social justice, and their relationships in local and global contexts. [email protected]

Tom Fisher

Tom Fisher is Professor of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design. He was once a furniture maker, and is now a musician and musical instrument maker. His current research concentrates on human/object relationships, with a particular focus on skilled practice, and to pursue this he has led research on the heritage of the East Midlands textile industry. He has supervised over 20 PhD students on topics including photographic practice, textiles, fashion for older men, and the history of art education in China and the UK.[email protected]