Recently, the TRC Library received a special gift from Sytske Wijnsma in the small town of Wormer, in the northwest of the Netherlands, who on previous occasions has given other items to the TRC (click here).

Title page of Paulus Fürst's embroidery model book (Nuremberg 1666).

The donation is that of an original, seventeenth century pattern book that was specifically published for embroideresses, and it contains embroidery charts that were designed by a woman who is named in the text. The frontispiece of the booklet (see illustration below) also has a distinctly ‘feminine touch’, showing a domestic scene with five women doing their needlework, and who are being spied upon by two men, one of them half hiding behind the curtains.

One of the charts in Paulus Fürst's embroidery model book (1666), showing a design suitable for needlelace and/or reticella.The booklet is the first of a series of four, and has an elaborate title: Neues Modelbuch / Von unterschiedlicher Art der Blumen / und anderer genehten Mödel / nach jziger Manier / allen Liebhaberinnen dieser Kunst zum besten / vorgestellt (‘New Model Book: Of different kinds of flowers and other sewn patterns in a modern manner for all lovers of this art most clearly represented’; TRC library code: TRC 2.8.4 54S). The cover furthermore contains the text: Das Neue Modelbuch; Zufinden in Nürnberg bey Paulus Fürsten Kunsthändlern.

The book contains a preface and fifty charts, with examples of floral motifs, multiple repeat patterns, and charts suitable for needlelace and reticella embroidery (a form of cutwork). The four books were published in Nuremberg around 1665-1666 by the printer, Paulus Fürst (1608-1666). He was the son of a weaver and the father of Rosina Helena Fürst (1642-1709), who elsewhere is mentioned as the designer of the charts in all four volumes.

It was somewhat exceptional that she was actually named in the book. She became famous for her artistry and skills, and she was described as a ‘Zeichnerin, Kupferstecherin, Stickerin’ (draftswoman, copper plate engraver and embroideress’). She was mainly known for her floral motifs, but fruit, birds, geometric designs and religious motifs also belonged to her repertoire. She continued her work in the family firm after her father’s death. She died in 1709, and her patterns remained popular well into the nineteenth century.

Frontispiece of Paulus Fürst's embroidery model book, with five women in a domestic scene with two men spying upon them.

The frontispiece of the first volume was worked by the copper engraver, Johann Alexander Böner (1647-1720). It shows three women hard at work. In the British Museum notes, that refer to a first edition that contains handwritten notes (Bb,12.34), it is suggested that the three women represent the daughters of Paulus Fürst.

Chart from Paulus Fürst's embroidery book (1666), with a repeat pattern of carnations to the left, and of a smaller flower to the right.The woman on the left is winding thread from a spindle onto a reel. The woman in the centre is embroidering using a large frame, while the woman to the right is probably sewing. In the background, there are two other women measuring a length of cloth. Two small dogs and a sewing bask emphasise the domestic nature of the engraving. There are also the men watching all of these ‘womanly’ activities and their practitioners.

Model books

Model books were popular sources of needlework inspiration in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Since the invention of the European printing press in the mid-fifteenth century by Johannes Gutenberg, model books were published in Italy and Germany and then copied in other countries, notably France and England. These were published on a large scale and distributed throughout Europe. Some examples are the work by  Giovanni Antonio Tagliente (c. 1465-1528), Johann Schönsperger (d. 1542), Peter Quentel (d. 1548), Federico de Vinciolo (16th century), and perhaps the emblem book by Geoffrey Whitney (c. 1548 - c. 1601).

One of the charts from Paulus Fürst's embroidery model book (1666), with a repeat pattern of daffodils.Postscripts

The TRC Library also has a reprint of another model book, namely one published by Johan Siebmacher with the title Schőn Neues Modelbuch (TRC 2.8.4 45). This booklet was first published in 1597 by Caymox, a predecessor of Fürst. The Library also holds a reprint of A Scholehouse for the Needle, by Richard Shorleyker, which was first published in London in 1632.

The other three volumes in the series are:

• Vol. 2: Von schönen Nädereyen, Ladengewürck, und Paterleinsarbeit.
• Vol. 3: Von unterschiedlichen Vögeln, Blumen, und Fruchten. Wie dieselbige zum Weiss-Nehen Ladengewebe, Creutz- und Frantzösischem Stiche Stiimpf-Gesticke auch Geschnur Gewirck und Geschling von Paterlein oder andern dergleichen Arbeit nach eines jeglichen Belieben anzuwenden.
• Vol. 4: Des Nürnbergischen Model- oder Nähe-Buchs vierdter Theil: Corinnen unterschiedlich Model von Gestrick - Genah zum Abzehlen auch zum Abriss - Genäh sehr dienlich zu gebrauchen.

By Karin Winkel, TRC librarian, 4 December 2021