This lace bobbin celebrates Queen Adelaide who was the wife
of William IV. She was crowned with her husband in 1831 and I’ve written a
previous blog about that event (post of 10 May 2018). This bobbin also includes
a silver coin as part of the spangle dated 1837, the year in which William died
and the crown passed to his niece Queen Victoria. Sadly all Adelaide’s children
had died young or been stillborn. She was on friendly terms with the new queen
and died at Bentley Priory, London, in 1849. Adelaide was popular in lacemaking
areas because she tried to help the English lace industries after lacemakers in
Devon requested her patronage. Mary Jones notes that part of Adelaide’s help to
the Devon lacemakers included commissioning a dress with Honiton lace floral sprigs
around the skirt. The design was made up to include flowers, the initials of
which, made up her name and included Amaranth, Daphne, Eglantine, Lilac,
Auricula, Ivy, Dahlia and Eglantine. Interestingly her name is wrongly spelled
Adalaide on the lace bobbin.
I have had difficulty in identifying the maker of this bobbin
but think it was probably made by Jesse Compton mainly because of its shape,
with a thin neck, bulbous head and the way the spangle is attached. He was also
active in the late 1830s. It is interesting to speculate why a lacemaker bought
this bobbin in 1837. It is inscribed ‘Queen Adalaide’ so was made while she was
still queen (William died in December 1837) and may have been in response to a
severe illness she had that year or it may have been considered a collector’s
item, especially with the addition of the coin, as the crown passed from one
ruler to another.
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