Last week, we held off on our weekly archives blog due to a visit from the Consulate. Today, we bring our archives to you again to share another highlight.

Our archives, though maintaining a large library, are not only paper or vellum materials. We also have a good deal of objects in our collections. Some of these, like the paintings and sculptures seen throughout the building, are quite large and noticeable. They take up space and draw the eye easily, with no subtlety in their display. Others, however, are small and delicate, created with careful techniques to show ancestral crafts from Ireland.

One such example was donated to us by Sheila Conway in July 1993. Mrs. Conway, who wrote to us from Far Rockaway, New York, made the generous donation of her collection of Irish lace. These pieces, part of our textile collection, were removed from clothing and preserved as separate works of art. Her donation was largely neck and cuff pieces, some made in matching sets.

Irish lace, a form of needlework unique to Ireland, was a craft present in both the aristocracy (largely to promote abroad) and in the working class. While intricate and complex, it requires little materials to produce it. With low requirements for production and a luxury status, it became a major trade. Mrs. Conway’s donation came from two Irish women: Agnes Cosgrove and Helen Speiser. Both women purchased the lace in Ireland and brought it with them to America.

A small cuff piece is featured in our new Irish Gothic exhibit, as a way to show the gothic theme of family inheritance. As Irish Lace was a luxury, it was often passed down (as a wedding gift or otherwise) through the generations. To see this cuff piece and other materials, please schedule a tour of the exhibit throughout the month of October.

Archives Highlights: Lace and Mystery

Archive Highlights: An Original O’Connell Manuscript