Ultra rare vintage lace collectors item. Mary Card fans were encouraged to use her designs in novel ways, here is a very good adaptation of the Bluebells motif (also featuring in the Cockatoos and Bluebells centrepiece).
The first publication date of the original design is shrouded in a bit of mystery.
Research by Barbara Ballantyne concludes that the series of Bluebells and Cockatoos centrepieces show close resemblance to a supper cloth design named "Conventional Floral and Bird Lace" - published in Weldons Practical Needlework New Series No 134, issued without a date. The doilies and the Blue Bells and Cockatoos centrepiece designs can be traced down to an unknown Los Angeles publication in the 1930s, and later to an also unknown Australian publication. It was common practice (and it is still today), not to publish the names of designers in craft magazines. However Mary Card stands out in that field due to her own very successful publications.
Condition: excellent vintage, beautiful tight work, made of high quality ecru cotton thread. Measures approximately 25/26 cm (10 inches).
Mary Card (1861-1940) was an Australian educator and lace designer who took crochet to another level. Starting a new career as an independent middle aged woman during WWI, she shot to stardom status first in Melbourne, then moved to London and later to New York where she worked for women's magazines and continued to publish her own, very successful charts and books.
Her stunning unparalelled patterns were inspired by nature, especially by the unique Australian flora and fauna. Her work has delighted and enriched the lives of women across the world when the craft of lacemaking was very popular and is still highly regarded today with collectors and lovers of antique lace. She was a very prolific designer, so much fun to be had, should you decide to start collecting her work. Mary's designs include numerous small doilies, placemats, clothing accessories, as well as over 40 large items such as tablecloths, chair covers, towel insets and bedspreads.
We do our due diligence when deciding the authenticity of the pieces we list. Some designs commonly believed to be Mary Card's work cannot be authenticated as some magazines did not credit or name their designers. For those who wish to do their own research, we recommend the excellent books of Barbara Ballantyne on the topic.