Bland, Sarah (1810-1905)

Embroidery design traced by Sarah Bland, c. 1835. Embroidery design traced by Sarah Bland, c. 1835. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. E.372:39-1967.

Sarah Bland (1810-1905) was listed as a 'gentlewoman' in the British 1851 census, and she is not listed as having an occupation in succeeding censuses. She is however known for her many designs, of a very high quality, that she copied or designed for embroidery, and which she collected into an album. Many of the designs are now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 

Her designs, which she exchanged with other middle-class families, illustrate a network of gift-giving in early Victorian England.

Source: THUNDER, Moira (2014). 'Capturing understanding of women’s embroidery designs: A methodology for research and a critique of cataloguing databases using the example of women’s embroidery in nineteenth-century Britain,' Textile History, Vol. 45, 1, 2014, pp. 68-98.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 3 March 2017).

WV

 

Last modified on Saturday, 04 March 2017 20:57