Needle book
Object name
Maker
Date made
Circa 1918-1955
Place made
Description
Pink needle book with embroidered yellow and blue flowers on the front, made by a member of the Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry sometime between 1918 and 1955.
Content description
Pink needle book with embroidered yellow and blue flowers on the front, made by a member of the Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry sometime between 1918 and 1955. The front of the needle book shows yellow, blue, and light purple flowers and a variety of green leaves, all worked in silk threads in slanted satin, stem, and straight stitches. The back is plain. The needle book cover is made of light pink linen bordered by a zigzag of pink and yellow silk threads. Inside the book are four pages of unbleached wool with pinked edges. In the corner of the back inside cover is a machine-made label that reads 'SOLDIERS EMBROIDERY INDUSTRY 42 EBURY ST MADE BY THE TOTALLY DISABLED'.
As the label suggests, this needle book was made by the Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry, a charity that operated from 1918 to 1955 and which employed hundreds of injured ex-servicemen to make embroidery for sale, commission, and exhibition. Only fully pensioned men who were too badly injured or too severely shell shocked to do strenuous work were taken on by the scheme. The organisation at first focused on producing 18th-century style canvaswork chair seats and later branched out to create a variety of interior furnishing pieces borrowed from historical styles from around the world, as well as largescale ecclesiastical commissions. The organisation's headquarters were at 42 Ebury Street, London. The Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry was founded by Ernest Thesiger, who was injured during WWI and who realised that embroidery could benefit injured soldiers financially and therapeutically.
As the label suggests, this needle book was made by the Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry, a charity that operated from 1918 to 1955 and which employed hundreds of injured ex-servicemen to make embroidery for sale, commission, and exhibition. Only fully pensioned men who were too badly injured or too severely shell shocked to do strenuous work were taken on by the scheme. The organisation at first focused on producing 18th-century style canvaswork chair seats and later branched out to create a variety of interior furnishing pieces borrowed from historical styles from around the world, as well as largescale ecclesiastical commissions. The organisation's headquarters were at 42 Ebury Street, London. The Disabled Soldiers' Embroidery Industry was founded by Ernest Thesiger, who was injured during WWI and who realised that embroidery could benefit injured soldiers financially and therapeutically.
Dimensions
width: 8cm
height: 7.5cm
height: 7.5cm
Materials
Stitches
Motifs
Catalogue number
RSN.3034
© Royal School of Needlework