RARE Mary Card Design - from 1918
~ 'Great Seal' USA Patriotic Symbol
I have for sale a RARE Antique off-white hand crochet Mary Card design 'Great Seal' Large Panel - could even be used as a bed cover or wall hanging?
I have never seen this design listed before! WOW - your lucky day :)
This amazing design has an Eagle holding an olive branch in one claw, as a symbol of peace, and the other claw holds 13 arrows, a symbol of war. The Eagle holds a scroll in its beak with the words 'E Pluribus Unum' - Latin for "Out of many, one" The meaning of the phrase originates from the concept that, out of the union of the original Thirteen Colonies, emerged a new single nation. Ref; wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum 14/12/18
Above the motto is a round cloud design with 13 stars, which forms a constellation. The area next to the border has been added by the maker to make it wider. This wonderful piece of history has made using off-white thicker cotton thread.
What does the great seal symbolise?
Symbols on Obverse of The Great Seal. ... The colour white is a symbol of purity and innocence; red represents hardiness and valor; and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice. Cloud: Above the eagle's head is a cloud surrounding a blue field containing thirteen stars which form a constellation.
The Great Seal of the United States is a symbol of an independent Nation and self-government. It appears on official documents such as proclamations, warrants, treaties, and commissions of high officials of the Government.
The Continental Congress first created a committee to design a seal for the United States on July 4, 1776, the same day that they adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The design used the eagle that holds a scroll in its beak with the E Pluribus Unum motto; in one claw is an olive branch, a symbol of peace, and the other claw holds thirteen arrows, a symbol of war.
Ref; bensguide.gpo.gov/j-great-seal 14/12/18
"Oh the hours it would have taken to complete" xx
See more photos below - I have included a photo of this pattern.
A design by Mary Card 1861-1940 (an Australian lady who became world famous for her creative crochet designs - see more information about her below)
These stunning and intricate lace pieces are highly collectible and getting very hard to find :)
- just wonderful :)
Very Good Antique Condition - there are about 4 broken brides areas, and it needs to be re-blocked to make it square - not too bad for such a rare piece :)
Measurements; Total 160cm x 173cm or 63" x 68 inches
Weight 1.390 grams approx unwrapped
Information on Mary Card (1861–1940)
Mary Card (1861-1940), crochet pattern designer, was born on 24 September 1861 at Castlemaine, Victoria Australia. In 1880 Mary was a student at the National Gallery School of Design. 1903 she had become increasing deaf, faced with the need to find an occupation in which her disability was not a handicap, she decided to combine her writing, drawing and needle-work abilities to become a 'professional designer and teacher of needlework through the press'. Choosing Irish crochet as her medium, she joined a Ladies' Work Association which undertook repairs of valuable crochet pieces and taught herself to mend old lace. When she discovered that she could make new and effective designs to be worked from a chart method of her own invention rather than the usual printed directions.
Her first designs were published in the Ladies' Home Journal in the United States of America. In 1909 she decided to offer her designs and a monthly article to the New Idea (later Everylady's Journal), Melbourne. Her patterns became so popular that the editor reprinted many. She then developed 'giant charts' for more ambitious designs and to cater for workers with failing eyesight, drawn on the scale of ten squares to the inch with a guiding line at every inch.
With five books published, Mary went to the U.S.A. late in 1917 to launch some of her newer designs. In New York, The Mary Card Co. was set up to reprint her crochet books. Later she settled in England in a studio-cottage at Barkham, Berkshire. She continued to produce designs for more than twenty years
Mary Card revisited Australia occasionally. Early in 1940, in poor health, she returned to Victoria to live at Olinda, where she shared a cottage with her sister Harriet. She died there on 13 October 1940 and was cremated.
Reference ~24/08/2016; Citation detail; Sally O'Neill, 'Card, Mary (1861–1940)', Australian Dictionary of Biography published in hardcopy 1979
Would look so lovely in your collection :)
Overseas buyers must pay via PayPal.
Keep watching as I will be listing lot more Vintage Linen and treasures in the days/weeks to come :)
