NEEDLEWORK HISTORIANS
Lectures and Workshops
Let History Come To You
One of the things we love the best is bringing our experiences, knowledge, and photos to you! Through lectures and workshops, we want to take you into the archives were we work and introduce you to the details of historical needlework.
Please contact us to book us for your events.
We are available for distance lectures. Watch our introductory video to get a taste for what we do.
Who Wore What
1-Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
In the Elizabethan era, embroidery was important to everyone -- not just the wealthy, but the middle class and even rural laborers. And it wasn't just hobby but a way to show status as well as extend the life of clothes.
This lecture, an expansion on the paper we presented to the "Centuries of Cloth" conference at University of Cambridge, is an exploration of needlework created, worn, or owned at different socio-economic levels: in other words, who created or owned what kind of needlework in the laboring, middling, gentry, and noble classes in early modern England.
We will look at the rich and detailed material culture of this time period through portraits, illustrations, letters, and close-ups of extent pieces of needlework.
Embroidered Beasts
1-Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
Animals were a favorite motif in Elizabethan and Jacobean needlework -- from leopards and lions, to bears, bunnies and monkeys, to unicorns, camels and elephants. We will celebrate this theme by examining a wide variety of 16th and 17th century needlework in close up detail, looking at materials used, colors, and techniques.
A Woman's Communion: Embroidered Devotional Books
1-Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
Richly embroidered book bindings were a way for women to show their needlework skills as well as their religious devotion. These books were small and intimate, peeking through hands or displayed casually on the waist, they were a way that women waged a secret, yet public display of personal rebellion against strictures imposed by the Protestant church in England.
Based on a presentation to the Medieval and Early Modern Society at the University of Kent, this expanded lecture examines the needlework on these books, discuss when they were popular, who made, owned, and used them, and place them in a material, social, and religious context as a way to understand how women used needlework to create a personal relationship with prayer.
In the Archives at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
Get up close and personal with some very well-known, as well as some seldom seen, embroideries in the world-famous collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Often, curatorial staff will question why you, as a researcher, want to study items in person when those items have been photographed, published, and exhibited already. But in-person examination can yield surprising details that aren’t apparent in those other settings, especially when you get to look underneath, inside, or extremely up close. And working with museum staff can help engage new perspectives in even the most well-known pieces. This lecture explores the benefit of close examination of a number of well-known and seldom seen pieces.
In the Archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a vast and incomparable collection of over 75,000 textiles, many of which are gorgeous and historically important embroideries.
Join us as we look at a few of their amazing items, including Elizabethan and Jacobean coifs, caps, and book bindings.
In the Archives at the Fitzwilliam Museum
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
We all love the many gorgeous and remarkable needlework relics in the collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambrige, UK. And we want to share some of our experiences in the archives with you.
We will examine a 17th century casket, coifs and caps, samplers, and pictorial needlework with textured raised work embroideries. Let's share our appreciation of these fantastic relics and dig into some detailed photos.
In the Collection of the Rare Books Library at Harvard
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
The Houghton Rare Books Library at Harvard University houses some remarkable examples of embroidered book bindings.
Come with us into the stacks to explore this collection, view a few rare items, and find a surprising treasure! We'll discuss who embroidered these books and why, and what they meant.
In the Collection at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and home to a collection of over 12 million items -- including some unique, beautiful, and remarkable embroidered book bindings.
We'd love to share with your our experience at the Bodleian, including taking the medieval oath administered to visitors not to start a fire in the stacks! We'll explore some gorgeous needlework and discuss the historical significance of these books, including their connection to the Tudors.
In the Archives at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
1 hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
We were excited to examine some truly remarkable pieces of embroidery and textiles in the collection of the FAMSF: from a beautifully preserved forehead cloth to a large and elaborately raised work cabinet, to a charming little pocket. Our lecture will discuss these pieces and more through photos with lots of intriguing up-close details.
In the Archives of the Embroiderers' Guild UK
1 Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
The Embroiderers' Guild in the UK has an extensively intriguing collection, full of surprises and delights. We had the opportunity to see some fantastic items and would love to share them with you.
We will examine gorgeous whitework, silk and metal thread, and crewel items, including a wide range of pieces that encompass domestic to professional, embroidery to beadwork. Join us to see these textiles that are rarely put on display.
The Necessity of the Needle
1-Hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture lecture
Join us to discuss needlework from early modern England in the 16th and 17th centuries. We'll use this time to examine extant embroideries, as well the patterns, pattern books, and other inspiration for amateur and professional needleworkers. This visually rich lecture will include a wide variety of images to explore the importance of textiles to women and society as whole.
In the Archives at the Daughters of the American Revolution
1 hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
The Daughters of the American Revolution is America’s foremost lineage society. Their national headquarters in Washington, DC not only holds their vast research archives but also hosts a world-class museum with artifacts related to their members and history.
From their website: “The DAR Museum supports the NSDAR’s goals of historic preservation, education and patriotism by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting the material culture and social history of pre-industrial America.”
We’re excited to be able to bring you up close to history through an examination of some of their remarkable textiles. Through our detailed photos of samplers and needlepaint art, we’ll examine the impact of needlework on lineage research and how historians utilize clues from embroideries as a tool in their work.
In the Archives at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
1 hour Lecture
$180 in person lecture
$155 online lecture
Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the world but there is so much more to the collection than the village! In this lecture, we will take you into the study room at the Bruton Heights Education center to view rarely seen treasures and learn about what they mean in a historical context.
The foundation that supports both the village and the two museums possesses a vast collection of over 70,000 items. The textile and embroideries in the collection represent all types of needlework including whitework, blackwork, silk and metal thread, crewel and spans over four centuries and several continents. Unfortunately, most of these pieces will never be seen on display.
However, Relics in Situ was able to conduct research both in the study lab and in the archives where we were able to examine and photograph these amazing treasures up close. We’re happy to bring some of our research and photos to you! You’ll go with us into the archives to discover embroidered pieces that are either too delicate, worn, or large for museum display. See what discoveries up-close examination can yield including the messy underside and the pinpricks left behind when the silk has worn away.
Prices do not include kit fees (when appropriate) or travel expenses which will depend on lecture location, please contact us for more details.