A Tatted Lace Parasol

Yes, another parasol :).  This is my newest one (she actually just arrived about an hour or so ago) and quite pretty.  But then again, I think all my parasols are pretty.

This is my newest parasol.  She’s from the mid/late 1850’s judging by her finial and her non-metal ribs.  She covered in black silk taffeta and lined with white ‘china silk’ (typical parasol lining fabric.  It’s not as shiny or slinky as modern china silk.  More like a super thin taffeta).  Over her cover is a tatted lace overlay that is made from incredibly small thread.  On online pictures, it looks more bulky than the tatting really is.  The tatting is made from sewing thread weight cotton perle and the resulting lace is very fine.  The lace is also in wonderful condition-very few breaks to the thread and no major breaks or missing pieces.  The finial is post-1855 based on its small size and shape and is missing a bone ring that would have gone through the hole.  When I bought the parasol, it had a sheer ribbon threaded through the hole probably to replace the ring.  The stick of the parasol is wood but the handle is bone.  The handle has ridges in it that remind me of bamboo or sugar cane.  The metal sleeve that goes over the hinge to hold the folding part open is brass.  Ribs are baleen and there are tiny but thick bone rib tips to attach the cover.  The cover and lining have a scallop to finish the raw edges.  On the cover, a few inches from the finial, is a metal hook that has a dark (what I would describe as) thread elastic coming from it.  The elastic is broken and so what was on the end is no longer there.  Other than that and the finial ring, the parasol is complete.  Here are the measurements:

Length of unfolded parasol: 25”

Length of folded parasol: 14”

Handle length: 11”

Rib length: 9.5”

Rib tip length: a hair less than .5”

Finial height: 1”

There's also a nearly identical parasol on Etsy right now.  The only difference (aside from being more complete) is the lavender silk cover instead of black.  The tatting is a different pattern as well.  Here's a picture of that parasol:

When I go to restore this parasol (probably not recovering, just replacing missing bits), I now know that there most likely would have been a tassel on the elastic string and tassels through the bone ring.

Enjoy!