The Development of Embroidery in America

by Candace Thurber Wheeler

Excerpt from The Development of Embroidery in America

234 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2007

About the author

From Wikipedia: Candace Wheeler (née Thurber; March 24, 1827 – August 5, 1923), traditionally credited as the mother of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She helped open the field of interior design to women, supported craftswomen, and promoted American design reform. A committed feminist, she intentionally employed women and encouraged their education, especially in the fine and applied arts, and fostered home industries for rural women. She also did editorial work and wrote several books and many articles, encompassing fiction, semi-fiction and non-fiction, for adults and children. She used her exceptional organizational skills to co-found both the Society of Decorative Art in New York City (1877) and the New York Exchange for Women's Work (1878); and she partnered with Louis Comfort Tiffany and others in designing interiors, specializing in textiles (1879-1883), then founded her own firm, The Associated Artists (1883-1907).[1][2][3][4]

Throughout her long career Wheeler contributed to the Colonial Revival, the Aesthetic Movement and the Arts and Crafts Movement, She was considered a national authority on home decoration, and gained widespread recognition for designing the interior of the Women's Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL.[4][5]

Biography

Principles of home decoration, with practical examples, Candace Wheeler, 1903
Candace Wheeler was born Candace Thurber on March 24, 1827, in Delhi, New York, west of the Catskill Mountains, but spent her first seven years in Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario.[6] Her parents were Abner Gilman Thurber (1797–1860) and Lucy (née Dunham) Thurber (1800–1892). Candace was the third born of eight siblings: Lydia Ann Thurber (1824-?), Charles Stewart Thurber (1826–1888), Horace Thurber (1828–1899), Lucy Thurber (1834–1893), Millicent Thurber (1837–1838), Abner Dunham Thurber (1839–1899), and Francis Beattie Thurber (1842–1907).[7]

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Reviews

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully Written History.

This is an excellent presentation of the history of embroidery in America. The black and white illustrations are helpful and apropos.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good source for research

This is a very old book and written very formally and at times can be dry to read. However the knowledge of the author is extensive and reliable. It is a good book to read if interested in the history of embroidery and I learned a lot of valuable information from it.

[Thana]

well written, informative and enjoyed reading it...