One of my biggest thrills is if I find a whole collection of linens from one family, piles of napkins, towels and sheets neatly bundled together in packets tied with faded ribbons. Carefully labeled, many never used, for whatever reason.
This trip, I hit the jack pot! A dealer let me know that she bought "the entire linen closet" from an old stately petit chateau {castle} once belonging to three never-married sisters of noble birth.
Was I interested in seeing some of them?
The linens were made for each of the young ladies in 1900-1908, when they became of marriageable age. The best families {and theirs certainly was!} had their own live-in seamstress who created the trousseau with incredible skill and patience. Each napkin, each towel, each tablecloth and linen nightdress was embroidered by hand with the initials of the bride-to-be to use when she got married.
For these three ladies, that day never came.
Whether they suffered from a loss of eligible men because their beaus died in the Great War, or they were just too finicky to find a suitable husband, we'll never know.
They lived together until their late 90's, then a great-great nephew inherited their land, their stately petit chateau, and everything else when the last of the sisters passed away. Sadly, he decided to sell the whole thing, contents and all, last year, he didn't want it.
I know, it's sad and painful, isn't it?
I tried my best to wrangle the name of this noble family from the lips of the dealer, but in Europe, they do their best to protect the "honor" of the old families.
Even when you buy things at auction, the auctioneer will list something as belonging to "Madame X" or "Monsieur G". So the photos above are not of their actual home, I just chose a photo that was the kind of home they would have lived in. {there are many of those all over Europe - we stayed in one converted to a Hotel you read about here >}
So that is the story of my recent purchase of the most beautiful linens.
The tea towels, never used, so carefully hemmed and monogrammed, over a century old and never used, not once.
Each little stack labeled with the year they were made. These exclusif blue and yellow tea towels, with the most amazing quality linen and design, for instance, were made in 1900.
I bought the most unusual ones I could afford, in the blue and golden yellow colors. Their damask patterns are beyond stunning! And bought an extra suitcase to take them home with me on the plane, since I didn't want us to have to wait for the other shipments to come in later in November.
I bought mostly towels of the "exlusif grande luxe" class, {there are apparently two different "classes" of tea towels, the exclusif grand luxe and the more plain every day ones. I used to think that the more country style plainer towels came from less monied homes, but the dealer educated me and said, non, they are from the same home. The exclusif are for use with the family's finest crystals and porcelains.
I'm not sure exactly how cook and the kitchen maids were to decide which class of towel to use, but I'm pretty sure they dried the dishes for the family with the luxury cloths and used the others for drying their own dishes.
There is definitely a difference in the two kinds of towels, the designs and "hand" of the luxury cloths are of a finer quality. Their lesser thought of country cousins are to my eye just as lovely, but I can see that they are less intricate in pattern and design.
The tablecloths are in one word...amazing! Tiny precise embroidery designs on printing white or cream heavy linen cloth, so beautiful I almost cried when the dealer unpacked them.
Many were made in France, but some, like the Cantu Lace Runners below, were bought from Italy for the trousseau of the brides.
The linens I bought are between 100 and 150 years old and made of homespun linen, or metis {linen and cotton} with hand embroidered monograms and/or designs and meticulously hand stitched hems.
Before I go, I want to share this towel with you. At first I wasn't going to buy these, because they cost the earth. Apparently all white or cream woven towels with figures in them are exceptionally rare.
Of course, once I'd looked at that face a few times, I fell for her. Who wouldn't?
The woven in patterns are so exquisite, it really is a lost art. No one does this anymore.
No matter how beautiful they are, I love to use my antique tablecloths for my special dinners. The napkins look perfection on a plate and the cloths just fall perfectly. These linens were meant to be used, and enjoyed. If you have or buy antique linens like this, I hope that you use them every day, or once in a while at least, to relish in their quality and beauty!
Their fabric is no longer being produced, they are beautiful remnants of a time past. Savor them as the treasures they are, maybe you will pass along a love for old textiles to your children, grandchildren, or perhaps a niece, as heirloom treasures that they may someday use in their own households.
The old houses in Europe are still being emptied out, and the contents sold off, but the supply of linens of this quality and history is not endless, it is coming to an end. Sooner rather than later the supply will run out, so if you get the chance to add even just one exceptional linen like these to your collection, do it!
DO YOU USE YOUR ANTIQUE LINENS OR JUST DISPLAY THEM IN YOUR LINEN CUPBOARD?
SHOP FRENCH ANTIQUES
à bientôt
If you want to romance your Home and Garden with antique and vintage treasures to make you smile each time you come home, visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.
39 comments
Jo, I love that you are passing both your love for hand work and your skills on to your children and grand children! Believe me, I tried in every way possible to get the family name from the dealer, but she wouldn’t budge! It is what I love about antiques too, not just their beauty, but their stories. Happy Friday, friend.
Hi Lidy, my heart skipped a beat as I read through your post today. There is just something so precious about hand made linens or anything for that matter that is hand made. All of that time spent on a beautiful item is a great feat. I do hand work and know just how much time and effort goes into a project. I have passed down my skills to my children and now I’m working with my grandchildren I want them to learn to appreciate the past and see the beauty in it. It’s to bad that you weren’t able to know more about the sisters I found that very fascinating it’s just one of the many things that excite me about antiquity. Thank you and have a very lovely day!
xoxo Jo
Patricia, I have never found linens like these either! Their quality is unsurpassed, and then there are those blue and yellow colors, so unusual. I would have bought the entire trousseau if I could have afforded it, but I’m more than thrilled with what I did buy, it is the creme de la creme!
Lidy, exquisite linens! I can’t imagine having a personal seamstress, nor can I imagine inheriting such beauty and then selling it.
Dear Lidy,
We have a home in Beaune and spend our summers there. && I spend my summers looking for beautiful French linens….but I never have the luck to find the treasures that you find! Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing all this information and beautiful photos…a plus,
Be still my heart…these linens are exquisite..and LOVE the story behind the ones from the 3 sisters…sounds like a movie waiting to happen to me! It must have been so wonderful to choose linens from their collection….and cannot imagine having a personal seamstress…I would love to have one! :)
Exquisite!
My step-grandmother learned to crochet, tat and embroider in a convent school in Italy before the turn of the 20th century. . Soon after she emigrated to America with her husband and four children, she was widowed. From 1910-1960, she made trousseaus for rich Italian families to support herself and her children. When she passed away in 1970 at 96 years of age, I inherited 16 extremely large steamer trunks of linens of all types. My younger stepsisters didn’t want anything that they had to iron! As a small child,i used to watch Angelina crochet, tat and embroider. She taught me how to embroider when I was about four years old. She never learned to speak English and communicated to me with just her hands. It was fascinating to watch her tiny, knarled and wrinkled hands move so fast and create such beautiful things. I kept most of the linens for years but eventually became an antique linen and lace dealer and sold off most of her wonderful items. I kept several pieces that I use all the time and donated many pieces to our local community museums. To this day, I cannot pick up a piece of fine lace and not think of her. She was one of the greatest gifts in my life.
Wow, wow oh wow Lidy. These linens are fabulous! The one with the young women is breathtaking. I use many of my vintage linens often . My favourite is a white cutwork tablecloth that my mother made. She even crocheted the lace edging with 12 napkins to match. I love the fact it was something she held and created with her own hands. The embroideries on your finds are exquisite. I am always drawn to the linens in an antique shop first.