I’ve been collecting old embroidery books for a long time.

While I’m pretty much a sucker for any good book on hand embroidery or needlework in general (my over-burdened shelves bear testimony to this undeniable fact), I find old books, magazines, and serials on embroidery to be particularly enchanting.

I can spend hours leafing through the sometimes-brittle, almost-always-discolored pages of old needlework publications, especially those circulated by thread companies and other businesses in the needlework industry.

It used to be that such companies would publish and either give away or sell instructional manuals, informational periodicals, and even design catalogs. Inside them, you’d find good information, lots of creative ideas and inspiration, and many subtle and not-so-subtle plugs for the company’s products. Herrschners, Belding, Coricelli, Heminway – all of these are good names to look for when hunting out old needlework catalogs and the like.

One of my favorite old treasures is a publication from Pearsall’s in England. It’s called Embroidery, strangely enough, and the subtitle reads: A new serial containing articles upon stitches, methods of work, design, and other subjects connected with the study of fine needlework, with colored plates and other illustrations.