Lace Panels, Designs for decorative appliance [Lace panel & curtain design salesman sample portfolio and scrapbook for Elliott, Taylor, Woolfenden Co.; Original manuscript lace panel designs on tissue paper folded and laid-in, with letter from Herz & Co., New York].

[Detroit, MI: Elliott, Taylor, Woolfenden Co., Upholstery Department, 1913]. Elephant folio portfolio (12.25 x 17.0 ins.). 2 large lace panel designs for doors on tissue folded (13 x 24 ins. & 12 x 21 ins.); one 12.5 x 15.0 ins. folded, two 8 x 13 ins. folded & pinned to letter initialed from Herz & Co., 1913; [40 pp (unpaginated). sewn folded paper sample scrapbook with over 100 clippings of lace panel treatment for windows, display windows, vestibules, and more, also 5 original photos (3.25 x 2.25 ins.) tipped-in of window lace treatments provided by the company; [66 pp (unpaginated).] sewn folded paper sample scrapbook with 100s of black & white clippings, applique designs, illustrations for for oriental rugs, lace curtain & panel design catalogues, original design tipped-in. Burgundy cloth artist’s portfolio, paper label w/ Lace Pannels penned in manuscript on front cover, original ties (some edgewear & toning to interior, occasional chipping, minor closed tears), still a remarkable piece in an excellent state of preservation. A unique salesman sample book created by the upholstery department of Elliott, Taylor, Woolfenden Department store around 1913 for their clients interested in purchasing silk & cotton lace panels and curtains for their Victorian, Queen Anne Homes, and businesses in Detroit. They drew heavily on the designs and such suppliers as Herz & Co., New York; John F. Patching Co., New York; E.C. Carter & Son, New York; the designs of Joseph Popper; Carpets, flooring and lace designs of Farr & Bailey, Manufacturing; and the Arts & Crafts Carpets of Witcombe, McGeachin & Co. of England. The original designs laid-in to this portfolio from Herz & Co. appear to be for doorways, and very tall vestibule, or living room windows. Price information, sizing, and types of material are provided along with the designs. Lace curtains and panels became widely available after 1840, and eventually were a necessary requirement for most of the large upscale homes of the emerging upper middle class and wealthy families homes during the Gilded Age in America. The upholstery department appears to have drawn from a number of different sources, and provided 100s of examples for their clients to choose from before they ordered. Elliott, Taylor & Woolfenden was formed in February, 1910 when the two major dry goods firms Taylor-Woolfenden Co. and William H. Elliott & Co. merged operations. They were a department store with strong specialties in suits, hats, interior decorating & design, and other textile products. They maintained very high standards for their personnel, and by 1917 were one of the most important commercial interests in Detroit. See Burton, Stocking & Miller, The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, p. 100.