(BERLIN WORK). ~ Exercises de piété pour la Communion. Nouvelle Édition, augmentée de trente-six courtes Méditations sur quelques passages de l’Écriture-Sainte et de quelques cantiques. Lausanne: [Bonamic et compagnie for] Georges Bridel, 1845.
12mo (145 × 95 mm), pp. 101, [1]. Contemporary dark mauve/black morocco, gilt, the upper cover with a Berlin work embroidered panel in coloured and gold threads, depicting an anchor and a book with floral borders, silver embossed floral endpapers (very lightly oxidised at the edges).
A most attractive Catholic primer for the communion, evidently bound as a gift with an unusual Berlin work embroidered panel. ‘Berlin wool work is embroidery with Berlin wools or any type of thread or beads on canvas by means of copying a coloured chart known as a Berlin pattern. Almost exclusively confined to the 19th century, Berlin wool derived its name from the wool that came from Merino sheep in Saxony. It was taken to Gotha to be spun and on to Berlin to be dyed... Prior to the introduction of Berlin patterns it was very rare to find any indication about the choice of colour or threads. Berlin patterns were always coloured by hand at first, until the emergence of industrial printing techniques’ (V&A). Though the style originated in Germany, Berlin work was enthusiastically practised by women all over Europe and in North America