A Devonshire lace-maker 1878

Lace-making was a typical cottage industry and could be carried out independently by women in their homes. The woman in the picture sits by the hearth in a cottage with a bolster-style pillow firmly stuffed with straw on her lap. She is interweaving bobbins in order to produce the lace. Lace-makers earned comparatively good wages, but only by working up to twelve hours a day, and consequently suffering poor health

Bobbins Bolster Comparatively Devonshire Earned Firmly Hearth Independently Makers Pillow Produce Stuffed Suffering Wages

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