A Guide to the Elizabeth Cozens Pattern Book, ca. 1830 Cozens, Elizabeth, Pattern Book, ca. 1830 MS 96.24

A Guide to the Elizabeth Cozens Pattern Book, ca. 1830

A Collection in
the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library
Manuscript Number MS 96.24


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John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
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Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Special Collections staff

Repository
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Manuscript number
MS 96.24
Title
Elizabeth Cozens Pattern Book, ca. 1830.
Extent
1 item.
Creator
Elizabeth Cozens.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Publication Rights/ Restrictions on Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Librarian/ Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the holder of the copyright, if not the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg.

Preferred Citation

Elizabeth Cozens Pattern Book, Manuscript MS 96.24, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Scope and Content Information

Bound volume containing pen and ink wash drawings of decorative patterns to be used for needlework designs. The patterns include a wide range of symmetrical plant motifs and borders. The name Elizabeth Cozens is inscribed on the first page and she is thought to be the owner and creator of this book.

Pattern books were available commercially by the eighteenth century and provided needlewomen with a wide variety of designs for embroidery, lace edgings, and cutwork. The plant motifs, grotesques, and decorative borders could be used to design embroidery and lace for petticoats, aprons, and gowns. The designs were often stippled, placed over fabric, and used to directly transfer a pattern to a piece of cloth. Some needlewomen, such as Elizabeth Cozens, created their own pattern books. This pattern book is a rare example whose pages are intact and unstippled. It may have served as a way for Cozens to experiment with ideas for different patterns.

Index Terms

    Persons:

  • Cozens, Elizabeth.
  • Subjects:

  • Needlework--Patterns.
  • Genre and Form Terms:

  • Pattern books.