A Note on the Use of the Word "Baluster" as a Generic Word for the Description of Ornamental or Fancy Turned Bobbins
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An essay by bobbin maker and researcher Brian Lemin questioning whether the architectural term "baluster" accurately describes the fancy turned decoration of lace bobbins. He traces the word through dictionary definitions (Britton, Wordsworth Dictionary of Furniture), descriptions of 17th and 18th century English baluster-stem wine glasses (Honey, Savage), and lace bobbin literature (Bellerby, Huetson). He concludes the term works only as a general impression of harmonious design, not in its strict technical sense, suggests chair legs and chair-back spindles as likelier inspirations, and proposes "fancy turned" in place of "ornamental". He ends by asking readers for evidence of the earliest use of the term for bobbins.
- Type
- Web Doc
- Date
- 2003
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 6
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From Ralph Griswold's Digital Archive, delivered by the University of Arizona.
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