Since it is not likely that our trip to London will happen this year, I decided to contact the V&A anyway with questions about 16th Century glovemaking.
Yes, those nagging questions that have been driving me up the wall for the past two years.
Guess what? I did get an answer.
So okay, she did not respond to all of my questions, but I am better informed now, and she has referred me to the Worshipful Company of Glovers for the rest.
Corresponding with curators can be so much fun!
Comments
There are plenty of funky gloves out there, more than people realize. And I have seen extant long gloves of a late period like this pair, but that doesn't mean that they might not have existed earlier. I just haven't encountered them.
Now you have put the bug in my ear and will have to start looking into that! :-D
Also, silk taffeta was used for said linings. (Another question.)
Third, she could not tell me what kinds of stitches were used, since the ones they have feature decorative stitches on top of the binding stitches, but they appear to be on the outside.
Of course, this doesn't mean that all gloves were constructed that way. Only the extant examples at the V&A, so loads of questions remain regarding leather weight, cut, construction, stitches, was all the stitching done in the outside or are there some where the stitching is done in the inside and turned inside out later, and so on and so forth.
I am gathering information, as much as I can, and will be updating the webpage with new articles as soon as I have enough to share with everyone :-D