The group of laces known as the early laces includes needle, bobbin, macramé, filet and crocheted laces. What distinguishes each type of lace from the others in this group is their origin, the distinctive ways in which they have been crafted, and the traditional ways of applying them to garments. In the context of world history, early laces are but a tiny fragment - one that has changed and developed, disappeared and returned, leaving its own particular stamp on the time and place in which man has lived. Lacemaking is one of the few branches of the textile industry that is deeply rooted in European culture. Today, it is difficult to provide conclusive proof about the origins of lacemaking. The evolution of lacemaking into an independent sector of the textile industry was a complex process, taking many turns and producing many different types of laces. Factors that influenced the evolution of a certain type of lace were geographical environment and national history, characteristics and traditions. One factor will determine the type of clothing that is worn and the materials that are used; another factor will determine the patterns and the type of lace that is created. From century to century, from nation to nation, one and the same craft can differ in respect of ornament, form, colour and other artistic forms of expression. These are influenced by a nation’s perception of nature and beauty, religion and symbolism, and also by the materials available for use and the demand for the finished product. The early lace objects and samples that have been preserved testify to our ancestors’ sense of colour, form and material, and also to excellent needlework skills. Many of the 16th – 18th century laces are of such high quality and so filigree that it would be almost impossible to reproduce them today. The beginnings of the history of textile handicrafts must be sought in 16th and 17th century Italy. This was a time when needlework began to flourish in Europe and in Latvia as well. Already in the 15th and 16th centuries, Italy’s favourable geographic and economic situation made it possible to cultivate textile art at a very high level. Italy’s cities became the centres of workshops that produced fine fabrics, laces and embroideries, which stimulated and influenced development of the textile industry throughout Europe. Lacemaking also contributed to the development of many subordinate industries. Manufactories for yarn and precious-metal threads appeared, the industrial production of needles and tools (scissors, thimbles, cops, bobbins, cushions, frames and racks) began. Talented draftsmen and artists who created the lacework patterns, designers of garments and seamstresses not only followed fashion trends and styles, but also acquired the complicated techniques of lacemaking. In the 18th century, needlework crafts had reached new heights in Europe in regard to the variety of techniques, the quality of materials and the artistry. Lace was widely used not only in garments, but also in interiors. However, the extremely high costs of manually produced lace, which required the best materials and was extremely time consuming, prompted those who specialized in lace production to seek ways of mechanising the process. Mechanized looms were invented in the early 19th century and, as these were improved and refined, a revolution took place in the lacemaking industry as well. Production of the early laces is even today considered a particularly fine art, but it is now carried out only in places where age-old needlework skills are still alive. At all times and in all countries, the women who have mastered the skill of lacemaking have, even while seeking new forms of artistic expression and creating virtually avant-garde works of art, tried to maintain the traditions of the craft that are typical for their folk. In the 17th to 18th centuries, the demand for lace in Latvia was determined by current fashions and by the main consumers of this textile: the clergy, wealthy traders and the German gentry, who actively followed all that took place in the Europe’s high society. The oldest and most significant lace collections in Latvia date back to the 17th century and are found in a branch of the Rundāle Castle Museum, in the burial chamber of the Dukes of Kurland in Jelgava. The textile collections of the Rundāle Castle Museum include textiles and samples of exquisite 18th century laces found in the crypts of catholic churches in the Dukedoms of Kurland and Semgallen. These beautiful laces, which decorated the garments of the upper classes, could not be worn by the lower classes. Up until the 18th century, this was forbidden by the Finery Laws, which prescribed how the people of Latvia were permitted to dress in accordance with their social status. From the workshops of the rulers, and possibly from the cloisters and the manor houses, it took two centuries for the lacemaking craft to reach the common folk. The crafts of foreign cultures that for centuries had been imposed on the Latvian people, the European lacemaking traditions of countries such as Germany, Scandinavia, Russia and others, the laws of those days, and the financial resources of the population influenced the style of the garments worn by the people and the way that these garments were decorated. This largely explains the local variations in laces typical for each of Latvia’s three regions – Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale. The heyday of needlework crafts in Latvia began at the turn of the 19th century. In addition to whitework embroidery, which the Latvians took pride in as a traditionally Latvian craft, the art of lacemaking also developed and flourished. Bobbin and filet lace, Irish crochet, and embroidery on netting and tulle appeared. The latter was extremely popular for household textiles, curtains and table cloths. As in other countries, of all the different types of early laces, bobbin laces are the ones that have undergone the greatest development. Although the laces that were made and used in Latvia differ considerably from the magnificent examples that were created in Western Europe, we can still speak of a distinctively Latvian lacemaking culture. This is evidenced by countless drawings, documents and descriptions of the garments worn in earlier days, which have been collected by researchers, historians and students of local lore, and by the lace collections found in museums and private collections. Laces made using various techniques are an essential element of traditional Latvian national costumes, which even today maintain the 18th and 19th century traditions of making and wearing these garments. Even today, Latvians wear their national costumes on very special festive occasions, at Song Festivals and other national celebrations. As in other European countries, the lacemaking industry in Latvia also underwent numerous ups and downs. The reason for this was the rapidly progressing industrialisation of the industry in the second half of the 19th century and the two world wars in the first half of the 20th century. A revival of lacemaking crafts began in all of Europe in the second half of the 20th century and has continued to this day. European countries famous for their age-old lacemaking traditions are seeking new ways of maintaining and developing these crafts. Latvia, too, is taking part in a global effort to preserve the national lacemaking heritage. This involves participation in international exhibitions and conferences, as well as membership in OIDFA, the International Bobbin and Needle Lace Organisation. In order to get a better idea of the situation in 20th century Latvia, in 1998 the National History Museum of Latvia organised Latvia’s first lace exhibition. Until then, the ancient skills applied in creating lace textiles had received little or no attention. Latvia’s and Riga’s largest museums and lacemakers from all parts of the country contributed to the exhibition. Sadly, this exhibition brought to light a serious problem: many lacemaking skills were on the verge of extinction. This provided the stimulus for a study that would take a historical look at this part of our cultural heritage: the traditions of making and wearing lace in Latvia. To collect information about the unique lacemaking skills that are typical for different parts of Latvia and that portray Latvia’s cultural environment at its different stages, a huge amount of work was done in the period from 1993 to 2004: public surveys were carried out, experts were interviewed, the databases of the Latvian Chamber of Crafts (LCC) and the Latvian National Centre for Traditional and Performing Arts were scrutinised, information was compiled about the works of LCC and applied art studio needleworkers, private archives were registered, and the causal connections of empirical and theoretical knowledge were explored. Several groups of sources were used for the study: 1. material evidence – lace samples found in museums; 2. special and popular literature; 3. iconographic material – copies of paintings and drawings created during a relevant period of time; 4. the works of LCC and applied art studio needleworkers, private archives; A significant part of the study has been dedicated to lace samples from the National History Museum of Latvia, the Riga Museum of History and Navigation, the Mentzendorf House, the Madona Museum of Local History and Art, the Cēsis Museum of History and Art, the Rundāle Castle Museum and the textile collection from the burial chamber of the Dukes of Kurland. Use was also made of pieces from the private collections of Latvia’s expert lacemakers and of a gift from the Hamburg Arts and Crafts Museum – photographs of 16th -18th century lace samples found in the museum’s archives. One important source of information that was used to show the many facets of this craft were the testimonies left by contemporaries: drawings, paintings, descriptions and other materials that had been diligently collected by local historians, researchers, artists, ethnographers and teachers. The book “Early Laces in Latvia” is based mainly on this study. The book is richly illustrated with photographs of lace samples. These are extremely important for the research, documentation and preservation of that part of our cultural heritage which includes textiles that are crafted by hand. The majority of the samples seen in the illustrations have never before been published. The book has four main sections: 1. Early laces throughout the world; 2. Early laces in Latvia; 3. Varieties of laces. The material used for the book is organised in chronological order, in accordance with the historical development of the laces. The first and second sections take a historical look at the development of lacemaking elsewhere in the world and in Latvia. The third sections introduce the reader to the great diversity of laces. They show which laces were made and worn at different times in Latvia, which lacemaking skills have survived to this day, which have been lost, and which laces have never been made in Latvia. They include an explanation of what lace is, how it is formed, and which factors influence its structure and appearance. The main purpose of the book is not to teach the reader how to make lace, but to provide an insight into the traditions of making and wearing lace in Latvia from the 17th century to the present day, and to encourage masters of the lacemaking craft to become involved in national projects that seek to promote preservation and development of this singular element of our native applied arts – lace.