Current issue | Letters Online | What's on | Webwatch | About us | Previous issues | Contact us | Subscribe/renew | Index | Terms & conditions | Your basket
Manhole
covers 1July 2001
With reference to the news item (The World of Embroidery, May 2001, p149) about the manhole covers, I was reminded of an American lady who was a member of Julia Caprara's Creative Embroidery class at the Stanhope Institute in the 1970s/80s. She was only with us for a year and became fascinated by coal hole covers and spent Sunday mornings around the City of London taking rubbings of them as we would with brass rubbings in churches. She did use them for her embroidery designs very successfully. On one occasion, accompanied by her husband, who used to vanish into the nearest pub when she started performing, he was accosted by another customer who told him, 'There's some mad woman out there who is scrubbing a coal hole cover'.
Hazel Sims
St Mawes, Cornwall
Manhole
Covers 2July 2001
Re your item on manhole cover quilts. This is certainly not the first time this design source has been used! I remember seeing a charming quilt some eight years ago at the UK National Quilt Exhibition at Hatfield House which was based on manhole cover designs from the London area, and I think it won an award.
Doreen Green
(by email)
London
Manhole Covers...
In the mid-1970s I worked a number of designs in goldwork for paperweights, based on London coal-hole covers, which I drew, unlike your correspondent's acquaintance who took rubbings - even so, people looked a bit surprised as I stood and scribbled! The photograph shows the only one I still have.
Anne Blakeney
Chichester
and
MoreI read with interest the few lines in the May 2001 issue regarding the exhibition, 'Quilts from Manhole Covers'. Yes, this is an unusual design source but one that holds some fascination for me too. I thought I'd write to let you know about a book I picked up at a local Oxfam bookshop recently, 'Coal Hole Rubbings: The Story of an Artefact in our Streets'. This book gives historical details of coal hole covers, looking at the various designs, methods of producing them and uses for the rubbings that come from this source (including collage, clay, printing, appliqué, creative embroidery, and 'nail work'!). I have always been fascinated by the patterns on hydrant covers (sad person that I am!), and this book has expanded my world - coming from a coalmining village myself, how can I have missed these design sources so close to where I was brought up? My children are at the age now where Mummy taking coal hole/ hydrant rubbings or photos would be simply too embarrassing unless it was done during the night, but I live in hope that embroideries derived from these fascinating shapes full of intricate patterns will one day grace my sketchbooks and my walls.
Angela Parke
Collection
of Manhole Coversbest wishes from http://www.schmelzgut.de
Gerold
Feuerwehrhaus@t-online.de
Webmaster: Gerold sent his web site which has a wonderful collection of manhole covers to enjoy - thank you