Battenberg Lace Ornaments

These two Christmas ornaments are similar to the 200 ornaments that Bessie Smith, then a resident of Austintown, made to decorate a tree at the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution.  Every year the Smithsonian received thousands of entries from people eager to decorate a tree with a particular kind of original handmade ornaments.  In 1988, Mrs. Smith’s proposal was accepted and she had just months to fabricate enough ornaments to cover one of the five new ‘Trees of Christmas.’ 

88.142.01 tape lace ornament in the shape of a 'Sunbonnet Sue'; 7" long,

88.142.02 tape lace ornament in the shape of a heart; 3 1/2" long

Mrs. Smith had learned to make tape lace, or Battenberg lace, the year before.  The pre-made tape forms a pattern, and then the voids in the shape are filled with delicate needle lace stitches that have been in use since the 15^th century.  Originally used to decorate bed and table linens, doilies, and undergarments, the lace form was adapted to a modern use in Christmas ornaments.   You can see traditional forms of Battenberg lace in the dining room of Greystone now the Arms Family Museum of Local History.

Mrs. Smith’s ornaments became part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection and may be displayed again.  She contributed two more Battenberg lace ornaments and an essay on their history to the collection of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Bessie Smith’s own tree decorated with ornaments she made

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society educates and promotes an interest in the history of the Mahoning Valley by collecting, preserving, and developing material representative of the people who have inhabited the region.

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