This photo of a finishing room in a Nottingham factory gives an idea of the scale of production and the number of workers employed in the city's industry (25,000 at its peak in the 1890s). The complex patterns were woven on Leavers lace machines invented by the local John Levers in 1813, but the advent of cheaper lace in the mid-C19 onwards made on Raschel machines and the shift to production in China and elsewhere, meant that the demand for superior quality Nottingham lace declined dramatically during the C20.

This week on the Post we have lace, the production of which, whether it is high-quality machine-made or painstakingly hand-made, is under threat. The Financial Times magazine at the weekend had an article about the demise of Nottingham lace in a city which was once at the heart of the world's lace production. Nottingham lace curtains appeared windows everywhere, an indicator of household propriety (or otherwise) and privacy, as seen in Mrs Gandy's terraced house in Manchester in Out of the Window. This is a Nottingham manufacturer's pattern book (c1900, V&A). 

It is difficult to do justice here to the Davies sisters' contributions to Welsh life and culture, but plenty has been written about them elsewhere, including this book. And although many of their plans for Gregynog Hall to be a rural retreat and rehabilitation centre did not come to fruition, the Gregynog Press was a success. It was established in 1922 and gained a reputation for producing limited edition books of the highest quality before closing in 1940, but it has been successfully revived several times since. 

The Davies sisters ran the Cantine des Dames Anglaises in France during WWI, and wanted to continue their philanthropic work after the war. To this end, in 1919 they bought Gregynog Hall in Mid Wales where they lived together from 1924 (this is Summer, Greynog (1991) by Brian E. Jones which is in the Hall collection). Here they hoped to fulfil their ambition of an arts and crafts centre and a place of music, art and learning. It is still open, and today offers a varied programme of events.

The Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, mostly purchased 1912-1920, was only one aspect of the Davies sisters' extensive art interests. They also acquired Old Masters, paintings by Millet and Turner, and prints by Dürer, Rembrandt and Whistler, to name just a few This is Castel Gandolfo, Dancing Tyrolean Shepherds by Lake Albano (1855-60) by Corot which can be seen in the superb National Museum in Cardiff alongside so many of the sisters' various bequests.

Still Life with a Teapot (1902-6, National Museum Cardiff) by Paul Cézanne was bequeathed by Gwendoline Davies in 1951. As young women and guided by several advisors including Hugh Blaker of the Holburne in Bath who encouraged them to buy works by artists such as Daumier, Monet, Rodin, and Cézanne, the two sisters became serious art collectors. in particular, Gwendoline's was one of the first important collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pictures.

On the Post this week, we have the Davies sisters, Gwendoline (1882-1951) and Margaret (1884-1963). Granddaughters of industrialist David Davies (1818-1890) who made a fortune in iron and railways, they had "money and a social conscience," and were conscious that they owed their wealth to ordinary Welsh workers. They gave money to many causes including the University of Wales and the building of sanatoria and hospitals, and amassed a large and important art collection.