Marseille: The Cradle of White Corded Quilting, which accompanied an exhibition of the same name, traces the origins and the commercial development of broderie de Marseille needlework. During the seventeenth century these supple, all-white corded and quilted furnishings—from bedcovers to quilted bodices and caps—grew out of the thriving textile trade centered on France’s Mediterranean port of Marseille as adaptations of popular foreign textile products.
In this richly illustrated monograph Kathryn Berenson has exhaustively researched the fascinating story through a broad range of historical records, including household inventories, letters, commercial documents, and literary references.