Thomas Lester (1791 1867) was a prominent lace merchant in the rural lacemaking industry in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, establishing a ''Lace Manufactory'' business which survived until the onset of machine-made lace in the early 20th century. His designs were exhibited at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

in 1851, receiving a prize medal, though even at that time, the awarding jury noted the decline in demand for lace in the East Midlands styles. Lester's influence was in securing innovative new designs, and many of these are preserved in the collections of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Museum. Today's lacemakers are working with patterns from the museum to preserve and perpetuate the designs. Designs inscribed with Lester's name are reproduced in some of the standard works on

Bedfordshire Lace Bedfordshire lace is a style of bobbin lace originating from Bedfordshire in the 19th century, and made in the English Midlands lacemaking area. It was worked as a continuous width on a bolster pillow. It is a guipure style of lace. History of ...

, for example, by Barbara M. Underwood. The collections of lace samples, patterns and designs have been catalogued and published by the Higgins Museum. A number of samples of Lester's designs (or those attributed to him), often showing the development of naturalistic themes, are to be found in the collections of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Lester and his wife, Elizabeth (née Fox), had a long association with the Bunyan Meeting in Bedford, home to a non-conformist congregation founded by John Bunyan, preacher and writer.

References

Lace English merchants 1791 births 1867 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople {{fashion-bio-stub