"The large Woodburytype photographs show examples of Italian, Spanish, French and Belgian lace, the process being well suited to showing the fine detail of these intricate examples. Cole (1846-1934) was the son of the first director of the South Kensington Museum, Henry Cole, and was himself closely linked with the South Kensington Museum. He was an expert in textiles, specializing in lace. ... The photographs, though unattributed, were probably the work of the museum's own photography department, established under the direction of Charles Thurston Thompson."--AbeBooks website