552 ON THE PRICE OF TEXTILE FABRICS. 



school and college, servants, and others of inferior rank. It is 

 an illustration of the simplicity of the age, that when in 1609 

 Shuttleworth buys canvas for shirts, to supply his servants and 

 his sons, he gives only a penny a yard more for the latter than 

 he does for the former. It may be also stated that home-spun 

 is very cheap in Lancashire, and even the choicer kinds of 

 linen are not at very high prices. 



In order to avoid inconvenient fractions, I have adopted, as 

 before, a hypothetical measure of the dozen, a quantity which 

 is however occasionally found, though generally for woollen 

 goods. The price of the best articles varies accordingly, both 

 in the case of table-linen and shirting, especially as far as 

 shirting is concerned, during the last half of the century, when 

 the use of costly linen became a fashion and a frequent butt 

 for satire. Thus in 1657 Master gives 14^. an ell for fine 

 Holland, the purpose being the bands or falling collar of the 

 time. In 1608, the shirting purchased for Prince Henry cost 

 i$s. ^d. an ell; and the shirts, it seems, were trimmed or ruffed 

 with cambric at a still higher price. In 1671, the Duchess of 

 Richmond's purchases are at prices varying from us. an ell 

 to 6s. ; and in 1685, linen and lace, the former called frees 

 Holland, are purchased for Johnson's daughter, Lady Lovelace, 

 at from us. to js. an ell, and the latter, varying in price from 

 Ss. to 30^. a yard, being employed to trim the chemises of the 

 lady. 



The prices of second-quality table-linen and Holland shirting 

 are more steady, though even here considerable variations, very 

 visible in the hypothetical measure which I have taken, occur. 

 I have little doubt indeed that there was a good deal of 

 bargaining over the price, that much of the linen was bought 

 at fairs, and only occasionally from the local mercer, whose 

 shop in the seventeenth century contained a great variety of 

 wares, and that shrewd bursars, in hopes of making advan- 

 tageous purchases, delayed a settlement till close on the end 

 of the market, when the merchant would be willing to abate 

 of his price rather than carry back unsold goods. The 



