This remarkable silk bobbin lace documents Martha Washington’s style as well as her active support of American manufacturers as First Lady. Made in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the first town in America to develop a successful commercial lace-making business, this distinctive lace became an emblem of the nation’s economic potential. This piece may have once trimmed a black lace shawl, a fashionable accessory in the 1790s. Mrs. Washington’s decision to wear the relatively simple Ipswich lace was in keeping with the distinctive plain style dress that she and her husband conscientiously adopted during the presidency, setting themselves apart from the luxury of European courts.