The RSN has an extensive collection of over 5000 embroidery pieces, which we want to share with as many people across the world as possible, which is why we have commenced our Digitisation project, giving you the opportunity to view our Collection digitally. Earlier this year in April we launched our first 100 objects, and, most recently, the 101^st, which is more than 30 pieces of embroidery in one.

Through cataloguing our items, we have discovered that some of our items are even more interesting than we thought. For example, we were given a small Ackworth sampler, that is five years older than the currently earliest known of its type, casting new light on early medallion samplers.

Our Curator, Dr Isabella Rosner, Archivist, Vicky Bevan, and wonderful team of volunteers, have made great headway in their research, but what we have seen is how much time these detailed investigations of pieces take when we have no previous histories

Amongst the RSN’s treasures is the very special Grove Book which you may know a little about if you have joined one of our Online Talks given by RSN Chief Executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams, but the content of two talks was only a fraction of the items covered in the book.

The Grove Book comprises over 200 textile pieces that were collected by Mrs Georgina Annie Grove in the late 19^th century. Georgina put them all in one large book in 1919 which her husband gave to the RSN following his wife’s death in 1924. There are very few words about any of the pieces which range from the 7^th century AD to the beginning of the 20^th century, gathered from across Europe, North Africa and even some from China. It is going to take a great deal of time to research each of the pieces, which is why we have launched an appeal to help us to continue this work.

Your donations will help us to assess the pieces, undertake the research, photograph all the items, individually and by the page, and to add them to the overall RSN Digitisation catalogue so that everyone can enjoy them. We believe the Grove Book contains the oldest piece in our Collection as well as pieces through to the beginning of the 20^th century, and we would love to be able to find our more information that we can share with the world.

Your help would be greatly appreciated and you can make a donation today through our website: https://royal-needlework.org.uk/get-involved/donations-old/

You can also view our Collection and Archive website here