Once the industrial revolution was in full swing, housewives found that they had more leisure time, as more household items could be purchased at affordable prices. In her spare time a woman might take up embroidery or “braidwork,” a decorative technique that involved sewing a long thin strip of cloth known as braid onto cloth to make fanciful designs. The stamps pictured here were used to print patterns on cloth for such braidwork. Ironically, embroidery or braidwork was often applied to a woman’s undergarments where, after all that effort, it might not be seen by anyone but the wearer. These stamps have a wooden base with a raised design of metal strips set on edge into the base. It was an improvement over carved wooden stamps as the metal lasted longer and finer lines could be produced.