19th Century Embroidered Eyelet Lace Samples: Over-sized, Double-sided Page (13 Samples) animal shaped not visible from the exterior--as

not visible from the exterior--as documented

or maybe even oil paint

Looks like he once have had a rope tail

with a fair number of tiny bubbles in the glass) and the whimsy date to the late 19th century or so

19th Century Embroidered Eyelet Lace Samples: Over-sized, Double-sided Page (13 Samples) animal shaped not visible from the exterior--asI believe this is French and dates to the 1870s 80s; the closest example I could find, down to the manner of the numbering, is a whole sample book of eyelet lace in the collection of the Met, though those samples were more neatly trimmed than these! The dealer I purchased this page from described them as swatches of petticoat lace, and indeed that would be a common use for embroidered cotton eyelet lace like this. This of course is much better in hand