author
Madame Adolphe Goubaud
Known for practical Victorian needlework books, this little-known author helped bring lace-making techniques to home readers in the 19th century. Her surviving work focuses on clear patterns and hands-on instruction rather than literary flourish.
1 Audiobook
Madame Goubaud's pillow lace patterns, and instructions in Honiton lace making
by Madame Adolphe Goubaud
About the author
Madame Adolphe Goubaud is credited as the author of Madame Goubaud's pillow lace patterns, and instructions in Honiton lace making, originally published in London in 1871 by Ward, Lock, and Tyler. The book shows her as a practical instructor in decorative needlework, with a focus on Honiton lace and step-by-step patterns for readers learning at home.
The surviving evidence also suggests that her name was attached to a wider range of needlework guides and patterns. In the advertising material reproduced with the 1871 book, related titles on tatting, embroidery, crochet, knitting, netting, monograms, point lace, and guipure are listed under the Goubaud name, which points to an active role in the Victorian world of domestic craft publishing.
Very little reliable biographical information about her life appears to be readily available in major public sources, so details such as her dates, background, and personal history remain unclear. What can be said with confidence is that her work belongs to a lively 19th-century tradition of instructional books that made fashionable needlework more accessible to ordinary readers.