Owner Comments:
1/2P 1794 G.BRIT D&H-3C BEDFORDSHIRE – LEIGHTON:
The firm of Chambers, Langston, Hall & Company specializing in the sale of lace issued this charming halfpenny token in 1794. It was payable at their shops in Leighton Buzzard, Berkhamsted, and London. To replenish their inventory of lace, Chambers, Langston, Hall & Company commissioned women living near their shops to manufacture it for them.
The central device on the obverse of this token is a woman sitting underneath a tree in a relaxing environment working with fabric to make lace. Around the top rim of the token is the obverse legend, “Lace Manufactory”. Allegorically, the woman on this token is representative of what must have been a multitude of artistically skilled women fashioning lace for Chambers, Langston, Hall & Company.
The central device on the reverse of this token is a sheep and the date 1794 in exergue. As such, the sheep represents wool, one of the raw materials used to make lace.The purpose for including this token in my set is to illustrate one of many important tasks done from a seated position.
Incidentally, with the industrial revolution (circa 1760-1840) came the introduction of machines into the workplace making it possible for many more jobs to be done from a seated position. Unfortunately for the women manufacturing lace by hand, the introduction of machines made lace mass-producible and thus much cheaper. Regardless, there will always be a premium paid for handmade crafts.