Traces the origins and the commercial development of broderie de Marseille needlework. During the seventeenth century these supple, all-white corded and quilted furnishings - from bedcovers to quilted bodices and caps - grew out of the thriving textile trade centered on France's Mediterranean port of Marseille as adaptations of popular foreign textile products.

"Published in conjunction with the exhibition Marseille: White Corded Quilted, held at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum from November 13, 2010, to May 8, 2011"--T.p. verso.