Richelieu is a form of whitework, where portions of the design are cut away from the ground fabric, creating a lace-lake effect. “Brides” or “bars” created from the embroidery thread connect between the edges of the cutwork to add stability to the ground fabric and are part of the design feature creating a lace-lake effect. The technique was popularised in France during the 17th century, during the reign of Cardinal Richelieu, after whom it is named. Richelieu embroidery typically involves working on a piece of sheer fabric, such as organza or linen. Thus this magnificent bed linen is a typical example of such laborious and intensive hand work. I obtained the bed linen from a lady seller who inherited the piece from her great grandmother and through her mother and goes back to the 1870's. For all those decennia it has never left the armoire and by the looks of it has been very seldom used. The initials G.D. stand for George & Daphne and were thus the paternal great grandparents of the seller lady and are hand embroidered. It would have been especially ordered at the time as 2m30 wide bed linen was not made in those days It is a unique piece. We have taken many photos with a piece of red felt to show the superb design, but also without the red felt.