We’ve done a beautiful thing. While we were preparing Embroidering Within Boundaries: Afghan Women Creating a Future, we had this vision of a special collector’s edition, one that would feature actual embroidery by the women in the book. It seemed like a win-win: the women desperately needed the work, and we sincerely wanted to create a lasting memorial to them and to Kandahar Treasure.
So we’ve created a special edition. The interior content is the same as that of the paperback edition, but the hard-back binding is natural cotton with an inset 3-inch x 3-inch piece of khamak embroidery. The cotton is off-white, and the embroidery a combination of whites and a touch of taupe. When the fabric arrived from Kandahar, we just gaped in awe at the beauty and precision, of the loving attention that went into each and every piece.
If you’ve already read the book, you know that the thread count of the khamak embroidery fabric that Kandahar Treasure is noted for runs upward of 70 to 80 threads per inch. I haven’t actually counted the stitches in these samples, but a conservative estimate is 500 stitches for each one. And they are perfect. You can look at them and wonder how on earth women with no embroidery hoop and poor light could execute such work. And yet they do, and it is their livelihood.
We created 150 numbered copies of this special edition. The first two went to the authors, the next one to Madam Rula Ghani, the First Lady of Afghanistan, and the next to Hamdullah Mohib, Afghan ambassador to the U.S., who graciously hosted a reception in Washington, D.C. for the launch of the book. The rest are for you, if you are a lover of fine books of a textile nature. We’ll begin shipping after December 1, but best to get your order in early. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
–Linda
The Collector’s Edition of Embroidering Within Boundaries is available only through our sister company, ClothRoads.
What a fascinating collectors’ book and way of preserving the great textile culture of Afghanistan. Of importance now especially and a tribute to Thrums’ goals of educating people about the positive accomplishments of countries so often portrayed merely in the light of war and devastation.
Oh, big oversight! The collector’s edition is $150. It’s available at http://www.clothroads.com.
I’ve read the book, which is superb, and seen some of their textiles, which are dazzling. So at the risk of sounding crude, how much does this treasure cost?