You know how it is - you wait 20 years for a new book on flax, and then two come along at once, both large, expensive volumes from the same publisher. The linen enthusiast may need to choose: this one is rather whimsical, produced by authors more concerned with encompassing a wide historical range than in chasing the meticulous route to a top-quality product that characterised Linen from Flax Seed to Woven Cloth (see review Journal 240, p. 43). The Zinzendorf brothers, who live at a spiritual centre in Pennsylvania, have demonstrated at museums, historical sites, schools and festivals around New England, and their book includes folk songs, trivia, recipes, rope beds, historical background, antique linen textiles, collecting flax tools and educational projects. Dolls include the traditional German Rockendissen flax doll made from linen fibre as a good luck charm set in a field to help young plants to grow.
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