Textiles

The 50,000 objects in the textile collections fall into two main categories: raw fibers, yarns, and fabrics, and machines, tools, and other textile technology. Shawls, coverlets, samplers, laces, linens, synthetics, and other fabrics are part of the first group, along with the 400 quilts in the National Quilt Collection. Some of the Museum's most popular artifacts, such as the Star-Spangled Banner and the gowns of the first ladies, have an obvious textile connection.

The machinery and tools include spinning wheels, sewing machines, thimbles, needlework tools, looms, and an invention that changed the course of American agriculture and society. A model of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, made by the inventor in the early 1800s, shows the workings of a machine that helped make cotton plantations profitable in the South and encouraged the spread of slavery.

An as-of-yet unidentified weaver from the Bergen County, New Jersey area wove this medium blue and dark blue, Figured and Fancy, double cloth, coverlet.
Description
An as-of-yet unidentified weaver from the Bergen County, New Jersey area wove this medium blue and dark blue, Figured and Fancy, double cloth, coverlet. There is no center seam, indicating that this coverlet was woven on a broad loom, which would have required at least two weavers to throw the shuttle back and forth or a spring-loaded fly shuttle. The centerfield design is made up of an ovular central medallion composed of various flowers including what appears to be hyacinths. There is a ring of silhouetted floral designs and fylfots circling that. There is a double border of grape vines and single grape leafs with grapes on three sides. The outer border is cut off and the inner border is cut almost in half along the top. The name Mary Van Emburgh and the date 1838, are woven into the two lower corners. The thread count of this coverlet is 16 warp and 18 weft per inch. The fringe is three inches deep. There is a possibility that this coverlet was woven by David Haring (1880-1889) or a weaver in his shop. Harring is known to have owned a broad loom and the designs, layout, and double border all fall into his design aesthetic.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1838
ID Number
1981.0274.06
accession number
1981.0274
catalog number
1981.0274.06
One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting.
Description
One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02794.000
catalog number
T02794.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2794
Oriental Silk Printing Co. Discharge Printed silk taffeta fabric sample; 1918. Discharage printed silk "Wedgwood Print".
Description
Oriental Silk Printing Co. Discharge Printed silk taffeta fabric sample; 1918. Discharage printed silk "Wedgwood Print". Piece-dyed taffeta weave fabric, discharge printed with a distinctive design of the old English ceramic ware, reproduced so as to retain the original relief setting of the various motifs. Printing continues onto selvedge edge. Print has a 7 inch repeat. Swatch taken out from a corner with pinking scissors. Pink ground with grey and white floral motifs and ogee in offset stripe effect..
The Oriental Silk Printing Company also produced a trade magazine from 1922 to 1927 called The Master Silk Printer. It was self-promotional but also served as a vehicle within the fashion industry for providing information related to silk apparel for women. The Paterson-Haledon area of New Jersey was the main center of the silk textile manufacturing industry in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and this was where the company was situated. Most of these factories had showrooms in New York City in what is still known as ‘The Garment District,’ and many advertised through this trade publication. Companies selling other fashion industry goods such as dyes, machinery, chemicals, ribbon, and related products also advertised here. Oriental Silk Printing Company was in business from the early 1900s to the mid 1930s, at which point their mills moved from New Jersey to the South.
Date made
1918
ID Number
TE.T03845.000
accession number
62224
catalog number
T03845.000
William Skinner and Sons pink silk satin fabric length; 1914. Length of pink silk satin, with a red woven selvage. The selvage has a woven-in inscription, reading Skinner's 404. William Skinner & Sons was an important American manufacturer of silk satins.
Description
William Skinner and Sons pink silk satin fabric length; 1914. Length of pink silk satin, with a red woven selvage. The selvage has a woven-in inscription, reading Skinner's 404. William Skinner & Sons was an important American manufacturer of silk satins. The number 404 probably referred to a particular weight or quality classification. This particular sample is a fine soft satin but not as soft as charmeuse. Fabric length is cut and has frayed edges. Some discoloration and dirt throughout.
William Skinner emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1843, finding work as silk dyer. He eventually opened his own silk manufacturing company, the Unquomonk Silk Co., making silk threads and yarns for weaving and sewing. In 1874, the mill was destroyed when the Mill River Dam gave way. Skinner moved his company a few miles away, to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and rebuilt the mill, expanding production to include woven fabrics (Skinner satins were nationally famous) and silk braids. He ran the company until his death in 1902, and the firm stayed in the family, and remained in operation in Holyoke, until 1961, when his heirs sold it to Indian head Mills, which immediately closed the Holyoke operation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1914
1914
c. 1914
manufacturer
William Skinner and Sons
ID Number
TE.T01231.000
catalog number
T01231.000
accession number
56703
Six skeins of thrown silk: eight thread Japan tram, dyed; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Thrown silk: eight thread Japan Tram dyed--used in knitting hosiery, weaving braids, etc. Colors: pink, light blue, yellow red, green, and black.
Description
Six skeins of thrown silk: eight thread Japan tram, dyed; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Thrown silk: eight thread Japan Tram dyed--used in knitting hosiery, weaving braids, etc. Colors: pink, light blue, yellow red, green, and black. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02797.000
catalog number
T02797.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2797
One skein of thrown silk - Two thread Japan silk organzine in the raw. Organzine was usually used as a warp thread in fine silks because of its fineness, evenness, and strength.
Description
One skein of thrown silk - Two thread Japan silk organzine in the raw. Organzine was usually used as a warp thread in fine silks because of its fineness, evenness, and strength. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915.
National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02792.000
catalog number
T02792.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2792
Doherty & Wadsworth Co Printed Mikado Silk Crepe fabric length; 1914. Silk Dress goods "Printed Mikado Crepe" with significant fading of color and print. Originally ground was pink, this has faded. "Pompadour design" of detached sprigs and sprays of flowers.
Description
Doherty & Wadsworth Co Printed Mikado Silk Crepe fabric length; 1914. Silk Dress goods "Printed Mikado Crepe" with significant fading of color and print. Originally ground was pink, this has faded. "Pompadour design" of detached sprigs and sprays of flowers. Pinked edges.
Henry Doherty and Joseph Wadsworth came to Paterson, New Jersey from England and began working together in 1879. They rented small spaces in mills until 1882 when they were able to purchase a mill and began weaving grenadines. Paterson, NJ was the premier silk manufacturing location in the United States at the time. Doherty and Wadsworth was Paterson's largest silk manufacturers when they went to Allentown in 1910 to set up more mills. The president of the company, Henry Doherty, in 1913 automated his looms so that one worker could operate four looms at a time instead of just two. They also had silk mills in Wilkes-Barre. By 1938, the silk mills had closed down due to pressure from the Great Depression and changes in whoesaling textiles, and strikes by workers demanding higher wages.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1914
ID Number
TE.T01331.000
accession number
56856
catalog number
T01331.000
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
patent date
1871-04-25
inventor
Hingher, Constantine
ID Number
TE.T11416.052
catalog number
T11416.052
patent number
114,008
Six skeins of thrown silk, dyed: Three thread Japan tram silk, dyed---Used in the weft for weaving dress slks and ribbons. Colors: pink, lt blue, yellow, red, green, and black.
Description
Six skeins of thrown silk, dyed: Three thread Japan tram silk, dyed---Used in the weft for weaving dress slks and ribbons. Colors: pink, lt blue, yellow, red, green, and black. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915.
National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02795.000
catalog number
T02795.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2795
A sample length of William Skinner & Sons nylon parachute cloth from World War II.
Description
A sample length of William Skinner & Sons nylon parachute cloth from World War II. A smooth, close, semi-transparent plain weave nylon fabric.; Camouflage design in two tones of green (medium and dark) on a lighter green ground with irregular shaped blotch patterns simulating foliage and according to the original paperwork from the manufacturer, designed as protective coloring for army parachutes.
William Skinner emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1843, finding work as silk dyer. He eventually opened his own silk manufacturing company, the Unquomonk Silk Co., making silk threads and yarns for weaving and sewing. In 1874, the mill was destroyed when the Mill River Dam gave way. Skinner moved his company a few miles away, to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and rebuilt the mill, expanding production to include woven fabrics (Skinner satins were nationally famous) and silk braids. He ran the company until his death in 1902, and the firm stayed in the family, and remained in operation in Holyoke, until 1961, when his heirs sold it to Indian head Mills, which immediately closed the Holyoke operation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1945
ID Number
TE.T09146.000
accession number
170051
catalog number
T09146.000
William Skinner and Sons Parachute Flare Cloth silk plain weave fabric length; 1941.Sheer, originally stiff (now soft) fabric for making parachutes for flares. Plain weave, all-silk. Quality 9357, Lot. No. 19079. White colored. Thread count 130 x 108.
Description
William Skinner and Sons Parachute Flare Cloth silk plain weave fabric length; 1941.
Sheer, originally stiff (now soft) fabric for making parachutes for flares. Plain weave, all-silk. Quality 9357, Lot. No. 19079. White colored. Thread count 130 x 108. Woven in Holyoke, MA.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1941
ID Number
TE.T08576.000
accession number
161884
catalog number
T08576.000
This sampler features a picture of two children, a dog, a parrot, and a butterfly in a garden with a floral border. A dog symbolizes fidelity and watchfulness, a parrot suggests talkativeness, and a butterfly symbolizes immortality.
Description
This sampler features a picture of two children, a dog, a parrot, and a butterfly in a garden with a floral border. A dog symbolizes fidelity and watchfulness, a parrot suggests talkativeness, and a butterfly symbolizes immortality. These are appropriate motifs to go with young children. Mary worked her sampler in Patterson, New Jersey. Patterson was home to many textiles mills in 1840 and that may have been the reason her family came to live there. Her pattern was probably a Berlin wool work pattern. In 1820 with the introduction of Berlin wools comes the name Berlin wool work patterns. These patterns were hand painted on graph paper. The sampler is stitched with wool and silk embroidery thread on a cotton canvas ground with a thread count of warp 24, weft 24/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet.
Mary Louisa McCully was a cousin of Frank H. McCully, in whose memory the sampler was donated to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
maker
McCully, Mary Louisa
ID Number
TE.T08229
catalog number
T8229
accession number
147229
Skein of thrown artificial silk, in the raw; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915.
Description
Skein of thrown artificial silk, in the raw; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02798.000
catalog number
T02798.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2798
collector/donor number
41
William Skinner and Sons "Escape Parachute Cloth," or "Canopy Cloth" white silk twill fabric length, 1941.Lightweight, soft silk fabric used in making soldiers' parachutes. Commercial names: Escape Parachute Cloth or Canopy Cloth. Manufacturer's notes: Twill weave, 2 x 1.
Description
William Skinner and Sons "Escape Parachute Cloth," or "Canopy Cloth" white silk twill fabric length, 1941.
Lightweight, soft silk fabric used in making soldiers' parachutes. Commercial names: Escape Parachute Cloth or Canopy Cloth. Manufacturer's notes: Twill weave, 2 x 1. Quality Exp 302A, Lot No. 47539. Color white. Thread count 288 x 84. Used in World War II. Woven in Holyoke, MA by William Skinner and Sons. Small rivet-like indentions on one side of the length, spanning all the way across every few inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1941
ID Number
TE.T08575.000
accession number
161884
catalog number
T08575.000
Six skeins of dyed thrown organzine silk, Two thread Japan Organzine, dyed pink, light blue, yellow, red, green, and black.
Description
Six skeins of dyed thrown organzine silk, Two thread Japan Organzine, dyed pink, light blue, yellow, red, green, and black. This type of yarn was used in the warp for weaving dress silks and ribbons; it is fine, even, and strong.
Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02793.000
catalog number
T02793.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2793
accession number
58940
Six skeins of thrown artificial silk, dyed; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Colors: pink, light blue, yellow, red, green, black..
Description
Six skeins of thrown artificial silk, dyed; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Colors: pink, light blue, yellow, red, green, black.. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02799.000
catalog number
T02799.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2799
This coverlet has a side to side and top-to-bottom mirror image depicting flowers, fruits, cornucopias, and scrollwork, except for the center medallion, which contains the information "Phebe Ann Baylis 1836" embellished with four simple birds on the wing and a pair of rosettes, a
Description
This coverlet has a side to side and top-to-bottom mirror image depicting flowers, fruits, cornucopias, and scrollwork, except for the center medallion, which contains the information "Phebe Ann Baylis 1836" embellished with four simple birds on the wing and a pair of rosettes, all framed by a garland of simple stylized flowers. The arabesque leafy border is interrupted on either side by a strangely proportioned urn and scattered eight-pointed stars, along with fruits, flowers, and birds sparsely placed between the center of motif and border. The coverlet is double-cloth containing two sets of cotton and indigo-dyed wool, warp and weft. The coverlet was woven for Phebe Anne Baylis (b. 1828) of Suffolk County, New York in 1836, when she was just eight-years-old. It was common practice for parents to being building up their children’s wedding trousseaus at an early age, and coverlets and other bedclothes were an expected contribution from the family. It was not uncommon for families to place coverlet orders with weavers for all of their children at once. This coverlet is representative of this arrangement.
According to the 1850 Federal Census, Baylis, at age 22, was living in the household of her 29-year-old brother, Orlando (b. 1821) with her presumably widowed mother, Mehitable (b. 1801) in Suffolk County, New York. The weaver of this coverlet has been the source of much debate over the past thirty years. Nathaniel Young (life dates unknown) was the weaver of this coverlet. His life is a bit of a mystery, but he was likely a Scottish immigrant, first working in the vicinity of New York City and later moving and working in Hudson, Bergen, and finally Morris County, New Jersey. Unsigned Nathaniel Young coverlets are identifiable by the stylized foxglove flower found in the corners of this coverlet, which may appear as a shaded pear to modern audiences. It is unclear whether Young worked for New Jersey’s most famous coverlet weaver David Haring (1800-1889), but the similarity in design and pattern is striking. The details of his life have yet to be fully worked out. He was first described as an itinerant weaver, but the cumbersome nature of the barrel or cylinder loom he would have been using would make this very unlikely. The style and arrangement of the patterns of Young and Haring’s New Jersey coverlets are also linked to those found and made on Long Island, New York, and the existence of this identifiable coverlet may be the missing link connecting those early Long Island coverlets written about by Susan Rabbit Goody with the later coverlets from New Jersey in a similar style.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1836
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16835
catalog number
T16835.000
accession number
306589
William Skinner and Sons black silk faille fabric length; 1932. Fabric known as faille or grosgrain. Soft, close, plain weave fabric, but with flat ribs produced by a coarse cotton filling yarn which is entirely covered by the very fine silk warp yarn. Used for women's shoes.
Description
William Skinner and Sons black silk faille fabric length; 1932. Fabric known as faille or grosgrain. Soft, close, plain weave fabric, but with flat ribs produced by a coarse cotton filling yarn which is entirely covered by the very fine silk warp yarn. Used for women's shoes. Yard-dyed black. Selvedge says "Skinner's" woven in black.
William Skinner emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1843, finding work as silk dyer. He eventually opened his own silk manufacturing company, the Unquomonk Silk Co., making silk threads and yarns for weaving and sewing. In 1874, the mill was destroyed when the Mill River Dam gave way. Skinner moved his company a few miles away, to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and rebuilt the mill, expanding production to include woven fabrics (Skinner satins were nationally famous) and silk braids. He ran the company until his death in 1902, and the firm stayed in the family, and remained in operation in Holyoke, until 1961, when his heirs sold it to Indian head Mills, which immediately closed the Holyoke operation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1932
ID Number
TE.T06934.000
accession number
117978
catalog number
T06934.000
Duplan Silk Corporation Silk crepe fabric sample; 1921. Figured crepe meteor. Woven at Duplan's Hazelton, Pa. mill. All silk crepe weave fabric with a fine twilled, satin-like face.
Description
Duplan Silk Corporation Silk crepe fabric sample; 1921. Figured crepe meteor. Woven at Duplan's Hazelton, Pa. mill. All silk crepe weave fabric with a fine twilled, satin-like face. The large allover, leaf-like Jacquard figure is produced in a crepe de chine weave, the dull, matte surface of which stands out very clearly by contrast with the lustrous surface of the background. Color is Lagoon (medium blue-green). Punctures are visible throughout fabric. A sample has been taken from the corner with pinking scissors.
Jean Leopold Duplan, a French businessman, founded Duplan Silk Company in New York in 1898 as an extension of his silk weaving plant in Lyons, France. The 1897 American tariff spurred Duplan to supply the American silk market with domestically made cloth. Duplan Silk began producing artificial silk (now known as rayon) as early as 1911. The lustrous artificial silk was spun from cellulose and a gelatin extracted from seaweed. Duplan himself was quite secretive about the artificial silk production process, keeping the looms in a separate, boarded section of the mill. Eventually, Duplan Silk produced silk velvets, formulated its own dyes, and printed fabrics in its own mill.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1921
ID Number
TE.T04255.000
accession number
66772
catalog number
T04255.000
This sampler features a two story house with windows and two chimneys on a stepped hill with grazing sheep. The stepped hill can be found on samplers from Philadelphia, western Maryland and New Jersey.
Description
This sampler features a two story house with windows and two chimneys on a stepped hill with grazing sheep. The stepped hill can be found on samplers from Philadelphia, western Maryland and New Jersey. There is a center angel and two apple baskets are on either side above the inscription. The motif of an angel means a messenger of God and the apple baskets often represent fertility and wealth. There is a three-sided geometric border, with queen stitch strawberries and leaves. (a more difficult stitch) The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 28, weft 28/in. The stitches used are cross, queen, satin, and straight.
Elizabeth Throckmorton was born on October 18, 1795, in Monmouth County, New Jersey to Holmes (c.1759 –1821) and Susannah Forman (1762-1820) Throckmorton. Her father served in the American Revolution for three years. She married John Britton on November 18, 1813, and they had three children - John, Mary, and Catharine. Her husband John died c.1822-1823. She married Tobias Worrel on October 26, 1824, and they had a daughter Jane. According to the 1840 census they were then living in Des Moines, Iowa.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1804-1806
maker
Throckmorton, Elizabeth
ID Number
1990.0477.01
catalog number
1990.0477.01
accession number
1990.0477
This pair of iron gates from the 1870s hung in the Dobson textile mill in Philadelphia, Penn., until 1991.In the late 18th century most workers were farmers or artisans, accustomed to overseeing their own work and schedules, and setting the pace of their work by the seasons and c
Description
This pair of iron gates from the 1870s hung in the Dobson textile mill in Philadelphia, Penn., until 1991.
In the late 18th century most workers were farmers or artisans, accustomed to overseeing their own work and schedules, and setting the pace of their work by the seasons and centuries-old traditions. With the rise of the factory system of production in the 19th century, managers sought to mold workers into disciplined and coordinated armies of employees. They tried to regulate each laborer's schedule, pace, and work habits. They prohibited amusements, reading, games, and consumption of alcohol—diversions that had been permitted in the flexible work schedule of artisans' shops.
Fences around factories protected property and symbolically established who was in control. A fence forced workers to file through a gate past a timekeeper's office. Americans who worked in textile mills were among the first to experience the new relationship between managers and workers. Not everyone adapted to the new rules. Some workers found ways to continue to control their own work, formed unions to enforce their own work rules, or quit.
user
Dobson Mill
owner of the mill
Dobson, John
ID Number
1991.0731.01
accession number
1991.0731
catalog number
1991.0731.01
Doherty & Wadsworth Co floral printed silk dress fabric sample, "Mikado Crepe"; 1914. A pompadour (small detached sprigs and flower heads in an offset repeat) design printed on off-white. Silk dress goods. Some of the dyes appear to have faded.
Description
Doherty & Wadsworth Co floral printed silk dress fabric sample, "Mikado Crepe"; 1914. A pompadour (small detached sprigs and flower heads in an offset repeat) design printed on off-white. Silk dress goods. Some of the dyes appear to have faded. The floral is pink and green and yellow on an off-white ground.
Henry Doherty and Joseph Wadsworth came to Paterson, New Jersey from England and began working together in 1879. They rented space in other mills until 1882 when they purchased their own mill in Paterson, NJ, the premier silk manufacturing location in the United States at the time. In 1910 the firm, then Paterson's largest silk manufacturer, opened new mills in Allentown, and Wilkes-Barre, PA.. By 1938, the silk mills had closed down due to pressure from the Great Depression, changes in the wholesaling of textiles, and labor issues.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1914
ID Number
TE.T01330.000
accession number
56856
catalog number
T01330.000
One skein of thrown silk: eight thread Japan tram in the raw. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915.
Description
One skein of thrown silk: eight thread Japan tram in the raw. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02796.000
catalog number
T02796.000
collector/donor number
17
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2796
A H Straus 'Luxor Taffeta" dress silk plum ground fabric length; 1917. Luxor taffeta. A lustrous reversible fabric with a discharge printed design copied from a woven fabric of ancient Peru.
Description
A H Straus 'Luxor Taffeta" dress silk plum ground fabric length; 1917. Luxor taffeta. A lustrous reversible fabric with a discharge printed design copied from a woven fabric of ancient Peru. Original cataloging also says "Character of design resembling Etruscan ornaments" meaning a running fret design, but this design uses the two color running fretwork in vertical bands resembling Ancient Peruvian tunics. Colors are yellow and black on a plum ground. Yellow and black stripes each 0.875 inches wide create a pattern of alternating single and triple stripes parallel to the selvedge edge. Some uneven blotches of faded dye throughout.
A. H. Straus and Co. was active in the 1910s and 1920s. The company was based in New York City and was a premier importer and manufacturer of printed silks. Many fabric lengths in this collection have prints copied from ancient textiles.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1917
ID Number
TE.T02556.000
accession number
61633
catalog number
T02556.000

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