A length of the "Sioux War bonnet" design dress silk; Mallinson's American Indian series. The manufacturer's number for this fabric quality (Pussy Willow) is #5459. Pussy Willow was a long time Mallinson trade name for an unweighted, pure dye plain weave silk with a soft hand.. At the time it was popular it was considered similar to a generic fabric type called "radium". This is a large sample with small colorway samples attached. The Sioux War Bonnet design is an allover repeat pattern, with a non-directional effect; based on the large feathered headdress of the Sioux Indians. Judging from drawings by free-lance textile designer Walter Mitschke in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Mitschke designed this print and several others in Mallinson's American Indian and Early American series.
Mallinson's American Indian series followed the "National Parks" and "Wonder Caves of America" designs, and illustrates the company's continuing interest in using American themes, and in utilizing the collections of New York area museums for research and inspiration.