Sample of Collins & Aikman figured cotton upholstery velvet, 1929. Multi-colored, yarn-dyed, jacquard woven cotton pile fabric with twill weave ground. A large bold floral pattern in bouquet effect stands out in relief on a twill weave background where the pile yarn interweaves with the ground structure. This ground work is ornamented by occasional colored warps brought to the surface in a seed effect. The floral pattern is also ornamented within the design motifs by striping or seeding in different shades of the same color family: eg yellows and tan, pink and red, light and dark blue, aqua and olive. The seed effect is also seen in these color combinations, with the addition of dark brown. Predominatly greens, gray, rusts. One specimen, a half width. Machine overlocked on three sides; no selvage.
Collins & Aikman Corporation was founded in 1891 and incorporated in 1929. The company made high end upholstery fabrics, including velvets and plushes in cotton, mohair, and silk, and beginning in the 1910s, artifical silk (rayon). Early on the firm competed successfully in the market for automotive and aviation fabrics. In the 1920s the company had mills in Astoria (Queens), New York; Philadelphia, PA; and North Carolina.