Sample of Collins & Aikman Corporation figured cotton upholstery velvet, 1929. Multi-colored, yarn-dyed, jacquard-woven cotton pile fabric withtwill weave ground. An allover large scale bold floral pattern stands out in relief against the voided ground where the pile yarn has been interwoven with the ground structure. Predominatly dark blue and white with lighter blues, yellows, greens, tan, and gray with a tan weft. Some of the design elements have been striped dark blue and white to imitate an antique strie. 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.