Textile Sample: Printed plain weave cotton, border design, probably for a wrapped garment? Light Blue-gray ground with Red and Black. Field has club and spade shapes printed in black and red. The ends have a wave like pattern, with geometric shapes and flowers as a design within them. The label attached to the sample depicts a butterfly or moth hovering over a turtle. The butterfly is Blue, Pink, and Orange. The turtle is brown. Above the Butterfly is a symbol: a cross shape with a “C” in the crossbeam. The border of the label resembles a gothic style arch, and has “No. 117675” on it.
An envelope found with the Mombasa textile group reads: "Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington. 93881 (1917), Mombasa Textiles Brit. Manuf. CR 260 1917 FTO25764" (or FTO625764?) This is the Consular Report associated with this textile sample. At the time of this correspondence, Mombasa was in British East Africa.
Consular Collection: Part of collection of samples acquired by US Consuls overseas between about 1898 and 1918, in the interests of promoting US trade and business opportunities; which was transferred by the Dept. of Commerce in the 1920s-30s.