Doherty & Wadsworth Co. printed "Mikado Crepe" dress silk length; 1914.
Doherty & Wadsworth Co. printed "Mikado Crepe" dress silk length; 1914.
Usage conditions apply
- 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
- Object Name
- Fabric Length
- Date made
- 1914
- place made
- United States: New Jersey, Allentown
- United States: New Jersey, Paterson
- Associated Place
- United States: New Jersey, Allentown
- Physical Description
- silk (overall material)
- pink ground (overall color)
- "Mikado crepe" (overall style)
- plain weave, printed (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- overall: 36 in x 42 in; 91.44 cm x 106.68 cm
- ID Number
- TE.T01331.000
- accession number
- 56856
- catalog number
- T01331.000
- Credit Line
- Gift of Doherty & Wadsworth Co
- See more items in
- Cultural and Community Life: Textiles
- American Silks
- American Textile Industry
- American Silk Industry
- Textiles
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
