Sample cut of House of Salt's "Pomoire" silk plush imitation fur fabric, 1914. Soft, luxuriant silk pile, cut; cotton back, light weight. Color: black, 50" wide. The company, "House of Salt's" was the American branch (opened after the McKinley Tariff of 1890) of the important English firm founded by Sir Titus Salt, in Bradford, in the 1830s. Sir Titus also founded the industrial community of Saltaire, on principles of providing his workers with decent housing, and educational and cultural opportunities. Salt's various imitation furs, with silk or mohair pile, were given brand names such as Sealette, Esquimette, Meritex, Saltex Arabian Lamb, and Pomoire.
American Woolen Co. diagonal Cheviot coating sample, 1912. 16 ounce black, wool. Flat wide diagonal twill. Produced by American Woolen Co's National & Providence Worsted Mills.
The Providence and National Worsted Mills, founded in Rhode Island in the 1870s, were originally two companies owned by Charles Fletcher, one a spinning and one a weaving mill for working with worsted yarns. Fletcher amalgamated the two companies into one in 1893, and then sold this company to the large Lawrence-based American Woolen Company in 1899. When the Lawrence mill workers struck against pay cuts in 1912 (the Bread and Roses strike), the American Woolen Company was one of the firms affected. The Rhode Island mills, however, did not strike.
Sample cut of a warp-printed silk fabric; National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. One of six examples of patterned silk fabrics woven with printed warp yarns. Original sample # 152. From a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
Sample of printed silk foulard; color/pattern not noted on card.. National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. One of twenty examples of silk woven in the raw and printed in the piece. Original sample # 160. From a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
Sample of all-cotton printed furnishing plush, Contrexeville Mfg. Co., 1914. Solid cut pile, medium weight ground, dense pile.. Printed (probably discharge-printed) with an allover vertical border design on a deep red ground, of foliate scrolls in black and greens with floral sprays and sprigs within the reserves created by opposed scrolls; Colors: red, black, off white, pinks, greens.. Contrexeville Mfg. Co. was an important maker of cotton velvets and plushes from the 19th into the 20th centuries, and held several patents for improvements to the pile fabric loom. One of a group of samples donated by the manufacturer in August 1914. 35.5" H x 28" W
Sample of piece-dyed silk chiffon, in "Nell Rose".. National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. Examples of silk woven in the raw and dyed in the piece. Original sample # 132. One of a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
Sample of 'silk brocade' dress goods; Woven by Hamil & Booth, Paterson, NJ, from American-grown silk; 1882. Given in 1882, by the Womens Silk Culture Association of the United States, whose office was at 1328 Chestnut St., Philadlephia, PA. The association acquired silk cocoons from 14 different states, reeled the silk from those cocoons at their offices, and commissioned Hamil & Booth, a silk manufacturer of Paterson, NJ, weave the silk into a "dress pattern to be presented to Mrs. Genl Garfield" the President's wife.
The all-silk fabric is Jacquard-woven figured black satin, in a heavy weight. Patterning combines naturalistic roses and foliage with vertical stripes representing lace banding.
A second sample of the same design in a slightly lighter weight was also donated (T7450).
Silk fabric sample; Lisbon, Portugal; 1876. Part of a group of "19 frames of samples of silk goods for dresses and upholstery" acquired as a gift from the National Silk Spinning and Weaving Company, Successor to Cordeiro Irmao, Lisbon, Portugal in 1876. Original numbers H5074-H5089.
Sample of all-cotton heavy weight plush furnishing fabric, Contrexeville Mfg. Co., 1914. Solid cut pile in dull red (old rose), with a strie effect in the pile occurring at regular intervals. High, dense cotton pile, very soft hand. Pile, ground warp and weft all the same color. Contrexeville Mfg. Co. was an important maker of cotton velvets and plushes from the 19th into the 20th centuries, and held several patents for improvements to the pile fabric loom. One of a group of samples donated by the manufacturer in August 1914.
Piece-dyed silk charmeuse, in golden brown; National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. Examples of silk woven in the raw and dyed in the piece. Original sample # 101. One of a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
Sample length of Collins & Aikman mercerized cotton velour, 1929. One of two samples of the same fabric, this one in rust-brown (the other in plum) Heavy, closely-woven solid cut pile fabric, with a short pile pressed flat to give it a smooth, suede-like finish. Half width.
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.
American Woolen Co. Shetland Cloth sample, 1912. Plain weave wool, 20 ounce weight, with long nap, pressed and curled, heavily fulled. This sample in dark blue. Produced by American Woolen Co's National & Providence Worsted Mills.
The Providence and National Worsted Mills, founded in Rhode Island in the 1870s, were originally two companies owned by Charles Fletcher, one a spinning and one a weaving mill for working with worsted yarns. Fletcher amalgamated the two companies into one in 1893, and then sold this company to the large Lawrence-based American Woolen Company in 1899. When the Lawrence mill workers struck against pay cuts in 1912 (the Bread and Roses strike), the American Woolen Company was one of the firms affected. The Rhode Island mills, however, did not strike.
Cheney Brothers printed satin dress silk, "Bulgarian", 1913. A length of lightweight satin-weave silk, printed with a stylized modernist design of of flower heads and leaves in Fauve-inspired colors on a French blue ground. Ground cloth is satin weave silk, light but having more body than charmeuse. The floral design has a 'stencil' effect, with each element separate from the others and outlined in solid black. Colors are bright green, magenta, yellow, and medium brown with black on light blue. Mfrs numbers are : Com-5001; No. 71748; Color 3703/3. T1033,1034,and 1035 are colorways of the same design. Part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, fabrics, original designs, and printing tools given by Cheney Brothers, one of the earliest and largest of America's silk manufacturers, in 1913.
Sample of piece-dyed silk faille, in light blue. National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. Examples of silk woven in the raw and dyed in the piece. Original sample # 129. One of a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
Piece-dyed silk crepe-backed-satin, in "American Beauty" rose red; National Silk Dyeing Co.; 1913. Examples of silk woven in the raw and dyed in the piece. Original sample # 111. One of a group of 145 samples of silk fabrics and yarns of various types, weaves, uses, and origins donated in 1913 by the National Silk Dyeing Co., of Paterson, New Jersey (America's "Silk City"), which was one of the largest and most comprehensive silk dyeing and printing firms in the U.S.
