Sample length of a Cheney Brothers border print on satin-striped silk Marquisette, 1913. Silk. Printed 'Persian' (related to Kashmir shawl designs, with small paisley or buta motifs) design arranged in two columns, one along each selvage edge. Satin weave 7/16" wide stripes on an open plain weave ground. Dark blue field, pattern colors are pastel shades of green, pink, blue, with white, and a medium brown for details. Cheney Silks retail label glued to (W. 24 in., L. 36 in.)
Cheney Brothers Printed "Cinderella Silk", "Persian Diamond" design, 1917. A lightweight plain weave fabric with a crepey finish. Design No. 60671, "Persian Diamond." Color No. 380/4. Printed with a pattern of interlocking diamonds, each containing the same landscape scene with a path, tree, and hills. Purple, green, black, and browns on a white ground. (W. 41 in., L. 36 in.)
Skein of light blue organzine. A type of thrown silk; Usually used for warp yarns in fine silk fabrics.
One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 8. 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.
A Cheney Brothers dress silk sample length, 1913. Changeable taffeta.. A plain weave fabric with blue warp and red weft, creating a changeable taffeta effect. The sample has fringe on one end and a detached sample of red filling yarn. (W. 24 in., L. 36 in.) Mfrs #s: Com.4837; Color 6.
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric "Thirteen stars", one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial print series. An allover star pattern with two sizes of stars singly and in 13 star circles in white on a dark blue ground. According to company publicity at the time of its introduction, the design was adapted from a flag of the original 13 colonies. Probably a discharge-print.
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe--soft, lustrous, plain weave fabric #7102 (same construction as T-6943); pattern #3973 "Spinning Wheel," one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. 1932 George Washington Bicentennial prints, showing a tiny detached motif in a spaced, tossed layout; white on a black ground, representing a Saxony wheel with flax covered distaff.
Sample of Cheney Brothers Piedmont Frisons Silk, 1913 Frisons. Boiled off white Piedmont Frisons. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Sales offices: 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York City
Skein of white (undyed) organzine. A type of thrown silk; Usually used for warp yarns in fine silk fabrics.
One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 6. 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.
T. H. McCool & Co "Airograph printed" Crepe de Chine silk fabric length; 1914. Airograph printed crepe de chine. Plain off white material bordered with an 8.5 inch wide band of a multi-colored floral design on a black ground. 14 inch horizontal repeat. Design of wheat and flowers. Airograph work by The Decorus Manufacturing Company. The black border is significantly more stiff than the ground cloth, which is a semi-transparent plain weave.
T. H. McCool and Company is the successor firm, as of 1914, to Alfred K. Wright and Company; both companies in the business of converting silks (i.e. buying gray goods and having them printed or finished) factored by Passavant & Co. McCool had been connected with the Wright company for many years prior to taking it over. This donation encompassed examples of "airograph work" on various silks, said to be akin to products coming from Lyons, France. The airograph, or spray-print, or airbrushing, process was done by Decorous Manufacturing & Co of New York City. Acording to the Annual report on this donation, the machine used to create these designs was the first machine of its kind to be imported to the United States, and it was a gift.
Skein of Raw Silk, Italian, Cheney Brothers, 1913. Yellow. 1 skein. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Sales offices: 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York City
Length of Cheney Brothers all silk 'Grisaille' apparel fabric. A balanced plain weave with slightly irregular weft. Yarn dyed, with white warp and black weft giving a changeable gray surface effect with a medium sheen. (W. 32 in., L. 1-1/2 yd.). Similar color effect to another Cheney piece, titled Bengal Pongee, but without the warp strie and in a slightly heavier weight.
A sample length of William Skinner & Sons nylon parachute cloth from World War II. A smooth, close, semi-transparent plain weave nylon fabric.; Camouflage design in two tones of green (medium and dark) on a lighter green ground with irregular shaped blotch patterns simulating foliage and according to the original paperwork from the manufacturer, designed as protective coloring for army parachutes.
William Skinner emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1843, finding work as silk dyer. He eventually opened his own silk manufacturing company, the Unquomonk Silk Co., making silk threads and yarns for weaving and sewing. In 1874, the mill was destroyed when the Mill River Dam gave way. Skinner moved his company a few miles away, to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and rebuilt the mill, expanding production to include woven fabrics (Skinner satins were nationally famous) and silk braids. He ran the company until his death in 1902, and the firm stayed in the family, and remained in operation in Holyoke, until 1961, when his heirs sold it to Indian head Mills, which immediately closed the Holyoke operation.
Skein of dyed silk schappe yarn for weaving, in "Cardinal" red.. Mfrs' tag reads "Schappe. Used in manufacturing velvets." The term "Schappe" refers to a method of processing waste silk fibers (leftovers from other processes). Schappe was used in the pile yarn for manufacturing of velvets, as it was both less expensive and easily finished as a soft surface. One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 60. 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.
A length of J.A. Migel, Inc. silk dress goods "Moon-Glo" Meteor. Lightweight, crepe weave fabric with lustrous satin face and soft finish. Julius A. Migel was a younger brother of Moses Charles Migel, founder of M.C. Migel & Co., Inc, silk manufacturer, renamed H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc. in 1915. Mallinson, married to Linda Migel, had taken over as the president of M.C. Migel & Co. after his brother-in-law had retired. J.A. Migel was very briefly a partner with H.R. Mallinson, but left the firm in 1915 to form his own, eponymous, silk manufacturing concern. J.A. Migel used many of the marketing tools that his brother and H.R. Mallinson had succeeded with, but his company lasted only a few years.
Sample of Japan Frisons Silk, Cheney Brothers, 1913 Frisons. Japan. White. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Sales offices: 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York City
Cheney Brothers silk furnishing fabric, Louis XVI style, 1913. Heavy jacquard-woven compound satin weave for use in upholstery. Pattern is a reproduction of a Rococo into Neo-Classical French fabric from a Marie Antoinette chair. Design features gold and tan musical instruments and wreaths in decorative C-scroll frames and foliate meanders on a pale blue satin ground. (W. 50 in., L. 36 in.) Possibly based on, but not a complete reproduction of, the silk designed by Phillippe de LaSalle for the bedroom of Marie Antoinette at Fontainebleu. Mfrs. #s: Com. 4294; No. 56538; Color 2926/1
Skein of thrown artificial silk, in the raw; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Four spools of Cheney Brothers dyed silk yarn for weaving, 1913. Different colors. 4 cylinders, 3/4 in. Dia., L. 3-1/4 in. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Sales offices: 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York City