Original design for Cheney Brothers printed Samara silk. Fabric sample catalogue number - T2830. Sheet size 20" x 26" 1 specimen. Related to T2828, 2 specimens, enlarged design for pantograph plates; and T2829, 3 specimens, zinc plates for pantograph machine.
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 # 177. 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 Mallinson's Morocco series printed Silk Crepe: "Bahia". Smooth lustrous plain weave weighted silk fabric made with crepe weft yarn as in flat crepe. Company #s - fabric quality #450; pattern #3566; color #13. Printed design of an allover architectural motif and palm leaf pattern, based on the palace of the (then) Sultan in Marrakech. Tthe landscape in white and rose pink forms the background and large leaf pattern in solid and line black standing out in contrast One of H.R. Mallinson's 1930 "Morocco" print series, inspired by the film starring Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich, which was nomiated for 4 Academy Awards in 1931.
Once the Great Depression took hold in 1930, textile companies attempted to remain profitable by cutting costs, including moving from "Pure Dye" to "Weighted" silks: weighting meant adding a chemical to the dye bath that was absorbed by the silk and made it fel somewhat heavier and of a better quality.
Silk dress made from silk produced by silk worms raised in Connecticut by Miss Abigail Sherwood, and sent to England for turning into cloth. The weaver's bill that accompanied this dress stated charges for spinning, weaving, and stamping: therefore it is possible that Miss Sherwood reeled the silk from the cocoons and sent the reeled skeins to England for further processing. However, the donor's note states that Abigail's brother, Capt. Edwin Sherwood, took the cocoons to England. The dress is made of a closely woven, plain weave silk. The yarns are slightly irregular, which would be typical in a home reeled- product. The fabric is described in the original cataloging as having a "pongee-like ground." It is printed with an all-over floral pattern in green, yellow, and purple. The dress is one-piece. The bodice is fitted and boned. It has a V-neckline trimmed with narrow silk braid, a drop-shoulder bertha effect edged with silk fringe, long sleeves, and a pointed front basque joined with cording to a full, gathered skirt. The dress is lined throughout, and was both made and worn by Abigail Sherwood. The dress is in quite a fragile condition. It is an important example of the efforts to establish sericulture in Connecticut and elsewhere in the US during the early 19th century.
Sample length of a printed silk sheer, Mallinson tradename "Indestructible Chiffon Voile". Selvage width; selvage inscription. A sheer, plain weave all silk fabric printed with National Park series "Garden of the Gods" design; samples of five different color combinations (ground color are: peach, grey, blue, green, and orange). In late 1926 American silk manufacturer H.R. Mallinson & Co. introduced a bold new line of printed silks, twelve landscape designs, each available in from eight to twelve colorways (color combinations) on three different ground fabrics. The designs celebrated America's National Parks - then only a decade old. The designs represented all the usual styles necesssary for making clothing: allover prints, horizontal stripes, checks, a border design, etc. These samples illustrate how strikingly different a single design can appear by changing the colors of the ground and design elements.
Three sample lengths of printed "Khaki Kool," Mallinson tradename for a rough finish sport silk: Rough surface crepe fabric woven with warp of tussah silk and weft of tussah loosely twisted with a silk crepe yarn. Selvage width; selvage inscription. Printed with National Park series "Garden of the Gods" design; in three different color combinations (on grounds of white, orange, and mauve). In late 1926 American silk manufacturer H. R. Mallinson & Co. introduced a bold new line of printed silks, twelve landscape designs, each available in from eight to twelve colorways (color combinations) on three different ground fabrics. The designs celebrated America's National Parks - then only a decade old. The designs represented all the usual styles necesssary for making clothing: allover prints, horizontal stripes, checks, a border design, etc. These samples illustrate how strikingly different a single design can appear by changing the colors of the ground and design elements.
Length of Cheney Brothers lightweight silk and wool fabric, called Bengaline, with crosswise ribs. 1913. Plain weave, warp-faced, with fine horizontal ribbing. Silk warp and fine wool weft. Piece dyed. Light gray. (W. 24 in., L. 1-1/2 yd.) Soft hand.
Cheney Brothers painted textile design for printed Crepe Velour. Original colored designs for fabric T2826, also in this donation. 2 specimens: 11" x 12" (A) and 6" x 15" (B). The designs illustrate three different colorways. The set for this design also includes the enlarged design for the pantograph plates (T2824) and a set of 2 pantograph plates (T2825).
Cheney Brothers painted textile design for printed Crepe Velour. Original colored designs for fabric T2826, also in this donation. 2 specimens: 11" x 12" and 6" x 15". The designs illustrate three different colorways. The set for this design also includes the enlarged design for the pantograph plates (T2824) and a set of 2 pantograph plates (T2825).
A length of H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s printed "chiffon brocade" in beiges, gray, and rose on a black ground. Novelty weft-figured, thin, gauze like fabric. Manufacturer's numbers: 535/2192/10. Woven leaf and stem ground pattern produced by extra weft thread of rayon, those that float on the back of the goods from one outline of the pattern to another are trimmed or "burned"off by printing with a chemical, leaving the raised design on a sheer ground. Overprinted (discharge?) with a repeating design of a large tropical moth by Helen Tee Van, from one of her sketches from the 1925 New York Zoological Society sponsored expedition to the Galapagos Islands and Sargasso Sea captained by William Beebe.
A length of printed "Pussy Willow" silk, H.R. Mallinson & Co. trade name for a soft drapey plain weave fabric. Manufacturer's numbers (#900/2318). Allover repeating design of flying fish against a ground of water droplets/ocean spray from an original sketch made by artist Helen Tee-Van on board the Steam Yacht Arcturus on the New York Zoological Society's 1925 Expedition under Capt. Wm. Beebe to the Sargasso Sea and the Galapagos Islands. Colorway: three shades of blue, orange, tan, black, white.
A length of printed Mallinson's "Indestructible" Voile. A sheer, plain weave silk fabric. Manufacturer's numbers: #800/2321/4. All over printed pattern in rose, green, yellow, brown, black, and blue of square-rigged sailiing ships, other boats, and island fortresses against a busy sea made up of dashes and swirls of color. Released at the same time as, but not a part of, the 1925 Mallinson "Beebe expedition" print series.
A length of H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s trade name silk "Kameo Krepe". Closely woven crepe fabric #5998 similar in construction to crepe de chine; piece dyed reddish-brown (henna). A solid color coordinate to Mallinson's 1925 line of printed dress silks.
A length of printed Pussy Willow silk. Pussy Willow was the H.R. Mallinson & Co. trade name for a soft drapey plain weave fabric Manufacturer's numbers: #900/2322/4. Design by Helen Tee-Van of kelp from one of her original sketches - under-water studies of the dense Sargasso seaweed beds -- Van was an artist on board the Steam Yacht Arcturus on the New York Zoological Society's 1925 Expedition under Capt. Wm. Beebe to the Sargasso Sea and the Galapagos Islands. Colorway: medium blue ground with design of waving and overlapping seaweed fronds in yellow, white, dull orange, black, and light blue.
A length of printed Pussy Willow (Mallinson trade name) silk fabric. A soft drapey plain weave cylinder-printed with a design of starfish in pink, violet, orange, tan, light green, and off-white. Manufacturer's numbers: #900/2331/15. Spaced allover pattern of large and small starfish, some overlapping, some widely spaced. One of the designs taken from sketches by artist Helen Tee Van, who accompanied the New York Zoological Society sponsored trip to the Galapagos Islands and Sargasso Sea captained by William Beebe in 1925.
A sample cut with colorways of printed 'Pussy Willow' silk. a fine soft plain weave fabric, Mallinson's longest-lasting trade-name. One of the 1929 "American State Flowers" series: Giant cactus, New Mexico; blue bonnet, Texas; cactus, Arizona. Eight samples, one of each colorway. One 18" x 40" sample with a tan ground (#12); 7 attached 8" x 6" samples: ground colors are: black (#5, #25), blue (#4), green (#7), dark blue (#10, #20), white (#15). Selvage inscription gives company name, state names and associated flowers.
A sample cut with colorways of printed 'Pussy Willow' silk. a fine soft plain weave fabric, Mallinson's longest-lasting trade-name. One of the 1929 "American State Flowers" series: Red clover, Vermont; pine cone, Maine; rose, New York; mountain laurel, Connecticut; violet, Rhode Island. Eight samples, one of each colorway. One 18" x 40" sample with a black ground (#5); 7 attached 8" x 6" samples: ground colors are: black (#25), blue (#14), green (#7), dark blue (#10, #20), tan (#12), white (#15). Selvage inscription gives company name, state names and associated flowers.
