William Skinner and Sons rayon and cotton "Tackle Twill" olive drab selvedge width fabric length; 1941. Manufacturer's notes: Quality 8245, color 902E (olive drab). Rayon 3/1 twilled face, cotton poplin back; warp is a special yarn of the same type used in the manufacture of automobile tire cords because of its quality of strength of wear resistance. The filling is a long staple 3-ply cotton yarn. Used as uniform matieral for the first parachute division of the U.S. Army. Vat dyed, fast color, "Long Life" Cravenette water repellent finish. Cold water shrunk three times to full the fabric. Manufacturer claimed that it cost as much to finish the fabric as to make it.
Samuel Eiseman silk compound weave jacquard figured shirting fabric length; 1915. SECO silk shirting. A striped silk and cotton fabric with warp stripes and a Jacquard figure. Green and blue stripes with white ground. Striped sections are 1 inch wide with green thin stripes, then a white, then a blue in the center, then it repeats. There is white jacquard figuring inbetween the stripes. Thin and light. Used for shirts and blouses.
Previous name of the company was Eiseman Bros. from 1881-1898. The trade name was – SECO – acronym for Samuel Eiseman & Co. It was a silk dress goods sales agency and converter, which also operated mills in New Hampshire. Goods were sold through the headquarters and sales offices in New York City. The company dissolved in the early 1930s. Founder - Samuel Eiseman
Set of three Cheney Brothers silk fabric lengths, of the same pattern. "Brocatelle", with a spun silk warp and linen and spun silk wefts. Style #4234/2, Neo-classical design featuring large medallions and floral swags, combining pearl roundels, birds, cord, tassels, and nude figures (putti). Motifs in pinkish-tan and blue-gray on a pinkish strie ground. Wholesaled for $9.50 per yd. A- (W. 25 in, L. 140 in.), B- (W. 25 in., L. 36 in.), C- (W. 25 in., L. 4.5 yds) Design inspired by Phillippe de LaSalle styles in the late 18th C. for the French court.
These furnishing silks were, along with the patterned velvets, represent the most expensive and exclusive textiles that Cheney Brothers produced.
A length of block-printed Mallinson trade name "Indestructible" Voile. A sheer, plain weave silk fabric similar to chiffon. Printed with a dress or blouse pattern length; the material is ornamented with a block printed design (imitating batik work) which forms the front, back, and sleeves for the blouse or, as it might have been called when it was made, the "waist". H. R. Mallinson & Co. was one of many textile manufacturers who sought to reproduce the effects of hand-crafted batik (wax-resist dyeing) through more mechanized means. In this case the design was hand-block printed. Batik was very popular and fashionable in the late 1910s and early 1920s. The idea of laying the design out on the cloth (sometimes called engineering) so it could be stitched into a blouse with very little cutting was unusual at the time. This blouse length is incomplete, it shows only the neck area, sleeves, and the front (or back, difficult to know for sure) of the blouse. The complete blouse would have been symmetrical across the center of the neckline.
A length of very light soft pliable velvet (printed butterfly velvet), having a silk ground and rayon pile. Printed with Mallinson's National Park series Grand Canyon allover design on a black background. Rayon pile on a silk chiffon or georgette ground cloth was generically termed 'transparent velvet' in the 1920s and 1930s. 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, and represented all the usual styles necesssary for making clothing: allover prints, horizontal stripes, checks, a border design,etc. The firm also donated an example of this design printed on a flat surface silk, and an example of the Grand Canyon border design.
Skein of lavender silk hosiery tram. A type of thrown silk used for making (machine knitting) silk hosiery (stockings) . Mfrs' tag reads: "Tram: Used in manufacturing silk hosiery." One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 34. 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.,
Skein of navy blue organzine. A type of thrown silk; Usually used for warp yarns in fine silk fabrics. Manufacturer tag reads: "Organzine. Used for warp in ribbons and broad silks".
One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 16. 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 length of heavyweight, closely woven plain weave silk cloth with paired spun silk warps and silk noil wefts.Unbleached, undyed. Accession record states: Closely woven, plain weave all silk fabric with silk noil weft interwoven with spun silk warp in parallel pairs. Quality B, as it comes from the loom, not finished for sale. Used for powder bags in the big guns because it is entirely consumed by the explosion of powder, leaving no smoldering particles. Sold by the Salvage Board at $1.13 per yard. 36" wide.
Cheney Brothers gift of a lot of yellow silkworm cocoons. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Some housed in a glass jar with stopper, additional cocoons now housed in a plastic bag.
Sample length of closely woven plain weave silk with spun silk warp and silk noil weft. Slightly rough surface. Quality C. Sample of one quality of the 18 million yards of surplus World War I cartridge or powder bag silk cloth sold by the Salvage board after war's end. This quality sold for $1.07 per yard.
Skein of dyed Tussah or wild silk, in black. Mfrs' tag reads: "Tussah or Wild silk." Wild silk is from cocoons that the silk moth has emerged from - the silk filament is no longer unbroken; it is therefore processed differently than cultivated, unbroken silk filament. One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 48. 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.,
Skein of tan silk hosiery tram. A type of thrown silk used for making (machine knitting) silk hosiery (stockings) . Mfrs' tag reads: "Tram: Used in manufacturing silk hosiery." One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 36. 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.
Length of Cheney Brothers lightweight figured silk fabric, 1913. Broken twill weave ground with weft-float patterning of Chinese dragon roundels.Company term was "Broche", but this is not a brocade in the strict sense, just a weft float figure, no supplementary wefts. All silk. Piece dyed medium gray-blue. Circular medallions w/ five-toed dragons.Company literature says it was “Used for curtains. Jacquard loom warp of reeled Japan two-thread organzine. Filling Canton rereeled. Pure dye.” [Source: “The Upholsterer” 15 Feb. 1918 pg. 62, “The Upholsterer” 15 Aug 1924 pg. 105.] (W. 30 in., L. 36 in.)
Cylinder of Cheney Brothers Silk Tram floss, 1913. Green. 1 cylinder. 1-3/4 in. Dia., L. 1-1/4 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
Sample length of Cheney Brothers printed crepe de chine dress silk. Lightweight plain weave with crepe twist weft. Silk. Printed with pale stripes of rainbow tints. (W. 47 in., L. 1-1/2 yd.)
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric. Pattern "Liberty Bell". One of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial Print series. An allover non-directional tossed layout: design in dark blue and white, showing a collection of antiques of colonial days (tricorne, bonnet, lantern, candlestick, etc.) with the Liberty Bell as a prominent motif.
William Skinner and Sons Parachute Flare Cloth silk plain weave fabric length; 1941.
Sheer, originally stiff (now soft) fabric for making parachutes for flares. Plain weave, all-silk. Quality 9357, Lot. No. 19079. White colored. Thread count 130 x 108. Woven in Holyoke, MA.
Skein of "Ruby" red organzine. A type of thrown silk; Usually used for warp yarns in fine silk fabrics. Manufacturer tag reads: "Organzine. Used for warp in ribbons and broad silks".
One of 66 examples of silk yarns of various types, dyed in the skein.. Original sample # 12. 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 length of a Cheney Brothers border-printed Marquisette dress silk, 1913. Sheer open plain weave with regular, 7/16" wide satin stripes. Printed border of rose swags in pinks and greens, draped from yellow bows, on a white ground. Cheney Silks retail label glued to corner of sample. (W. 24 in., L. 36 in.)