American Woolen Co. all wool, Chinchilla style overcoating fabric sample, 1912. Pinked edges. Gray reversing to a blue and gray plaid. A thick, heavy, double woven fabric. Manufactured by the National and Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI. 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.
Photograph, black & white: French Drawing - Intermediate. American Woolen Co., The National & Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI. 1912.
One of a series of 71 photographs documenting the workings of the American Woolen Company's National & Providence Worsted Mills, part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, and fabrics by American Woolen Mills in 1912.
Photograph, black and white: Wool sorting - Removing Dirt and Grease from Wool; American Woolen Co., The National & Providence Woolen Mills, Providence, RI. 1912.
One of a series of 71 photographs documenting the workings of the American Woolen Company's National & Providence Worsted Mills, part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, and fabrics by American Woolen Mills in 1912.
American Woolen Co. Zebiline Cheviot fabric sample, 1912. 17-ounce 'fancy diagonal' black and white wool twill weave cloth with long napped surface on a diagonally striped base. Coating weight. Produced by American Woolen Co.'s National & Providence Worsted Mills. The term "Cheviot" reflects the use of coarse wools such as those shorn from the Scottish Cheviot breed of sheep.
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.
Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company figured pile upholstery or furnishing fabric known as "Dracut."; Yarn-dyed, heavy weight pile fabric woven with a cut pile pattern of stylized, detached single floral sprigs against a ground of uncut, or looped, pile. This gives the appearance of a darker color design on the plain looped pile ground, although the yarns are the same color and a uniform height. Color: a slightly grayed green. The cut pile appears dark, the looped pile has a grayer, lighter tone. According to the manufacturer, this pattern is "furniture quality but has also been used by the railroads." Massachusetts Mohair Plush Co. was headquartered in Boston but had a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Sample length of Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company "Bi-Tone Friezette" upholstery fabric, 1914. Irridescent effect plush with uncut mohair pile in green, possibly space-dyed to give a strie effect, against a cotton ground with a blue warp, red weft. The red shows through the looped pile, hence the "bi-tone" name. Used for furniture and draperies; also noted by the manufacturer under "railroad plushes." Given by Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company, headquartered in Boston with a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1914, along with samples of mohair fiber in various stages of processing, and samples of the company's finished textiles.
Sample of Collins & Aikman Corporation figured upholstery velvet, 1929. Cut pile multi-color pattern of palm leaves in dark brown,with filler motifs in rust-red, blue, gray, purple, green, beige. Pattern is highlighted against a voided groundtied in twill weave. The pile warps are organized in vertical bands of related colors; these are woven into the ground fabric when not in use on the surface, thus giving a color-shaded effect to the voided areas. Lustrous rayon pile, cotton ground, tan weft. Machine overlock stitching on three edges. no selvage. 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.
Photograph, black & white: Mending Room - Mending. American Woolen Co., The National & Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI. 1912.
One of a series of 71 photographs documenting the workings of the American Woolen Company's National & Providence Worsted Mills, part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, and fabrics by American Woolen Mills in 1912.
Sample length of Tapestry Brussels Carpet; looped warp pile carpet; face of 3-ply worsted wool yarn, 216 ends of worsted to the full width, 27 inches; Filling (weft) is linen, and the back is imported jute.. Printed warp pattern No. 2212: floral and conventional design in reds, yellows, greens, browns, blues, cream, and black, in plain and ombre effects, on a cream and brown mixed ground. Made and donated by the Roxbury Carpet Company, Boston, MA., in 1884.
Photograph, black & white: Mending Room - Examining and Marking Imperfections. American Woolen Co., The National & Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI. 1912.
One of a series of 71 photographs documenting the workings of the American Woolen Company's National & Providence Worsted Mills, part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, and fabrics by American Woolen Mills in 1912.
Arlington Mills worsted fabric process sample, 1940. Very dark navy blue wool; herringbone twill weave; Process label reads: "Worsted Cloth from 1/2 Blood Staple Territory Wool". Good condition, no holes; with a 4x5 cut off one corner. Edges have been pinked [Originally part of an Arlington Woolen Mills process display board; dismantled, probably before 1980.]
Several of the process samples in this group are labeled with where the wool came from. "Territory" wool came from the American west; "Fine Territory" may have meant either 100% merino or a high percentage of merino sheep in the mix. Territory, also called Range wools, comprised a large and important segment of US wool-growing, but into the early 20th century the wools were often characterized as being badly sheared and packed, dirty and with a lot of plant material caught in the fleeces.
Arlington Mills, successor to Arlington Woolen Mills, was one of the premier woolen and worsted companies in the US for many decades. The mills were in and around Lawrence, MA, and company headquarters was in Boston. American manufacturers of woolen and worsted yarns and of woven and knitted textiles relied on both American-grown wool and on imports of raw wool and partially processed wool fiber, called "tops", American growers never produced more than about half the raw wool needed by the American manufacturing sector.
The Shelton Looms "Hudson Sealskin" imitation fur fabric; 1914. Silk pile, cotton backed. The pile has been flattened giving a lustrous surface finish. Very soft hand. Used for coats, scarfs, muffs, trimming, etc. Color: Black. Price per yard: $4.50. 2 samples. Width: 48"-50" One of a group of pile fabrics given in 1914 (accessioned in 1915) by Sidney Blumenthal and Co., Inc, owner and operator of The Shelton Looms, one of the best known and most important American pile fabric producers., whose mills were in Shelton, Connecticut. Original fabric woven 48-50" wide. Length of sample sent was not noted.
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 length of Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company "Bi-Tone Friezette" upholstery fabric, 1914. Irridescent effect plush with uncut mohair pile in a golden brown, possibly space-dyed to give a strie effect, against a cotton ground with a black warp, yellow weft. The black and yellow show through the looped pile, hence the "bi-tone" name. Used for furniture and draperies; also noted by the manufacturer under "railroad plushes." Given by Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company, headquartered in Boston with a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1914, along with samples of mohair fiber in various stages of processing, and samples of the company's finished textiles.
Photograph, black & white: Dye house - Dyeing & Slubbing. American Woolen Co., The National & Providence Worsted Mills, Providence, RI. 1912
One of a series of 71 photographs documenting the workings of the American Woolen Company's National & Providence Worsted Mills, part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, and fabrics by American Woolen Mills in 1912.
"Tub Satin" washable silk dress fabric somewhat resembling a satin-taffeta in surface appearance. White. Sold for $1.25 per yard at Lansburgh & Bro., 420-430 7th St., Washington DC, Jan 29 1915. Width: 32". Manufactured by Schwarzenbach, Huber Co.; 1915
Sample of "Bengaline" silk dress goods. A plain heavy, corded fabric, after the poplin order, with cotton filling for the cord and silk warp. Warp-faced weave. Color: white. Sold for $1.00 per yard at Lansburgh & Bro., 420-430 7th St., Washington, DC. Purchased Jan 29 1915.; Manufactured by Victor & Achelis; 1915.
Sample length of Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company "Panne Plush" upholstery fabric, 1914. Cut pile fabric which has been permanently flattened to give a very lustrous surface. Ground of cotton with a blue warp, natural beige weft, and a mohair pile in "old rose" (dark pink). According to manufacturer's note, used for furniture and draperies; may also have been a "railroad plush". 52 1/4" wide. Given by Massachusetts Mohair Plush Company, headquartered in Boston with a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1914, along with samples of mohair fiber in various stages of processing, and samples of the company's finished textiles.
