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.
William Skinner and Sons wool back rayon satin Sunbak khaki fabric length, 1946.
Strong, soft close fabric with rayon face & napped wool back. Is moth resistant. Used for reversible robes, and linings of women's and men's topcoats and jackets. 41" selvedge width and 36" length. U.S. Army khaki in shade P. Fabric content by weight is 65% rayon 35% wool.
Fiber sample, Boehmeria nivea, from Pundulur, Madras, India, ca. 1885. Noted as 'cleaned'. One of a group of fiber samples given by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, in 1885, to the US National Museum's economic botany collection..
Four block alphabets of 26 letters. One script alphabet to "P"; no "J." Numbers to 4. Each row worked in one color, and all rows separated by simple geometric crossbands. Two strawberry plants to right of verse. No border. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, Algerian eye, four-sided, upright gobelin, satin, stem, hem. THREAD COUNT: warp 26, weft 28/in.
Inscriptions:
"Now mark the Sequel May Your mind In wiSdomS waYS true PleaSure find Grow StronG in virtu rich in truth And Year bY Year renew itS youth Till in the late triumphant hoUr The SPirit Shall the fleSh overPoWer ThiS from itS SUfferinGS Gain releaSe And that taKe WinG and Part in PeaCe
Sarah BaILIff'S SamPler done Nov 27 1839"
Background:
Sarah Bailiff gave her sampler to a member of Justice Alfred Moore's family at Moorefields, North Carolina, their summer home. It descended in that family until it was given to the Smithsonian. Sarah Bailiff's date of birth has not yet been identified.
Embroidered square with unfinished edges; meant to be a cushion cover or perhaps to be framed? A beautiful example of needle-painting embroidery work, made about 1900 by Mrs. Nellie Fuller Gibson. Silk embroidery threads on plain weave white linen ground. Design of poppies in a circular layout with leaves and stems; worked in many shades of red and green.