"Japanese Habutai", a closely woven plain weave silk dress fabric, width: 36"; Manufactured by Fred Mendelson & Co.; 1915. Purchased for 75 cents per yard from Lansburgh & Bro., 420-430 7th St., Washington DC, Jan 29, 1915.
More research needs to be done to determine if the Mendelson Co. was actually manufacturing this silk in the US or had an import arrangement with a Japanese mill.
Skein of "Cardinal" 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 # 11. 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 dark brown 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 # 37. 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.,
This object is one of a pair of fine Honiton bobbin lace designs made in Japan between 1880 and 1910. The bird and floral motifs are connected with braids with picots. Exceptional workmanship is displayed. The engrelure or footing at the top is of machine made tape.
The Great Seal of the United States, often used in American decorative arts, provided the design inspiration for this Mechlin bobbin lace. It was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I and was likely intended to be inserted into a larger item.
Belding Brothers & Co. Color Card, for "New Process Wash Embroidery Silks" - "Miniature" color card, Belding Bros. & Co. SIlk Manufactures. "Phoenician dyes Fast Colors For Complete Artistic Effects"
Booklet with tan buckram(?) cover and two interior pages of text and two pages of embroidery yarn color samples mounted in paper. Annotated in pencil with color names and other notes. The text refers to the 1897-98 edition of a Belding Bros. publication. This was meant to aid embroiderers in selecting shades for their work, but the silks had to be ordered from retailers - Belding Bros. did not sell to individuals, according to the interior text.
Length of Pussy Willow (trade name) silk--fine soft radium-like plain weave fabric (mfr #1900) having an allover printed pattern (mfr #2761) titled "Showboat on the Mississippi." Scenes include a Mississippi steamboat, "Carnival at Old New Orleans," and African-Americans in the cotton fields and playing music. Colorway in tan, brown, yellow, gray, red, blue, green, and black on white ground #16b. One of the designs of the H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc. 1929 Early American printed dress silks series. This design was inspired by the Jerome Kern/ Oscar Hammerstein musical "Showboat" which was in turn based on the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. Judging from drawings by free-lance textile designer Walter Mitschke in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Mitschke designed this print and several others in the Early American series. [NB: "radium" was the term widely used in the early 20th century for a type of supple, lightweight, plain weave silk fabric. The original cataloger of this textile compared it to a familiar silk quality.]
Mallinson's 1929 "Early American" series of printed dress silks was based on historical events and figures that were perceived at the time to consitute a shared American story. It was the last of the company's line of designs based on American themes in which each design was printed in at least seven colors, in several colorways, on three or four different ground cloths. The stock market crash and economic depression that followed made the investment in this kind of design unprofitable.