"The Garden of the Trianon" is a repeating design of a small Classical style temple surrounded by flowers and foliage, printed in 6 brilliant colors on silk "Pussy Willow," a popular fabrication by American silk manufacturer H.R. Mallinson & Co. The design is from the second La Victoire series, produced by Mallinson in conjunction with the Peace Conference that followed the signing of the Armistice that ended the fighting in World War I. The gardens of the Trianon Palace, within the Versailles estate, must have provided welcome relief from the treaty negotiations for the delegates to the Peace Conference in 1919. The Grand Trianon Palace would also be the site of the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in June 1920, the formal ending of hostilities between the Allies and the newly formed nation of Hungary.
Length of sheer silk voile--known as "Indestructible Chiffon Voile" -- Mallinson trade name for a sheer, plain weave, all silk fabric (mfr #1800). Printed with all over pattern (mfr #2764) one of the Mallinson Early American series--titled Early American Transportation. The design illustrates such incidents as DeWitt Clinton crossing Erie Canal with canal boat in foreground, train pulling into old Schenectady, Palisades with the Hudson and the Clermont in foreground, as well as other forms of transportation such as horseback, stagecoaches, and early trains. Seven colors (reds, yellows, black) on a white ground. Selvage width, selvage inscription. 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.
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.
Length of "Pussy Willow" (Mallinson trade name) - a fine soft, radium-like plain weave fabric ( mfr #1900). Printed with an allover pattern #2773, "Franklin's Key to Electricity," one of the "Early American" series. This pattern is also called "Early and Modern American," as in it are introduced influences that directly and indirectly resulted from Franklin's experiments with electricity: Electric train, electric lamp; electric crane and shovel; electric telephone; radio microphone; searchlight; automobile; contrasted with these are the pony express rider; Franklin and his kite; Franklin in his study, and at his printing press. Six colors and black on a white ground #15. Selvage width, selvage inscription. 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. This particular design, with its jagged diagonals, was influenced by Jazz Age modernism.
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.
A "Martine" silk by the Duplan Silk Company of Hazleton, PA. This design titled "Bouquet", on quality "Ruisselet" a warp-faced weave with much thicker weft yarns than warp yarns, having a crinkled texture. Printed design of blue and white stripes with overprinted stylized floral bouquet and leaf sprigs in floral in yellow, red/purple, orange, and black. This example was cylinder printed. Duplan's publicity touts this series of silk dress fabrics as"Woven, printed, and finished in the US, sold and delivered in Paris and London. Designs by the Martine School of Decorative Art, Paris, France. Directed, owned, and personally supervised by Mr. Paul Poiret, who is universally acknowledged as the greatest creator of women's fashions of the present century." In the press these were called "Futurist Flowers, and there supposedly 8 designs in total that Duplan licensed from Poiret. The NMAH Textile department holds 6 samples; four designs, two in two different colorways and on different ground cloths.
A length of J.A. Migel, Inc. silk dress goods "1920 Fan-Ta-Si". Cross dyed satin face, novelty fabric having silk warp and artificial silk filling, with an allover jacquard pattern. Designed primarily for a sport silk. Manufacturer's name for color "Sunset." Fan-Ta-Si was one of the fabric names trademarked by JA Migel Inc. Julius A. Migel was a younger brother of Moses Charles Migel, founder of M.C. Migel & Co., Inc, silk manufacturer, renamed H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc. in 1915. Mallinson, married to Linda Migel, had taken over as the president of M.C. Migel & Co. after his brother-in-law had retired. J.A. Migel was very briefly a partner with H.R. Mallinson, but left the firm in 1915 to form his own, eponymous, silk manufacturing concern. J.A. Migel used many of the marketing tools that his brother and H.R. Mallinson had succeeded with, but his company lasted only a few years.
"Chasseurs" is a design from the first H.R. Mallinson La Victoire series, designed just before the Armistice to end World War I was signed in Fall, 1918. This example was printed in five colors on a dark blue ground on Mallinson's trademarked "Indestructible Crepe." The term “Chasseurs à cheval” designated elite units of the French cavalry – “chasseurs” meaning hunters, “à cheval,” on horseback. During World War I, dangerous reconnaissance missions were often given to the Chasseurs. The wide stripe design depicts standing figures and figures on horseback (the elite reconnaissance units of the French army) who appear poised for action among trees and shrubs, with a stream winding through. See TE*T04077 for the same design in a different quality (Indestructible Crepe) and colorway.
Length of weft ribbed, crepe fabric (mfr #523, Mallinson trade name Vagabond Crepe) woven with silk warp and doupioni weft. printed allover pattern (mfr #2765), "The Mayflower Pilgrims," one of the 1929 "Early American" series in which a pictorial history is revealed in illustrations of: landing of the Pilgrims; Indian messenger; Marching to church; Homelife of Priscilla and John Alden; First Thanksgiving Feast and First Saw-mill. Colorway with a white ground, print in reds, browns, oranges, black, blue. Selvage width; selvage inscription.
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.
In the summer of 1918, a fad for carrying tiny yarn-doll good luck charms arose in France, supposedly inspired by story about two orphaned children rescued and adopted by a French regiment. “It is taking a long chance in these wild days of war… to go about unprotected by a Nennette and Rintintin.… if you have the one without the other, the charm is broken…” This design depicts the little dolls, linked by a length of yarn. The manufacturer noted that for each yard of the design they sold, five cents would be donated to the relief fund of the orphaned children of Alsace and Lorraine—two French provinces that were occupied by Germany during the war. The design is printed in 6 colors on a dark blue ground on Mallinson's popular "Pussy Willow" silk, from the second La Victoire series produced by Mallinson during the Peace Conference at Versailles in early 1919 that ended the First World War.
Length of printed "Vagabond Crepe" (Mallinson trade name). Weft ribbed, crepe fabric woven with silk warp and doupion weft. Printed allover pattern "Betsy Ross-Liberty Bell," one of the "Early American" series. Jagged, rayed "Art Deco" or "Jazz Age" depiction of the Liberty Bell; Thirteen stars with coats of arms in them of the 13 original states; Washington inspecting Betsy Ross's flag; and Independence Hall. Colorway: Light blue ground (fading out in sections to pinkish tone) White reserves, print in black, coral, pink, red. Selvage width; selvage inscription. 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.
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.
A length of the Mallinson National Park series "Grand Canyon" border design in the "Khaki Kool" trademark Mallinson sport silk. A rough surface crepe fabric woven with warp of tussah silk and weft of tussah loosely twisted with a silk crepe yarn. Ornamental border of jacquard-woven figures, over-printed with design of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona. Selvage width; selvage insciption. 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. An additional allover design depicting the Grand Canyon was also donated by the firm. Note that the border design is oriented to the width (50") of this fabric and not to the length.
Two skeins of White Japan Douppion silk, 40/50 drs. 1912.
A. P. Villa & Bros., 487 Broadway, (The Silk Exchange Building) NYC, was an importing firm dealing in raw and thrown silk, with purchasing branches in Shanghai and Canton, China; Yokohama, Japan; Milan and Turin, italy; and Lyon, France. In 1912 the company expanded its business into throwing, warping, quilling, and winding silk, in a Passaic, NJ mill. These processes prepare raw silk for use in weaving.
An untwisted length of naturally off white silk filaments, tied in a knot; noted as having been separated from a Philadelphia merchant's correspondence file; dated 1816. Approximate length 19 inches; couched to a card stock backing.
Note that the book/manuscript dealer from whom the silk was purchased had separated it from the correspondence some years before and no longer remembered the merchant's name. The silk may have come from a Philadelphia area sericulturist, as the region had been involved in a modest way in raising sericulture and reeling silk from the 3rd quarter of the 18th century.
Two samples of 'silk brocade' dress goods; Woven by Hamil & Booth, Paterson, NJ, from American-grown silk; 1882. Given in 1882, by the Womens Silk Culture Association of the United States, whose office was at 1328 Chestnut St., Philadlephia, PA. The association acquired silk cocoons from 14 different states, reeled the silk from those cocoons at their offices, and commissioned Hamil & Booth, a silk manufacturer of Paterson, NJ, weave the silk into a dress goods.
The all-silk fabric is Jacquard-woven figured satin, in a medium weight. Patterning combines naturalistic roses and foliage with vertical stripes representing lace banding. One sample shows the lace design in white and the rose in lavender, on a black ground; the other has the entire pattern in white on a black ground. A heavier weight sample of the same design, representing the dress length presented to the wife of President Garfield by the Women's Silk Culture Association, was also donated to the museum (T7449)
One of a set, in three sheets, of the enlarged textile design for preparing pantograph plates; to transfer the design to the copper cylinders or rollers to print the design for fabrics T.1041-1043, titled "Bulgarian". Cheney Brothers, 1913. 3 sheets. Com. 4454; Style 3670/4; No. 536. Modernist floral, inspired by Fauve coloring and European modernist styling.
Design depicting a floral motif mostly in black ink with green, red, blue and yellow accent lines. Two flowers with branching stems and leaves, and irregular circular shapes dotting the background. The top left and right corners of the paper are rounded. "1039" written in pencil inside a rectangular box in the top left corner. Indistinct words written in pencil at the top center. Faint pencil sketching and grid lines overall. Small triangular cut-outs in five places along the central axes. "T1039C" written in the bottom right corner. "T1039C" written in top left corner of verso. Pencil sketching on the left side.
Sample of 'silk brocade' dress goods; Woven by Hamil & Booth, Paterson, NJ, from American-grown silk; 1882. Given in 1882, by the Womens Silk Culture Association of the United States, whose office was at 1328 Chestnut St., Philadlephia, PA. The association acquired silk cocoons from 14 different states, reeled the silk from those cocoons at their offices, and commissioned Hamil & Booth, a silk manufacturer of Paterson, NJ, weave the silk into a "dress pattern to be presented to Mrs. Genl Garfield" the President's wife.
The all-silk fabric is Jacquard-woven figured black satin, in a heavy weight. Patterning combines naturalistic roses and foliage with vertical stripes representing lace banding.
A second sample of the same design in a slightly lighter weight was also donated (T7450).
