Describes the textiles used for early-American bed hangings, window curtains, and upholstery, shows samples of early fabrics, and defines terms related to fabrics and sewing
The Winterthur Museum’s richly illustrated history of British and American fabrics made or used from 1700–1850 is a visual reference for designers and a definitive contribution to textile studies. From slipcovers that belonged to George Washington, to bedhangings described by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Delaware’s Winterthur Museum holds some of the finest cotton and linen textiles made or used in America and Britain between 1700 and 1850. One of the fastest growing and potentially most lucrative trades in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, on the forefront of developments in science and engineering, chemistry and technology, the textile industry is a fascinating lens into international trade relations and cultural exchange over nearly two centuries. Printed Textiles is a major update to the classic text published by Winterthur in 1970—a sourcebook compiled by celebrated curator Florence Montgomery that detailed all aspects of the fabrics’ lifespan, from their design and method of manufacture to their use and exchange value. Linda Eaton, Director of Collections and Senior Curator of Textiles, updates the classic with a particular focus on furnishing fabrics—referred to as “furnitures.” Building on research that has come to light since 1970 and benefiting from the technical and scientific expertise of the conservators and scientists at Winterthur, Eaton presents a thorough and sweeping study enriched by the diverse approaches to material culture today. With hundreds of beautifully photographed samples—engagingly contextualized with iconic figures in American history including Betsy Ross and Benjamin Franklin—this significant addition to textile scholarship allows for a full appreciation of these fascinating fabrics. Printed Textiles is destined to become an essential reference for interior designers, fashion and textile design students, conservators, collectors, and anyone with an interest in the textile industry.
Only the Clothes on Her Back illuminates the ways in which women, men of color, and poor people used textiles as a form of property that enabled them to gain access to the legal system and to exercise political power.
In a glance at American menswear over the past 150 years, change has been sometimes glacial in its evolution, sometimes regressive and nostalgic, and other times abrupt and revolutionary. In this study of American menswear from the Civil War to the twenty-first century, that evolution is chronicled and documented with more than 700 illustrations. In addition to the main categories of suits, sportswear, and outerwear, each era also includes a detailed examination of sleepwear, underwear, swimwear, hats, neckwear, footwear, and accessories. Further, Daniel Delis Hill examines not only American men’s dress and the structures of the menswear industry, but also the historical and socioeconomic drivers that affected men’s style—particularly the shifting conventions and iconoclasms of American ideas and ideals of masculinity.
“This amply illustrated, attractive book is valuable for dress history scholars . . . [an] ideal textbook for courses on clothing and cultural history.” —The Journal of Dress History Ottoman Dress and Design in the West is a richly illustrated exploration of the relationship between West and Near East through the visual culture of dress. Charlotte Jirousek examines the history of dress and fashion in the broader context of western relationships with the Mediterranean world from the dawn of Islam through the end of the twentieth century. The significance of dress is made apparent by the author’s careful attention to its political, economic, and cultural context. The reader comes to understand that dress reflects not simply the self and one’s relation to community but also that community’s relation to a wider world through trade, colonization, religion, and technology. The chapters provide broad historical background on Ottoman influence and European exoticization of that influence, while the captions and illustrations provide detailed studies of illuminations, paintings, and sculptures to show how these influences were absorbed into everyday living. Through the medium of dress, Jirousek details a continually shifting Ottoman frontier that is closely tied to European and American history. In doing so, she explores and celebrates an essential source of influence that for too long has been relegated to the periphery.
This absorbing letterbook, meticulously edited and thoroughly annotated, provides remarkable insight into the life and concerns of 18th-century colonial Virginians. The letters are especially revealing about economic life, the material culture of colonial Virginia, and the treacherous legal and financial conditions in which even important planters operated. The correspondence clearly shows how a wealthy colonial planter uses and could be misused by the British mercantile system. The letters also provide a view of the personal side of the sober and overly frugal Custis: his fashionable passion for gardening (in which he was 'inferior to few if any in Virginia'); his strife-filled nine-year marriage to Frances Parke, before her death from smallpox; and his uneven relationships with his son and daughter.