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Christening gown made from parachute silk (nylon), for a Dutch baby born on D-Day, 6 June 1944 (TRC 2010.0070a).On Sunday, 27 October 2019, Willem Vogelsang wrote:

I just read in The Sunday Times that today marks the anniversary of the launch of a new synthetic fibre onto the (American) market, namely nylon. On 27 October 1938, DuPont announced the introduction of nylon for use in tooth-brushes. The succeeding year it was first used for women's stockings, or 'nylons' as they quickly became known. During the war, most of the production of nylon was diverted to military uses, notably for parachutes. Actually, parachutes first used to be made from silk, but with the Japanese occupation of the silk-producing parts of Asia, the Allies were soon turning to the use the newly developed synthetic material of DuPont.

I mention this anniversary, since the TRC Collection (such a mine of the weirdest, and sometimes most intriguing objects) houses three blouses made from nylon (TRC 2007.0833, 2007.0834 and 2007. 0835). They date to 1946 and were worn by a young woman from Leiden. She and her family received the nylon blouses in a care-package that was sent by her aunt who lived in America. The proud owner would show her friends these blouses that were made of this new and expensive material.

On Saturday, 26 October 2019, Willem Vogelsang wrote:

Advertisement on cotton of the Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij, 1923. TRC 2019.2383This week, the TRC was given a cotton cloth of 89 x 51 cm, which was made by the Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij in 1923 (TRC 2019.2383). We soon discovered that a similar cloth is housed in the Lakenhal Museum, Leiden (acc. no. 9067). It is decorated with printed texts and printed copper engravings. The cloth is a powerful reminder of the rich history of Leiden as a historic textile city, and the TRC is therefore very proud to have been donated such a cloth.

The cloth is in fact an advertisement for the Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij and what it could produce. It tells the world that the firm could print cloths in various sizes, in various colours, to celebrate the 25-year jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina (r. 1898-1948) as the reigning monarch of The Netherlands.

The Leidse Katoenmaatschappij was based in Leiden, and its factories and offices were located between the Herengracht and the Zijlsingel. Actually, not far, some ten minutes' walk, from the present premises of the TRC. The company originated in Lier, Belgium, where it had started operations in 1756 under the name of De Heyer en Co. The firm moved to Leiden in 1835 and some ten years later was acquired by Louis Driessen, who rapidly expanded the company and who later passed the company on to his sons.

The company was particularly famous for its use of 'modern' dyes and dyeing techniques. One of the sons, Felix Driessen, spent some time in Mülhausen to learn about the use of artificial dyes. In the years that followed he also travelled to the Dutch East Indies and America (for more information on the Driessen family, see the pertinent report in Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken).

Gillian Vogelsang werd onlangs geïnterviewd door een journaliste van het Reformatorisch Dagblad. Het interview werd afgelopen zaterdag (19 oktober 2019) gepubliceerd. U kunt het artikel hier lezen.

Early 20th century American quilt, with a mid-19th century quilt hidden inside.On Sunday, 20th October 2019, TRC-volunteer Beverley Bennett wrote:

The TRC recently received a donation of a simple and unassuming utility quilt. It has a colourful top that is made from two lengths of fabric. This top is printed with a design mimicking a patchwork of half square triangles in a pinwheel arrangement. The two lengths are joined along their length by machine.

The backing of the quilt is different. It consists of simple feedsacks joined together. It is hand quilted in a basic Baptist Fan design. Because of the fabrics and the slightly coarse hand quilting thread, we have dated the quilt to about 1920-1930.

However, on examining the quilt, we realised it was unevenly ‘lumpy’ inside, which was a bit unusual and so we carefully unpicked a small corner of the quilt to see what was going on. We discovered an older quilt inside! More unpicking revealed a worn, tattered quilt that had been made from even older, recycled blocks.

The Hidden Quilt consists of bits of old shirts, dresses, etc., of a mid-nineteenth century date, which were recycled into diagonally string-pieced (a method of using long, narrow pieces of fabric), 5 inch squares and joined into sets of four, making (roughly) 10 inch blocks.

It is hard to know whether the blocks were used for making a quilt straightaway, but at some stage the blocks were joined, by machine, with used and patched denim pieces as sashing and more shirtings as corner posts. It was backed with a purple ticking type fabric and was then hand quilted in the Baptist Fan pattern with 5-6 stitches per inch as the cotton filling and the ticking is quite thick.

The Hidden Quilt had a long life, because it was well used and in tatters at the edges. There was clearly some damage that was repaired with a machine-sewn patch and, since the sewing machine dates from about 1860, we know the repair must have happened after that date. When exactly the Hidden Quilt was made, remains a moot point.

Finally the Hidden Quilt was recycled into the utility quilt we received, interestingly being quilted once again with the same pattern, in the same style and with virtually the same type of thread – could it have been recycled by the same person, for the third time, but some fifty or so years later?

The quilt, including its Hidden Quilt, will be on display in the forthcoming TRC gallery exhibition on the history of American quilts, opening in February 2020.

On Thursday, 17 October 2019, Gillian Vogelsang wrote:

We have been talking for some time at the TRC about getting a digital microscope for our work with various archaeological and historical textiles, in particular for basic fibre identification, as well as weave, print and embroidery analysis. We are also curious about what caused particular types of (past) damage to the structure of some of our textiles (insects, mould, etc). More specifically we were looking for something that has a magnification of between x25-250, can be used to take publication level photographs (at least 1200 ppi) and with a magnification that is easy to adjust.

But the main question was: which microscope? There are various forms on the market, with a wide range of prices. In July 2019 Eric Boudot gave a demonstration of the Dino-lite microscope at a workshop held at the TRC as part of the ICAS Asia Conference. Based on his presentation it was decided to obtain one of these microscopes as it clearly works well with the type of textiles we are working with. One thing I was particularly impressed with was the very light-weight nature of the microscope and stand. It will not be a problem to have it in hand luggage when travelling!

Thanks to the generosity of a Friend of the TRC, we have the funding to buy a suitable microscope and equally importantly, a good quality stand that we can use to easily make minute adjustments in the height of the microscope. We contacted Michel van Rooijen of AKB Longs, a company in Zouterwoude-Rijndijk, which is very close to Leiden and they kindly agreed to give us a demonstration of the Dino-lite AM4515ZT, how it works, with a discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages.

A group consisting of archaeologists, students, depot managers, as well the librarians from the TRC came to the demonstration and were able to ask a wide range of questions. We used various textiles from the TRC Collection, including flat textiles (a piece of mummy cloth, some Dead Sea Scroll textiles), as well as a Macedonian knitted sock with metal thread cuff to give a range of materials and textures.

I have borrowed the microscope for a week to see how it goes, and, as it stands at the moment, we are going to get one. But I think we will be getting one that can take 5 mb images rather than 1.5 mb that was demonstrated because of publication requirements. I am also looking forward to using it with the work on more detailed analysis of the medieval St. Petrock’s Pall in Exeter Cathedral, as well as looking at various items in the TRC Collection.

Koto from Surinam, displated at the Great Suriname Exhibition, Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam.On Wednesday, 16th October, Shelley Anderson wrote:

Surinam, in South America, has a rich heritage — a heritage also reflected in its textiles. Some of this heritage can be seen in the Great Suriname Exhibition now on at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.

The exhibit begins with a collection of objects from some of the country’s indigenous groups. Surinam’s indigenous peoples cultivated their own cotton, and spun and then dyed the resulting textiles with natural dyes. A Lokono woman’s blue cotton skirt and shawl (late 19th-20th century) are on display, along with some cotton Kari’na loincloths (pre-1912) and stunning hair and arm ornaments (late 19th to early 20th century) made from feathers, beads, palm leaves and other materials.

Perhaps Surinam’s most iconic garment is the koto, a wide skirt or dress of printed cotton, worn by Creole-Surinamese women with a short jacket and an angisa, or head wrap. There are hundreds of ways to fold an angisa, which are often used to express the wearer’s emotions or opinions. The official history of the koto dates back to 1879, when the Dutch colonial government ruled that women, when outdoors, must wear a dress or paantje (chest covering) and a jacket or gown. Now worn mostly on festive occasions, there are numerous kotos on display, from different time periods.

Paisley motief op een Amerikaanse voedselzak, jaren '40 (TRC 2019.1245). Voor meer information, klip op de illustratie.

Op zondag 13 oktober schreef Erica Riccobon, een nieuwe TRC-vrijwilliger en MA-student aan de Universiteit Leiden:

Het TRC bereidt momenteel een nieuwe tentoonstelling voor die in de tweede helft van 2020 zal worden geopend. De voorlopige titel is 'Van Buteh tot Paisley: De geschiedenis van een universeel siermotief.'

De tentoonstelling belicht de verspreiding en populariteit van het Paisley-motief. Dit siermotief verscheen voor het eerst in Iran onder de naam buteh. Verder ontwikkeld voor het ontwerp van de beroemde Kashmir-sjaals, werd het vanaf de 17e eeuw geëxporteerd naar Europa, via de (Britse) Oost-Indische Compagnie. In Europa werd het gekopieerd en gebruikt in de lokale industrie en werd het opnieuw verspreid over Europa. Het motief, hoewel typisch Oosters van oorsprong, dankt zijn westerse naam aan de Schotse stad Paisley, een belangrijke centrum van weverijen tijdens de industriële revolutie, niet ver van Glasgow.

Photograph, dated 22 December 1943, with Ida van Gent - van der Meij wearing her wedding dress from 1938, now dyed in a lilac colour.On Thursday, 26 September 2019, Gillian Vogelsang wrote:

Today (24 September 2019), we had a very interesting donation for the TRC’s Collection, namely a lilac coloured dress with a strong Leiden connection. The dress was initially made by Ida van der Meij (1910-1977) as her wedding dress, when she married Jan van Gent (1909-1983) in Leiden on 20 April 1938. At that time the dress was white. Ida van der Meij’s family lived at Hoge Rijndijk 254, Leiden, which actually is close to where the TRC is situated.

On 22 December 1943, when the Netherlands were occupied by German forces, her brother, Jacobus van der Meij (1917-1958), married Maria de Koning (1918-2008) from Leiderdorp, close to Leiden. It was wartime and clothing was scarce, so Ida dyed her wedding dress lilac, changed the shape of the sleeves and used this updated garment for her brother's wedding.

The dress (TRC 2019.2154) and photographs of the weddings in 1938 and 1943 will be on display in the TRC’s exhibition about textiles and clothing during the Second World War (summer 2020).