Late 18th and 19th Century Textiles

Late 18th and 19th Century Textiles
By Francesca Galloway and Sue Kerry
Published by Antique Collectors’ Club
ISBN: 185149555X
Price: £35
Reviewed by Liz Hunter

This is a book for the specialist and the layman alike. It begins with a fascinating introduction to furnishing fabrics of the late 18th and 19th century, showing how changing politics and technologies influenced fabric design. Napoleon alone commissioned 80,000 metres of fabric and managed to boost the flagging silk weaving industry. The mid 19th century saw a revival of interest in the medieval period, Pugin designed the Houses of Parliament and in Paris Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle were restored, and the new middle classes provided a ready market for fabrics based on medieval designs. The Arts and Crafts movement revived the British textile trade and we saw the emergence of companies such as Sandersons, Liberty and Warners. This section of the book gives an excellent account of manufacture and design and is full of interesting anecdotes.

Beautifully detailed photographs of fabrics in chronological order make up the middle section of the book, fabrics that are richly coloured, highly decorative and in many cases made for royalty or nobility. Each set of photographs is accompanied by a detailed description. Three fabrics fascinated me. Firstly, the huge silk curtains, each one 144 inches by 82 inches, commissioned by the Duc de Penthievre in 1787. Lavish illustrations show their near perfect condition and the elaborate pattern worked in tiny immaculate chain stitch, plus a complex passementerie border. Secondly, and in complete contrast, a roller printed velvet by John Illingworth Kaye in 1893 with its swirling pattern and stylised trees is a wonderful example of Art Nouveau. My final choice is a vast silk and linen table cloth designed in Scotland in 1856 to commemorate the end of the Crimean War. All of the major figures and major battles are depicted in damask. The short final section gives a brief biography of the designers.

This book contains a wealth of detail but is also such a visual feast that it deserves a space on the shelves of anyone interested in history of pattern and fabric.

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