59 Sewed by Ann Lindsay, great-grandmother of the lender. 60 Undated. 61 "Isabella Sinclaer is my name, Scotland is my Nation, My Parents they were very good Lent by NORMAN M. MACKEAN. Circa 1750. Sewed by Margaret Aitken, great-grandaunt of the lender. Note the figure of Cupid with his bow, and the delightful colouring of this Sampler. 62 Circa 1819. Lent by MRS. SPENCER. Sewed by Elizabeth Elder MacRitchie; born Dec., 1810, daughter of Margaret Husband Elder, who in 1799 married John MacRitchie of Craigton, Perthshire. (See Nos. 22, 24, 25, 26). 63 A.D. 1840. Lent by her descendant, MISS MACRITCHIE. TEXTILE FABRICS. WALL CASES 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, AND CASES 13 AND 14. THE exhibits arranged under this heading comprise examples of Paisley shawls, tartans, and linen. While it is unnecessary to discuss the various materials used in the production and manufacture of these fabrics, it may be of interest to produce a few historic references relating to their origin and antiquity. PAISLEY SHAWLS.-The shawl is essentially an Oriental piece of dress, and was introduced into this country by the East Indian Company about the middle of the 18th century. It is recorded that in the year 1787 shawls were admitted by our Custom-house upon payment of an ad valorem duty of 27 per cent.; this duty, however, was reduced by various Acts and regulations during the years 1814-1846. The severe restrictions put upon their importation, and their consequent costliness, led to an attempt being first made in 1784 by the weavers of Norwich to imitate and produce in the loom the effects which, in the Indian cashmere shawls, were produced by the needle; but this, it appears, was not successfully carried out until about 1805. About the same period the manufacture of imitation Indian shawls was taken up in Paisley and Edinburgh, but the former town alone retained it, and in the course of time produced many new varieties of woven, printed, and embroidered shawls, such as the damask, Canton crape, chenille, etc. Typical of the class of shawl in vogue during the beginning of the 19th century were those woven with small dots, called "pow-heads or spade-shaped spriglettes," and known as the spade pattern (Nos. 4, 5, 6). The characteristic feature, however, in most of the decorative work, in what afterwards became widely known as the "Paisley Harness Shawl," was the pine or cone pattern-an ornament present in one form or another in almost every real Indian shawl (Nos. 15, 16). This pattern gradually became more conventionalised and more varied in form. Some of the shawls had it merely as a border, with the centre of a different colour, into which occasionally the design strayed; others, again, were entirely covered with the design. (Nos. 30, 35, 42, 52, 56 may be taken as representations of the different classes.) The Paisley shawl attained great celebrity. It was the fashion for all newly-married ladies to be "kirked" in one of these shawls, and was considered to be the appropriate article of dress for all important functions until about 1870, when in this country it went out of fashion. TARTANS.-While the manufacture of Paisley shawls is of a comparatively modern date, that of tartan is very ancient. Many learned researches have been made to endeavour to trace its introduction into the British Isles, and into Scotland in particular, where it has so long remained the wellknown Highland costume, giving a name to its peculiar style that is universally adopted in every part of the world in which the manufacture is produced or traded. The term tartan does not appear in Gaelic, nor was it used in the Highlands, where the word breachan was its equivalent, until the 16th century. There is no record of it having been the distinctive dress of the clans of Scotland before the 16th century; but in a chartulary of Aberdeen, in 1269, the canons of the Church forbid the clergy to wear the partycoloured garments under the name of Tyretains. Of date 1570, an ancient Scottish manuscript gives a list of the colours of the plaids of the different clans. In 1747, or immediately after the '45, the Hanoverian Government passed an Act prohibiting the wearing of this distinctive dress, and the grey shepherd's mauds were made instead. This Act was, however, repealed in 1782, and the Highlanders quickly resumed their former dress. In many cases the original sets of the clan tartans were forgotten, but something closely resembling them was manufactured. Ábout the early decades of the 19th century there was a decided demand for tartans, and it is to this period that many of the newer patterns are to be traced. LINEN. The oldest, perhaps, of all the textile arts is the spinning and weaving of flax. The cultivation of the flax plant, the various processes for separating the fibre and dressing it, and the subsequent operations of making it into linen fabrics four thousand years ago, are vividly represented upon the temples and tombs of Egypt. The Jewish priesthood were directed to use "linen garments and clothes of service"; and linen has been generally looked upon as emblematic of purity. Linen is found in connection with prehistoric remains in this country, and as early as the 7th century, ladies of rank, and even royal princesses had acquired much fame by their skill in spinning, weaving, and embroidering rich vestments for the Anglo-Saxon clergy. Records show that the materials chiefly or solely used were wool and flax, fabrics manufactured from the latter fibre being worn as under-garments by all persons of moderate station or wealth. Linen manufacturing in Scotland was often encouraged by the Government. In 1727 a Board of Manufacturers was established for the distribution of bounties, pursuant to the Act of Union, and it is recorded that of the £6000 paid to the Scottish Board, £2650 was appropriated to the encouragement of the linen trade. Its first act was to give orders for the establishment of schools all over the country, but especially in the Highlands, for the instruction in the art of spinning at the wheel. The Scottish Board of Manufacturers was abolished in 1823. Among the domestic utensils will be found obsolete articles used in the manufacture of linen (Nos. 26-31). 2 SHAWL, crimson silk ground with floral figured centre and border. (Jewelled pattern.) Circa 1800. Lent by MISS GILMOUR. 3 Small Shoulder SHAWL. Circa 1761. Lent by WILLIAM CHAPMAN. 4 Corner and Centre Square SHAWL, with sewed-on border. (Spade pattern.) Circa 1800. Lent by the COMMITTEE OF THE PAISLEY FREE LIBRARY 5 Small Silk SHAWL, sprig centre. (Spade pattern.) Circa 1800. Lent by JOHN ROBERTSON. 6 Small Shoulder SHAWL, sewed-on border and canton silk fringe. (Spade pattern.) Circa 1800. Lent by Miss GILMOUR. 7 Long SHAWL, crimson silk ground with sprig design and woven border. Circa 1800. Lent by the COMMITTEE OF THE PAISLEY FREE LIBRARY 8 Printed SHAWL. Circa 1800. Lent by Miss M. E. MATHER. 9 Small Shoulder SHAWL, black cashmere ground with floral figure design and canton silk fringe. Circa 1810. Lent by the COMMITTEE OF THE PAISLEY FREE Library 10 SHAWL, crimson silk ground with figured centre and sewed-on border. Circa 1810-20. Lent by MRS. PERCY BATE. 11 White Silk SHAWL, pine end. Circa 1805. Lent by MISS GILMOUR. 12 Small Shoulder SHAWL, white cashmere ground with floral figure design and canton silk fringe. Circa 1810. Lent by MRS. CRAIG BARR. 13 Harness SHAWL, black silk ground with elaborate pine corners and repeats throughout the middle of same character. Circa 1810. Lent by the COMMITTEE OF THE PAISLEY FREE LIBRARY 14 Small Shoulder SHAWL. 15 Indian SHAWL of fine needle-work. purpose of comparison.) Lent by WILLIAM CHAPMAN. (Exhibited for the Lent by ROBERT COCHRAN. 16 Indian SHAWL of fine needle-work. (Exhibited for the purpose of comparison.) Lent by Miss GILMOUR. 17 Chenille SHAWL. Circa 1820-30. (The manufacture of Chenille was invented in Paisley about 1820 by Mr. Alexander Buchanan, and first made into shawls by Mr. John Robertson, who was for a long period a leading manufacturer in Paisley.) Lent by the COMMITTEE OF THE PAISLEY FREE LIBRARY 18 Small Canton Crape SHAWL, with printed border. Circa 1820-30. (The manufacture of Canton Crape Shawls was introduced into this country by Mr. James Coats, the founder of the firm of Messrs. J. & P. Coats, and Mr. James Whyte, who discovered the secret of their manufacture and for a number of years enjoyed a monopoly of the trade.) Lent by JOHN ROBERTSON. 19 Silk Damask SHAWL, with printed border and floral figured centre. Circa 1820-30. Lent by ROBERT COCHRAN. 20 Canton Silk Damask SHAWL, with printed border and corners. Circa 1820-30. Lent by JOHN ROBERTSON. |