Textiles and Fashion in the 19th Century

• Textiles & Fashion

• 18^th Century
• 19^th Century
• 20^th Century

Nineteenth century textile sample books document the extraordinary diversity of design choices available during a century when the textile industry propelled the Industrial Revolution. This period is characterized by widening markets and the increased industrialization of textile production, led by France and England, and later by the United States. Dramatic technological advances included the move from traditional hand wood block printing techniques to steam powered engraved copper roller printing by the 1830s.

Developments in printing coincided with progress in dye chemistry that led to a new range of colors. From a limited palate of natural dyes (such as, indigo, weld, madder, cochineal, and logwood), the color palate expanded in the early nineteenth century with the introduction of inorganic mineral colors (such as, prussian blue, manganese brown, antimony orange, and chrome yellow). Concurrent with the expansion of natural dyestuffs, synthetic dyes were introduced. The first truly synthetic dye, mauve, was discovered in 1856 in England and alizarine, the pure coloring component of the natural dye madder, was synthesized in 1868.

These technological advances greatly influenced and even dictated tastes and fashion trends in textiles. With the unrestrained experimentation in textile technology, sample books became highly prized as repositories of proprietary methods during an era when copying and industrial espionage were prevalent. Sample textile designs on paper, which contained less information than textile swatches, were a more secure means of communicating design ideas. Technology transfer from England and France to the United States occurred through copying designs and swatches, the importation of English equipment, and the immigration of skilled English printers and dyers. By the end of the century, the United States had become one of the foremost textile producers, with more capital invested in the textile industry than in any other area of manufacturing.

Sample books during the nineteenth century were necessary organizing tools for manufacturers in controlling large inventories, determining which designs to put into full production, and marketing a range of designs. In the printed cotton industry, which catered to the demands of the growing middle and laboring class markets, manufacturers competed with thousands of patterns for end use in fashion, including dresses, men’s shirts, aprons, children’s clothing, handkerchiefs, shawls, and small accessories. Between 1830 and 1840 in England, over 30,000 different printed designs were produced in relatively short sample runs, with 10% of the designs put into large scale production. As industrialization progressed and inventories expanded, marketing and merchandizing became more sophisticated with the introduction of selling agents who worked for the mills. Supplied with folders of samples to solicit orders from retailers, other agents, and clothing manufacturers, selling agents were enduring mercantile specialists in the nineteenth century.