Unused length of Cholet handkerchief linen - 1930's
This roll of linen or linen métis handkerchief linen comes from a lot I bought about four years ago, which came with a note showing that they were originally destined to be sent to Madagascar c.1936. Cholet was the major manufacturing centre for handkerchief fabric throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries - the old factory is now a textile museum with a dye-garden attached, and is worth a visit if you are ever in Maine-et-Loire.
Originally handkerchiefs were sold like this, as a roll of fabric, with the woven lines showing where to cut. Either you hemmed them yourself or you would take them to a professional embroiderer and get them hemmed there.
This piece is in excellent condition and still has its label attached. There are a couple of storage marks but it is mostly clean - and it still has its starch in, which protects the fabric underneath. The label says ‘pur fil’ this usually indicates it is not a métis, but the weave looks like a métis to me - either this is pure linen or a linen and cotton métis. The heavy starching makes it impossible to tell. But it is very finely and beautifully woven and pieces like this, of this age, almost 100 years old, are exceedingly rare.
This is 40cm wide and 4.82 metres long.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
This roll of linen or linen métis handkerchief linen comes from a lot I bought about four years ago, which came with a note showing that they were originally destined to be sent to Madagascar c.1936. Cholet was the major manufacturing centre for handkerchief fabric throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries - the old factory is now a textile museum with a dye-garden attached, and is worth a visit if you are ever in Maine-et-Loire.
Originally handkerchiefs were sold like this, as a roll of fabric, with the woven lines showing where to cut. Either you hemmed them yourself or you would take them to a professional embroiderer and get them hemmed there.
This piece is in excellent condition and still has its label attached. There are a couple of storage marks but it is mostly clean - and it still has its starch in, which protects the fabric underneath. The label says ‘pur fil’ this usually indicates it is not a métis, but the weave looks like a métis to me - either this is pure linen or a linen and cotton métis. The heavy starching makes it impossible to tell. But it is very finely and beautifully woven and pieces like this, of this age, almost 100 years old, are exceedingly rare.
This is 40cm wide and 4.82 metres long.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
This roll of linen or linen métis handkerchief linen comes from a lot I bought about four years ago, which came with a note showing that they were originally destined to be sent to Madagascar c.1936. Cholet was the major manufacturing centre for handkerchief fabric throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries - the old factory is now a textile museum with a dye-garden attached, and is worth a visit if you are ever in Maine-et-Loire.
Originally handkerchiefs were sold like this, as a roll of fabric, with the woven lines showing where to cut. Either you hemmed them yourself or you would take them to a professional embroiderer and get them hemmed there.
This piece is in excellent condition and still has its label attached. There are a couple of storage marks but it is mostly clean - and it still has its starch in, which protects the fabric underneath. The label says ‘pur fil’ this usually indicates it is not a métis, but the weave looks like a métis to me - either this is pure linen or a linen and cotton métis. The heavy starching makes it impossible to tell. But it is very finely and beautifully woven and pieces like this, of this age, almost 100 years old, are exceedingly rare.
This is 40cm wide and 4.82 metres long.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.