Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue: A Marriage of the Toile de Jouy and Document Theory
Creators: name: Trokhymenko, Susanne
Publisher: name: unknown
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Documentation
subject: Textile crafts
subject: Textile fabrics

description: It is evident from its presence and use in our everyday lives that textiles have been woven into our
history since time began and have earned a place in museums as objects; but can a printed textile
be considered a document? This paper proposes to explore the Toile de Jouy, a French 18th-19th
century textile through various aspects of Document Theory. Drawing on pertinent literature from
the early 20th century to this day, relevant material about Knowledge Organisation and
Classification was considered, and a historical background about printed textiles relating to the
period of the Toile de Jouy examined. The information about the Toile de Jouy was obtained from
historical research methods from primary and secondary sources as well as a visit to the Musée de
la Toile de Jouy in France. This study confirmed the documentality of the toile de Jouy by
deconstructing the production process resulting in multiple documents, followed by a
reconstruction of these documents and exploring their rhizomatic relationships. After analysing
the classification possibilities of its patterns over the eight decades of production, the
dissemination of the Toile de Jouy, since the manufactory's closure in 1843, has been investigated
and related in an attempt to show how many more documents have been created through time.
The main conclusion to be drawn is that Toile de Jouy, as a printed textile is not only a document
in its own right but has, by its production process, classification and dissemination, become a
producer of other documents of equal documentary value to itself.
description: It is evident from its presence and use in our everyday lives that textiles have been woven into our history since time began and have earned a place in museums as objects; but can a printed textile be considered a document? This paper proposes to explore the Toile de Jouy, a French 18th-19th century textile through various aspects of Document Theory. Drawing on pertinent literature from the early 20th century to this day, relevant material about Knowledge Organisation and Classification was considered, and a historical background about printed textiles relating to the period of the Toile de Jouy examined. The information about the Toile de Jouy was obtained from historical research methods from primary and secondary sources as well as a visit to the Musée de la Toile de Jouy in France. This study confirmed the documentality of the toile de Jouy by deconstructing the production process resulting in multiple documents, followed by a reconstruction of these documents and exploring their rhizomatic relationships. After analysing the classification possibilities of its patterns over the eight decades of production, the dissemination of the Toile de Jouy, since the manufactory's closure in 1843, has been investigated and related in an attempt to show how many more documents have been created through time. The main conclusion to be drawn is that Toile de Jouy, as a printed textile is not only a document in its own right but has, by its production process, classification and dissemination, become a producer of other documents of equal documentary value to itself.