Mallinson's "Pussy Willow" process sample; "in the gum"
date: label: Date made
content: 1928
name: label: maker
content: H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: A length of HR Mallinson's Pussy Willow (trade name) silk--all silk radium like plain weave fabric, quality #5459-D, as it comes from the loom, woven in the gum, natural color. This textile length is a process sample for Pussy Willow, Mallinson's premier selling silk quality, as it came from the loom, before it was washed, dyed, printed, or otherwise finished. It is the natural color of the silk, which was, in the language of the trade, "woven in the gum," meaning that sericin, the natural substance secreted by the silkworm along the silk filament that helped bind the cocoon together, had not been completely removed from the silk yarns before weaving began. This was common practice, as the sericin helped protect the silk yarns from abrasion during the weaving process. Company # 5459-D. This sample is from a group of six donated by the company to illustrate the discharge-printing process.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
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content: American Silks
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content: Migel-Mallinson Silks
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content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T05744
label: catalog number
content: T5744
label: accession number
content: 101284
objectType: label: Object Name
content: fabric length (process sample)
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silk (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plain weave; in the gum (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 72 in x 40 in; 182.88 cm x 101.6 cm