"Betsy Ross / Liberty Bell" printed dress silk, Mallinson's Early American series
date: label: Date made
content: 1929
name: label: maker
content: H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: Length of printed "Vagabond Crepe" (Mallinson trade name). Weft ribbed, crepe fabric woven with silk warp and doupion weft. Printed allover pattern "Betsy Ross-Liberty Bell," one of the "Early American" series. Jagged, rayed "Art Deco" or "Jazz Age" depiction of the Liberty Bell; Thirteen stars with coats of arms in them of the 13 original states; Washington inspecting Betsy Ross's flag; and Independence Hall. Colorway: Light blue ground (fading out in sections to pinkish tone) White reserves, print in black, coral, pink, red. Selvage width; selvage inscription. Judging from drawings by free-lance textile designer Walter Mitschke in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Mitschke designed this print and several others in the Early American series.
label: Description
content: Mallinson's 1929 "Early American" series of printed dress silks was based on historical events and figures that were perceived at the time to consitute a shared American story. It was the last of the company's line of designs based on American themes in which each design was printed in at least seven colors, in several colorways, on three or four different ground cloths. The stock market crash and economic depression that followed made the investment in this kind of design unprofitable.
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: American Silk Industry
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content: Migel-Mallinson Silks
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content: Textiles
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content: Mallinson's Early American
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.T05949
label: accession number
content: 104252
label: catalog number
content: T05949.000
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Fabric Length
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silk (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: gray-blue ground (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: orange (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: dark blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: red (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: pink (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: plain weave; cylinder-printed (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 36 in x 35 1/2 in; 91.44 cm x 90.17 cm