Sample of Fancy seal, faux fur; 1884; Huddersfield, England
date: label: date made
content: 1884
notes: label: Description
content: Sample of fancy Seal faux fur plush, made like other seal plushes, as a double weave, then dyed, printed, and pressed to give it a more natural appearance. Accompanying documentation in the accession folder reads: "Specimens of manufactures, all designed in imitation of the wool, or fur, or hair of those animals whose natural skins have been used from the earliest times as a means of clothing; for which their great warmth has made them especially adapted. / Thus the sheep, goat, camel, buffalo, bear, fox, seal, beaver, otter, and manyothers have been laid under contribution to supply those wants which the rigors of climate rendered necessary. / The great beauty as well as comfort of many of these furs and skins have always been sought after, but their cost and the difficulty of obtaining them have precluded the possibility of their possession, by any but the wealthier classes. / Human ingenuity has therefore been taxed to rpovide something which should as near as possible resemble both in appearance and comfort these much valued articles. / This has been accomplished, and the various imitations of furs, skins, etc. now not only nearly equal the original in point of appearance, but actually surpass them in point of durability, while the comparatively low price at which they can be produced places them within the reach of everyone." From a group of European-made faux furs donated by importer H. Herrman Sternbach & Co., NYC, in 1884.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England, Kirklees, Huddersfield
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of H. Herrman, of H. Herrman, Sternbach & Co...
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.15466.14
label: accession number
content: 15466
label: catalog number
content: 15466.14
objectType: label: Object Name
content: faux fur sample
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: pile weave; printed, embossed (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 5 in; 12.7 cm x 12.7 cm