JUILLIARD LOG BOOK OF WORSTEDS AND WOOLENS FOR SPRING 1951 - "FINE FABRICS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF FASHION"
New York: Julliard Co., 1951. Ring_bound. Large metal ring binder. Laminate layer over faux wood illustrated boards. Miniature replica of a ship Belaying pin affixed to front cover by thick rope to match the seafaring theme. 13" x 10 1/2" pp. 52. Catalogue of fabric samples of woolens and worsteds attached to thick, cream-colored paper with faint nautical background designs. Introductory page explains theme and contents. 5 tab separators "Clipper Ship Coatings," "Sea Breeze Suitings," "Sea Foam Dress Weights," and "Round-the-World Colors" each with nautical vignette over faux wood design. Lovely mid-century typography in filigree style cartouches to each leaf. Nearly all samples 100% virgin wool in excellent condition. FINE. Item #85389
This nautical themed Julliard catalogue takes inspiration from the "Clipper Ship Era"--an era of American seafaring inaugurated by newly designed American-made vessels in the 1850s. The company writes on its introductory page, "The American Clipper Ships were the flower and symbol of civilization's mercantile triumphs. These thoroughbred racers of the sea were in their day as streamlined as are our fashions and way of life today. They were the epitome of American craftsmanship...the sleek, slim lines of their hulls never surpassed in beauty." The collection was designed in consultation with the curators and staff and the Marine Museum in Mystic Connecticut. Motifs of seagulls, sails, light houses, and quaint seaside villages recur throughout.
The colorful, patterned fabric is neatly cut and carefully arranged on each leaf according to printed ID number. Includes tweeds, fleeces, stock-dyed worsted suiting, checkered tweed, skipchecksuiting, chart checks, and more. Descriptions of each kind of fabric uses very vivid imagery. For example, the Julliard Tween Suitings is described as "Homespun, rustic, white pebbles on a beach...words that conjure up an earlier American scene. Pebble Tweed, light-weight wool suiting is chic in neutrals nubbed in white, lovely too in cross-dyed pastels and brights...Dolphin Tweed, a versatile jacket weight is lightly checked and handsome...cross-dyed colors are mauves, golds, soft tans and stimulating brights." The book is of great interest for the fabric, but it is also of interest as an artifact of mid-century advertising--the heyday of "mad men."
The company had its roots in the mid-nineteenth century. Augustus D. Julliard founded the textile manufacturing company, the Julliard Company, in 1866. He became a wealthy and well known American businessman and philanthropist, donating to schools, hospitals, and museums. The famous Julliard School of Music in New York City was named after him.
Price: $250.00