In 1997, we acquired a truly amazing, early nineteenth Century fabric sample book. It contains 330 pages and approximately 1,750 vintage fabric samples, which are glued onto hand made rag paper with paste made from horses' hooves or fish glue (a process used at the time because that is all they had, but is now known as an effective conservation technique). The pages are bound in a ledger type book (10" x 16"). The book and its samples have been identified as c. 1830 French dressgoods by both a professor of costume and an independent textile historian.

Our first reaction to this book was "WOW!" ....and we still feel that way every time we open the cover.

Although the original purpose of the book is not known, there are three likely possibilities. It may have been used as a printing mill pattern book, a sample storage book by a subscriber to a swatch service (yes those existed back then), or a reference book for ideas by someone in the fabric industry. Glue marks, left behind on some pages where swatches have been removed, suggest that this was a working book.

We recently purchased several vintage fabric sample books from the mid 19th century. The ledgers containing about 80 pages each are large, 13" X 20", and identified as from a bookbinder in Paris. They are titled Laines 1849--Fleurs, Persans, Geometriques, Rayures, Laine & Coton, 1843-1844--Dessins and Fantaisies and Divers 1863. The designs are generally large and the colorations are amazing!!

These books may have been compiled by one of the companies in Paris which supplied swatches of European fabrics to others in the industry. Many of the pages have not only year dates but also printers names. Most of these printers were working in the Alsace/Mulhouse region of France. Some pages are marked 'Inconnu' (unknown). 

The samples within the three books are either 100% wool, 100% cotton or cotton warp with a wool weft. These wool or wool/cotton fabrics were often referred to as Delaines in England and America. A reproduction fabric line was based on this book and printed by Windham Hill /Baum Fabrics.