Bed-hanging project
This post is mostly me talking to myself, as I doubt anyone is interested in the creeping progress of my research.
All images of the V&A bed-hangings are printed and cut. The indigo fabrics and single reds have been matched and sorted. Brown/black/possible faded purple in progress. The 65 trillion multi-color prints still to go.
Step 2: count total fabrics (this will be hard because sometimes different areas/stripes can look different enough to fool me - these scraps are only about 3" across) and start breaking them down and compiling statistics. Compare single reds and single b/b/pfp as I saw some very similar prints. At least a few seem to be identical.
Step 3: try if possible to determine printing/dyeing methods. This is daunting as there are hundreds of different prints. I will need a spreadsheet and a system to provide a unique number for each print. I may not achieve this step.
At some point, probably after step 2, I will try to contact the V&A with some questions. My dream is that I am able to have some back-and-forth with a knowledgeable person.
If anything in the universe could happen, I'd love to be able to see the fabrics in the Foundling Hospital's billet books. I'd love to see how many of the small repeating prints are there or how many non-trailing-florals there are. I'd also like to know what percentage of the textile tokens are printed fabrics. The bed-hangings are dated 1730-50 and I'd love to see a large collections that's a bit later, esp. one drawn from the poorer classes.
All images of the V&A bed-hangings are printed and cut. The indigo fabrics and single reds have been matched and sorted. Brown/black/possible faded purple in progress. The 65 trillion multi-color prints still to go.
Step 2: count total fabrics (this will be hard because sometimes different areas/stripes can look different enough to fool me - these scraps are only about 3" across) and start breaking them down and compiling statistics. Compare single reds and single b/b/pfp as I saw some very similar prints. At least a few seem to be identical.
Step 3: try if possible to determine printing/dyeing methods. This is daunting as there are hundreds of different prints. I will need a spreadsheet and a system to provide a unique number for each print. I may not achieve this step.
At some point, probably after step 2, I will try to contact the V&A with some questions. My dream is that I am able to have some back-and-forth with a knowledgeable person.
If anything in the universe could happen, I'd love to be able to see the fabrics in the Foundling Hospital's billet books. I'd love to see how many of the small repeating prints are there or how many non-trailing-florals there are. I'd also like to know what percentage of the textile tokens are printed fabrics. The bed-hangings are dated 1730-50 and I'd love to see a large collections that's a bit later, esp. one drawn from the poorer classes.