WINTERTHUR, DE.- After more than four decades as the gold standard on the history of furnishing fabrics, Printed Textiles: British and American Cottons and Linens, 1700 – 1850, has been comprehensively updated by Winterthur’s Linda Eaton, the John L. & Marjorie P. McGraw Director of Collections and Senior Curator of Textiles, reflecting a universe of new information since the book’s original publication in 1970.

“Take the ‘bones ‘ of a classic volume, rewrite with updated and newly research material, add 600 glorious color images, and you have the makings of a new standard in the field,” said Thomas Savage, Director of Museum Affairs at Winterthur.

Long considered the authoritative sourcebook for textiles influencing the social and political worlds of two continents, Printed Textiles offers rare insights into the fascinating – and sometimes surprising -- origins of designs, textures, patterns, and colors today inextricably woven into modern culture. The author, Linda Eaton, has produced a worthy sequel to Florence Montgomery’s 1970 publication, Printed Textiles, offering a fresh and thoroughly documented look at not only fabrics and techniques but also the broader worlds of commerce and material culture.

From quilts to window curtains, slipcovers to bedhangings, the Winterthur Museum collection includes some of the finest cotton and linen textiles made or used in America and Britain between 1700 and 1850. One of the fastest growing and potentially lucrative trades in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, on the forefront of developments in science and engineering, chemistry and technology, the textile industry is a fascinating lens into international trade relations and cultural exchange over two centuries. With hundreds of beautifully photographed samples, this significant addition to textile scholarship allows for a full appreciation of these fascinating fabrics.

“People have been asking me for years when Winterthur might update Printed Textiles, and it has been tremendously exciting to build upon the seminal work of its first author, Florence Montgomery,” said Eaton. “People relate to fabrics on a personal level, it’s something everyone can understand and feel, whether they’re wearing fabric, sitting on it, hanging it from curtain rods, admiring it on a sofa, or dressing a child. It’s ubiquitous in our lives and inherently personal.”

Highlights:

· Textiles shown in black-and-white in the original book have been re-photographed in color, adding a rich new dimension to the experience of the book.

· Over 100 exquisite pieces acquired by Winterthur Museum since 1970 have been added to both the text discussion and photography in the book, significantly enhancing the depth and breadth of the contents.

· In all, over 600 spectacular color photographs are in the new edition.

· Eaton’s book offers a trove of compelling information for academics and collectors and reams of inspiration for artists and designers.

· Printed Textiles highlights the elegant, even rarefied, world of furnishing fabrics in a format that is accessible and entertaining.

· Printed Textiles is an excellent introduction to the important Winterthur collection of British and American printed textiles.

Winterthur’s expertise in American decorative arts provides a unique position from which to document and discuss the industry. With the first publication of Printed Textiles, Winterthur curator Montgomery outlined for the first time all aspects of these fabrics. The book quickly became a classic, serving as a comprehensive guide on creative and technical issues through detailed research, expert insight, and dramatic illustrations.

As a model in object-based study, it was seminal in the development of the discipline now known as material culture—an achievement appropriate to Montgomery’s association with Winterthur, where the first such master’s program had been established in 1952, soon after she joined the museum….There is no doubt that this new publication, based on Montgomery’s book, will be just as influential. – Mary Schoeser, Independent Scholar, Honorary President of The Textile Society UK