Swatch Book of Figured Velvets and Brocaded Silks
Date1785-1790
MediumPaper and silks
DimensionsOH: 8 1/2 in.; OW: 7 in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2017-247
DescriptionThis is a sample book containing over 800 samples of silk. The majority of these (680) are velvets for men's suiting, many incorporating both cut and uncut pile, with small floral or geometric patterns in bright colors. At the back of the book are approximately 20 pages (144 samples) of miscellaneous fancy woven silks, including pattern plushes, droguets, chines and brocades. The average page contains ten individual textiles, but some pages contain up to twenty-two samples.Label TextThis swatch book contains over 800 samples of silks woven in France on the eve of the French Revolution. The majority of the samples are velvets in small-scale floral and abstract patterns. Sales agents would have used the book to market the latest textile fashions to merchants and customers.
MarkingsWatermarks for the Montgolfier family of paper makers on Annonay: "F M M / ANNONAY" and a coat of arms incorporating the fleur de lis contained within what may be a Montgolfier balloon topped with a crown
ca. 1865
1777-1786
1830-1845
1824-1828 (range of the entires in the album).
