Thinking Ahead

 

Some of the textile collection at Fort Louisbourg

garment fragment

Garment fragment - two layers sewn together.  

On a trip to Cape Breton a few years ago, I got in to see some of the textile collection at Fort Louisbourg.  These fragments were found in a midden, were obviously scraps that had been thrown away as too worn out to be used for anything and considered trash.

It is speculated that the fragments date from the 1700s and everything we looked at was wool  But we only saw a very small portion of the collection.  (The brown colour is because the textiles were buried in the midden - no telling what colour they were originally.)

The one that intrigues me the most is the bottom photo.  It looks like a part of a garment, possibly a vest, more likely a jacket, with a buttonhole through both layers.  We could not remove the fragments from their archival boxes but it looks like the top layer is woven in 2:2 twill, the bottom possibly woven from a finer yarn than the outer, in plain weave.  Possibly a lining for a cold weather coat.

Many of the fragments are heavily fulled, a not uncommon procedure applied to woolen fabrics, which makes analysis of the cloth difficult.

We were told it could be possible to acquire a research permit in order to take a much closer look.  Not expecting to return I kind of dismissed the idea and forgot about it.

However, the idea has come back to me as I think about the future and what I want to do and where I might like to travel to, once the pandemic has been brought under control.  So I emailed the Fort to find out more, and this morning got a reply.  :)  

I have no idea when - or if - I will feel safe enough to travel.  It's a long journey from coast to coast and I'm a bit leery of long airplane rides right now.  OTOH, I'm not getting any younger, so...

There have been some textile collections that have been looked at in some detail.  Probably one of the best is Woven into the Earth by Else Ostergard - a deep dive into the Norse textiles found in the permafrost in Greenland.  Elizabeth Wayland Barber has looked at the Mummies of Urumchi in some detail.  Other cultures have been documented as well, from John Becker's Pattern and Loom, to examinations of Japanese textiles, to the ikats and batiks of Indonesia.  Most recently an article on the original muslin cloth of India - so gossamer thin it was transparent.  

Textiles are ephemeral.  I am supportive of efforts to document the remains that have been found and examined.  I don't know if I'm the right person to look at the textiles of Fort Louisbourg, but maybe it is something I need to consider.  The first step is getting a research permit.  Then see what happens.

Photo credit to Janet Dawson who got me into the collection in the first place.