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My fourth and final visit overseas, was to the MUSÉE DE I’IMPRESSION SUR ÉTOFFES, which celebrates more than two hundred and fifty years of textile printing, in the city of Mulhouse, in France. I have been made to feel so welcome at each of the four places I have visited this year, and again I felt privileged to go ‘behind the scenes’, to see things which are generally not made available to the public. 

I am very grateful to Madame Jacqueline Jacqué, the Curator, for giving up her time to show me the galleries, collections, storage facilities and conservation projects at this interesting museum. I would like to thank her for allowing me to photograph the various aspects mentioned above and apologise to her and you, the reader, for the disappointing quality of some of the photographs. I have still included those which aren’t particularly clear in my slideshow as without them it is difficult to show the extensive nature of material which this museum contains.

The  Museum of Printed Textiles has a very long history, as does the textile industry in this French city of Mulhouse in Alsace. Since the 1700’s printing on fabric and related industries have occurred in Mulhouse. During the early 1800’s, some of the manufacturers formed a Society and began to collect samples of their products and added designs, from other countries and from earlier times. The collection grew in importance and became what is now the premier collection of printed textiles in the world. In 1955 an association was formed in order to run the museum and in 1994 the building was entirely renovated providing a beautiful new environment for the priceless objects which it holds. 

The purpose of the original design collection was to inspire artists and designers of the time by introducing them to new and different patterns. This same purpose continues today with designers, textile researchers and students using the extensive collection. The collection comprises more than 9000 volumes of manufacturers sample books, 70,000 textile documents and 3 million printed fabric samples. To say the least it is a huge job to catalogue, restore, preserve, display, and store so many valuable objects.

The mission of the museum is to preserve the history of the production of printed textiles and this aspect has been accomplished exceptionally well. Throughout the extensive range of displays there is information, photographs, maps and documents, and possessions which some of the industrialists, and their families, donated to the museum. This feature helps to ‘personalise’ the story of the industry in the area.

If you were to take a guided tour you would be shown through seven rooms, each one as informative and visually interesting as the next. The first room is designed to stimulate your interest in objects which have been printed. Featured in the exhibition are a wide range of printed materials from; 18^th century decorative wall hangings to garments worn by the French aristocracy during the 1800’s, to a modern mass produced tee-shirt used for advertising purposes.

One room features information about the discovery, in the 16^th century, of using mordant as a fixative. This was an important event for people in Europe who were used to wearing heavy woollen, linen and highly embroidered silk clothing. The freshness, and brightness of the designs, coupled with the lightweight cloth they were printed on to, quickly seduced the European market, in terms of both decorative and apparel textiles. Another room tells the story of how, in the 18^th century the engraved wooden block, used since the 14th century for pigment printing, became dominant. The engraver made a block with wood from fruit trees which was often inserted with teeth and small strips of brass for a precise pattern. The printer then put the blocks full of colouring material on the cloth and applied a  blow with a heavy mallet to transfer the colour. Wood block printing was still practised in many workshops until the middle of the 20th century. You can take part in a ‘ Creative Workshop’ to learn about and use these same techniques and the original engraved wooden blocks used in the first factories.

 In 1769 Watt and Boulton invented the first steam driven printing machine. Unfortunately the high accident rate, coupled with heavy pollution slowed down it’s progress. Thomas Bell, a Scotsman invented the first textile printing machine with engraved copper rollers and it was patented in 1783. Fourteen years later, the textile manufacturer “Jouy en Josas” put into production the first copper roller textile printing machine in France.
A rival machine, invented by Jean Louis Lefebvre at the beginning of the 19th Century proved to be very successful, and was widely used in Beauvais, the Paris area, as well as in Alsace and Germany. Another room follows the history outlined above and also features the machinery and related documentation.

The technological developments during the 20^th and 21^st centuries, in both the dyeing and printing processes, are also documented and examples of the progress made are well displayed. In particular the ‘Black and White’ exhibition, on whilst I was visiting, emphasises these aspects. This exhibition presents  rare old fabrics and contemporary fabrics together, from tiny samples from the middle of the 19^th century to large panels of furnishing fabrics made by  contemporary designers. An interesting part of the exhibition is dedicated to the work of the artists who created the designs in the first place. This is shown by a series of framed pictures of exquisite and detailed original black and white drawings, to more beautiful coloured drawings, which were copied by the engraver onto the block, or later onto a graph, then onto the copper rollers ready for printing.

 Unfortunately Anne-Rose Bringel the Textile Conservator was completing work in another city but I was able to meet Emilie Dettalante, a Textile Conservation student in training, who was working on a project in the Conservation Laboratory and Storage Facility. This recently purchased building was bought to provide more space for the ever growing collections, and to house the Conservation Laboratory. As you may well appreciate, the storage of the wide variety and number of objects, which the museum has, is quite a problem. At many of the museums I have visited I have noticed that there seems to be inadequate resources, funding, employees or volunteers to preserve such wonderful collections, and this museum is no exception. Because of the diversity of the objects in the storage area, purpose built cabinets or shelving have been made in which to support and protect most of the objects from damage. The objects which the conservators were working on require many hours of painstaking work to bring them back to their former glory. A visitor to the  Museum viewing the well presented and ‘complete’ samples and garments in all of the displays, would find it difficult to see any obvious evidence, thanks to their dedicated work.

The gift shop on the ground floor is well stocked with many beautiful items, such as handkerchiefs, scarves, pashminas, table linen and writing materials which are printed with original patterns the same as those in the various collections. I purchased three items but the written information about the different patterns is in French. The translation of the details will be a good task for the students taking French at school!

Credit must be given to the very small team of people who work at this museum for their dedication in preserving this very important aspect of their local and wider history. Thanks are again due to Jacqueline for making this such a pleasurable experience.

Beautiful paper and generous graphic design, I really like the flower on the invitation card. I’m a big flowers and detail and line lover. The hall is full, heterogeneous audience : Madame de Fontenay (the famous organiser of Miss France) escorted by one of her Miss ? I’m really not involved in celebrities stuff…Oh Maybe Sonia Rolland (ex Miss, now a TV actress). Lots of fashion journalists, around me many German and Russian ones. Vague impression of a right balance between the old France and the international hype : unusual match. I’m waiting for the show, like my neighbours.

The show’s ending and I still haven’t fixed my video problem of my « other me », my capricious Canon ! Some fabrics are absolutely fabulous ! Now I can better understand  the big success of Leonard in Japan. On daily I don’t use printed fabrics, I prefer minimalist plaint fabrics. But I confess : Leonard’s flowers are gorgeous and irresistible !

I knew the brand’s name. But I’ve discovered with this show, a really infectious classical and modern elegance. With the excellent Michel Gaubert soundtrack. And a top feminine make-up. Great hair like the Botticelli’s Venus : congratulations Mr Marc Lopez ! At last, lovely models with a great grooming. Congrat to the catwalk coach too : at last (again) slender walks ! It’s so important ! Bones teens girls disguised as women badly walking : I simply can’t look at the cloth ! 

And of course there are those incredibly fluid dresses, especially the black background and « Ryokan » flowers printed  ones : a big fantasy ! Yes ! Those dresses reminds me the perfect dressing of a Seventies-early Eighties TV actress. Puffed sleeves and tide shoulders, or hippies chic bustier dresses and I imagine Angie Dickinson in the late Seventies. Or an extra on the « Boat Love » set. And Purdey of « The Avengers ». With Ben Gazzara as an escort boy, dressed in white flares and suit and thin Ray Ban sunglasses surrounded with gold. Wow !

So beautiful, here the printed dress of my next sexy winter ! Irresistible, isn’t it ? Yes I love being a vintage « Charlie’s Angel » ! Wow wOw so exciting ! Champagne Leonard !

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