You are invited to discover some extract from my latest publication about collectible haberdashery items. It shall be coming out around mid-October.

Format: 150 x 210
240 pages
Plastified cover with pockets 
About 800 photos
Available from MID-OCTOBER 2008
Price: 27.50 euros
ISBN: 978-2-35786-005-6
All the texts are in FRENCHand ENGLISH

(click on photos below to enlarge)

In the same vein as "Ouvrages de Dames" (Fancy Work), this book concentrates uniquely on the world of threads in all their forms. It contains the following chapters: 

• THREAD CARDS department
• BALLS, SPOOLS AND SKEINS department
• KNITTING AND DARNING WOOLS department

I was lucky enough to have acces to some exceptional collections which had never been shown or photographed, which explains the wealth of images. This book contains more than 800 photos including over 80 pages entirely dedicated to thread cards...

This is the first book we have published where all the texts are in both French and English, an abundance of vocabulary to make exchanging informations between collectors even easier in these days of internet.

Extracts from the chapter on thread cards:

Not only is the diversity of thread card immense, as the following pages will show, but this variety is intensified by the indication of the thread count. This beautiful collection of threads from Fil À La Louve (She-wolf Threads) is a perfect example, with nine variations of thread counts. You will also notice the differences in the reproduction of the printing, particularly remarkable on the 120 and 130 cards above, where the she-wolf has a completely different aspect.

The She-wolf Thread alludes to the legend of Romulus and Remus who were taken in and fed by a she-wolf, before going on to be the founders of Rome. The She-wolf brand was founded in the 19th century by Ignace Lambin in Comines, a small village in the north of France situated on the Belgian border. In all likelihood, it was taken over by the company Regniault at the beginning of the 20th century. Based in Paris at 17 rue de Turbigo, Regniault was initially the Parisian agent for the brand. Despite the change of hands, Ignace Lambin’s name remained on the thread cards, whereas only the initials J.R. for J. Regniault figure on this small She-wolf pin box.

Although becoming more difficult to find, there is a huge diversity of thread cards. However, even rarer are the box labels and documents representing thread cards - and this coming from a seasoned collector!  All the more reason to admire this delightful label for Mandarine cards and its’ pure Art Nouveau style for its’ true worth. As for the cards themselves, they can show many variants, not only the thread count, but also in the colours of their graphics.

A very amusing calendar dating from 1904. It is in two sections and is shown here closed… …and here open…You can see that the confectioner is cut out and when the calendar is closed, the card is in the background.

As for this simpler double-sided version dating from 1898, it bears the initials P.L. for Poullier-Longhaye. Notice the impressive spider web aspect when the thread is wound on the card.

Extracts from the chapter on balls, spools and skeins:

In days gone by, threads from Fil Au Chinois were sold in a dozen thicknesses which are indicated by a number on the labels. Most common were threads in white, black and ecru. These cardboard boxes usually contained an assortment of 50 balls.

One particularity of Fil Au Chinois was to offer golden thread balls: a small golden thread made finding the start of the thread so much easier.
At a time when everyone is talking about China and the invasion of their products, the name Fil Au Chinois takes on a particular signification, when, in fact, it dates from a time in Europe when orientalism was particularly fashionable: a time of colonies and Great Exhibitions where everyone was interested in all things exotic. The opening of China and Japan from 1855 only furthered this interest.

Delightful calendar in three sections for H & L Rogez in Lille. Here it is shown open. Notice the representation of the box of thread balls. And here it is closed following the same principle as those from Poullier-Longhaye, the cover scene shown from behind with the ball in the background. The page with the thread ball. Another calender from 1899. On the back is a view of the Rogez factory, who, in the 1920s, regrouped with Descamp-Beaucourt, Hassebroucq Brothers, Poullier-Longhaye and Ignace Lambin under the name of Filatures et Fileteries de France (Threads and Mills of France), also known as the 3 Fs. It is customary in the North to say that a town’s prosperity can be judged by the number of smokestacks you can count.

DMC’s historical brand, À La Cloche (The Bell), which according to tradition, was chosen to represent the bell that tolled to call the workers into the mill. On the right, a colour sample card dating from the end of the 19th century.

It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that thread production took precedence over the rest of DMC’s textile activities. After the Second World War the company underwent a large diversication policy, again in favour of textiles. The success was short-lived and it is again textiles that has recently led DMC into difficulty. Who says history never repeats itself?

Extracts from the chapter on darning and knitting wools:

The house of Vrau, who bought out Laine Saint-Pierre in the 1970s, is the same manufacturer who produced the famous Fil Au Chinois. From the start of the new millennium, Vrau went through a series of difficulties which led to them going into receivership. They very nearly disappeared, along with all the brands they owned. Fortunately for us all, this wasn’t the case. The thread part of the business was taken over by J. Toulemonde, one of the last remaining French manufacturers of sewing threads. The unfortunate packagings of the 1980s were revamped to return them to their former glory. You will see on these vintage cards that once the wool has been used, the keeper of the keys to paradise is revealed.

As with the linen thread cards, always the same dilemma: should we conserve the original wool or unwind it to display the beautiful hidden design? Among these cards, The Swallow brand has already been evoked (page 21) As for The Magician, this is a brand from La Soie (see page 196). This page from the Bon Marché catalogue dating from the turn of the 20th century shows that the variety of presentations and wool products is just as significant as it is for sewing threads.

Advertising articles and packaging for wool products are not quite as spectacular, nor as old as those that can be found for thread brands because the development of knitting wool is much more recent than the utilisation of cotton and linen sewing threads. Following the glory years from the 1930s to the 1980s, the market collapsed, largely due to competition from Asia, and saw the end of the large textile groups in the North and the disappearance of many famous dynasties. Such was the case for Les Laines du Chat Botté (Puss in Boots), from Motte-Porisse, as well as Tiberghien, who offered these bookmarks with needle gauges.