Visit To Blythe House

Blythe House is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum and contains archives of artists and companies in decorative arts (not only textiles).

The archives are mainly British based and from the 20's century. they are to be found on the national art line catalog on the V&A website, with all the description needed.

I took some notes of what I liked or what caught my attention and made me want to come back or research further on.

On the first spot, the exposed archives were from Heal a company founded in 1810 whose head quarters were in Tottenham Court Road. there were pretty popular.

The second spot was Ambassador Magasine it is a textiles magasine founded in 1933 it was edited first in Amsterdam and then London (due to 2ND World War, Amsterdam and London editors lost contact and once the war finished London editors had continued publishing).

The third one was Presage a fashion and textile forecast magasine published in Paris in 1961.

I really liked that one because of the way the presented the magasine and how it is just full of samples and colours and drawings.I enjoyed looking at the 60's fashion design.

The fourth one is was W.Gordon Hunton who was a calico printer in the 40's and invented this device, glass curved in a way that the drawing would repeat and create a pattern. I admire the drawings a lot because they were simply beautiful made.

The fifth spot was Samuel Courtaulds which was more of a furnishing textile company, it was the 1940's biggest textile manufacturer.

we also had the opportunity to look at Oberkampf samples (1830-1860 -French printed )and as well as Lyon collection of silk (19th century - French) and Morton Sundour textiles sample ( 20th century:20's,30's and 50's) in big, old book that smelt moist.

I took rough notes of the things that caught my attention and that I would like to find out about a bit more:

The company Reichenbach and Co from St-Gall Switzerland

I would like to learn more about Swiss textiles

The colour combination sheet

the way they presented it with an A4 page with lines of coloured circle and over it an A4 page with 5 holes and depending and how the page moves it gives different colour palette (Presage)

W. Gordon Hunton drawing of little characters in a graphic style

I liked the modernity, it is comic book like

Drawing on Frieze paper

Tricel?

I found amazing the quality of the work presented in term of its conservation.