The Museum of London is currently undertaking a major review and rationalisation of its social and working history collections.
As part of this review they have identified a number of items that no longer fit within the Museum’s collecting policies and long term strategic plan. They would ideally like to transfer these items to an institution which is better placed to care for and provide access to them.
The Museum is also keen to breathe new life into these historic items by offering them to new professional weavers, weaving colleges or recent graduates wishing to establish their own weaving workshops. The items on offer include bobbins, shuttles and many other items related to the weaving industry. Expressions of interest are particularly welcome from new start up weavers and weaving colleges who feel such historic items would be of benefit to a new generation of weavers.
They have a number of items from two London weaving firms.
Below is a summary of the two London firms where these objects originally came from:
1. Sindall’s Silk Trimming established in east London in 1864. During the early years of the of 20th century, Sindalls emerged as one of leading surviving manufacturers of silk cords and braids in London. The firm closed in 1981 at which point the Museum acquired a large collection of equipment including narrow weaving power looms and jacquard mechanisms as well as specialist machinery and equipment used in the production of silk cords and braid. The items they now wish to transfer to other institutions are surplus or duplicate items in the collection and range from large items such as squirrel cage swifts for unwinding skeins of yarn and weavers creels, through to smaller items such as shuttles, spools and bobbins.
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