Temporary Exhibit Gallery - MISE.

Toile on bed in foreground manufactured in Mulhouse, C. 1840 by Dolffus, Mieg & Cie; engraved by Koechlin-Ziegler.

Bed and Bed Hangings: Cotton Toile - C 1830, Printed in Normandie (Rouen). This fabric is signed by the engraver,"Francois Pieters"

Corset in the Broderie de Marseille (Boutis Style) 1st half of the 18th century.

The outside of the garment, seen here is fine linen, the inside is loosely woven cotton which permitted the insertion of the cording after the quilting was completed.

Detail of cording from corset above.

Quilt C 1800. 102"x108". Fabrics printed in Alsace. This large quilt is made in the traditional French fenetre style.

The center medallion is actually a mouchoir, which was made to be a shawl or scarf.

Detail of outer borders from above. The fabric to the right was block printed between 1780-1790.

Quilt, C 1800, with fabrics printed between 1788 and 1790.

At first appearance it might appear that the two edge pieces may have been added at a later date to make the quilt larger. However close inspection reveals that this was not the case. The main fabric and the fabric on the left border were printed by Oberkampf, the bottom fabric is from Alsace.

Left border fabric from above, Indienne: Oberkampf, Jouy en Josas C 1790.

C 1830, 52"x38"; attributed both to England and India.

My best guess here would be that the fabrics were printed in England and exported to India for the piece to be completed. The card describing this piece said, "Tapis a palmettes cachemire". "Tapis" is translated as carpet and while I could not see the reverse of this piece, it is noteworthy that it was quilted on the diagonal, lines roughly 3/8" apart.

Detail of above

C 1860 Couvre-pied (foot cover); 68.5"x61". Note the fabrics here were printed in Alsace C 1780.

This is a typically constructed fenetre style piece, with fabrics documented in the museum's sample book library to be printed by Haussmann in 1779-1780.

Detail of fabrics from above.

Pétassoun (infant lap quilt) C. beginning of the 19th century, 23" square.

Pétassoun's were popularly used by women as presentation pieces when visitors would come to see their newborn infant. They also came in handy when used on the lap under the baby, they protected the garment from soiling. Imagine?!?

This pétassoun is quite ornate, and when compared to others would be indicative of coming from a family of wealth, due to the intracacy of the design and the monogram in the center.

C. 1780 Quilt, Indigo resist from Rouen.

One thing of note, the fabric on the cushion below the quilt is from the 1st half of the 19th century and is from Switzerland. However, this style was also woven in Rouen during the same period. In Normandie (Rouen) what we call a large "Buffalo Check" was quite popular during this time, woven with plain and indgo or guarance dyed cottons.

C 1818. Fabric roller printed by Oberkampf, engraved by Hippolyte LeBas, titled: Monuments du Midi.

Detail from above

Gallery image: C. 1880 whole cloth Turkey Red quilt in back ground; C 1810-1840 Jupon in corner.

Gallery Image.

Seen from another view above, the oile on bed in foreground manufactured in Mulhouse, C. 1840 by Dolffus, Mieg & Cie; engraved by Koechlin-Ziegler.

Gallery Image - Amish and Mennonite Quilts. There were several Amish quilts on exhibit. The Amish have a deep history in this

region of France, while for the most part the quilts in this exhibit were from the United States. The museum did share information about the Amish settlers in the US specifically with regard to their quiltmaking skills.

Gallery Image - several quilts in the exhibit were from the United States, the variety was an excellent example of

19th century workmanship, fabrics and patterns in this country.

C 2007, hand block printed tablecloth, Le Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes, Mulhouse, FR.

One of the best things I have ever done as a textile historian, was to attempt block printing on fabric. This activity is a definite eye opener as to the skill required to print those early fabrics we all have come to drool over.

This is without a doubt one of the favorite activites at the museum, and as those who have been with me on tours can see, one can certainly improve over time.....no, I only wish it were mine!