Hello, adrian210656-ga!
I have been researching since you posted your question yesterday and
I have started to backtrack on myself! I have found some interesting
information which should provide a good overview of the garments and
textiles produced at Saltair.
A great deal of my time has been devoted to searching for images or
photos of the garments produced at Saltair, and sending emails to
folks who might help. While there is no shortage of depictions of
Victorian dress, the problem is identifying the garments as being
alpaca or as coming from Saltaire. (See the photo gallery collection
by Roger Vaughan and you will see what I mean)
I have provided some contacts for you near the end of my answer. I
have already received a few email replies (with one potential success)
and am waiting on some more that may or may not come! If they do, I
will post a clarification.
At this point, I believe the rest of the information (if it exists)
will have to be compiled through personal contact. I wish I could pick
up a phone and make these calls for you since you are so busy, but the
price of the question does not allow me to call from the US! Perhaps
you can find a few moments here and there to call the museums and
bookstore I have referenced. I have also provided the name of an
auction house that deals in vintage clothing from all over the world.
They have provided a place on their website where you can email them
with a very specific request.
TYPE OF GARMENTS AND MATERIALS PRODUCED AT SALTAIRE
====================================================
Queen Victoria and the British Royal family were part of the reason
alpaca garments enjoyed such a success. Queen Victoria made the alpaca
dress fashionable, and many wealthy women followed the trend. Men wore
alpaca coats, which were noted for their warmth and durability against
the weather. The coats, especially, became family heirlooms and were
passed down through generations. Titus Salt also came up with a
distinct process of combining wool with silk to make striped
waistcoats, as well as an array of colorful cloths (Lustre fabrics)
which interested the ladies of the time.
==
"Salt had multiple talents and often applied them unconventionally.
Born in 1803 to a family of prosperous woolen merchants, his
innovations took the family fortunes to stratospheric heights. His
first big step was the purchase of a cheap load of Russian wool,
rejected by other merchants as being too tangled. Salt devised a way
to deal with the tangles, and made a lot of money. Then in a similar
feat he bought up bales of llama wool lying unwanted because the
fibers were too long and fine to be worked by current machinery.
Eighteen months later, Salt had developed a way to spin and weave that
wool into warm but lightweight alpaca, a cloth that was to become the
Victorian favorite for dresses and cloaks."
- From "A tiny town in England has big attractions," by Claire Hopley.
Boston Globe (May 17, 1988)
http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/travel/saltaire_england.htm
=
"The late 1700?s and early 1800?s saw the arrival of the Industrial
Revolution throughout Europe. This was the era of Charles Dickens - of
very polluted cities with sooty air, cholera-laden waterways, and
child laborers. It was in this environment that a man by the name of
Sir Titus Salt acquired a package of raw alpaca fleece. He saw its
tremendous potential for making soft yarns and garments and set about
the task of modifying the existing equipment at his mill to
accommodate the lanolin-free fiber of the alpaca. He then developed a
luxuriously soft alpaca cloth that came into favor with the British
royal family, spreading later to the aristocrats of continental
Europe. Sir Titus became a very wealthy man. He reinvested his wealth
in building a large alpaca-exclusive mill called "Saltaire" in the
British countryside, providing modern housing for his workers and
improving both their living conditions and their productivity."
- From "The Story of the Alpaca."
http://www.alpaca.net/story.htm
=
"The newly industrialized English textile industry was at its zenith
when Sir Titus began studying the unique properties of Alpaca fleece.
He discovered , for instance, that Alpaca fiber was stronger than
sheep's wool and that its strength did not diminish with the fineness
of staple. The Alpaca textiles he fashioned from the raw fleece were
soft, lustrous, and they soon began making their mark across Europe."
- Alpaca Fiber and Products
http://www.humminghill.com/fiber.htm
==
"In the mid 1800?s Sir Titus Salt of London rediscovered the alpaca
and with the new
industrialised textile industry he discovered that the alpaca fleece
was much stronger than wool but this strength did not take away from
the fineness and quality."
** "The fibre was spun into warm strong garments that were the first
request of explorers and travellers. As the years went by the supply
of fibre from South America dried up and Sir Titus reverted to using
the more traditional materials."
- From "The History of the Alpaca."
http://www.atlanticalpacas.co.uk/history/history.htm
==
"In the 1800s shippers of wool from the sheep of South America started
using Lama (llama & alpaca) fiber as ballast to fill the holds of
their ships."
"When the ships arrived in England the Lama fiber was usually
discarded, until Sir Titus Salt became curious about this very soft,
fine material. He secured some of the fiber, and found it to have
exceptional strength for its diameter. There was a wider range of
colors than was found in sheep?s wool. It felt softer because it has
less scaling (as seen under a microscope) than the sheep wool. It was
lighter in weight, due to being partially hollow. Unlike the sheep
wool, there was no grease (lanolin) and was therefore naturally much
cleaner."
"Sir Titus made adjustments to the machinery (combs, cards, spinners
and etc.) to handle this finer fiber, and soon had some wonderful
cloth. Sir Titus? mill ran for a number of years, allowing a few
people to own and admire the clothing made from Alpaca. Unfortunately
other mills refused to make changes to handle the new fiber, and when
the shippers found there was a market for this "throw away fiber" the
prices rose and Sir Titus could not generate enough interest to keep
Alpaca clothing popular."
- From "Alpaca History."
http://home.att.net/~hancelama/alpaca_history.htm
=
".. in the mid 1800s the value of alpaca fibre was rediscovered by the
English mill owner Sir Titus Salt. Alpaca clothing became so cherished
in England that Sir Titus built a town for his workers around what was
the biggest mill in the world, at Saltaire in Yorkshire, on the
proceeds from working alpaca fibre. * When Queen Victoria started to
wear alpaca dresses they became very fashionable. Gentlemen prized
their alpaca coats and many are still in good condition today. No
artisan either would have been without a hard wearing work coat, warm,
light and weatherproof.
- From Packington Park Alpacas
http://www.pakington.co.nz/the_alpaca.htm
=
"In 1834 Titus noticed some bales of Alpaca wool at a Liverpool
warehouse. He experimented with it, and found it wove wonderful
lustrous cloth - highly suitable for making expensive dresses for rich
ladies. With the manufacture of this alpaca and also his donskoi wool,
Titus became one of the richest men in the West Riding of Yorkshire by
the age of 40."
- From Salts Mill - Sir Titus.
http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/titus.htm
=
"One mill, owned by Sir Titus Salt, was designed around the unique
characteristics of processing alpaca fleece. So unlike his colleagues
- all of who were processing sheep?s wool - Sir Titus had a monopoly
on * taking raw alpaca fiber from South America and turning it into
beautiful and luxurious cloth. That cloth became a favorite of the
British royal family, and from there spread to the fashion houses of
Continental Europe. Once again, alpaca fiber took its place as a
natural animal fiber fit for royalty."
- From Walnut Creek alpacas.
http://www.walnutcreekalpacas.com/alpaca_history.htm
=
"During the mid 19th century the English textile merchant Sir Titus
Salt discovered the qualities of Alpaca fibre. * Queen Victoria wore
dresses made of alpaca cloth and did much to promote the qualities of
the fibre. An alpaca coat was a 'must have' for every gentleman and
many of these were passed down to later generations and are in use
today."
- Classical Mile End Alpacas
http://www.alpaca-uk.co.uk/aboutalpacas.htm
=
"Queen Victoria is reported to have owned and worn dresses made from
Alpaca and Prince Albert himself enjoyed discussions with the textile
manufacturers of the period about the fabric designs produced from
their own Alpacas. Indeed during Victoria's reign an Alpaca coat
became an essential item of the wardrobe. It also became part of the
family heirlooms being passed down through the generations, thus was
its hard wearing ability."
- From "What is an Alpaca?"
http://www.azsualpacas.com/alpfacts.htm
=
"Salt's success lay partly in specialisation of worsted wools and his
particularly blending of alpaca and mohair with cotton warps. (the
Salt and Silver book by Greenhalf is excellent here for clearly
explaining the worsted production process and Salt's blending also of
silk in combination with alpaca to produce the renowned stripped
waistcoats - the historical analysis and blending of the characters of
Salt and Silver, however, is umm a little odd)."
- Bradford Tourist Information
http://www.iknow-yorkshire.co.uk/tourist_information/west_yorks/bradford/saltaire.htm
=
"Back in the nineteenth century alpaca fibre was used by the highest
in the land. Even Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort had suits and
coats made from the finest pure alpaca fleece. The material would have
almost certainly been made in the mills of Bradford in Yorkshire or in
Sir Titus Salt's model mill town of Saltaire which he went on to build
on the back of his highly successful trade in alpaca products. His
mill still stands to this day and on the walls can be seen quite
clearly the carvings of a llama! As there were not many photographs
available at that time is not too surprising that the stone masons got
the animals muddled up.
** Alpaca coats became family heirlooms and were passed on down from
father to son. They still appear in some old family wardrobes or
hidden in attics.
- Casa Palcaca Company
http://www.casa-alpaca.co.uk/theshop.htm
"Back in Victorian days no self respecting artisan would consider not
possessing a working coat made from the finest pure alpaca fleece. The
coat would have almost certainly been made in the mills of Bradford in
Yorkshire or in Sir Titus Salt's model mill town of Saltaire which he
went on to build on the back of his highly successful trade in alpaca
products."
"The Victorian working man would treasure his alpaca coat as it
provided him with tremendous warmth, it must have been one of the most
waterproof materials available, it was very comfortable to wear and
above all it lasted forever. So much so that alpaca coats became
family heirlooms and were passed on down from father to son. They
still appear in some old family wardrobes or hidden in attics."
"Gentlemen also wore them on a regular basis. Going through a diary
recently, written in 1868 and describing a gentleman's travels through
Europe on the Grand Tour, there was a list of essential items to be
taken on tour; almost at the top of the list was 'An Alpaca Coat'."
- About the UK Alpaca Industry
http://biz.ukonline.co.uk/bva/#AboutUK
=
"In the late 19 century when Titus Salt of Saltaire mills in Bradford
England was making his fortune processing alpaca fibre, alpaca coats
would outlive the generations and were often bequeathed to the
descendants."
- From "Know the Alpaca."
http://www.toft-alpacas.co.uk/know.html
=
The mills were "capable of producing 30,000 yards of cloth a day.
Much of the output was based on alpaca wefts with cotton or silk warp,
producing a soft, lustrous cloth, often in bright colours. At the
French Exhibition in Paris of 1867, Titus Salt was presented with the
Grand Medal of the Legion of Honour for the quality of his goods, a
clear indication of his success."
- From "Saltaire Mill."
http://www.bradford.gov.uk/tourism/trails/saltaire/saltaire_mill.html
==
"Titus Salt did not want anyone to copy his cloth because it wasn't
easy to get regular supplies from South America. So Salt and two of
his trusted manufacturers bought all the alpaca material when it came
to England. This meant that Salt could make all the expensive cloth
which rich people could afford."
"Titus had made a fortune by the mid 1840s and this was because of
mechanisation. One by one the process which converted wool into
worsted cloth was taken over by big industrial machines. These
machines weaved and combed all the cloth and this meant that worsted
could be produced cheaply and could also be sold well and quickly."
- From "THE DIFFERENCE OF CONDITIONS IN BRADFORD AND SALTAIRE."
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:WuE2uERMthsJ:www.schoolshistory.org.uk/Literacy/studentswork/Hira%2520Zafar/bradford%26salt.doc+the+difference+of+conditions+in+bradford+and+saltaire+&hl=en
(This is a "cached" link. The actual article is a word document that
you need to open if you want to read the whole article. If so, simply
copy and paste this link into your search box.)
==
Lustre Fabrics
==============
"Saltaire, in spite of all its vicissitudes, is still world famous,
and as long as its buildings are cared for, will continue to be so.
The product on which its fame was largely built, however, is often
forgotten."
"On 15 March 1986, the Bradford Museums mounted a display entitled
'Lustre Fabrics', whose manufacture from about 1840 to 1870 was almost
a Bradford monopoly. Marketable alpaca cloth had been introduced in
1830, on a small scale, but it was not a success, and it was evident
that fabrics made entirely from alpaca, or from alpaca and wool,
lacked the beautiful sheen which gave the original fibre its peculiar
quality. Furthermore alpaca was difficult to spin on existing
machinery. Titus Salt's inventiveness solved the spinning problem, and
then by using a cotton warp (in about 1836) he virtually started a new
era in textiles. The quantity of alpaca exported from Peru rose from
5,700 lb in 1834 to 1,325,000 lb in 1840, most of it coming to West
Riding mills. The major users, along with Salts, being G. & J. Turner
of Great Horton, and Fosters of Queensbury."
"It has been said that great artists create the taste by which they
are to be enjoyed, and the same is true of great manufacturers. Titus
Salt showed what he could do with alpaca, and others followed. When
women saw what shades could be produced in these light, bright cloths
a new fashion began. By the 1840s the new mixed fabrics, of which
alpaca was only one, were being manufactured in a bewildering variety
of delicate tones and deep tints. (In strange contradiction, black
remained a firm favourite throughout the whole period.) Alpaca Orleans
was the first of a succession of lustres, many with attractive
foreign-sounding names. Mohair, from the angora goat, a fabric similar
to alpaca, was also widely used by Salts and other worsted
manufacturers."
"There was some doubt about the permanence of the popularity of cotton
warps, although silk warps were used too, and this encouraged a hope
that the sensible British public would bring the new fashion to a
speedy end by returning to its old love for all wool cloths. But for
about forty years, from 1820, cotton was cheaper than wool, and people
rather surprisingly expressed a preference for showy but less durable
fabrics, a trend which is very evident today. Customers did not want
to buy 'good' clothes which, before they wore out, were not fit to
wear; but it is difficult to believe, with John James, that 'luxury in
dress, as well as living, had begun to prevail among all classes'."
** "The wedding dress worn by Mary Ann Pickles, bride of William
Edward Townend of Cullingworth, was put on display at the exhibition.
(1) This dress, made in about 1835, was always thought to be of silk,
but it was discovered that the design of the fabric was very similar
to a pattern in one of Titus Salt's original design books, which was
also on display. Further examination showed that the material was
indeed made from alpaca. All wool cloths were beyond the reach of the
masses, and Bradford was then going off 'in the direction of cheapness
and lightness' quantity, not quality. The fashion for crinolines
increased the demand for lustre cloths, but towards the end of the
1860s women were turning once again to all wool worsteds. There is
never one single reason for a boom or a slump, and this is no place to
go into the complicated question of how the worsted industry was
affected by what is sometimes called the 'Great Depression'. As
already suggested, however, by the late 1860s Bradford manufacturers
were faced with the prospect of changing from the 'old' mixed ladies'
fabrics to all wool cloths, and it will come as no surprise to learn
that Titus Salt is given the credit for introducing these new fabrics
in 1868. Alpaca and mohair never quite fell out of favour: there was
always likely to be a demand for umbrella alpaca cloth and linings,
for example; but the buoyant days of the old 'Bradford trade', the
cheap, bright lustres, would never return."
1. Described as 'in ivory silk alpaca, with matching pelerine cape',
in A Handbook of Costume, by Janet Arnold, 1973, p.253
****
(This book is available from Amazon.com, but without seeing it I
cannot be sure there is a picture or drawing) It would be well worth
seeing if you can find this book in a library to see if a picture of
the dress exists. I could find nothing through an online search.
****
From "Crisis At Saltaire," (First published in 1987 in volume 3, pp.
1-10, of the first series of The Bradford Antiquary, the journal of
the Bradford Historical and Antiquarian Society.)
http://www.bradfordhistorical.fsnet.co.uk/antiquary/third/vol03/saltaire.html
=
The Daybook of Sir Titus Salt
==============================
Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876) was a Bradford textile manufacturer. The
daybook is a small notebook in which he recorded personal notes of
special transactions and experiments between 1834 and 1837. The
section of the book which researchers have considered to be most
significant covers his experiments with "Peruvian wool" (alpaca).
Salt had seen this wool in Liverpool in 1834 and became interested in
its use. The hair of the alpaca, a relative of the llama, had been
used for weaving as a warp or with a worsted warp but the resultant
cloth had little to recommend it. Titus Salt and his assistants spent
over a year working on the problems involved in spinning alpaca, then
pioneered the use of alpaca weft with cotton or silk warps ; this
produced a durable lightweight fabric with a sheen. The cloth became
very popular and was the foundation of Salt's great success."
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/library/special/salt.php
=
Drawing - A set of four alpaca and melton wool capes
======================================================
* These "might" represent garments made with Saltaire alpaca/wool mix
fabric but they are very simple sketches
"The second set of 4 capes below with appliqué and fur rest just below
the waist and would have been made of cashmere, alpaca and winter
weight Melton wool cloths or heavy ribbed or figured silks which were
quilted and lined inside, and beautifully fitted with one or two inner
secret pockets."
http://fashion-era.com/Coats_history/cloak_costume_history_3.htm
HISTORY OF THE SALTAIRE MILL FROM IT'S ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT DAY
================================================================
Read "Saltaire Mill."
http://www.bradford.gov.uk/tourism/trails/saltaire/saltaire_mill.html
POTENTIAL CLOTHING EXHIBITS OR IMAGES
=======================================
The Museum of Costume
Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, BATH, BA1 2QH
Telephone: + 44 (0)1225 477789
Fax: +44 (0)1225 444793
e-mail: costume_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk
http://www.museumofcostume.co.uk/
* I contacted the museum about Saltaire alpaca garments and received this reply:
"Thank you for your e-mail in connection with alpaca clothing produced
at the Saltaire mill. We do have some alpaca items in the Museum of
Costume collection, but not many. Unfortunately, we do not usually
know where the objects in our collection were produced or came from,
therefore, we have nothing that we know was definitely produced at the
Saltaire mill. I'm afraid we don't have any images of alpaca items
either: the documentation of the Museum of Costume collection is
ongoing, and by no means complete!"
(This has been my only partial success! Since Salt was known
specifically for making alpaca garments, these should at least provide
a good representation of what some of them looked like)
=
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
http://www.vam.ac.uk/visiting/
"Although the V&A's collections are international in their scope,
they contain many particularly important British works - especially
British silver, ceramics, textiles and furniture. The British
collections enable the V&A to explain not just the history of design
in the British Isles but also the broader sweep of their cultural
history
Contact for Textiles and Fashions collections:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 2680
E-mail: textilesandfashion@vam.ac.uk
(I have sent an email and have heard no reply. Perhaps you might have
time to make a phone call)
Also see "The V&A Comes to Life," by John Mabbett
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/arc/mag/mag200112/htm/cult_VA.htm
===
The Roger Vaughan Collection of Victorian and Edwardian Photographs
http://www.rogerco.freeserve.co.uk/
Picture Library
http://www.rogerco.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/gallery/index.htm
* I e-mailed him to inquire about any of the clothing in the
photographs being of Saltaire origin, and and his partial reply
follows:
"As the photos do not give this information there is no way I can tell
- I assume someone amongst the 3000 images must be!"
(I am afraid this is what you will run into in many photographic searches.)
===
It might be worth calling this bookshop and see if they will look
through a few of their books:
R. D. Franks Ltd
KENT HOUSE
MARKET PLACE
LONDON
W1W 8HY
TEL: 44 (0) 207 636 1244
FAX: 44 (0) 207 436 4904
http://www.rdfranks.co.uk/index.html
List of Books on Victorian Fashion
http://www.rdfranks.co.uk/victorian_books.html
===
I don't know if this portion of an article I referenced stuck out,
but you might want to take out a local advertisement or hit up some of
the vintage stores in your area, since alpaca coats must still be out
there --- somewhere!
"..alpaca coats became family heirlooms and were passed on down from
father to son. They still appear in some old family wardrobes or
hidden in attics."
===
A potential contact might be the Charles A. Whitaker Auction Co. You
can go to their contact page and send them a specific request about
the type of clothing you are seeking. They may have run across it in
the past, since they represent antique clothing from all over the
world. Have a look at their current auction catalog online.
Website: http://www.whitakerauction.com/
===
The Gallery of Costume
Platt Hall
Rusholme
Manchester
M14 5LL
Tel: 0161 224 5217
Fax: 0161 256 3278
Textphone: 0161 235 8893
http://www.manchestergalleries.org/html/costume/goc_home.jsp
Aside from their exhibits:
"For the serious student of dress, the Gallery of Costume offers
research facilities unrivalled in the north of England. Access to
costumes and textiles in the reserve collection can be arranged by
appointment, as can use of the library and archive, which holds some
18,000 books and much other material. Please contact the Principal
Curator on 0161 224 5217 for further information."
(I think this would be well worth a phone call)
BOOKS
======
I don't know that any of these will be much use, picturewise. If you
can find a local library that carries these books, it might be worth a
quick look. Otherwise, all are available on Amazon.com
"Salt and Silver: a Story of Hope," by Jim Greenhalf.
"Titus Salt and Saltaire," by Styles.
"The Great Paternalist: Titus Salt and the Growth of
Nineteenth-Century Bradford," by Jack Reynolds.
===
Well, I must say this has been a long and interesting journey. I
actually learned a lot, so thank you! I hope the information I have
compiled provides some leads for viewing actual garments produced by
the Saltaire mill. I wish there were some pictures online, but I think
I have outlined the most promising direction for you to take next. I
suggest the first stop, if you have the time, should be the Museum of
Costume in Bath, since they do have alpaca garments on exhibit.
Again, I hope this has been helpful. Good luck!
umiat
Google Search strategy
Saltaire
Titus Salt
saltaire alpaca
saltaire alpaca garments
saltaire lustre fabrics
site:.uk saltaire alpaca
picture of victorian alpaca dress
picture of victorian alpaca coat
saltaire alpaca clothing pictures
fashions OR dress AND queen victoria
wool fashions OR alpaca AND queen victoria
UK Costume museums
books about Titus Salt +Saltaire |
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