The American Museum Journal 



Volume XVI 



NOVEMBER, 1916 



Number 7 



Design and Color in Ancient Fabrics 



ACTIVITY OF COMMERCIAL CONCERNS OF TODAY IN MAKING USE OF 



ANTIQUE PATTERNS FOUND IN THE TEMPLES AND TOMBS OF THE 



PREHISTORIC NEW WORLD AND NOW ON EXHIBITION IN THE 



AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



By M. D. C. CRAWFORD 



With photographs of specimens of ancient weaving and embroidery in the American Museum 



IT is easy to speak of future plans in 

 glowing terms; it is comparatively 

 simple to analyze an accomplished 

 work; but it is perplexing to speak of a 

 movement in its initial stages. Thus I 

 find it rather difficult to describe how 

 museum collections are being used by the 

 textile industries to assist in the creation 

 of designs. There are so many personali- 

 ties connected with an active campaign 

 of this kind that the task is extremely' 

 delicate, but in order that the general 

 public and the members of the American 

 Museum may fully realize the serious- 

 ness of the undertaking, what measure of 

 success has already been accomplished, 

 and what hopes there are for the future, 

 some brief account of the details is 

 necessary. 



The idea that the great textile indus- 

 tries shoidd make use of museum collec- 

 tions came from Dr. Clark Wissler. 

 In conversation with me he remarked on 

 the fact that American designers should 

 be interested in the great art of the New 

 World and more generally in the col- 

 lections that were under his charge. He 

 felt that here was fresh artistic inspira- 

 tion of great value. It was agreed that 

 the only thing necessary was that these 

 people should be brought into close con- 



tact with the collections and learn how 

 to make use of the American Museum. 

 We agreed upon a practical division of 

 labor: he was to arrange a course of 

 lectures especially for textile people; and 

 through my acquaintance in the textile 

 industry I was to furnish an audience 

 capable of appreciating such a course 

 and able to give expression to such ideas 

 as they might obtain from it. 



In my part of the program, great 

 assistance was given the movement by 

 the editors and owner of Women's 

 lUrrtv, a daily devoted to the textile and 

 allied interests. Through the courtesy 

 of Mr. E. W^ Fairchild, practically un- 

 limited space was given for publicity, 

 even to the extent of publishing primi- 

 t'we designs, in order to excite the inter- 

 est of American designers. Nor did 

 Mr. Fairchild's enthusiasm stop there. 

 He has given encouragement to Ameri- 

 can artists by offering prizes for the 

 best textile designs suggested by the 

 ]\Iuseum collections, in this way serving 

 the triple purpose of introducing de- 

 signers and mills to museum collections, 

 of encouraging designers, and of bringing 

 mills and designers into closer relation. 

 The contest is to close December 15, 

 and if space permits, there may be an 



417 



