436 A NOTE ON THE POPLIN OR TABINET INDUSTRY. 



A NOTE ON THE POPLIN OR TABINET 

 INDUSTRY. 



The early history of poplin making is unknown ; indeed the origin of the 

 name itself is doubtful. For while some derive it from an old French verb 

 se popiner, " to deck oneself out," others associate its name with the town of 

 Poperingen, where tliey say it was first made. Others again assert that the 

 word comes from papeline, which name they say was given to a fabric of 

 much the same character made at Avignon during the residence of the 

 Popes in that city. In Ireland, however, its history presents few difficulties. 

 Like linen-making and silk-weaving it owes its origin here to the Edict of 

 Nantes. Many Huguenots settled in Dublin, and in 1693 we hear of 

 poplin-making in the " Liberties," which, as is well known, was at 

 one time an important part of the city, but which, when the refugees took up 

 their residence there, was already falling into decay. Such, however, was the 

 energy of the Huguenots that the district became a hive of industry and 

 soon became too small for its inhabitants. New streets were built, and 

 Spitalhelds, the Coombe, Pimlico, and Weavers' Square were crowded with 

 silk and poplin-makers. As the names of the localities would suggest, 

 many of the weavers came from England — where they had first settled — 

 because of the greater prosperity of the silk-weaving industry in Ireland. 

 The poplin trade increased by leaps and bounds, and the " Liberties " and 

 its surroundings became one of the most prosperous parts of the city. It 

 may be mentioned here that one of the earliest of the Irish poplin manu- 

 facturers was one of the well-known family of La Touche. 



In 1800, the invention of the Jacquard loom revolutionised the silk 

 industry and did much also to help poplin-making. At this time, however, 

 the heavy import duty on the raw material was a great drawback to the 

 trade. The duty was ys. yd. a pound on foreign " thrown silk," ^s. on raw 

 Bengal silk, and 3^'. 6d. a pound on all other kinds of raw silk. In 1826 

 this duty was much lessened, but it still affected the industry very adversely, 

 by encouraging the smuggling of foreign goods. 



Poplin is a fabric composed of worsted made from the finesc description 

 of wool and silk in combination. The fabric is so woven that the surface 

 is altogether pure silk, while firmness is given to the material by the wool 

 in the interior. Poplin is of three kinds, single, double, and " terry." The 

 first two are so alike that few can tell them apart, the difference being in 

 the quality of the silk used in the " warp." The third is corded and is the 

 kind that is most associated with the general idea of Irish poplin. The 

 various processes of making require great skill and watchfulness, which 

 is, perhaps, one of the reasons for the peculiar trade customs which exist. 

 For, whilst most industries are open to all who wish to engage in them, the 

 Dublin poplin-makers refuse to allow anyone who has not served a seven 

 years' apprenticeship, or who is not the eldest son of a poplin-maker, to 

 work as a poplin-weaver. 



