[Janet MacD]

   

This is a wonderful piece of mail for so many reasons! It has Machins, a customs declaration, a customs acceptance stamp, and advertising with product samples. Even better, it is an artifact that connects international trade from Victorian England to present day, and illustrates industrial mechanization in the textile industry. This was an envelope stuffed with history! And although I would like to keep the contents intact, I doubt I will be able to resist my urge to incorporate them in a quilted or collaged fibre art project!

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The business, Metro Textiles Corner in London, England was founded in 1968 and is still operating. They serve retail and wholesale customers, and they specialize in selling to west Africa. One of the manufacturers they represent is Vlisco, a Dutch company founded in 1846. Vlisco specializes in wax-based batiks, and acknowledges that their company history reflects “complex historical and cultural connections.” That is an understatement. 

In 1846 the company was called van Vlissingen & Co. The Dutch were colonizing Indonesia and van Vlissingen discovered traditional “wax resist” hand blocked textile design methods that dated back to the 11th century. He noted that the fabrics were used for women’s traditional dress but were not affordable to the masses. He developed the “Dutch wax” process to mechanize manufacturing. The Indonesians considered his fabrics to be poor quality and didn’t buy them. But - riflemen from Ghana, who were part of the Dutch colonial army in Indonesia, took home large quantities of the bright, colorful fabrics. Then, between late Victorian and Edwardian times, the missionaries arrived in Ghana and told women to cover themselves, increasing demand for inexpensive textiles. By the time this package of samples was mailed, Vlisco was manufacturing “wax fabric” in Africa and China was producing cheap knockoffs of Vlisco’s fabric. China has captured about 90% of the wax fabric market. Vlisco’s products now represent high quality. Traditional African fabrics have been pushed into the background.

Now, 180 years after their founding, Vlisco specializes in creating fabric for the west and Central African market, and Metro Textiles Corner sells their fabric to Africans in England and around the world. 

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Thank you, Roy, for the wonderful history lesson!