Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

The Holker Album: Textile Samples and Industrial Espionage in the 18th Century

by Ariane Fennetaux
Save 20% Save 20%
Current price ₹6,223.00
Original price ₹7,800.00
Original price ₹7,800.00
Original price ₹7,800.00
(-20%)
₹6,223.00
Current price ₹6,223.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 18-21 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9782916914879
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Musee Des Arts Decoratif
  • Publisher Imprint: Musee Des Arts Decoratif
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 272
  • Original Price: GBP 60.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 2246 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): History & Criticism, Textile & Costume, and Essays

- A high quality facsimile reproduction

- Essays written by leading specialists in economic history, textile techniques, the global cotton trade, technology transfer, and fashion

- Many appendices: Translation of the manuscript in English, Technical analysis of the samples, Glossary, Indexes, etc.

- An indispensable reference work for the study of the history of textiles and fashion on the eve of the Industrial Revolution

In 1751, John Holker (1719-1786), an English textile manufacturer exiled in France, undertook an industrial espionage mission to England to collect samples of English textiles on behalf of the French king, Louis XV. On his return, the samples were assembled in a manuscript volume, which is now preserved at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Each sample in this album is accompanied by a handwritten technical description specifying the quality of the fabric, its price, its dimensions and the manufacturing processes. This album is famous for preserving the oldest identifiable samples of jean fabric. Completely bilingual, the book includes a facsimile reproduction of the album, accompanied by a transcription of its handwritten text and a dozen essays. The essays, written by academics, curators and specialists from France, Britain and North America, explore the album from various angles: the globalization of commerce, the slave trade, industrial espionage, economic rivalry between France and England, the taste for cotton and its role in the history of fashion, etc. The book demonstrates the importance of centuries-old links between France and the United Kingdom and is an indispensable work of reference for the history of textiles. Text in English and French.

Ariane Fennetaux is Associate Professor in British history at Université Paris Cité. Her research and publications focus on material culture with a particular emphasis on textiles and dress. Her book, The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives 1660-1900, co-authored with Barbara Burman, was published in 2019 by Yale University Press.

John Styles is Professor Emeritus in History at the University of Hertfordshire and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum. He specializes in the history of material life, manufacturing and design. His books include The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England, published by Yale University Press in 2007, and Threads of Feeling: The London Foundling Hospital's Textile Tokens, 1740-1770, published by the London Foundling Museum in 2010.

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us