International studio (58.1916)

Textiles at Newark


TYPES OF SPINNING WHEELS AT NEWARK MUSEUM

Textiles at Newark
BY W. H. DE B. NELSON
A very short acquaintance with

the Newark Museum Association and

its president, John Cotton Dana, assisted by
a most able and willing staff, upsets cherished
memories of dead and dying museums, mau-
soleums of art, which for all the good they do
to their community might be advantageously
abolished. Few persons would even notice their
departure. It has taken a century or two to
awaken museum interest and to demonstrate

what pleasant, historical and educational work
may result. By degrees some of the museums are
breaking with their traditional inertia and a more
striking example could scarcely be discovered
than in Newark. The latest exhibition, which
followed Potteries, was devoted to the textile
industry of New Jersey. Although commercial
in character the exhibits may be said to have be-
come objects of art owing to the artistic way in
which they were shown, the unifying of each
room or gallery doing so much to create this im-
pression. Every show-case revealed some vase,
bit of pottery or statuette to relieve the textiles
and give an extra note of form or colour. It is
just such seeming trifles which count. This little
idea gave an unmistakable cachet to the exhibi-
tion. The ensemble was a story in action, a
drama. One thought of steps rather than of
specimens; Egyptian agriculture, blossoming cot-
ton, ripened bolls, hands plucking the crop, the

gin, the bale, the card, revolving spindles, clack-
ing looms, followed each other in a sequence that
made the youngest visitor—and the children came
in swarms—see each item in its relation to the
whole industry, and to life. Most fascinating
was the central platform with a rude colonial
loom at one end and a Greek woman occupied
with homely spinning at the other. Round about
were picturesque wheels and reels and a little lady,
suitably attired, was to be seen spinning flax.
The general scheme has been to show every-day
objects in their relation to art and to industry and
to life; to give to mechanic, salesman and con-
sumer the vision; to help him connect his daily
task with the work of other times; to compare it
to the product of the present, and to gain the in-
spiration for the future. To carry out this scheme
processes as well as products have been shown—
the development of textiles from fibre to yarn
and from yarn to cloth. Spinning and weaving
were traced from the most primitive devices to
modern machines. Textile products were traced
from the bark mats of the Indians, through the
blue and white colonial coverlets and homespuns
to modern commercial silks and hand-made
tapestries.
The exhibit has been made to appeal to as many
classes of people as possible. Club women all over
the State held exhibits of historic textiles, thus
arousing local interest and collecting an historic
exhibit. Foreigners were interested by being
asked to show things made in their home lands.
These were collected from twenty or more school

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