Textile fragment

Description

The Lonsdale Company, located in Providence, Rhode Island, manufactured this white cotton sheeting during the first half of the 20th century. This section of yardage includes the bolt end with two original labels still attached. Textile manufacturers used labels like these to identify their products, as well as proclaim their quality, to both retailers and consumers. The eye-catching designs on these labels – one in bright yellow and gold, and the other featuring intricate filigree motifs – were perhaps intended to help this plain sheeting stand out among others on crowded store shelves. This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.