Dear Damask.....

Yes, damask is dear to the heart of all antique textile collectors and dealers. It is the backbone textile most frequently used in household linens, such as tablecloths, napkins, towels, and bedcovers.


Fairchild's "Dictionary of Textiles" describe damask as:
       ....a broad range of jacquard-woven fabrics with elaborate floral or geometric patterns, made of linen, cotton, wool, worsted, silk, rayon, acetate, and other manufactured fibers.  The pattern is distinguished from the ground by contrasting luster and is reversible....

     ...Single damask is made with a five-harness satin weave; the true (double) damask is woven with an eight harness satin weave and has a firm hand.

Early 20th Century double damask pattern of stylized poppies

 

As a gardener, I find the floral damask patterns to be the most lovely. Undoubtedly the most popular are the rose patterns.




























Close behind are tablecloths destined for fall with chrysanthemums.

Here are some napkins I have on hand with a pattern of iris.

There is no doubt that this napkin is of Irish linen, with a Irish wolfhound, clovers, and other Irish symbols woven into the damask.

 The shop recently hosted a double damask set of large napkins with images of wild game. Each napkin was centered by a large stag, with quail, partridge, and rabbits woven into the pattern, but they were purchased before I could get a photo taken.

Laurel wreaths are often woven into damask towels, and the wreaths are often embroidered with the owner's monogram.  Although this damask towel is white, I have also have Victorian era green and turkey red damask at the Stone Cottage Workshop.

With the advent of rayon in the 1920's, rayon damask became quite popular by mid century due to its shimmer, ability to take dye, and ease of ironing. I often find rayon damask with original labels from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Japan. This tablecloth and 12 napkin set currently at the shop has a wonderful golden glimmer and would look beautiful under candle light at Thanksgiving.

This set has a subtle floral damask pattern behind the border plaid - perfect for fall dinners.

Emily Post hawked linen damask in the 1920's ....

 

Martha Stewart currently uses damask in products for every part of the home....

Damask has been with us for a thousand years. And hopefully a thousand more.

It's Time to Get Started...

And better late than never. After spending a lifetime in varied random pursuits (bioengineering, consulting, parenting), I'm at a crossroads. The second and final child has flown the coop and is newly ensconced in Brooklyn. Son #1 has graduated and is working as a baby financial consultant in Manhattan. Husband is grinding away for a few more years prior to pseudo-retirement (I'm convinced he will never, ever completely quit his consulting practice until it is pried from his cold, dead hands). For the past few years, I have been working the home office, volunteering in municipal government (I am the mayor of my small rural NJ township), and getting those kids ready to fledge the nest. But there is more...

I have been holding onto a dirty little secret. I am a junker. I spend my spare minutes rehabbing, scrubbing, soaking, and decrusting lost causes.  I have an obsession with salvaging sorry looking rags and wrecks. I rummage through mildew and mouse poop in search of strange treasure.  I have been known to hang out near roadside 'free' piles. Yes, I embarrass my family, friends are mystified, but I don't care. It's what I do for fun. And it's time to fess up, admit it, and move on.



Yes, this is a typical view of the back of my truck.



Secret number two - hidden in the garbage bags and boxes stashed in the closets of my home is the #1 most addictive item I seek - not morphine, nor cocaine - ANTIQUE and VINTAGE TEXTILES. That is where this blog is heading. I know that there are others like me out there. You get all of the good stuff five minutes before me at the sales. I'd like to utilize this blog to help us find each other and help each other. How to clean this? Is it Marghab? What the heck was this used for? So many questions. Hoping those of you how share my addiction passion will join me.

And here's the last secret I'm letting you in on today - I am working to make the addiction pay its own way. I've been selling on eBay for years (a subject for future posts), but have made the decision to quit hiding behind my monitor and set up brick and mortar shop space. After scouring the area, I chose an antique cooperative in Bucks County, Stone House Antique Center. They blogged about me at Stone House too..



 This is my space at Stone House Antiques Center in Mechanicsville, PA.

 I call my shop (and my eBay store) the Stone Cottage Workshop. If you identify as another of the crazies addicted to antique textiles, with occasional side dishes of painted furniture and disparaging remarks on random topics, I would be so pleased if you would join me on the journey. I love company.