In 2022, the Whitworth accepted the offer of the design archives of A. Brunnschweiler and Co/ ABC Wax. One of the last archives of its kind in the UK, these comprise about 350 archival boxes, mostly of pattern books, fabric samples, hanging samples, 35mm slides, filing cabinets of sample cards, printing blocks, around 200 A4 ringbinders and large paper designs. All representing the output of the major textile printworks in the North-West such as Calico Printers’ Association (CPA), Newton Bank, (F.W. Ashton), Broad Oak (F.W. Grafton), Church Bank (Frederick Steiner), Dinting Vale (Edmund Potter), Love Clough Printing Company, Rhodes (Salis Schwabe), Strines Printing Company, and Blue Printers (formerly of Wigan). These firms were the backbone of English export textile printing. The ABC Wax archive therefore reveals the history of British textiles made for export to African, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. It shows developments in the design processes and the technologies used, changing fashions in design, telling stories of decolonisation and economics, illustrating how the hub of manufacture shifted away from the UK during the twentieth century.
This acquisition – still in its infancy – will be a major and on-going project for the Whitworth and will involve considerable consultation. Further consultation regarding the practicalities of accessible storage and display will follow. A workshop is being planned.
This lecture will introduce the archive and the issues the gallery faces conceptually and practically to acquire the archive and to ensure its accessibility.
