Textile Society of America
Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings
Date of this Version
2024
Document Type
Presentation
Citation
Textile Society of America 2024 Symposium
Shifts & Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles, November 12-17, 2024, a virtual event
Student/New Professional Award recipient
Abstract
The design and production of printed cotton in the United Kingdom underwent great changes through the nineteenth century. However as the industry grew, many manufacturers became concerned about a perceived decline in the quality of textile design. An attempt made to regulate this industry, the Copyright of Design Act of 1842, proposed to improve the quality of British production by enabling designers and proprietors to register their textile designs and thus prohibit other firms from pirating those original designs.
Yet imitations were crucial to the development and success of Britain’s cotton printing industry. By the 1870s, up to 60% of the cotton produced in the United Kingdom was sold overseas. One company, William Stirling & Sons, sold most of its dyed and printed goods in India, Southeast Asia, and other foreign markets. Manufacturers like Stirling & Sons often produced printed textiles that replicated the appearance of already existing textile patterns to persuade consumers to purchase British-made goods. So, if the industry itself was based upon imitation as a form of innovation, what exactly was the role of copyright protection? This presentation will seek to explore this question through an examination of a pattern book of printed cottons registered by William Stirling & Sons from 1893 to 1897 to determine the role that design registration played for exported goods, particularly those that feature patterns influenced by or directly copied from foreign models.
Included in
Art and Materials Conservation Commons, Art Practice Commons, Fashion Design Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
Published by the Textiles Society of America
Copyright 2024, the author. Used by permission