As the opening event of Power & Pomp: Fashion History Month at the Library Company of Philadelphia, curator Jade Papa gave a talk about the history of women’s roles in Philadelphia’s textile industries in the 19th century. Along with Jade, Emily Radomski, third-year textile design student and collection intern, presented historic textile tools from the Textile & Costume Collection and explained how they were used.
To accompany the presentation, the Library Company hosted a small exhibit of some of our textile tools and passementerie trims made in Philadelphia by F.W. Maurer & Sons. Click below to watch a recording of the lecture. Also included below are images from the exhibit and presentation. We’d like to thank the Library Company of Philadelphia for this wonderful collaborative opportunity.





