Norwich Calamanco
1760's

worsted wool with wide yellow bands alternating with pinky/mauve shaded stripes and shaded green stripes, glazed, with original linen thread, longest length 14 1/2 in or 37 cm; width 18 in or 47 cm.

Comments

Very rare piece of this cloth. See my ARTICLE 18th century Norwich Wool Stuffs and the skirts in 18th century Costume SOLD section.

The V & A have a sample book of the Norwich manufacturer John Kelly c 1760 with costs of production of various worsteds. Although the book was for the Portuguese market yellow stripe calamancoes in the book bear a striking resemblence to this stripe.

The glaze (calendaring) was achieved by putting the completed fabric through heated cylinders. Calendering makes the fabric dirt resistant and therefore stronger.

Calamanco or Kalamink is a Spanish word meaning a worsted material, with a fine gloss ie calendered or glazed. There were many types of calamanco and they could be brocaded, clouded, figured, flowered, mock striped, shaded, sprigged, striped white and white flowered or plain. These fabrics were produced in vast quantities for the export market. An account of 1802 describes the brilliance of calamancoes, satins and brilliants:

This manufacture was peculiar to Norwich, and the colours employed were said to surpass any others dyed in Europe.
A photograph of a similiar skirt different colourway dated 1763 held in a private collection in Friesland.

This piece would be good for someone who wants an example.

This was bought in Holland where it is called grein and was used for skirts. In the Symbuts sample book in the Fries Museum in The Netherlands there are samples of stripes or grein along with damasks, plains and diamante designs with measurements in yards all exported from Norwich. Similar striped fabric appears on the sample acard from the Norwich Textiles website.

Condition

When held to the light there is quite a lot of wear and few moth holes. The stitching is machined, more than likely altered from an 18th c skirt to a 19th c one.

This is not as dark as it appears. It is the same as the other piece.

Price: £95 | $150 | €110