I have several lengths of this beautiful and typical Spitalfields woven silk dress brocade of the 1750s. The silk was probably designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite(1690-1763), but unless one can actually find an identical design, one cannot say for sure. By the time this silk was designed, A-M would be in her 60s? Did she carry on working? Here I show length A.
From the collection of the late Mrs June Jeffreys (1928 – 2016) who married George William Eyre Jeffreys (1931 - 2019) in 1960. The house Newhouse, Redlynch, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, has been in the family for 400 years and many of the dress collection was inherited through Mr Jeffrey’s family.
The ivory ground woven with small sprays of pink flowers shded in two different colourways, a background of self coloured brocade with satin stripes, coloured and self coloured flowers and leaf meanders.
A - 40 in x 19 in; 1 m x 49 cm selvedge to selvedge.
The silk is crisp and fresh looking. All have some original fold marks from when part of a 1750s gown and there might be the feintest minor mark. They are 260 years old and have had a life!
A - This is in g c. This length has a hole approx 3/4 in; 2 cm diameter. The hole is 18 in;46 cm down from that top seam and 1 1/2 in in; 4 cm from the left hand selvedge.
This one has a similar sprig and stripe:
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78727/dress-fabric-anna-maria-garthwaite/
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92739/design-garthwaite-anna-maria/
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