PHOTOGRAPHY:©LEEDSUNIVERSITYLIBRARY,INTERNATIONALTEXTILE COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDSM
ost of us have somet h ing : a
stash of fabrics, perhaps, or
buttons, or bits, which we just
can’t throw away. Perhaps it’s
something handed down to
us; or something we picked
up ourselves, falling in love with its pattern or
tex t ure. We choose to pick out , a nd t hen ha ng
on to, things for an array of different reasons.
A new exhibition, ‘Unbound: Visionary Women
Collecting Textiles’ explores the lives of some of
the women who collected, and whose finds are
now in museums around the UK. It shows that
behind every object, there are many stories.
Where does the desire to collect come from?
With Olive Matthews (1887–1979) – who focused
on dress from the 18th and early 19th century,
and who donated her collection to Chertsey
Museum in Runnymede (chertseymuseum.org)- it’s speculated that a bundle of things inherited
WHY DO WE COLLECT? EVERY
COLLECTION CONTAINS A MYRIAD
OF STORIES – AS THE COSTUMESAND TEXTILES AMASSED BY THESE
PIONEERING WOMEN REVEALTHE KEEPERS
OF THE
CLOTHES
Words: FRANCES AMBLERost of us have somet h ing: a
stash of fabrics, perhaps, or
buttons, or bits, which we justPHOTOGRAPHY:©LEEDSUNIVERSITYLIBRARY,INTERNATIONALTEXTILE COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDScan’tthrowaway.Perhapsit’s
somethinghandeddownto
us; or something we picked
up ourselves, falling in love with its pattern or
tex t ure. We choose to pick out , a nd t hen ha ng
on to, things for an array of different reasons.
A new exhibition, ‘Unbound: Visionary Women
Collecting Textiles’ explores the lives of some of
the women who collected, and whose finds are
now in museums around the UK. It shows that
behind every object, there are many stories.
Where does the desire to collect come from?
With Olive Matthews (1887–1979) – who focused
on dress from the 18th and early 19th century,
and who donated her collection to Chertsey
Museum in Runnymede (chertseymuseum.org)- it’s speculated that a bundle of things inherited
WHY DO WE COLLECT? EVERY
COLLECTION CONTAINS A MYRIAD
OF STORIES – AS THE COSTUMES
AND TEXTILES AMASSED BY THESE
PIONEERING WOMEN REVEAL
OF THE
CLOTHES
Words: FRANCES AMBLER
ostofushavesomet h ing:a
stashoffabrics,perhaps, or
buttons, or bits, which wejust