American Textile History Museum
Encyclopedia
The American Textile History Museum (ATHM), located in Lowell, Massachusetts
, was founded as the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum (MVTM) in North Andover, Massachusetts
in 1960 by Caroline Stevens Rogers. ATHM tells America’s story through the art, science and history of textiles.
and dyer
, came into possession of her father’s collection of over 50 spinning wheels
in various stages of collapse and a truck load of heavy beams (the disassembled parts of antique hand looms) as well as dozens of reels, winders, skarnes, raddles, and niddy-noddies
. This collection had been cultivated over a 50 year period by her father, Samuel Dale Stevens (1859-1922). Caroline’s husband, Horatio Rogers, a retired doctor, restored many of the pieces.
By the spring of 1958 Caroline was thinking of ways to use her father’s collection of early cloth-making equipment, and, when named as President of the North Andover Historical Society, she decided to add the collection to the holdings of the Society. In 1959, J. Bruce Sinclair became the first Director of the North Andover Historical Society, and he proposed that a regional textile museum be established. He wanted its central concern to be wool
and materials for its exhibits to be collected from all over the Merrimack Valley
.
At the first meeting of the Advisory Board in January, 1960, those present agreed that the scope of the MVTM should not be limited to a specific geographic area nor by specific chronological dates. This meant that geographical and chronological boundaries would be considered less important than the natural boundaries limited only by the significance of the subject matter. In May, 1960, plans for a new building to house the MVTM began. It was completed by the summer of 1961. 18000 square feet (1,672.3 m²) of floor space was divided almost evenly among the exhibit, study collection, and administrative areas. As the MVTM became a reality, the staff also grew. In January, 1961 Sinclair hired a secretary, a curator joined the staff in March, and a librarian was added in August.
The exhibits were arranged to tell the story of wool manufacturing. The design was organized around a modular system of floor-to-ceiling posts and panels. The use of silk screens and photographic blow-ups, along with the use of color filled the galleries. The contents of the exhibit illustrated the transition from hand to machine technology in wool manufacturing. A ‘before’ and ‘after’ example was used at each stage in cloth production, from sheep-shearing to cloth-dyeing. The materials shown included artifacts, text blocks, illustrations, models, and replicas. Illustrations outnumbered the 3-dimensional objects by a ratio of 2 to 1. The exhibit contained less than 2 dozen artifacts that illustrated significant developments in textile technology. Among the machines on display were a wool picker, a double cylinder carding
engine, a 200 spindle
spinning jack, a two-harness plain loom
, an automatic bobbin-changing dobby loom
and a shearing machine.
In 1971 the MVTM became accredited by the American Association of Museums
. In 1973 Caroline Stevens Rogers was succeeded by Walter Muir Whitehead, who had been a member of the Board of Trustees of the museum from the beginning. By this time the scope of the MVTM had stretched to include much of the United States up to 1950. The MVTM was also expanding in size. In 1967 a library
wing of approximately 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) had been added and in 1971, Machinery Hall, a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) study-storage building was completed to house the collection of tools and machinery.
In June, 1984 the Trustees decided that the museum should no longer have a regional name. They wanted a name that encompassed the scope of the museum. So, on September 1, 1984, the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum became the Museum of American Textile History (MATH). It was around this time that the scope of the MATH expanded even further to include the study of manmade and contemporary materials. At this point it became clear that the MATH’s accommodations in North Andover were not enough to support the collection. The main building could not be expanded and Machinery Hall was crammed with artifacts and in a poor location for public access. The Board of Trustees began to consider moving the MATH to an entirely new location. They wanted the MATH to be somewhere that offered better access to the public and was large enough to house their collection, as well as accommodate for future expansion.
At first the plan was to move the MATH to the Heritage State Park
in Lawrence, MA
. However, in 1985 it became clear that the cost of rehabilitating the building in Lawrence would greatly exceed the original estimates. The search for a new location continued and, on April 30, 1992, the museum purchased the old Kitson Shop in Lowell, MA. Built in the 1860s, the Kitson Shop had been a textile machinery manufacturer. Plans to relocate to the heart of the historic textile manufacturing center of Lowell were underway.
MATH moved to Lowell on April 27, 1997. In Lowell, MATH became the American Textile History Museum (ATHM). ATHM closed in 2007 to renovate its exhibit space. This marked the beginning of a large fundraising
effort that eventually netted more than $4 million. In 2008, ATHM introduced its mascot, Lulu the Lamb. ATHM reopened in June 2009 with a broader array of interactive exhibits and activities for both adult and child visitors. It also reopened as a member of the Smithsonian Affiliations. As an Affiliate, ATHM explores object loan options with Smithsonian Institution
museums and is also developing a relationship with the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time
The permanent exhibit at the ATHM is Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time. It features examples of materials that range from the protective clothing
that firefighters and soldiers wear to the “shark skin” swimsuits
of Olympic swimmers
. It is a study in how textiles are changing the world.
Aloft! The Wonder of Kites
November 5, 2011 - May 27, 2012
Future Exhibits:
Homefront & Battlefield: The Civil War through Quilts and Context (both galleries)
July 2012-November 2012
Suited for Space
December 2012-February 2013
Past Exhibits:
Grace and Glamour: 1930's Fashions (Stevens Gallery)
May 21, 2011-October 16, 2011
Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam
May 21, 2011-September 25, 2011
American Tapestry Biennial 8
January 22, 2011-May 1, 2011
High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture
August 4, 2010-January 2, 2011
Molly Hixon's "Sparkle" Paintings Visit the Weston Howland Textile Learning Center (TLC)
August 14, 2010-January 2, 2011
Inspired Design: Lasell College at ATHM
May 15, 2010-August 1, 2010
More Than a Number
April 17, 2010-July 25, 2010
Aprons: Fifties FUNctional Fashion
November 6 through April 18, 2010
Changing Landscapes: Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art
October 23, 2009 through March 14, 2010
Threads: The Weaving of Stories
Ended October 18, 2009
What Followed Me Home: Collecting Antique Quilts, Fabrics, and Tools
Ended October 4, 2009
Quilt National '05
Saturday, June 3-Sunday, September 3, 2006
Finishing Touches
October 23, 2005-April 2, 2006
Batik from Courts and Palaces: The Rudolph Smend Collection Batik Fashion/American Style
May 7, 2005-September 11, 2005
Born of the 4th of July—Lowell Celebrates Our Nation
November, 2004-April 2, 2005
Art Quilts from Around the World on Display in New Exhibit at American Textile History Museum
July 24, 2004-October 10, 2004
Let's Go Hawaiian!
January 31, 2004-June 20, 2004
Runway Madness!: The fashion photography of Lucian Perkins
August 16, 2003 through January 4, 2004
Generations/Transformations: American Fiber Art
April 12, 2003-July 20, 2003
Reflections: Fashion, Dolls, and the Art of Growing Up
November 9, 2002-March 23, 2003
From the Mills: Contemporary Quilters, Historic Designs
August 11, 2002-October 20, 2002
The Pentagon Comfort Quilts: A special commemorative exhibit
September 2, 2002-September 13, 2002
Jack Lenor Larsen: The Company and the Cloth
June 15, 2002-July 28, 2002
All for One & One for All!: Uniforms in Fact and Fantasy
January 26, 2002-May 27, 2002
Stylish Hats: 200 Years of Sartorial Sculpture
September 16, 2001-December 31, 2001
Textile Art from Southern Appalachia: The Quiet Work of Women
February 4, 2001-May 27, 2001
Class of 2001
Roger Milliken
Duke Power
Samuel Slater
Class of 2002
Frederick Dent
Whitin Machine Works
DuPont
J. Spencer Love
Class of 2003
Draper Corporation
Dalton McMichael
The Men and Women of the American textile industry
Class of 2004
American Viscose Corporation
W. Duke Kimbrell
Jack Lenor Larsen
National Cotton Council
Class of 2005
Robert C. Jackson
Saco-Lowell Shops
Scalamandr`e
Class of 2008
Levi Strauss & Co.
Gordon Osborne
Pendleton Woolen Mills
James S. Self
Edward B. Stevens
Class of 2009
Cotton Incorporated
Cranston Print Works
W.L. Gore Company
Class of 2010
Malcolm G. Chace III
Hugh Wadsworth
Crawford, Jr. and Stevens Linen Works
Allen E. Grant, Jr. and Glen Raven, Inc.
Shaw Industries Group, Inc.
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
, was founded as the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum (MVTM) in North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....
in 1960 by Caroline Stevens Rogers. ATHM tells America’s story through the art, science and history of textiles.
History
In 1958, Caroline Stevens Rogers, a member of a textile industry family and a hand weaverWeaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
and dyer
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
, came into possession of her father’s collection of over 50 spinning wheels
Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibers. Spinning wheels appeared in Asia, probably in the 11th century, and very gradually replaced hand spinning with spindle and distaff...
in various stages of collapse and a truck load of heavy beams (the disassembled parts of antique hand looms) as well as dozens of reels, winders, skarnes, raddles, and niddy-noddies
Niddy noddy
A niddy-noddy is a tool used to make skeins from yarn. It consists of a central bar, with crossbars at each end, offset from each other by 90°. The central bar is generally carved to make it easier to hold. Either one of the crossbars will have a flat edge to allow the skein to slide off, or will...
. This collection had been cultivated over a 50 year period by her father, Samuel Dale Stevens (1859-1922). Caroline’s husband, Horatio Rogers, a retired doctor, restored many of the pieces.
By the spring of 1958 Caroline was thinking of ways to use her father’s collection of early cloth-making equipment, and, when named as President of the North Andover Historical Society, she decided to add the collection to the holdings of the Society. In 1959, J. Bruce Sinclair became the first Director of the North Andover Historical Society, and he proposed that a regional textile museum be established. He wanted its central concern to be wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and materials for its exhibits to be collected from all over the Merrimack Valley
Merrimack Valley
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, United States. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in the New England region and has helped define the livelihood and culture of those living along it since native...
.
At the first meeting of the Advisory Board in January, 1960, those present agreed that the scope of the MVTM should not be limited to a specific geographic area nor by specific chronological dates. This meant that geographical and chronological boundaries would be considered less important than the natural boundaries limited only by the significance of the subject matter. In May, 1960, plans for a new building to house the MVTM began. It was completed by the summer of 1961. 18000 square feet (1,672.3 m²) of floor space was divided almost evenly among the exhibit, study collection, and administrative areas. As the MVTM became a reality, the staff also grew. In January, 1961 Sinclair hired a secretary, a curator joined the staff in March, and a librarian was added in August.
The exhibits were arranged to tell the story of wool manufacturing. The design was organized around a modular system of floor-to-ceiling posts and panels. The use of silk screens and photographic blow-ups, along with the use of color filled the galleries. The contents of the exhibit illustrated the transition from hand to machine technology in wool manufacturing. A ‘before’ and ‘after’ example was used at each stage in cloth production, from sheep-shearing to cloth-dyeing. The materials shown included artifacts, text blocks, illustrations, models, and replicas. Illustrations outnumbered the 3-dimensional objects by a ratio of 2 to 1. The exhibit contained less than 2 dozen artifacts that illustrated significant developments in textile technology. Among the machines on display were a wool picker, a double cylinder carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
engine, a 200 spindle
Spindle (textiles)
A spindle is a wooden spike used for spinning wool, flax, hemp, cotton, and other fibres into thread. It is commonly weighted at either the bottom middle or top, most commonly by a circular or spherical object called a whorl, and may also have a hook, groove or notch, though spindles without...
spinning jack, a two-harness plain loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
, an automatic bobbin-changing dobby loom
Dobby loom
A Dobby Loom is a type of floor loom that controls the whole warp threads using a device called a dobby. Dobby is a corruption of "draw boy" which refers to the weaver's helpers who used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads....
and a shearing machine.
In 1971 the MVTM became accredited by the American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
. In 1973 Caroline Stevens Rogers was succeeded by Walter Muir Whitehead, who had been a member of the Board of Trustees of the museum from the beginning. By this time the scope of the MVTM had stretched to include much of the United States up to 1950. The MVTM was also expanding in size. In 1967 a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
wing of approximately 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) had been added and in 1971, Machinery Hall, a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) study-storage building was completed to house the collection of tools and machinery.
In June, 1984 the Trustees decided that the museum should no longer have a regional name. They wanted a name that encompassed the scope of the museum. So, on September 1, 1984, the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum became the Museum of American Textile History (MATH). It was around this time that the scope of the MATH expanded even further to include the study of manmade and contemporary materials. At this point it became clear that the MATH’s accommodations in North Andover were not enough to support the collection. The main building could not be expanded and Machinery Hall was crammed with artifacts and in a poor location for public access. The Board of Trustees began to consider moving the MATH to an entirely new location. They wanted the MATH to be somewhere that offered better access to the public and was large enough to house their collection, as well as accommodate for future expansion.
At first the plan was to move the MATH to the Heritage State Park
Lawrence Heritage State Park
Lawrence Heritage State Park is a Massachusetts state park located in Lawrence. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.-Description:Lawrence Heritage State Park comprises three separate park areas, as follows:...
in Lawrence, MA
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
. However, in 1985 it became clear that the cost of rehabilitating the building in Lawrence would greatly exceed the original estimates. The search for a new location continued and, on April 30, 1992, the museum purchased the old Kitson Shop in Lowell, MA. Built in the 1860s, the Kitson Shop had been a textile machinery manufacturer. Plans to relocate to the heart of the historic textile manufacturing center of Lowell were underway.
MATH moved to Lowell on April 27, 1997. In Lowell, MATH became the American Textile History Museum (ATHM). ATHM closed in 2007 to renovate its exhibit space. This marked the beginning of a large fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
effort that eventually netted more than $4 million. In 2008, ATHM introduced its mascot, Lulu the Lamb. ATHM reopened in June 2009 with a broader array of interactive exhibits and activities for both adult and child visitors. It also reopened as a member of the Smithsonian Affiliations. As an Affiliate, ATHM explores object loan options with Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
museums and is also developing a relationship with the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Osborne Library
The Osborne Library is a part of the ATHM that contains an extensive collection of books, prints, photographs, and manuscripts. Users of the library include spinners and weavers, designers, architects, and many more. Access to the Osborne Library is by appointment only.Exhibits
Current Exhibits:Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time
The permanent exhibit at the ATHM is Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time. It features examples of materials that range from the protective clothing
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in...
that firefighters and soldiers wear to the “shark skin” swimsuits
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
of Olympic swimmers
Swimming at the Summer Olympics
Swimming has been a sport at every modern Summer Olympics. It has been open to women since 1912. Along with track & field athletics and gymnastics it is one of the most popular spectator sports at the Games and the one with the largest number of events....
. It is a study in how textiles are changing the world.
Aloft! The Wonder of Kites
November 5, 2011 - May 27, 2012
Future Exhibits:
Homefront & Battlefield: The Civil War through Quilts and Context (both galleries)
July 2012-November 2012
Suited for Space
December 2012-February 2013
Past Exhibits:
Grace and Glamour: 1930's Fashions (Stevens Gallery)
May 21, 2011-October 16, 2011
Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam
May 21, 2011-September 25, 2011
American Tapestry Biennial 8
January 22, 2011-May 1, 2011
High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture
August 4, 2010-January 2, 2011
Molly Hixon's "Sparkle" Paintings Visit the Weston Howland Textile Learning Center (TLC)
August 14, 2010-January 2, 2011
Inspired Design: Lasell College at ATHM
May 15, 2010-August 1, 2010
More Than a Number
April 17, 2010-July 25, 2010
Aprons: Fifties FUNctional Fashion
November 6 through April 18, 2010
Changing Landscapes: Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art
October 23, 2009 through March 14, 2010
Threads: The Weaving of Stories
Ended October 18, 2009
What Followed Me Home: Collecting Antique Quilts, Fabrics, and Tools
Ended October 4, 2009
Quilt National '05
Saturday, June 3-Sunday, September 3, 2006
Finishing Touches
October 23, 2005-April 2, 2006
Batik from Courts and Palaces: The Rudolph Smend Collection Batik Fashion/American Style
May 7, 2005-September 11, 2005
Born of the 4th of July—Lowell Celebrates Our Nation
November, 2004-April 2, 2005
Art Quilts from Around the World on Display in New Exhibit at American Textile History Museum
July 24, 2004-October 10, 2004
Let's Go Hawaiian!
January 31, 2004-June 20, 2004
Runway Madness!: The fashion photography of Lucian Perkins
August 16, 2003 through January 4, 2004
Generations/Transformations: American Fiber Art
April 12, 2003-July 20, 2003
Reflections: Fashion, Dolls, and the Art of Growing Up
November 9, 2002-March 23, 2003
From the Mills: Contemporary Quilters, Historic Designs
August 11, 2002-October 20, 2002
The Pentagon Comfort Quilts: A special commemorative exhibit
September 2, 2002-September 13, 2002
Jack Lenor Larsen: The Company and the Cloth
June 15, 2002-July 28, 2002
All for One & One for All!: Uniforms in Fact and Fantasy
January 26, 2002-May 27, 2002
Stylish Hats: 200 Years of Sartorial Sculpture
September 16, 2001-December 31, 2001
Textile Art from Southern Appalachia: The Quiet Work of Women
February 4, 2001-May 27, 2001
American Textile Hall of Fame
The ATHM started the American Textile Hall of Fame in 2001. It honors past and present individuals, corporations, and institutions that have made contributions to the textile industry and have helped foster an appreciation of textiles in America. Individuals and companies who are recognized by this award are chosen by the American Textile Hall of Fame Committee.Class of 2001
Roger Milliken
Duke Power
Samuel Slater
Class of 2002
Frederick Dent
Whitin Machine Works
DuPont
J. Spencer Love
Class of 2003
Draper Corporation
Dalton McMichael
The Men and Women of the American textile industry
Class of 2004
American Viscose Corporation
W. Duke Kimbrell
Jack Lenor Larsen
National Cotton Council
Class of 2005
Robert C. Jackson
Saco-Lowell Shops
Scalamandr`e
Class of 2008
Levi Strauss & Co.
Gordon Osborne
Pendleton Woolen Mills
James S. Self
Edward B. Stevens
Class of 2009
Cotton Incorporated
Cranston Print Works
W.L. Gore Company
Class of 2010
Malcolm G. Chace III
Hugh Wadsworth
Crawford, Jr. and Stevens Linen Works
Allen E. Grant, Jr. and Glen Raven, Inc.
Shaw Industries Group, Inc.