Reviving Liddell's Damask Designs
Uncovering, conserving and celebrating a unique archive of Damask design
The Project
The Heritage Lottery funded project ‘Reviving William Liddell’s Damask Designs’ concerns a unique collection of 1600 photographic glass plates discovered in 2007 during the dismantling of the Ewart-Liddell factory at Donacloney, County Down.
The photographs document the design and development work for Liddell’s Damask patterns.
This work represents the labour of highly skilled workforce of designers, draughtsmen and women and weavers working for the company during the years 1900’s to 1970’s.
The project team from the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University comprises of Senior Research Fellow Trish Belford and Professor Barbara Dass.
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The Team
The project team from the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University comprises of Senior Research Fellow Trish Belford and Professor Barbara Dass.
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Trish Belford
Senior Research Fellow Belfast School of Art and Design Ulster University Trish’s work focuses on the project management and research as a response to to an Irish Archive, using a range of textile techniques.
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Professor Barbara Dass
Belfast School of Art and Design Ulster University Barbara’s work focuses on investigating design methodologies associated with the production Damask cloth and responding to the traces of the Irish Linen heritage through her weaving practice.
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The Plates
The discovery of the photographic plates has provided a rare opportunity to uncover and celebrate the often-understated artistic, design and technical skills of the generations of individuals working in the design offices of the textile industries in Ireland.
The Plates
The initial stages of the project focussed on the preservation of the glass plates, their digitization and classification for an open access digital archive.
The photographic plate preceded film and was used to capture images on a light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts that coated the glass plate. The use of glass plates for photography declined after the 1910’s yet this method of photography appears to have been used to record design work produced in the Liddell design office throughout seven decades of the twentieth century.
The photographic glass plates were stored in the original Kodak and Ilford cardboard boxes and were in an extremely fragile condition. The deteriorating residual chemicals on the plates had produced brownish-bluish tinges sometimes damaging the images. The glass itself was in very poor condition with sharp and often chipped edges making the manual handling and viewing of the plates extremely precarious. However through a painstaking process of digitally scanning each plate the content of the archive has become accessible for closer scrutiny for the first time in over 50 years. In their digital form the plates reveal an astounding detailed and unique record of the working methods of the talented and highly skilled individuals who worked in the design office of the Liddell factory.
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Unpacking the plates
The photographic glass plates were stored in the original Kodak and Ilford cardboard boxes and were in an extremely fragile condition.
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Unpacking the plates
The photographic glass plates were stored in the original Kodak and Ilford cardboard boxes and were in an extremely fragile condition.
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Ageing
The deteriorating residual chemicals on the plates had produced brownish-bluish tinges sometimes damaging the images.
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Handling
The glass itself was in very poor condition with sharp and often chipped edges making the manual handling and viewing of the plates extremely precarious.
Roadshows
Public and community engagement has been the ultimate focus of the project, running three road shows at Cultra, Donacloney and Lisburn to view and photograph artefacts and listen to and record oral histories of individuals and families who have connections with the Irish linen industry. These road shows were supported by the Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis (CDDA), Queen’s University, Belfast, design historian Dr Catherine O’Hara and Sharon Adams.
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The Roadshows
Three strategic locations were selected and promotion was through local networking and specifically targeted leaflets. The roadshows were facilitated by the Centre for Data and Digitisation Analysis (CDDA) Queen’s University Belfast.
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Ulster Folk & Transport Museum Roadshow
This launch roadshow was held in the Parochial Hall, Ulster Folk and Transport museum as part of the museums ‘Linen Day’ of activities and craft demonstrations. Trestle tables were laid showing a selection of the glass plates, their first showing since being cleaned and digitised. The public had been invited to bring any artefacts, memorabilia or stories to be recorded, photographed and digitised which were carefully recorded backed up by artefacts being scanned into the system.
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Ulster Folk & Transport Museum Roadshow
The Linen Trade Association commemoration continues to document many historical highlights too numerous to mention, however the last snapshot is a piece recounting the making of a film 1936 Irish Linen Film. Marion Baur from Flaxmill Dungiven arrived with a descriptive label dated 1928, a treasured gift to Marion from Wallace Clark. “This cloth is 11/10 made by Acme Co Ltd, Montreal Sept 1928 as requested by Mr Williamson. Made in our own factory”
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Lisburn Roadshow
As the historic centre of Ulster’s Linen history, Lisburn was selected for the third and final roadshow. Alison Magown, who we first met in Donacloney, returned bringing a timekeeping book that had been her father’s responsibility in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A Linen Gold medal from Paris 1867. Liam Ewing was proud to present several excellent photographs of his father demonstrating to Anthony Armstrong Jones the testing of linen fibre, this royal visit was as a result of receiving the Queens award for Industry.
The Exhibition
The initial research findings are disseminated through the ‘Recall: Shuttles and Shafts exhibition’, Linen Biennale, Lisburn Museum, September–November, 2018 and a series of public lectures given at several venues across the province. Belford and Dass have also partnered with local community groups and the Lisburn Museum to run workshops that encourage participants to respond to the archive using simple weaving techniques. A key aspect of the project is the exhibiting of new contemporary textile work designed and developed by Dass and Belford in response to the Liddell Damask collection.
The complete collection of digitised photographic plates has been arranged into four key classifications: logistics (shipping, trains and air lines), hospitality (cafés, restaurants and hotels), organisations (clubs, societies and institutions) and domestic patterns (with sub-themes of floras, rural scenes, geometric, Celtic, neo-classical and constructivist). The project team have collaborated with graphic designer Paul Kelly to design the exhibition space and website for the archive. Research Assistant Beth Milligan has provided technical support for weaving and printing in the development and production of new work for the exhibition.
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Key classifications
The complete collection of digitised photographic plates has been arranged into four key classifications: logistics (shipping, trains and air lines), hospitality (cafés, restaurants and hotels), organisations (clubs, societies and institutions) and domestic patterns (with sub-themes of floras, rural scenes, geometric, Celtic, neo-classical and constructivist).
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Reviving The William Liddell Collection, 27th September 2018 – 1st February 2019
Displayed at the Lisburn Linen Centre as part of the Linen Biennale NI
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Reviving The William Liddell Collection, 27th September 2018 – 1st February 2019
Displayed at the Lisburn Linen Centre as part of the Linen Biennale NI
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Reviving The William Liddell Collection, 27th September 2018 – 1st February 2019
Displayed at the Lisburn Linen Centre as part of the Linen Biennale NI
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Reviving The William Liddell Collection, 27th September 2018 – 1st February 2019
Displayed at the Lisburn Linen Centre as part of the Linen Biennale NI
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Primal Weave & Primal Print
The monochromatic paper weaves bring to life minute sections of four segments of the design captured on Plate 1-01-016, thus exposing its most basic or primal state—a binary sequence of interlacing woven in off-white warp and black weft. Responding to the scaled up visible patterns within the body of the main glass plate, 1-01-016, extracting the simple rhythm and pattern to create a collection of screen prints, that work separately and in harmony with the paper cut weaves.
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Digital – Looking back to look forward
The Digital Print was developed at William Clark & Sons Ltd, Upperlands. Working with the creative Director Duncan Neil the challenge was to reimagine the small delicate monotone glass plate design into a larger scale repeating coloured design, working across the width of the cloth.
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Sculpting the Cloth. Liddell’s Compendium of Weaves Barbara Dass
The proof cloth-style sampler piece responds to the tonal and textural effects of both sides of the Damask linen cloth. There are twenty-five different structures with both face and reverse sides of the cloth visible. Woven in an unbleached linen warp and procion red-dyed linen weft the face and reverse sides of the cloth show the range of contrast in tone and texture that can be achieved. The squares are arranged to reflect subtle tonal changes that are achieved by changes in the proportion of weft to warp on the face of the cloth.
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The glass plates
The delicate plates are on display
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Bleached Composition, Trish Belford & Barbara Dass
This piece was generated from a process of collaboration, a printer and weaver working together. Blocks of structures were woven continuously using pre dyed black linen yarn, the weaver creating different structures responding to the Liddell archive. The printer using the traditional process of discharge printing (bleaching effect) to remove colour from yarns.
The Donacloney Collection
A collaboration between Trish Belford and Earthed by William Clark, creating decorative textiles that respect the past in a distinct contemporary context.
Back in 2007 when Trish Belford and Duncan Neil worked together at the Ulster University, 1600 photographic glass plates depicting beautiful damask designs from the William Liddell Company of Donacloney, Co. Down, were donated to the research department. A member of the public had rescued these historic plates from the abandoned factory , realising their cultural importance.
William Liddell established William Liddell & Company in 1866. At that time Belfast was the largest centre of linen production in the world; a position the city held until the beginning of the First World War. Driven by industrialization William Liddell & Co. were especially prosperous with their ideal position on the River Lagan providing export routes to the rest of the world.
By the beginning of the 20th century the company had offices all around the world including Belfast, London, Melbourne, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Christchurch and Capetown.
Famous for producing damask designs, the company was awarded contracts for luxurious liners including the Titanic and iconic stores including Harrods, House of Fraser and Bloomingdales in the U.S. The designs depicted on these plates were created by the company between the early 1900’s and 1970’s.
After carefully cleaning and digitizing the plate archive to preserve the designs for the future with help from Heritiage Lottery funding, Trish began working with Earthed to explore how these once tonal designs could be celebrated with modern textile processes.
And so the Donacloney collection was born; an uplifting range of decorative fabrics comprising vivid digital prints, new damask woven lace and co-ordinating screen prints that respects tradition while placing itself in a contemporary context.
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Cunard White Star Line
Within the archive a collection of eight plates of artwork and designs for Cunard, White&Star and Cunard White Star cover the transition period from these shipping lines operating as single companies to their merger in 1934.
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Union Castle Line
Union Castle Line was a British Shipping Line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977.
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Shipping companies
The Pacific Steam Navigation Company Headquarters Liverpool, UK Founded in 1838. A commercial shipping company that operated in the Pacific coast of South America. It was the first company to use steam ships for commercial traffic in the Pacific. In 1965 the company was ended and remaining vessels rebranded.
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Hospitality – Artwork and designs for hotels, cafés and restaurants
This Hospitality themed chapter focuses on artwork, design sketches and drawings generated for the hospitality market. There are hundreds of plates that record patterns for napkins and tablecloths for hotels, cafés and restaurants across the globe. The collection provides a noteworthy record of evolving hotel branding throughout the first seven decades of the twentieth century. Some of the hotels documented, although prestigious in their heyday, are no longer in business whilst famous contemporary hotel groups and hotels are also well represented in the collection. The artwork and technical skill of the individuals who worked on the development and refinement of these designs is highly skilled and creative. The William Liddell Collection provides a unique and fascinating insight not only into world of hotel branding but also the working practices of designers, technicians and weavers of the Irish linen industry.
Domestic – Artwork and designs for napkins and tablecloths
This Domestic themed chapter focuses on artwork, design sketches and drawings generated for the domestic market. There are hundreds of plates that record patterns for tablecloths and napkins in square, rectangular, oval and circular layouts. The diverse range of patterns provides insights into the artistic styles and visual themes that were popular over the period 1910s to 1970s. The artistic talent and design skill of the individuals who produced the sketches, paintings and technical drawings for these household artefacts is remarkable. The William Liddell Collection provides a unique and fascinating insight not only into domestic tastes and trends but also the working practices of designers, technicians and weavers of the Irish linen industry.
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Damask Dignity
The William Liddell Collection holds a stunning range of designs for napkin squares. Most designs show a section of the square that includes the corner, border and partial centre piece. Napkins that would eventually be folded and placed on dining tables across the world. In 1926 American home economist Ethel R. Peyser, wrote a booklet for the William Liddell Company for the American domestic market that provides interesting insights into how Irish linen was regarded in the 1920s. The booklet was called Damask for Dignity and provides advice concerning etiquette in the use of Irish linen for entertaining and everyday use, place settings for breakfast, lunch and dinner, how to care for linen and also insights into the esteem in which the William Liddell Company itself was held.
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Lily of the Valley
Floral patterns drawn in an accurate botanical illustrative style are perhaps the most common in the domestic pattern category. Lily of the valley, convallaria majalis, is amongst one of the more popular motifs. A series of the photographic plates records various aspects of the development of designs using the lily of the valley motif. A simple and elegant line drawing of the motif resonates throughout the collection of lily of the valley designs [1‑09‑011]. There are several plates that show the development of the motif from this initial line sketch to design sketches experimenting with placement and repeat [1‑09‑014]. Two designs use the combination of the lily of the valley and fleur-de-lis motifs, one incorporated into the logo for a hotel [5‑06‑003] and the other a detailed technical point paper drawing for production [5‑09‑008].
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Chrysanthemum
Designs using various forms of the chrysanthemum motif are by far the most plentiful. The chrysanthemum morifolium also known as ‘florist’s daisy’ or ‘hardy garden mum’ with its deeply lobed upright leaves and large compact clump-forming flower heads is one of the more popular designs [3‑01‑006]. Another motif based on the more tightly packed chrysanthemum pom-pom [4‑09‑003] makes several appearances in napkin and tablecloth designs. The more open headed variety of the chrysanthemum species reminiscent of dendranthema lavandulifolium makes a few appearances [1‑01‑026]. The daisy-like chrysanthemum variety, such as japonense chrysanthemum, also features in several designs [3‑0‑4‑011] accompanied by the distinctive chrysanthemum leaf.
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Landscapes
Amongst designs for domestic tableware are those with various landscape or waterscape themes. The realistic depiction of fields, ponds, hedgerows, agriculture and wildlife are recurrent subjects for design development.
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Flowers & Leaves
Constructivist
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Constructivist
Lattice Floral
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Lattice Floral
Patterns
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Patterns
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