Curiosity Cabinets: Textiles in Learning and Teaching
Third Floor Reading Room
That the Ennobling Arts of the Home May Be Taught to Coming Generations
– Inscription in Memory of Sarah Hoadley Dodge by Her Daughter Grace Hoadley Dodge, Plaque in the Grace Dodge Vestibule of Teachers College, Columbia University, circa 1910.
Thinking Back
In 1911 Mary Schenck Woolman, Professor of Domestic Art at Teachers College, published “Textiles and the Curriculum” in The Household Arts Review. She traces the uses of textiles in schools at all levels, noting the teachings of John Dewey; cloth manufacture at Horace Mann School since 1892; and a new course in that same year for the study of the Textile Industries as part of the Domestic Art program. A pioneer in the scientific approach to the study of sewing and textiles, and the author of seminal sewing textbooks and manuals, Woolman founded the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, which ran from 1902–1910 — the first of its kind to offer vocational courses for working women in dressmaking, millinery, and other needle trades. By 1909, Textiles and Needlework had become its own department in the School of Household Arts, with courses that included elementary clothing, embroidery, and costume design. Weaving was introduced in 1904, with special attention to Navajo weaving, and saw a resurgence in the Teachers College curriculum from 1948 - 1956 through workshops and courses led by Lili Blumenau, curator of textiles at Cooper Union Museum.
Adding Context
Blumenau’s book, The Art and Craft of Hand Weaving: Including Fabric Design is among over a hundred texts in the Florence House Memorial Collection, a resource that concentrates on hand weaving and rug making in traditional patterns and methods from cultures around the world.. Bulgarian-born and widely travelled before coming to study in the United States, Florence House (b. 1875) enrolled at Teachers College in 1896; graduated in 1899; earned a BS in 1915; became an assistant instructor, instructor, and lecturer in Fine and Industrial Art Education; then taught part-time after she retired in 1940. Her collection came to the Library after her death in 1957.
Curational Leanings
Textiles in Learning and Teaching focuses on the curricula of Teachers College, the roots of which lie in domestic, or household art. It provided instruction and practical skills that would better home and family life, which included the study of textiles as an industry. The curricula offered due consideration of its economic, ethical, social and cultural factors, as well as its place in the fine arts.
The historical collections at Teachers College are a fount of rich and varied resources, including the Florence House Memorial Collection, faculty publications, student work, in addition to research, curricular, and institutional collections. It is from this collection that we provide examples of sewing samplers, notebooks, classroom photographs, masters theses, and doctoral dissertations, all of which illustrate the breadth, depth, and possibilities in learning and teaching about textiles.
Be sure to read Spinning a Yarn: Weaving the Story of Textile Arts at Teachers College, by Processing Archivist Victoria Santamorena for an in-depth look at the legacy of women’s contributions to education though textile arts.
Acknowledgements
Textiles in Learning and Teaching is curated and designed by the staff of the Gottesman Libraries: Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian; Conrad Lochner, Special and Digital Collections Librarian; Victoria Santamorena, Processing Archivist; and Kate Scott, Library Associate for Art and Design.
It compliments the adjoining Offit Gallery exhibitions which offer student textile work from early childhood through to early adulthood, from the late 18th to the early 21st centuries, and insight into the modern craft of textiles through live hook rugging — a further avenue for understanding and nurturing artistic and educational process.
Inventory of Works Displayed
Books, manuscripts, photographs, sewing samplers, and other archival materials are displayed in several sections to reflect the history and development of the Teachers College curriculum; graduate student research into different aspects of textiles; the special interests of Florence House; and the craft of textiles. They are international in scope and span a century of collecting from the late 1800s through the late 1980s.
1.
Woolman, Mary Schenck, et al. Textiles ; A Handbook for the Student and the Consumer. The Macmillan Company, 1913. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1445.W8 1913.
2.
Blumenau, Lili. The Art and Craft of Hand Weaving : Including Fabric Design. Crown Publishers, 1955. Closed Stacks Research ; TT848 .B53. Florence House Memorial Collection.
3.
Wyburn, Marjory Ada. Proposals for Improving the Clothing and Textile Educational Experiences of Home Economics Students from Other Lands. 1958. Teachers College, Columbia University. Ed.D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; TS1465 .W93 1958.
4.
Very, Edith. Warp and Woof : The Story of the Textile Arts. Educational Publishing Company, 1912. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1315 .V5 1912. Florence House Memorial Collection.
5.
In Memory of the Men and Women -- Great Teachers, Teachers College, Columbia University 1915-1941. Needlepoint Tapestry. Manuscript and Photograph of Dana King Gatchell's Tapestry.
6.
Greenberg, Pearl. Tapestry Weaving in the Art Education Curriculum. 1971. Teachers College, Columbia University. Ed.D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; TT849 .G74 1971.
7.
Announcement of Teachers College, Columbia University. Teachers College, Columbia University. 1912-1913, 1942-1943. TCANA LB1921.N7T29 1912-1913; TCANA LB1921.N7T29 1942-43.
8.
Dodge Hall. Student Draping Dress On Form. View 2. 5th Floor. Teachers College. (Date Not Known).
9.
Vanderhoff, Margil, et al. Textiles for Homes and People. Ginn, 1973. Teacher and student editions. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1465 .V3 1973.
10.
Woolman, Mary Schenck. A Sewing Course : With Models and Directions as to Stitches, Materials, and Methods. Third edition, Revised and Illustrated., F.A. Fernald, 1900. TCANA ; TT705 .S52 1900.
11.
12.
Woolman, Mary Schenck. Clothing ; Choice, Care, Cost. Second edition, Revised., Lippincott, 1922. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT507 .W65 1922.
13.
Ruff, Lottie L. A Suggestive Outline for the Study of Textiles and Clothing. 1936. Teachers College, Columbia University. Thesis. Closed Stacks Theses ; 05 1936 v.4.
14.
Household Arts Review. vols. 1-3. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1908-1911. TCANA TC3.J33 v.1-3. 1908-11 c.2. TCANA TC3.J33 v.4. no. 1, 1911.
15.
Sewing Room With Students. Taken for The Paris Exposition. Teachers College. (Fall 1899).
16.
The Household Arts Review. v.4. no. 1. 1911. The Domestic Arts Review. v.2. no.1. 1909.
17.
Palmer, S. Uses of Textiles in Public Instruction in the South. 1910. Teachers College, Columbia University. Thesis. Closed Stacks Theses ; 0 1910 v.7.
18.
Teachers College Main Building. Horace Mann Girls in Sewing Class in Teachers College Building, View 2. Miss Kate Anthony, Teacher. (Ca. 1902-1904).
19.
McCormack, Mary A. Spool Knitting. A.S. Barnes & Co., 1909. Closed Stacks Curr; TT829.M2 1909.
20.
Tattersall, C. E. C. Notes on Carpet-Knotting and Weaving. H. M. Stationery off, 1949. Closed Stacks Research ; NK2795 .V5 1949.
21.
Gardner, S. B. The Textile Library. 1945. Teachers College, Columbia University. Thesis. Closed Stacks Theses ; 05 1945 v.1.
22.
Priest, Alan, et al. Chinese Textiles ; An Introduction to the Study of Their History, Sources, Technique, Symbolism, and Use. A new and revised edition., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1934. Closed Stacks Research ; NK8883 .N4 1934.
23.
Rock, Daniel. Textile Fabrics. Published for the Committee of Council on Education by Scribner, Welford, and Armstrong, 1876. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1315 .R6. Florence House Memorial Collection.
24.
Ulster Museum. Catalogue of the Horner Collection of Spinning Wheels and Accessories. W.G. Baird, 1909. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1484 .C3 1909.
25.
Kissell, Mary Lois. Yarn and Cloth Making : An Economic Study; a College and Normal School Text Preliminary to Fabric Study, and a Reference for Teachers of Industrial History and Art in Secondary and Elementary Schools. The Macmillan Company, 1918. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1445 .K5 1918. Florence House Memorial Collection.
26.
Reath, Nancy Andrews, et al. Persian Textiles and Their Technique from the Sixth to the Eighteenth Centuries Including a System for General Textile Classification. Pub. for Pennsylvania Museum of Art by Yale University Press: London, H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1937. Closed Stacks Research ; NK8974 .R4. Florence House Memorial Collection.
27.
Atwater, Mary Meigs. The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Hand-Weaving : Being an Account of the Rise, Development, Eclipse, and Modern Revival of a National Popular Art, Together with Information of Interest and Value to Collectors, Technical Notes for the Use of Weavers, and a Large Collection of Historic Patterns. Macmillan, 1928. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1490 .A8 1928. Florence House Memorial Collection.
28.
Wærn-Bugge, Elisabeth. Hemmets Vävbok. 9. Omarb. Upplaga., J.A. Lindblads, 1949. Closed Stacks Research ; TT848 .W3 1949. Florence House Memorial Collection..
29.
Murtagh, Carmel Mary. Carding the Fleece : A Study of the Development of Weaving in Ireland Since 1951. 1983. Teachers College, Columbia University. Ed.D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; TT848 .M87 1983.
30.
Rodier, Paul. The Romance of French Weaving. New edition, Tudor, 1936. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1315 .R63 1936. Florence House Memorial Collection.
31.
Byne, Mildred Stapley. Popular Weaving and Embroidery in Spain. W. Helburn, Inc., 1924. Closed Stacks Research ; NK8862 .B3. Florence House Memorial Collection.
32.
Eberle, Irmengarde. Spin, Weave and Wear ; The Story of Cloth. R.M. McBride & Co., 1941. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1312 .C3 1941. Florence House Memorial Collection.
33.
Davison, Marguerite Porter. A Handweaver’s Pattern Book. Revised edition. [publisher not identified], 1950. Closed Stacks Research ; TT848 .D3 1950. Florence House Memorial Collection.
34.
Oelsner, G. Hermann, et al. A Handbook of Weaves. The Macmillan Company, 1915. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1490 .O6. Florence House Memorial Collection.
35.
Drage, Dorothy. Rug Making. Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1934. Closed Stacks Research ; TT850 .D7 1934. Florence House Memorial Collection.
36.
Brinley, Rosemary. Rugmaking. Dover Publications, 1952. Closed Stacks Research ; TT850 .B7 1952. Florence House Memorial Collection.
37.
Hicks, Ami Mali. The Craft of Hand-Made Rugs. Empire State Book Company, 1936. Closed Stacks Research ; TT850 .H5 1936. Florence House Memorial Collection.
38.
Allen, Edith. Rugmaking Craft. The Manual Arts Press, 1945. Closed Stacks Research ; TT850 .A4. Florence House Memorial Collection.
39.
Corbin, Thomas James. Hand Block Printing on Fabrics. Sir I. Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1934. Closed Stacks Research ; TP930 .C6. Florence House Memorial Collection.
40.
Wilson, Erica. Fun with Crewel Embroidery. Scribner, 1965. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT770 .W55 1965.
41.
Gág, Asta, et al. Sue Sew-and-Sew. Coward-McCann, Inc., 1931. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT712 .G3 1931.
42.
Enthoven, Jacqueline. Stitchery for Children ; a Manual for Teachers, Parents, and Children. Reinhold Book Corp., 1968. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT712 .E55 1968.
43.
Beaney, Jan. The Young Embroiderer ; A How-It-Is-Done Book of Embroidery. F. Warne, 1967. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT770 .B4.
44.
Unknown. Sewing Exercises. n.d. From MG 1: Educational Manuscripts, Group 1.
45.
Karasz, Mariska. The Good Housekeeping See and Sew : A Picture Book of Sewing. Frederick A. Stokes Co., 1943. Closed Stacks Curr ; TT712 .K3 1943.
46.
Huish, Marcus B. Samplers & Tapestry Embroideries. Second edition / with 24 coloured plates and 77 illustrations in the text., Longmans, Green and Co., 1913. Closed Stacks Research ; NK9143 .H8 1913. Donated by Mrs. Dow.
47.
Dean, Irene F. M. Scottish Spinning Schools. University of London Press, 1930. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1480 .D454x 1930.
48-51.
Sample Illustrations. Design, Tulip, Letting, Cross. Pencil on Paper. From MG 120: Home Economic High School Samplers. New York College from the Training of Teachers. 1891. Notebook reads: "Sewing Book – Models with Instructions Used by The College for the Training of Teachers New York. Office #9 University Place, 1891".
52.
Wheeler, Candace. The Development of Embroidery in America. Harper & Brothers, 1921. Closed Stacks Research ; NK9212 .W5.
53.
Sewing Book. – Models with Instructions Used by The College for the Training of Teachers New York. Office #9 University Place, 1891".
54.
Bolton, Ethel Stanwood, et al. American Samplers. The Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1921. Closed Stacks Research ; NK9112 .B6.
55.
Needle-Craft : Artistic and Practical. Second revised edition., Butterick, 1890. Closed Stacks Research ; NK8800 .N4 1890.
56.
Caulfeild, S. F. A, and Blanche C Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework : An Encyclopaedia of Artistic, Plain, and Fancy Needlework, Dealing Fully with the Details of All the Stitches Employed, the Method of Working, the Materials Used, the Meaning of Technical Terms, and, Where Necessary, Tracing the Origin and History of the Various Works Described : Illustrated with Upwards of 800 Wood Engravings, and Coloured Plates : Plain Sewing, Textiles, Dressmaking, Appliances, and Terms. Second edition., L. Upcott Gill, 1887.. Closed Stacks Research ; TT750 .C35 1887.
57.
Donnan, Dorothea. Dorothea Donnan’s 1913 Notebook for Textiles. RG29. Notebook/binder with textile samples and pieces of wool.
58.
Shilling, Elnora Elizabeth. The Four Wonders : Cotton--Wool--Linen--Silk. Rand, McNally & Co., 1913. Closed Stacks Juvenile ; PZ10.S62 F 1913.
59.
Woolman, Mary Schenck. A Sewing Course : With Models and Directions as to Stitches, Materials, and Methods. 1900. Handwritten with lovely examples of sewing exercises.
60.
Walton, Perry. The Story of Textiles; a Bird’s-Eye View of the History of the Beginning and the Growth of the Industry by Which Mankind Is Clothed. Walton Advertising and Printing, 1925. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1315 .W3 1912. Florence House Memorial Collection.
61.
Young, Paulette Renee. Cloth That Speaks : African Women’s Visual Voice and Creative Expression in Ghana (West Africa). 2004. Columbia University. Ph. D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; HQ1236.5.A35 Y68 2004.
62.
Watson, Elizabeth. The Story of Textiles. Sixth edition., Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1315 .W4 1928. Florence House Memorial Collection.
63.
Miller, Reg Manson. Kalabari Fabrics as Art and Culture : A Concept of Cultural and Artistic Identity. 1989. Teachers College, Columbia University. Ed.D.
64.
Leix, Alfred. Turkestan and Its Textile Crafts. Society of Chemical Industry in Basle, 1941. Closed Stacks Research ; DS785 .L433 1941. Possibly donated by Belle Northrup, instructor in fine arts/ costume design.
65.
McGlauflin, Idabelle. Handicraft for Girls ; A Tentative Course in Needlework, Basketry, Designing, Paper and Card-Board Construction, Textile Fibers and Fabrics and Home Decoration and Care, Designed for Use in Schools and Homes. The Manual Arts Press, 1910. Closed Stacks Research ; TT171 .M2 1910.
66.
Trilling, Mabel B, and Florence Williams. A Girl’s Problems in Home Economics ; Healthful Clothing, Dress Design, Clothing Construction, Interior Decoration, Household Textiles, Care of the Home. J.B. Lippincott Co., 1926. Closed Stacks Curr ; TX145 .T7 1926.
67.
Palliser, Bury, et al. History of Lace. [Fourth edition]., C. Scribner’s Sons, 1902. Closed Stacks Research ; NK9406 .P3.
68.
Tattersall, C. E. C. Notes on Carpet-Knotting and Weaving. H. M. Stationery off, 1949. Closed Stacks Research ; NK2795 .V5 1949.
69.
Hanley, Hope. Needlepoint in America. Scribner, 1969. Closed Stacks Curr. ; TT771.H212.
70.
Cyclopedia of Textile Work ; A General Reference Library on Cotton, Woollen and Worsted Yarn Manufacture, Weaving, Designing, Chemistry and Dyeing, Finishing, Knitting, and Allied Subjects. American Technical Society, 1907. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1445 .A63 1907.
71.
Bray, Helen Agnes. ... ... Textile Fibers, Yarns, and Fabrics. Century Co., 1929. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1446 .B8 1929.
72.
Lewis, Ethel. The Romance of Textiles ; The Story of Design in Weaving. The Macmillan Company, 1937. Closed Stacks Research ; TS1315 .L44 1937.
73.
Stearns, Martha. Homespun and Blue ; a Study of American Crewel Embroidery. C. Scribner’s Sons, 1940. Closed Stacks Research ; NK9212 .S8.
74.
Dyer, Elizabeth. Textile Fabrics. Revised edition., Houghton Mifflin Company, 1927. Closed Stacks Curr ; TS1445 .D8 1927.
75.
Gibbons, Joan, et al. Peoples, Processes, and Patterns. Islam. Birmingham Polytechnic, 1985. TCANA ; NK2809.I8 G53 1985.
About the Curiosity Cabinets
The Curiosity Cabinets showcase interesting and insightful material from the historical collections to inform and enhance concomitant art exhibitions and book displays. Read more here.
Where: Third Floor Reading Room
When: Spring 2026
