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Gabrian
SILK POSTCARDS LATEST
RESEARCH ON EMBROIDERED SILK POSTCARDS
(Part 2)
Back to Part 1
In
1863, Isaac Groebli of Oberuzwil, also in Switzerland, invented a different
type of embroidery machine, which worked on the same principle as a sewing
machine, with a normal needle. It required two threads for each needle, one
of which was picked up from a shuttle behind the fabric. It was named the
Schiffli machine, from the small boat-shaped shuttle that produced the
backing stitch (German: Schiff – boat). The machine needed years of
development before it became commercially viable. Its design borrowed the
hand crank and pantograph from the hand-embroidery machine. It could also
stitch in any direction. The
automatic Schiffli embroidery machine was invented in 1898 by Isaac Groebli's
eldest son. This dispensed with the pantograph and incorporated a Jacquard
system of punched cards to create the design. By 1900, it was fitted with 312
needles, and electrically driven machines were becoming available. These
machines were so massive they were only suited for factory use. By about 1900, St Gallen in Switzerland and
Plauen in Saxony were the two main centres for the manufacture of embroidery
machines of both types. There was also manufacture of embroidered goods in
their vicinities, and in 1906 Plauen described itself as “the capital city of
the embroidery industry”. By about 1910, France had become the major supplier
of embroidered goods. By this time, hand embroidery had almost been
replaced by machined embroidery, except for very expensive and individual
articles of clothing. Although
the “hand-embroidery machines” were large and heavy, they were just suitable
for home use – provided the home had a large enough downstairs room to
accommodate it. Consequently, home manufacture always competed with factory
manufacture. At home, the whole family was involved. The father usually
operated the machine, while his wife and children threaded the bobbins,
checked the needles, rectified any breakages in the thread during the
embroidery process, packed up the final product, etc. Now we know that the embroidered panels were
made by machine, it explains why rolls of material have survived with up to
400 identical patterns on them. These are what remains of the embroidered
fabric that was sent to the postcard publisher to be mounted on white card,
and finished off with an attractive embossed frame around the silk panel. Most
embroidery, of course, was for embellishing garments and decorative fabrics.
Embroidered silk postcards were only a minor product except for the short
period of the Great War. The embroidered panels for most silk postcards were
made on one or other of the above two machines. In 1914, the men were called
up to the army and the women took over the looms. The sales of embroidered
silk postcards provided a useful addition to their production. It is believed
that the designs were created by the main ateliers and publishers, usually
based in Paris. If the paper pattern used on the pantograph was incorrect, it
would be duplicated by the embroiderer. This accounts for spelling mistakes
on silk postcards which are reproduced wrongly every time. The equivalent of the “hand-embroidery
machine” no longer exists, though a few machines are known to have survived.
Bernard Jacobs, an enterprising Englishman from Weybridge, has restored an
embroidery factory in Cordes sur Ciel, near Toulouse in France. He claims it
is the only operating hand-embroidery machine in France, and demonstrations
are held during the summer months. He recovered it from a local cottage,
where it occupied the whole of the largest downstairs room, and there were
once over 300 machines in use in the village. Machines
based on the Schiffli principle now dominate modern embroidery, except now they are fully
automatic and computer controlled, and are capable of producing masses of the
same design at a time. This is a Schiffli embroidery machine from about 1900. It has been
fitted with a Jacquard punched card system on the left hand side, to replace
the pantograph. The cranking wheel is still there, so this one is not yet
fully automated. No doubt continual changes were made to all the machines
over the years. The higher capacity of this machine can be seen from the
double banks of thread, and that it is much longer than the hand-embroidery
machine. The silk panels made on this machine had up to 6 colours, illustrating
another disadvantage compared to the hand-embroidery machine. Though 3-4
colours was more common and some of these are particularly attractive. The vast majority of cards made on a Schiffli machine were greetings
cards. They became available during 1915 and large numbers were made. It
appears that Schiffli machines were only used for embroidered silk postcard
panels when it was evident that the
cards were selling in quantity. This probably reflects the more expensive
set-up costs for the larger automatic Schiffli machines, and indicates longer
production runs than the hand-embroidery machine. Even so, Schiffli
production accounted for only about 22% of the total of embroidered silk
greetings postcards made in the Great War period. |
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For further information contact Ian Collins on: E-mail:
gabrian@btinternet.com |
