Samuel Wilson: a London silk weaver's diary

Event information

From 1811 to 1825 the silk weaver Samuel Wilson, kept a meticulous work diary of his hand woven silk fabrics, the trials made on different looms, his experiments with different yarns, dyes and finishes and his struggles to perfect the perfect woven silk.

Wilson’s diary illuminates this critical period for London silk weavers as it follows the transition from semi-mechanised draw looms to the introduction of the Jacquard by Samuel Wilson’s bother, Stephen Wilson in 1820.

This unique document is in private hands and speaker Kate Wigley from the School of Textiles, offers a rare opportunity to discover more about this previously undiscovered gem.

Speaker Biography:
Kate Wigley founded the School of Textiles with Patron, Mary Schoeser, in February 2017. Their aim is to provide a small private research space for the development of knowledge and sharing of textiles and design. With over 65 years of combined experience as textile archivists, historians, writers and lecturers they offer also offer a consultancy service alongside their programme of lectures, workshops and study days at the School and through external venues. Their large private main collection of textiles, paper documents, wallpapers and ledgers span over 400 years and the School also holds exceptional pieces of Coptic and early Peruvian textiles alongside their library of over 5,000 publications.


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