Key Information
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- c1930s-1950s (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent
68 sample books.
Content and Structure
Scope and content
Sample books containing Jacquard loom woven furniture fabrics woven by N & N Lockhart & Sons Ltd for Donald Brothers Ltd, Dundee.Most sample books contain a number of different furnishing fabric samples, often with a particular design being repeated in a number of colour versions (colour ways).The numbers that precede the descriptions are the fabric numbers given on the front of each sample book.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
This material has been appraised in line with Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections standard procedures.
Accruals
System of arrangement
The sample books are arranged as put together and numbered by N & N Lockhart & Sons Ltd. Some pattern books appear to be missing
General Information
Name of creator
Biographical history
Flax, hemp and tow spinners, net and twine manufacturers of Kirkcaldy, Scotland.
Name of creator
Administrative history
Donald Brothers emerged out of the coarse jute and linen industry of Dundee, manufacturing rugged textured Art canvasses and linens for use as wallcoverings and furnishings by 1896. Their Art fabrics were extensively used within art galleries and the Arts & Crafts interior in Britain and America between 1896-1914. Building on their early success with craft manufacture between the 1930s and 1960s the firm made a significant contribution to the design of furnishing textiles, gaining international recognition for their fabrics marketed under the trade name Old Glamis Fabrics. Best known for their high quality woven linen furnishings, their range included textured weaves, jacquard woven tapestries and prints. In 1983 the company was taken over by William Halley & Son, and has since re-emerged as active makers of quality furnishings.