Textile Industry Historical Collection

The Textile Historical Collection is comprised of material related to the social, technological and economic development of the textile industry in the United States, including trade catalogs for textile machinery, dyeing catalogs from United States dyestuff companies, textile company histories, industry business records and personal papers, and textile related ephemera such as trade cards, letterheads, advertising material, and textile industry postcards. Highlights include a French counter-book of the 1800s, shirting catalogs from the late 1800s, a manufacturer's display kit of baseball uniforms from the 1930s, and long runs of specialized fashion magazines.

Philadelphia Postcards

Search the collection of 1,300 postcards from the 20th century, focusing on the built environment of the Greater Philadelphia region.

Point Papers

This collection includes hand-drawn, hand-painted point papers, croquis, and design repeats from the 1930s-1970s. The collection was donated from the Northampton Textile Company, a textile manufacturer once located in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

Textile Industry Postcards

Browse the 340 items, including trade catalogs for textile machinery, dyeing catalogs from dyestuff companies, textile company histories, industry business records and personal papers, and more.

Textile Trade Cards

This collection consists of over 300 Victorian Trade Cards (1880 - 1900), which specifically deal with processes and products indigenous to the textile industry.


Trading card designed by W. N. Buck between 1880 - 1900
"Union Sewing Machine" trading card created in 1880