November Program Night
Thursday, November 12, 2025
7:00 to 9:00 pm CDT
via Zoom (see guild member emails for link)
“Samples and Swatches and Sewing, Oh My! Textile Books in the Winterthur Library”
Allie Alvis
“Lace is having a fashion moment and it’s not the first time…”
“A book of pants? This delightful little sewing exercise book, created by a Decatur, IL girl named Estella M. Lichtenberger in the 1890s, is full of fun surprises…”
“It was the best of times, it was the “worst” of times 😂 These textile samples are examples of worsted fabric, named for the type of wool yarn they’re woven from. Can you believe these vibrant swatches date back to the 1790s??”
These are examples from the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, located in northern Delaware, a premier museum of American decorative arts with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America since 1640. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the family of founder Henry Francis du Pont called it home.
The samples come from trade catalogs, sales sample books, books of block printed papers intended for calico printing, and many others, and are all presented by a pink-haired historian named Allie Alvis – better known as Book Historia on Instagram.
In this presentation, Allie will show us examples of textile related books from the Winterthur Library rare book collection.
Allie Alvis is Curator of Special Collections of the Winterthur Library, where they are responsible for the stewardship and engagement of the collection. You may be more familiar with Allie as Book Historia on various social media platforms, where they post informational videos about books from libraries around the world. Allie’s research is diverse and far-reaching, with interests in physical patterns of use in books, the history of ephemera, and Arts and Crafts bookbindings. They have published on topics including the history of rebinding illuminated manuscripts, the reuse of type ornaments in 16th and 17th century England, the work of bookbinders Douglas Cockerell and Son, and the use of arsenical green pigments in bookbinding. winterthur.org
In November, WSSA once again participates in the annual Austin Studio Tour. Come check out the galleries of handwoven art, demonstrations of weaving, spinning, and natural dyeing and shop our garage sale of gently used fiber art equipment.
Most study groups and other meetings are on hiatus in November, to participate in the open studio tour.