A collection of forty-seven fine colour oleograph textile labels
These textile labels vary in size with the smallest being 4.7 x 3.6 in (12 x 9.2 cm) and the biggest being 11.8 x 7.4 in (30.1 x 19 cm), circa 1900s to 1920s
A label is a piece of paper, plastic, film, cloth, metal or any other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed directly on a container or article can be considered as labelling. (Wikipedia)
This lot includes a collection of 47 fine colour oleograph rare textile mill labels - were the forerunners of graphic design and mass communication, designed in Manchester, Glasgow and other new industrial centres in Britain and further printed in Germany and then shipped to Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta, and to distant markets in colonial India. They were printed like Raja Ravi Varma oleographs on thick paper.
These textile labels offer insight into early printing technology and social takeaways of the time. They are an essential visual reminder of the global cotton trade during the British Raj. The labels were also referred to as ‘tickets’ and ‘shipper’s tickets’, pasted or slapped on the bales of the cotton cloth from Manchester & Glasgow.
This was back when India was still under British colonial rule. From about the 16th to 18th century, India had a leading industry in finished cotton fabric production - they both grew the cotton fibers and wove it into fine materials. Once the British came, however, the country went through a deskilling, moving from a full up-and-down producer to just a supplier of raw cotton. This was a result of a forced and imbalanced trade policy. Britain put up tariffs against Indian imports in order to protect their own industries, but at the same time, forced India to accept British goods. As a result, trade flowed in two distinct ways. Raw cotton went from India to Britain, since it was cheaper to grow cotton in South Asia, then finished cotton fabric moved from Britain to India.
Since the British needed to market their goods, they printed up these little tickets to help make their Western fabrics seem more appealing to the natives. They looked at traditional Indian miniature paintings for inspiration. The ticket designs were based on British conceptions of Indians, with whom producers had little direct contact, so they featured popular (and at times clichéd) depictions of the Indian people, lifestyles, places, mythologies, and deities. Mill names were written in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati and Urdu. You could read these and tell that the plate maker was copying something he didn’t understand from a handwritten reference. For the borders the floral patterns, geometric designs, and intricate manuscript borders that were widespread during India's sixteenth - through - nineteenth - century Mughal Empire were the source of inspiration in these prints.
As a result, some of these labels ended up becoming quite popular in India. Collectors at that time valued them for their artistic appeal. They still remain a collector's delight even now. Each label can be framed individually.
NON-EXPORTABLE