Endrei Walter szerk.: Textilipari Múzeum Évkönyve 8. 1995 (Budapest, 1995)

Adatközlések - Miszellen - Miscellanies (Walter Endrei): - A rare piece of cloth wrapping

ADATKÖZLÉSEK - MISZELLEN - MISCELLANIES (Walter Endrei) A rare piece of cloth wrapping Packing-cloth is usually destroyed (rarely reused), as soon as it has fulfilled its task. Therefore it might not appear odd that samples of old wrappings are scarce in our museums. The pieces found in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, deserve attention for their probable uniqueness and the charming overstatement of their pattern as well. From time immemorial mainly barrels and bales were used in the transport of textiles. The barrelstaves gave protection to the goods, whereas the bales were wrapped in coarse, strong and, of course, inexpensive cloths. In the Middle Ages - as appears from the remaining accounts of several Nürnberg cloth-deliveries „tiretaine" of substandard cloths were used for the bales, though preference was given to hempcloth. By way of illustration let us mention the Richelieu Collection, where under the entry „Toile de Chanvre et d'Emballage" (Rouen 1737) several samples, varying in density from 10 warp threads x 7 weft threads per cm. to 14 x 14 per cm., are still preserved. The wording on the bales served for indentification. E.g. in the large-size engraving „The allegory of trade" by Jost Amman (1585) there is a workman engaged in painting the firm's mark - and also on a number of later paintings and engravings one can detect only the bale marks and addresses in black paint.