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Description: | A very large and varied collection of international importance, begun by the London Museum in 1911. Includes some archaeological material, especially leather items and woven and knitted textiles. The clothing collection includes both fashionable dress and more commonplace items though the latter have not been actively colletced until relatively recently. It is particularly strong in male and female clothing of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries though there are gaps in the children's clothing held especially from earlier periods.
The Museum has good collections of civil and ceremonial clothing, often with a particular London flavour (eg uniforms of royal orders, the law, the church, the City, the Yeomen of the Guard, Thames Watermen and Pearly Kings and Queens. It also has a very extensive collection of Royal clothing which was begun when the London Museum was housed in Kensington Palace; this includes items dating back to Charles I's childhood boots but like the rest of the clothing collection, most is from the 19th and 20th century.
Occupational clothing of every kind is now being collected, from Wimbledon ballboys to traffic wardens. Before the creation of the Theatre Museum, the London Museum actively collected theatrical material, resulting in an important collection of theatrical costume worn by famous actors, and also covering clowning, opera, ballet and music hall.
Textiles and clothing have both been important London industries and the museum has attempted to represent all aspects of this work in its collections, from production to retail, including tapestry weaving, silk and cotton weaving, texile printing, ribbon and braid manufacture
This collection also includes a substantial collections of dolls and dolls' houses | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | FAX: | +44 (0)870 444 3853 | Telephone: | +44 (0)870 444 3852 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:5320 | Go to resource |
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