Notes from the Textile Collection: Colour me Purple!

What a discovery! The SDC’s Textile Collection delivers another exciting find, as our historical collections officer Shelley Hollingdrake recounts the unearthing of some very interesting letters…

There’s a certain magic to archives — the kind that hides in quiet corners, in long-forgotten boxes and dusty brown envelopes. Since the SDC Textile Collection has been brought back in-house to Perkin House, we’ve been treated to more than a few “discovery moments,” but one recent find has truly captured our imagination.

Picture this: two tired team members in the midst of reorganising the archive room — lifting, sorting, and shifting to make space for the return of objects to Perkin House. On the bottom of a shelf, tucked away and gathering dust, they spot an unassuming brown envelope. “Let’s take this upstairs,” one says. “We’ll have a look later.”

“Later” took a little while.

With new shelving installed, the collection safely back under one roof, and the accessioning process well underway in our new Collections Management system, the SDC Textile Collection was alive with activity. Objects were being catalogued, digitised, and shared online. Researchers and students were visiting once more. The energy was palpable.

Then, on a sunny Thursday afternoon in April, the Historical Collections Officer sat down to begin accessioning a few items. She opened the dusty brown envelope.

Inside was a letter from Susan Rush, who had worked at Williams (Hounslow). At some point — the date remains unknown — Susan had sent a folio of correspondence relating to Greville Williams F.R.S., analytical chemist and founder of Williams (Hounslow). There were three letters, all in the same hand, dated between 1869 and 1872. All in remarkably good condition. All from Seymour Villa, Sudbury, Harrow.

The Historical Collections Officer recognised the address. She’d seen this handwriting before.

And then, at the bottom of one of the letters — a signature. W. H. Perkin.

Sitting in Perkin House, under a portrait of Sir William Henry Perkin FRS, the past and present suddenly came into sharp focus. In her hands, the Historical Collections Officer was holding an original letter written by Perkin himself. Her hands were shaking.

The letters speak of an early chapter in Perkin’s journey to introduce mauvine to the world, and contain heartfelt thanks to Greville Williams for his kind words and encouragement. It’s a remarkable discovery — an insight into the personal and professional connections of one of chemistry’s great pioneers.

There’s more research to come, of course. The letters will be carefully deciphered and studied further. For now, they’ve been accessioned, stored in thermex sleeves, and placed in a solander box alongside other treasures in the collection — including letters from William Crookes and G.G. Stokes.

It’s clear that Greville Williams moved in some remarkable circles. But that’s another story…

For more exciting finds from our Textile Collection, captivating stories, and objects that have changed our world, explore our blog or sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page.