Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa

Department: Library and Archives

This department is engaged in issues related to documentation, widely understood. The department includes specialized Library, Archives-Documentation, which gathers museum items of archival character and Mill Archives, where various documents produced in the Museum are housed.

The Specialized Library of the Central Museum of Textiles houses a book collection with over 15 000 volumes, including many interesting and rare titles and ca. 2.000 units of journals. The collection of the Library includes a dozen of thematic sections, specifically: textiles, history of textile techniques, history of textile industry, costumes, publications characteristic of Łódź, rarities, section of exhibition catalogues.

The department of textiles includes old and contemporary literature on historical textiles and contemporary textiles, among others, monumental elaborations on the history of the Polish, West European and oriental textiles as well as numerous prints. In the section of the history of textile techniques publications are gathered devoted to the complicated issues of the production process; worth underlying is the set of catalogues presenting textile machines and tools produced by Polish and foreign companies, mainly from the beginning of the 20^th century. The section of the history of textile industry collects and houses diversified literature devoted to the history of the Polish and world textile industry, widely understood, including general elaborations, monographs of smaller mills and textile towns. In the section of costumes we collect literature devoted to the issues of fashion from old days to the present time. Here, we can find numerous, general and detailed elaborations of the history of fashion and fashion accessories in Poland and in the world, catalogues of exhibitions of garments as well as old calendars and hints for women. The section of special items from Łódź includes publications about Łódź and the region, satellite textile towns, published historical sources. Especially interesting are calendars and manifold jubilee publications of the companies from Łódź. Among rarities we can find rare prints, mainly devoted to textiles, old prints and unique materials. The extensive collection of catalogues houses catalogues of solo shows of artists practicing creation in fibrous materials, catalogues of group exhibitions, catalogues of group cyclic exhibitions. Among them important international events. In the remaining parts of the library one can also find interesting positions devoted to many disciplines, such as: ethnography, art history, museum sciences and others. In the Library there is also an extensive collection of journals mainly on textile issues (Polish and foreign “titles”, both artistic and technical), journals published in Łódź, female journals mainly from the first half of the 20^th century, and many others.

In the subsection Archives-Documentation various kinds of museum items connected with the textile history are housed, among them the sets of archival items concerning the Artists’ Co-operative “ŁAD”, artists-professors Lucjan Kintopf, Halina Karpińska-Kintopf, Lena Kowalewicz-Wegner. We also house an interesting stamp collection gathered by engineer Fryderyk Wiejski, entitled “Textiles on post stamps in the world”. Also, the materials documenting the activities of the Central Experimental Silk Station in Milanówek form a very precious set. Archival materials documenting the activities of the Experimental Laboratory and the Society of Exploitation of the Polish Replacement Fibres Patents conducted by Jan Kubicki in Łódź arouse much interest.

In the Mill Archives documentation is collected, which is produced in the course of activities of the museum. It includes portfolios of museum exhibitions and the technical documentation of the historical building – the seat of the museum. The documentation of the International Triennial of Tapestry forms a separate set.

The collection of the department Library and Archives are accessible for interested persons from outside.

Dominik Antoszczyk, curator
Head of Library and Archives