Clothing is the product of sound: from the farm equipment that harvests cotton, to the spinning, weaving, knitting, cutting, and sewing operations, humans and machines come together across a range of environments to produce the garment you are wearing today. Along the way, sounds ranging from cacophonous to melodic are produced by the manufacturing process. With the expansion of capitalism, the distance between production and consumption grew, reducing the impact of production’s sounds on the consumer. We reanimate these rumblings and reverberations by including equipment of production and the ways it has been represented visually through labeling efforts.
Denise Green and Laura Robert
Ithaca, NY, 2018
Quiet Labor Screen Print
Wood, nylon, emulsion, ink
On loan from Denise Green
American Textile History Museum Osborne Library Collection
American, 1942-1944
Personal snapshots, mostly featuring Ruth (Monroe) Budd,; Olive (Dunn) Cairney, and Veronica (Murphy) Tasca, three deaf or hearing-impaired women working at Boott Mills.
From the Frances A. Olawski Collection of Boott Mills Photographs #6642 P. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives.
Kheel Centre #1990-138-6
With the advent of industrial machinery and factories, a cacophony crescendoed around textile workers. As an anonymous woman wrote in 1936, “The hum of machines and the shrieking of the belts on the pulleys which keep the shafts overhead in motion so the girls can run their machines, seemed to form a throbbing sensation through my head and vibrated throughout my whole body.” This quote came from a wool mill, however the thunderous sound was common in all mechanized textile factories. Perhaps this is why the cotton mill, Boot Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, hired deaf and hearing-impaired women. This photo comes from a series that focused on Ruth Budd, Olive Cairney, and Veronica Tasca, who were all deaf or hearing-impaired. However, considering the sound’s reverberations vibrated through the body, it is likely that these women, and others like them, would still “hear” the sounds of the factory.
American Textile History Museum Osborne Library Collection
American, circa 1950
Female employees at spooler
6896-014p_R. Wolfenden & Sons Photographs, Box 1, Folder 1, Item 11 Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Kheel Center #000-1488-13
Block Prints and Ink Block
Wood, metal, blue ink, fabric
CF+TC
Block printing is a technique that transfers ink, paint, or dye from wooden or carved rubber blocks to fabric. The fabric is laid flat on a table and the printer clacks the block down and presses it to transfer the color. From carving the block to putting it down on the fabric, the wooden clacking generates a steady-sounding rhythm that is in symphony with the repeating visual patterns it produces.
Dharma Trading
Indian, circa 2014
Copper Wax Print Block
Donated by Charlotte Sirousek via Sara Miller Catterall
CF+TC
American, Mid 19th Century
Mini Sewing Machine
Black, mini hand crank sewing machine with hand painted floral designs
CF+TC
This mini 19th-century lockstitch sewing machine functions by turning the hand-crank mechanism, which moves the shuttle back and forth and lifts the needle in order to create a stitch. The machine features hand-painted flower designs that include a rose and a calla lily by the throat plate and rosebuds close to the thread spool, making it a decorative piece as well as a practical one. While there are no clues about the machine’s manufacturer, popular producers throughout the 19th century included Howe and Singer, who sparked a patent war over who would claim ownership of the design. Either way, the sewing machine is the baseline of garment manufacturing: when cranked, it produces a mechanical clanking that is on beat with the looping stitches.
1880-1889
Sewing kit
Red leather sewing kit fastened with 2 buckle straps containing silks, 2 small bottles, pins in three sizes, various sized needles, a small mirror, 2 small scissors, and various other tools inside. (file, hook, crochet hook, small knife, etc.)
Donated by Charles Jervis Langdon, used by Ida Clark Langdon
CF+TC #5084abc
In 1846, advent of a new machine powered by a treadle transformed the fashion industry. After subsequent technological innovations, 1879 saw the centralization of workers and the opening of factories where the deafening cacophony of new machinery could overwhelm. In contrast, sewing kits record a different volume range of creation, modification and repair. The size of this bag is suitable for most sophisticated ladies, neither exaggerated nor neglected, and easy to carry while holding everything needed to repair a garment. Ida Clark Langdon, who used this kit, came from a prominent and wealthy family and was married to the author Samuel Clemens who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain. Langdon’s kit speaks to how class privilege enabled one to tone down the conglomeration of production to a more subtle volume, where repair could be enjoyed in quiet.
German, circa 1939-1945
Sewing Kit WWII
Cotton thread, canvas pouch
Donated by Dr. Heinz and Ellen Biesdorf
2013.04.011
This sewing kit was given to soldiers who were drafted into the German army (Wehrmacht) in World War II. Called Kameradenhilfe, which means comrade’s assistant, these kits contained the basic tools and supplies needed to repair uniforms, which included scissors, needles, buttons, darning thread, and safety pins. In this kit, only the cotton thread remains. With its missing components, this piece speaks of a chaotic time when things were used, lost, retrieved, and reused. Unlike other methods of production, repair can be relatively quiet, like the subtle closing of scissors or the hush of thread being pulled through fabric. However, the spaces of war suggest that this case was likely carried though would have sounded like a cacophony of horror and eventual defeat. The contrast from a quiet moment repairing a uniform to the concert of gunfire and artillery common in WWII illustrates a foreign experience of clothing for many of us.
Lily Mills Co., Shelby, N.C.
American
Tabletop Loom
Wood and metal
On loan from Apurva Pandey
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
United States, ca. 1978
ILGWU Blue Logo Jumpsuit
Dark blue, cotton and polyester woven. One piece uniform, denim union label material, zip-up front.
On loan from the Kheel Collection
Kheel Center #5780mbb29f2
After its founding in 1900, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union became one of the foremost labor unions in the United States. The ILGWU successfully pushed for new labor laws and were able to institute groundbreaking workplace regulations due to increased support after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911. In addition to marches, strikes and other protests, the union amplified their impact through fashion: as this jumpsuit demonstrates, the workers used their production skills to create disturbance and awareness. Garments like this one were made with ILGWU slogans and logos to wear to protests as a display of solidarity to the cause. Made by garment workers to support garment workers, this jumpsuit speaks volumes about both production and protest.
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
United States, 1991-1996
“Look for the Union Label” in Chinese and English, Spanish, and French
Chorus Records and Sheet Music
On loan from the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Kheel Center #5780/214
The ILGWU encouraged consumers to purchase products created by union workers through the inclusion of their label in garments, commercials, and songs. Union member books and songs like “Look for the Union Label” were available in multiple languages including English, Yiddish, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, speaking to the diverse force of garment workers. Sheet music with songs like this one bridges protest, production, and, in its singing, performance, amplifying the voice and message of the union.
Videos:
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU)
American, 1976
“Look for the Union Label” Commercial
From the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives 5780 AV Audio-Visual Collection
Kheel Center #5780avb027f174
American, 1960s
“Mother is on Strike”
From the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Kheel Center #5780 F, box 342
Gail Pellett
American, 1982
“We are One”
From the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Kheel Center call number: 5780 AV, box 148
Leah Rosenkranz
American 2020
George Floyd Protests
From Leah Rosenkranz
Apurva Pandey
Indian, 2017-2019
Production Videos
From Apurva Pandey
Denise Green
Indian, 2020
Production Videos
From Denise Green