Researcher: Koen Berghuijs
During and following the successful exhibition on hand spinning ('The Spinning World') exhibition held at the TRC in 2011, Koen Berghuijs (curator of the exhibition and archaeologist) has been collecting postcards with representations of men and women hand and wheel spinning. These images come from many different cultures and periods from around the world.
Most of the postcards date from the beginning of the 20th century and provide an insight into pre-industrial spinning technology and forms of equipment and place these in their social, economic and cultural contexts. There is also, however, a hint of romanticism in that some of the 'spinners' depicted were probably models and may never have done any spinning at all. Similarly, there is an element of depicting the 'noble savage/happy peasant' carrying out an 'exotic' task, whether in Ireland or Africa.
Project duration: The aim of the project is to have all the relevant postcards annotated and then published in either actual or digital form. The Centre for Textile Research, Copenhagen University, has expressed interest in publishing the volume as part of their textile series. It is anticipated that the basic manuscript will be ready by the end of 2015.
