A Sample Book of Low Contrast Silk Swatches: Small Figured Patterns

early twentieth century
when closed: 11 1/4" x 8 1/4", 28.5 cm x 21 cm

This is a hard cover, cloth bound book that is composed of 4 pages showing 64 swatches of dark colored, small-figured chirimen or crepe silk. The book is a commercial textile sample book, probably from a dyer or a cloth broker.

The designs included in this book are all subtle and dark in tone. There are a good many stripes of different kinds, some small checks and some patterns that show undulating lines that are rendered in inventive, fanciful ways.

The swatches are inset back-to-back into cut cardboard windows.

This is a lovely treasury of deeply toned patterns, each of which speaks to a self-effacing style that was popular in old Japan.