THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
OF WAX-PRINTED TEXTILES INTENDED
FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZNRE

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHlGAN STATE. UNIVERSITY
RUTH MELSEN
19'! 4

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ABSTRACT

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF WAX-PRINTED TEXTILES
INTENDED FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZAIRE

By

T.
Ruth Nielsen

The wax-printed textiles discussed in this study were designed
and produced especially for West Africa since the late nineteenth
century, and in 1974 they are still in great demand as best cloth and
dress for special occasions.

The premise of the investigation was that African wax-printed
textiles are not just ordinary printed fabrics, but a significant part
of the African culture and socio-economic structure. The consumers
‘were discriminating in choice of fabric and gave evidence of a highly
developed sense of design, color, and quality.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the origin and
development of wax—printed textiles intended for markets in West Africa
and Zaire; to observe and report on the contemporary production in
Europe of such prints; to investigate the use of wax—prints in Africa;
to analyze and classify a sample collection obtained in 1971 during
visits to the factories in England, Holland, and Switzerland; and to
describe and compare the motifs of selected samples from the collections.

The procedure followed was to search the literature, to correspond

with producers of African wax—prints and holders of textile collections,

 

 

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Ruth Nielsen

to tape in depth interviews with designers and producers, and to ob-
serve the production of African wax-prints in three Eur0pean factories,
as well as to examine the holdings of African wax-prints in museums,
private collections, and manufacturers' showrooms. Photographs were
made of numerous fabric designs, and a sample collection of 225 African
wax-prints (135 different designs or 4.5 percent of present holdings in
three showrooms) was acquired from the three manufacturers. The pro-
ducers made the selection of samples, but upon request they agreed to
provide samples from various decades, traditional and contemporary
prints, "best sellers" and cloth which did not sell too well, "good"
and "bad" designs, prints showing Javanese influence, and prints with
motifs acceptable to African preferences. As a result two almost
identical collections of wax—prints are available: the Eicher collec-
tion at Michigan State University (108 samples); and the Nielsen collec—
tion at Andrews University, Michigan (117 samples).

The technique of producing African wax—prints was found to be
basically similar to the one practiced in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries except that the technology was ingeniously mechanized. The
design was printed with hot resin (wax) on both sides of high quality
cotton fabric of plain weave; it was dyed indigo, and the resin was
washed out, leaving a blue pattern on a white background. Additional
coloring was done by successive repeated procedures, hand—blocking or
printing. Throughout the process attempts were made to attain the

appearance produced by the old hand method.

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Ruth Nielsen

The wax-prints exhibited great diversity in color combination,
style, design, and source of inspiration. The designs were inspired by
Indian cottons, Javanese batiks, European prints, African indigenous
cloth, traditional African objects and symbols, consumer contacts,
historical events, religion, mythology, proverbs, utilitarian objects,
natural forms, and geometrical designs. Selected Samples of wax-print
designs were described according to inspirational source, historical
background, arrangement of motif, and description and color of design.

A comparison was made of ten similar designs produced by the various
manufacturers. It was proposed that a simple classification system be
used to arrange the collections into categories according to the dominant
motif of the design.

The findings of this study provided evidence that African wax-
printed textiles are a significant part of the dress in West Africa and
Zgire, and that they will continue to be used and valued for a long time
to come, provided that designs and colors continue to conform to African
preferences. The search for the symbolic meaning of the wax—print design
is complicated by the fact that African consumers often perceive the
motif differently from what was intended by the producers, and that the
consumers sometimes name the design according to certain circumstances

in connection with the purchase or use of the cloth.

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF WAX-PRINTED TEXTILES

INTENDED FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZA’IRE

BY

1'
Ruth Nielsen

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Human Environment and Design

1974

 

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[Kg ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present investigation was made possible by the assistance and
encouragement of many people. Although all cannot be mentioned the
‘writer wishes to express sincere appreciation to her advisor, Dr. Joanne
B. Eicher, who has given generously of her patient guidance, helpful
advice, and enthusiastic encouragement; to each of the other members of
her committee, Dr. Norma Bobbitt, Dr. Holly L. Schrank, and Mrs.

Barbara Amundson, for their helpful suggestions; to Dr. Robert Rice for
continued interest and support; and to Betty Wass for reading the manu-
script and suggesting valuable improvements.

Grateful recognition is extended to Andrews University for making
it possible to illustrate the thesis; to the representatives of the
three manufacturers, Messrs. L. Cooper, C. H. Krantz, and E. Voirol,
for the unique opportunity to conduct the interviews, to examine and
photograph holdings of wax-prints, and for the sample collections;
and to my colleagues for encouragement and moral support.

Last, but far from least, my husband, Louis, and the children,
deserve a special word of thanks for being patient and understanding.
'Without their support and dedication this study would not have been
possible.

 

ii

Chapter

II.

III.

IV.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
PROCEDURE 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O I 0

Type and Methods of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selection of Samples of African Wax-prints . . . . . .
Description and Analysis of Data Collection. . . . .
Classification and Cataloging of African Wax-print
Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definition of Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF TRADE WITH TEXTILES IN WEST AFRICA

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF,WAX-PRINTED TEXTILES INTENDED
FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZAIRE O O O O O O O O O O O O O O .

CONTEMPORARY PRODUCTION AND USE OF WAX—PRINTED TEXTILES
FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZAIRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Development of Printed Textiles in England . . . . . .
History of Brunnschweiler, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . .
Brunnschweiler Production . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Development of Production in Holland . . . . . . . . .
History of Texoprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Texoprint Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Development of Production in Switzerland . . . . . . .
History of Hohlenstein Printing WOrks . . . . . . .
Hohlenstein Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison of the Manufacturers' Techniques. . . . . .

Use of wax-prints in West Africa and Zaire . . . . . .

VI. ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLE COLLECTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . .

Design and Classification of wax-prints. . . . . . . .
De818n O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
Classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iii

Page

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13

13
13

20

32

4O

4O
42
44
48
50
52
52
’ 55
57
58
59

69
69

71
76

TABLE OF CONTENTS--Continued

Chapter

Description and Comparison of Selected Samples
the African wax-printed Textile Collection.
Description of Selected English Samples . .
Description of Selected Dutch Samples . . .
Description of Selected Swiss Samples . . .
Comparison of Selected Samples. . . . . . .

VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .
smary O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APPENDICES
A 0 LIST OF QUESTIONS 0 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O
B o CATALOG OF AFRICAN WAX-PRINTS o o o o o o o o o o

BIBLImeY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

iv

Page

82
87
106
119
124

140
140

143
143

145
147

161

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2.1

2.2

2.3

3.1

3.2

5.1

6.1

6.2

LIST OF TABLES

Summary of Correspondence about African wax—prints.

Summary of Data Collection. . . . . . . . . . . .
Holdings and Assorted Samples from Manufacturers.
Export of Cotton Goods to Nigeria 1850-1963 . . .
A Date Chart Summarizing Important Trade. . . . .
A Comparison of Production Techniques . . . . . .
Key to Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Selected Samples of wax-print.Designs Arranged in
categories 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O 0 O O O O O O O O

Page

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12
27
3O
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83

84

LIST OF MAPS AND PLATES

MAPS Page
Map Of Africa 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 19
Map Of Early Trade-'IOUCQS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 30
PLATES

I. An illustration of how the depth and vividness of the
same design was improved by additional color applica-
tion 0 O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 47

II. An illustration of non-wax prints: Java, Madras and
manga O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O 0 O 5 3

III. Description of Selected English Samples. . . . . . . . . 87-105
IV. Description of Selected Dutch Samples. . . . . . . . . . 106-118
V. Description of Selected Swiss Samples. . . . . . . . . . 119-123

VI. Comparison of Selected Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124-138

vi

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A visitor to West Africa would invariably be impressed by the
colorful fabrics of intricate design worn by many of the Africans in the
large cities or the thousands of small villages, by Africans attending
church services, ceremonial celebrations, official functions, or patron-
izing the sprawling open cloth.markets and fabric stalls. As Butler

stated:

Many people believe that the African is a person of very simple
tastes who is ready to accept all sorts of second quality goods
and clearing lines, and crude designs and garish colors, which
the more fashionable nations reject. This is far from the
truth. It has been the life's work of many merchant converters
in Manchester to produce speciality African prints for the
people, men and women, "on the coast." The development of a
new design for this market normally absorbs more time and effort
than is taken over one for the transitory fashion markets.1

"Speciality African prints" is a broad term used:interchangeably
with "Manchester cloth" and "African prints" to describe cloth.made in
Europe for the African market. The cotton fabrics bought and used by
the Africans were always an important part of their inherent culture.
The designs of the cloth evolved primarily from the indigenous hand

textile industry of West Africa, where the people had a highly developed

 

1Ray Butler, "Sale of British Cotton Goods in West Africa,"
The London Times (August 13, 1958), p. 12.

sense of design, color, and quality.2 The exotic looking fabrics used
by the nationals in West Africa and Zaire (formerly the Congo) have
been largely unknown to Europeans and Americans, but increased aware-
ness of the cultural heritage of Africa has stimulated recent studies

of African dress and textiles. Publications, such as Eicher (1970),3
Plumer (1970),4 and Sieber (1972),5 added new dimensions to the existing
literature on African dress, but no extensive study had been made to
investigate the speciality African prints. An incentive to study these
prints was partly a result of encouragement and interest by the writer's
advisor, and partly a result of eight years of educational work in

West Africa Where the investigator received unforgettable impressions

of the variety and beauty of the African dress. Therefore, in order to
contribute to the history of textiles, to acquire a more complete picture
of African dress, and to encourage further study of African textile
design, it appeared justifiable and logical to pursue a study of printed

textiles produced in Europe for export exclusively to Africa.6

 

2"Manchester's African Trade", West Africa, No. 1751 (September,
1950), pp. 850-510

3Joanne B. Eicher, African Dress: A Select and annotated Bibli-
ography of Subsaharan Fabrics. (East Lansing: Michigan State University,
1970), pp. 1-1340

 

 

4Cheryl Plumer, African Textiles: An Outline of Handcrafted Sub-
saharan Fabrics. (East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1970), pp.
1-1460

SRoy Sieber, African Textiles and Decorative Arts (New York:
Museum.of.Modern Art, 1972), pp. 1-240.

6An example of a similar study of printed textiles in Asia is:
Tamezo Osume, Printed Cottons of Asia. Translated by George Saito.
Japan: Bijutsu shuppan—sha. (Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co., 1963)

 

 

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Printed textiles exported to Africa were of two main types: wax-
prints (wax-batiks) and non wax-prints (fancy or roller prints). An
African wax-print is a printed cotton fabric of plain weave where the
design is applied with hot wax or resin on both sides of the cloth.

It is usually dyed indigo, leaving a blue pattern on a white background
after the resin is washed out. Additional colors may be added by
either hand-blocking or duplex printing. Roller prints are ordinary
printed fabrics where the design is applied on one side of the cloth in
a continuous process by engraved metal rollers.

This study is limited to the wax-prints and restricted to West
Africa and Zéire, since these prints are primarily exported to those
regions. The African wax-prints are successful in competition with
roller prints probably because they are loaded with tradition, contain
expressions of west African culture, are geared to the tastes and pref-
erences of the people, often are adopted as the national costume, and
acquire the significance of a status symbol, indicating wealth and
social prestige. Furthermore, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
these countries were primarily trading with Europe, and their popula-
tions were far more traditionally inclined than, for example, the people
of East Africa.

African wax-printed textiles are produced in Japan, Europe and
more recently in West Africa. An increasing number of African textile
‘mills have taken up production of wax—prints, some of them in cooperation
‘with the European manufacturers. This study involved a trip to Europe

in 1971 for the express purpose of observing and collecting data from

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the three remaining factories then producing African wax-prints. The
factories were situated in England, Holland and Switzerland. The factory
in Switzerland was closed down in the summer of 1973.

The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate the origin
and development of waxeprinted textiles intended for markets in West
Africa and Zéire; 2) to observe and report on the contemporary produc-
tion in Europe of such wax-prints; 3) to investigate their use in
Africa; 4) to analyze and classify a sample collection obtained in Europe
in 1971; and, 5) to describe and compare the motifs of selected samples.

The study is comprised of five sections. In chapter two the types
of research procedures and the method of textile sample collection are
discussed. A brief historical overview of textile trade in West Africa
is presented in chapter three, and in the fourth chapter the origin and
development of wax—printed textiles for West Africa is described. In
chapter five the contemporary production and use of African wax—printed
textiles is related, followed in chapter six by the classification of
the sample collection, including a description and comparison of selected

textile samples.

‘-

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER II

PROCEDURE

The discussion of the procedure for this investigation includes
the following parts: 1) types of research and methods of data collec-
tion; 2) selection of samples of African printed textiles; 3) descrip—
tion and analysis of data collection; and 4) classification of printed

textile collection.

Types and Methods of Research

The types of research employed in this investigation were:
(1) historical study, dealing with origins, backgrounds, developments,
and trade patterns of printed textiles as well as culture contacts,
attitudes, and accomplishments of the past; (2) descriptive study,
providing information on contemporary designing, manufacturing, and use
of African wax—prints; (3) field study, visiting and observing the
designing and production of wax—prints for Africa in England, Holland,
and Switzerland; (4) survey, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting on
the prints in museums, private collections, and manufacturers' show-
rooms; and (5) classification, sorting out the motifs of the prints
according to categories, and comparing and describing the motifs.

The specific methods of data collection were as follows:

1. Inquiry. Letters of inquiry pertaining to printed textiles
intended for the African market were sent to two museums in the United
States and fourteen in Europe, and to one private collection, all
known to hold African textiles. Furthermore, inquiries were sent to.
four universities and colleges, seven manufacturers in Europe and 30
in Africa, one textile council, two textile institutes in England, four
other sources of information, and thirty Chambers of Commerce in Africa,

two in England, and one in Japan (see Table 2.1).

Table 2.1. Summary of Correspondence about African Wax-prints.

 

 

 

Number of Number of
letters replies
Source of information sent received
Museums, United States 2 2
Museums, Europe 14 13
Universities & Colleges
Textile Institutes
Textile Councils
Private Collections
Miscellaneous sources 18 15
Manufacturers, Europe 7
Manufacturers, Africa 30
Chambers of Commerce, Africa 3O 16
Chambers of Commerce, England 2 2
Chambers of Commerce, Japan 1

 

Total 111 66

 

2. Correspondence. Correspondence with knowledgeable persons on
African wax-prints allowed the writer to obtain additional information
and clarification. Included among the informants were: Mr. L. Cooper,
Director of Brunnschweiler, (UK) Ltd. Manchester, England; Mr. C. H.
Krantz, Director of Vlisco, Hatema-Texoprint, n.v., Helmond, Holland;
MI. E. Voirol, Director of Hohlenstein, Ltd., Glarus, Switzerland;

Mr. Stuart Robinson, Head of Department of Arts and Crafts, Coventry
College, England; Dr. Rene Boser, Curator, Textile Department, Museum
'for V31kerkunde, Basel, Switzerland; Dr. A. Claerhout, Deputy Keeper,
Etnografisch Museum, Antwerp, Belgium; and Miss M. A. Bolland, Assistant
Curator, Royal Institute, Amsterdam, Holland. (Table 2.1).

3. Questionnaires. Questionnaires were prepared and mailed to
Mr. Cooper,er. Krantz, and Mr. Voirol as guidelines in preparation for
intended personal interviews during a planned field investigation in
the summer of 1971. (Appendix A)

4. Library research. The literature on the origin and development
of textile trade in Africa, the history and development of printed tex-
tiles in Asia, Indonesia, Europe, and Africa, and the contemporary
manufacture and use of wax—prints in West Africa and Zéire, was investi-
gated. The following libraries were used: ‘Michigan State University;
Andrews University (Michigan); Northwestern University (Illinois);
Manchester University, and Gawthorpe Hall, England. In addition some
unpublished documents were obtained from Brunnschweiler, Ltd., Manchester,

England.

5. Field studies. The investigator visited museums, libraries,
exhibitions, private collections, textile mills, and textile manufac-
turers' showrooms in England, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland during
the summer of 1971 to obtain first hand data on African wax-prints.

6. Museums and Collections. Museums and Collections with African
textile holdings were visited and examined for data on African special-
ity prints. The following museums hold collections of interest:

1) The British Museum, London, England.

"The Charles Beving Collection of African Prints."

(Nos. 1934-3-7, 387—427. Recorded in 1934.)

2) The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England.
Collection of African Prints (1909—1939)

3) Gawthorpe Hall, Near Burnley, Lancashire, England.
"The Rachel Kay—Shuttlework Collection."
Twentieth century printed fabrics made for export
to Africa.

4) The Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, Holland.
Exhibits of African prints draped on mannequins.
Slideshow of the peoples of Africa depicting many
samples of African printed fabrics.

5) Etnografisch.Museum, Antwerp, Belgium.

Collection of Printed Textiles for Export to
Africa. (1900—1940).

7. Photography. Kodachrome 35 mm slides of selected prints were
photographed at Victoria and Albert Museum Textile department in London.
Additional slides were taken of African prints at the Etnografisch
IMuseum, Antwerp, and of the designing and manufacturing processes at
Brunnschweiler, Ltd. (Manchester), where a collection of photographs
of unavailable textiles was acquired. Upon return to the United States

a slide series of the sample collection was prepared for educational

purposes.

 
 

 
 
 

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8. Observation. In order to obtain first hand information about
the manufacturing process of African wax-printed textiles the only
three remaining mills producing speciality prints for Africa were
visited. The designers were also observed while working in their
studios, and the finished products were examined in showrooms. The
following firms kindly consented to the observer's visits:

1) A. Brunnschweiler (UK), Ltd., Manchester, England.

2) Vlisco, Hatema - Texoprint (nv), Helmond, Holland.

3) Hohlenstein Textile Printing Works, Ltd., Glarus, Switzerland.

9. Taped interviews. Taped interviews were conducted in depth .
with the following individuals to obtain pertinent information about
the origin and development, motifs, and use of the African wax-prints:
Mr. Cooper, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Preece, Director, Chef d' Atelier, and
Agent to French speaking territories, respectively, all of the
Brunnschweiler, Ltd.; Mr. Krantz, Director of Vlisco, Hatema—Texoprint,
nv.;.Mr. Voirol, Director of Hohlenstein, Ltd., and his assistant
Mrs. Hunzier. In addition.Mr. J. D. Page and Mr. B. Fagg were con—
tacted in the British.Museum; Mrs. Morrison in the Victoria and Albert
IMuseum;.Mr. Van Deuren and Mr. Thys in the Etnografisch.Museum,
Antwerp, and other curators and librarians also made themselves avail-
able for interviews and assistance.

10. Sample collection. The three manufacturers generously agreed
to make available 135 different samples of African wax—prints, each
about 36" x 46". As a result two almost identical collections belong—

ing to Eicher and Nielsen are presently being used for teaching

 

 

 

10

purposes and are available for additional studies at Michigan State
University and Andrews University (Michigan), respectively.
The following may serve as an example of how information on

African wax-prints was obtained. An article was read in The London

 

11mg§_which in passing mentioned.a famous Manchester design, the

"Flying Duck," that had been produced and sold in remarkable quantities
for many years. The "Flying Duck" and the "Tulip" were printed on a
combined quantity of 1,500,000 yards annually in the late 1950's and
sold in Ghana where the population at the time was 4,500,000.1

Letters of inquiry about the "Flying Duck" and other African prints were
sent out. Later, during personal, taped interviews with the three
manufacturers, specific questions were asked about the history, sale,
and use of the "Flying Duck" which proved to be one of the oldest
African wax—prints. The discussions led to additional information about
other designs, and the investigator was invited to observe the designing
and production of the prints. Samples of the "Flying Duck" and others
'were obtained, analyzed, described, catalogued, and photographed. The

methods of data collection and the resources used were summarized in

Table 2.2.

Selection of SampIes of African waxeprints

In initial planning for the investigation the following alterna-

tives of random sampling of the African wax-prints were suggested:

 

lButler, "Sale of British Cotton Goods in West Africa," p. 12.

Ill.-

11

Summary of Data Collections

Table 2.2.

 

 

 

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St. Obs. Quest.

Interv. Coll. Corsp. Fld.

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Every fiftieth design of the production from.l950v1969;

every fortieth design of the production fromm1930v1949;

every thirtieth design of the production from 1910«l929;

and every design from the years prior to 1900

However, none of these were acceptable to the manufacturers. The
prints were not stored according to the year of production, and such
alternatives would not provide a fair selection of the many types of
design. Therefore upon request the producers agreed to select an
assorted collection, providing samples from various decades, of tradi«
tional and contemporary prints, "best sellers" and cloth.which did not
sell too well, "good" and "bad" designs, prints with motifs illustrating
certain ideas and concepts acceptable to the Africans, and prints with
Javanese influence. A total of 225 samples with 135 different designs
or 4.5 percent of holdings, were selected by the.manufacturers, who

held the following number of designs in their showrooms in 1971:

(Table 2.3).

Table 2.3. Holdings and Assorted Samples froijanufacturers 1971

 

 

 

Holdings of

wax-print Acquired waxvprint samples
Manufacturer designs Eicher Nielsen
Brunnschweiler 800 63 66
Texoprint 2000 25 28
Hohlenstein 200 20 23

 

Total 3000 108 117

 

13

Description and Analysis of Data Collection

The collected data were presented as: (1) a historical overview
of the trade patterns of textiles to West Africa; (2) a survey of the
origin and development of wax-prints; (3) an investigation of the
contemporary production and use of speciality African prints, and
(4) analysis, description, and comparison of selected designs from the

assorted collections.

Classification and CatalogingLof African
Waxprint Collection

The samples of African wax-prints were classified according to
categories of motifs occurring in the collection, and a classification
system was made to facilitate the grouping of the prints.

A catalog was made of the collection specifying each manufacturer
and based on the following criteria: 1) year of design; 2) arrangement;
3) motif category; 4) color; 5) size of repeat, and (6) intended
market. The catalog also included the production number, the catalog
number, and the name of the print. Additional information was recorded

under "remarks" (Appendix B).

Definition of Terms

The following terms were used throughout this study and the intended

meaning is as indicated in the definitions.

14

African prints is a general term describing all types of printed
cloth intended for Africa, and it is used interchangeably with Manchester
cloth and speciality African prints.

African waxeprints are machine made batiks which imitate Javanese
hand made batiks, but with designs acceptable to African tastes. They
are printed cotton fabrics of plain weave where the design is applied
by engraved copper rollers with hot wax or resin on both sides of the
cloth. They are usually dyed indigo, leaving a blue pattern on a white
background after the wax or resin is washed out, and additional colors
are added by either hand—blocking or duplex printing.

.EEEAE.13 a name given in Indonesia to the process of applying
resist-dyed patterns to cloth. The special feature of this process is
that those parts of a design not intended to take the color in a particu-
lar dyeing operation are protected or "reserved" with a coat of wax,
clay or starch paste.2 Originally this kind of design was accomplished
by hand painting on fine—spun cotton, but was at a later time also
applied by engraved copper blocks..

BlockLprinting_is fabric decoration by hand, using engraved wood

 

blocks.

Calico prints are hand-printed fabrics from Calicut, India, with

 

distinctive characteristics from that area.3

 

2J. Irwin and V. Murphy, Batik (London: Victoria and Albert
Museum, 1969), p. 6.

3Florence H. Pettit, America's Printed and Painted Fabrics, 1600—
1900 (New York: Hastings House Publishers, 1970), p. 49.

15

Chintz is presently a term used for fabrics with floral patterns.
The term was derived from a Hindu word for "variegated",4 and it was
originally used in the West Indies for painted and printed cottons. In
the eighteenth century it was a cotton fabric produced by the process
of mordant and resist dyeing.

Crackle is an effect of fine lines produced in the wax-prints and
batiks by the cracking of the wax or resin and subsequent entering of
dye into the fabric.

Exotic fabrics are fabrics of unusual color and design, foreign to
Western taste.

.EEEAQ is a designation used in this study for the major section of
the repeat in a wax-print.

Imitation African prints are fabrics printed as direct roller
prints, imitating the white spots and crackled lines, distinctive to
African wax-prints.

Imitation.Madras is an imitation of the Real.Madras from India,
but it was manufactured in Europe on hand- or power-looms.

Indian cottons is a broad term for the various colorfully printed
and woven cotton textiles from India.

Indigo dye is the name given to the blue coloring matter obtained
from the leaves of the plant Indigpfera tinctoria. It has been used
for almost 5000 years and probably was the most important dye of the
past, except in Europe where it was introduced in the sixteenth century

by the Dutch. In the process of dyeing, the yellow cotton will turn

 

4Pettit, America's Printed and Painted Fabrics, p. 50.

 

 

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16

through green to blue as it is exposed to the oxygen of the air.5

Madras (Real Madras) is a woven cotton cloth originally from the
area near Madras, India. It has a woven pattern, often checked or
striped, and has been produced continuously for about 200 years. During
this period it has pleased the tastes of the people in West Africa and
West Indies.6

Manchester cloth is a broad term describing all types of printed
cloth produced particularly in Manchester, England. It is used inter-
changeably with African prints and speciality African prints.

Mordant is a metallic salt which in soluble state reacts chemically
with the dye solution to form an insoluble colored compound called a
"lake".

.HQEEE.1S the individual unit of a pattern which may be repeated
in various ways.

Negative reserve pattern is a process where the pattern is painted
or printed onto the fabric with one or more mordants. When this is dyed
and washed the pattern appears where the mordant reacted with the dye.7

A Pattern book is a collection of textile samples with formulas
and technical information prepared for the textile producers.

Printed Textiles are fabrics to which a decorative pattern is

 

5Stuart Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles (Cambridge, Massachu-
setts: MIT Press, 1969), pp. 23-24.

6A. 0. Brunnschweiler, History of the Madras Handkerchief Trade.
Unpublished notes, 1957, p. 2.

7Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 39.

 

 

 

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17

applied in one or more colors and by various methods, such as, direct,
discharge, and mordant dyeing, and resist printing.

Repeat is the basic unit of design in fabric decoration, which is
repeated at fixed intervals and creates a rhythmic flow over the entire
fabric.

Resins are chemical compounds (trade secret) used instead of real
bees' wax in the resist dyeing process.

Resist printing is application of a pattern to a fabric in which
the dye is prevented from reaching certain predetermined areas ('resist-
ing') which are covered by wax, clay, starch paste, or a chemical resin
while the cloth is dipped into the dye bath. The four principal resist
processes are batik, tie-and-dye, stenciling, and the negative reserve
pattern.

Speciality African prints.is a term used interchangeably with
Manchester cloth and African prints to describe printed cloth made in
Europe especially for the African market.

Stenciling.is.a.process in which the fabric is protected in pre-
determined areas by stencils or engraved plates before the dyeing.

Stylized design_is a design which represents a motif according to
a stylistic pattern rather than a naturalistic pattern.

Tie-and-dye refers to another resist process in which parts of the
cloth are tied up with waxed strings (knotted, plaited or stitched)
before it is dipped into dye, preventing the dye from penetrating the
tied portions.

West African countries in this study are comprised of Senegal,

Mali, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana,

 
 

18

Upper Volta, Niger, Chad, Togo, Dahomey, Nigeria, Central African
Republic, Cameroun, Gabon, and Congo. The main African areas covered
in this investigation can be observed on the map of Africa on the
following page.

The five types of research employed in this investigation were:
historical study, descriptive study, field study, survey, and classifi-
cation of two sample collections. The specific methods of data col-
lection were: inquiry, correspondence, questionnaires, library research,
field investigation, study of collections, photography, observation of
production, taped interviews, and acquisition of two sample collections.
The data collection was described and analyzed, and the two wax-print
collections were classified and cataloged.

In order to appreciate more fully the importance of cultural heri-
tage of wax—printed textiles in contemporary African dress a brief

overview of the trade history of textiles imported to Africa follows.

19

    

l tomeur
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Kmshasa

  
  
 
 
  

MALAGASY
REPUBLIC

. 2.
Source‘ AFRICA REPORT, Vol. 18, No. 4 (JulyeAugust, 1973) p

 

\ ... ...\\...-

 

"M

 
 
 

CHAPTER III

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF TRADE WITH TEXTILES
IN WEST AFRICA

The interest in decorated textiles dates back to the merchants
and kings of the early West African empires of Songhai, Mali, and
Ghana (what now is known as Upper Volta and Ghana) who wore richly
embroidered robes, often decorated with threads of gold.1 These mer—
chants and kings encouraged the establishment of trade and trading
routes across the Sahara, and the extensive trade eventually led to the
founding of cities, states and empires in West Africa; foremost of these
was Ghana. Its people played a significant role as middlemen between
producers and merchants, and about 1100 A.D. textiles and linen were
among the chief imports from the north.2 The trade pattern was as
follows: ships from Spain, Portugal and Italy delivered cargoes of
European goods, including cloth, in exchange for African goods at
Africa's Mediterranean ports. The products were transported to the mar-
kets in a variety of ways: on the backs of donkeys and camels, on the

heads of porters, and in the holds of river boats. The bulk of the

 

1"Prints from the New Africa", American Fabrics, Winter, 1965-66,
No. 73, p. 57.

2Boahen A. Adu, "Kingdoms of west Africa", The Horizon History of
Africa, edited by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. (New York: American Heritage
Publishing Company, 1971), p. 185.

20

21

products bound for Central and West Africa were loaded onto camels, and
reached their destinations by an intricate network of caravan routes.
In "ports" such as Timbuktu, Walata, Gao, and Takedda on the southern
rim of the Sahara another exchange took place, and the porters who had
brought the African goods from the south and west returned through the
forest to the inland kingdoms and the coastal markets with the European
products.3 In the fourteenth century the trade routes had been extended
to Axim in southwest Ghana, and Boahen claims that a proof of the ex-
tension of the northern trade routes down to the coast of Ghana was the
fact that shawls and dressing gowns manufactured in Morocco and Tunis
‘were in great demand on the coast of Ghana before the arrival of the
Portuguese.

The trans-Sahara trade traffic was supplemented, beginning in the
fifteenth century, by European sailing ships. In the beginning the
Portuguese caravels carried most of the trade with contact points at
Axim and Elmina, but they were later challenged by the English, the
Dutch, and others. Extensive trade with non-Africans was carried on in
the 1500's, when the chiefs of Ghana acquired from the trade ships in
exchange for gold, great amounts of linen cloth which they used for

apparel and draped around their middles.5 In the absence of money

 

3Basil Davidson, African Kingdoms (New York: Time—Life Books,
1966), pp. 89-92.

4Boahen, The Horizon History of Africa, p. 188.

5Freda Wolfson, Pageant of Ghana.(London: Oxford University Press,

1958), pp. 40-54.

 
 
 
 

22

various articles, including metals, beads, and cloth were used as media
of exchange. For example, the people of Kanem, a kingdom spanning the
area between present day Libya, Chad, and Northern Nigeria, used a kind
of cloth called "Wendy" as money. Each piece was ten cubits long but
to facilitate exchange it was cut into pieces of a quarter of a cubit
or smaller.6 The cubit length was measured from the elbow to the tip
of the outstretched finger in a full grown man.7 In the early 1600's.
Dutch linen cloth served as currency in the markets of Ghana,8 and in
the nineteenth century fabric was still valued as currency, for example,
in bartering for slaves.9

British chartered ships started to trade on the coast of West
Africa in 1553,10 and according to Ramsay, it was the textile and pro-
vision export along with the tobacco and sugar import that in time led
to the participation of the Liverpool merchants in the slave trade dur-
ing the seventeenth centery. It involved a triangular voyage with the

sale of cotton, metalwares and firearms to Africans in exchange for

 

6Basil Davison, "The Niger to the Nile", The Horizon History of
Africa, p. 235.

7R. W. Beachey, "East African Ivory Trade in the Nineteenth Century",
Journal of African History, Vol. XIII (1967-68), p. 269.

8Elliot P. Skinner, "West African Economic Systems", Economic
Transition in Africa. Edited by Melville J. Herskovits and Mitchel
Herwits (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1967), p. 92.

9Daryll C. Forde and Phyllis M. Kaberry, West African Kingdoms in
the Nineteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 134.

109. D. Ramsay, English Overseas Trade (London: Macmillan Co., Ltd.,
1957), p. 29.

 

 

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23

slaves who were brought out to the coast by the African intermediaries,
to be transported to the West Indies and North and South America in
exchange for sugar and molasses.11 In the year 1600 the English East
India Company was established to promote the trade.

The Dutch began to send their ships to West Africa in 1593 and by
the end of the century they had established contacts with Benin (Nigeria)
and soon virtually excluded the Portuguese. In the beginning they
bought ivory and pepper for the European market, and in addition they
took cotton cloths and stone beads (coris) from Benin, the Facados river,
and Ijebu to barter for gold on the Costa da Mina.12 The Dutch East
India Company was established in 1597 and like the English East India
Company bought up vast quantities of Indian cloth for their trade with
the Guinea Coast and the Niger Delta.13 These cloths became commonly
known as Indian Cottons in the literature. The Dutch traders were
generally successful, and by 1620 they had supplanted the Portuguese
as the leading traders on the coast of West Africa. In 1621 the Dutch
West India Company was formed and granted a 24 years' monopoly of all

Dutch trade with West Africa, but gradually it encountered serious fi-

nancial problems, and in 1674 it was replaced by a smaller organization.14

 

116. D. Ramsay, Egglish Overseas Trade, p. 156.

12A. F. C. Ryder. "Dutch Trade on the Nigerian Coast During the
Seventeenth Century", Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria,
Vol. 3, No. 2 (1965), p. 195.

13Eve de. Negri, "Nigerian Textile Industry Before Independence",
Nigerian.Magazine, No. 89 (June, 1966), pp.'95;96.

14

 

Ryder, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, p. 195.

 

 

 

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24

According to Jones, D. O'Dapper in 1686 listed a number of cloths
and linens suitable for export to West Africa,15 and another list of
fabrics and prices recommended for the West African coast was presented
by Adams.16 Throughout the centuries both indigenous and imported
textiles were traded and used in sub-Saharan Africa, and ever since the
first trading vessels visited the coast, cloth was consistently a
principal trade item and a stimulus to economic production and trade.
It is also significant that it was the great demand for cloth in the
sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries that encouraged the estab-
lishment in West Africa of a system of "trust" based on credit trading.
According to Ryder, its origin was obscure, but it was generally used
in trade with the Africans by the Portuguese, the English, and the
Dutch. "Trust" was firmly established in Benin at the end of the
sixteenth century, at least in the purchase of cloth, and it persisted
‘until modern times in various forms.17

During the eighteenth century trading posts were established along
the coast where palm oil and other goods were exchanged for various
commodities including cloth. From 1720—50 a trade struggle took place

between the exporters of Indian prints and the dealers in Manchester

 

15William 0. Jones and Christian.Merat, "Consumption of Exotic Con—
sumer Goods as an Indicator of Economic Achievement in Ten Countries of
Tropical Africa," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University,
Vol. 3, No. 1 (February, 1962), p. 38.

16John Adams, Remarks on the Country ExtendingLfrom Cape Palmas to
the River Congg_(London: Frank Cass and Co., Ltd., 1823) (reprint
1966), pp. 235—59.

17Ryder, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, p. 204.

Lu

 

 

25

cloth. The latter was a broad term used particularly to describe all
types of printed cloth produced in Manchester. At first Manchester
printers provided coarse linen in dull colors, but these did not satisfy
Africans who preferred the lighter all-cotton India prints in bright
colors. Therefore, the Manchester cloth was modified to suit the
African taste, and by 1750 it had acquired a quality comparable to the
Indian textiles, and from that time onward the Manchester cloth gained
acceptance in Africa along with the Indian cottons. Gradually the
demand increased, helped by the decline of the East Indian Traders who
were suffering from the Indian unrest following an insurrection in 1751
at the cloth port of Surat.18 As a further incentive, the Manchester
merchants varied their cloth in color and pattern to cater to the dif—
ferent regions in the West African countries, each having its own
fashions and tastes, and thereby giving rise to a special West African
market for the Manchester cotton industry. Consequently in the 1800's
the Manchester cloth captured the textile trade on the coast and re-
placed the more expensive Indian cottons which, according to Jones,
sold for 15 shillings compared to only 3 shillings for the Manchester
cloth.19 Nevertheless, Africa was not as yet an important market for
the Manchester cloth, because in 1856 it accounted for no more than

3 percent by value and 5 percent by volume of the total textile export.

 

18Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 76.

19G. 1. Jones, "Import Trade of Cloth Into Eastern Nigeria".
Unpublished manuscript, 1962, pp. 1-8.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

.; .Ie ...

 

 

26

West Africa took only 20 million yards per year at that time; but about
1880 the Chamber of Commerce (England) made more deliberate attempts
to develop new markets, and as a result there were increased exports
of Manchester cloth to West Africa and Zéire. An exact calculation of
the amount and value of this export was not possible since many
Lancashire cotton goods were exported to West Africa and ZAire by way of
Holland and France.20 However, by comparison to the total export of
20 million yards of cloth to West Africa in 1856, England exported 41
million yards of Manchester cloth to British West Africa in 1880 and
145 million yards in 1913.21 Another comparison indicated that the
export of cotton goods to Nigeria in the 1850's was insignificant but
had risen to 21.4 million yards in 1963 (Table 3.1). There was a con-
siderable increase in the trade with cotton goods in the 1900's, partly
due to the following reasons:

1) British merchants were looking for new and increased markets;

2) Cloth was still used as means of barter;

3) Production of special colors and patterns suited for West

Africa and Zaire increased;

4) The quality of cloth improved;

5) Cheaper materials brought about lower prices;

6) Foreign cloth became a status symbol in parts of Africa; and,

7) Means of communication and transportation improved.

When enormous quantities of cheap cloth were brought into West

African countries in the 1930's, they became more popular than the local

 

20Arthur Redford, Manchester Merchants and Foreign Trade 1850-1939

(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956), pp. 60-62.

21Redford, Manchester Merchants and Foreign Trade, p. 75.

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27

 

 

Table 3.1. Export of Cotton Goods to Nigeria 1850vl963.

1850 Cotton piece goods Insignificant

1866 Cotton piece goods 262,000

1870 Cotton piece goods 515,0001
1899-1901 Cotton piece goods 322,0001
1909-1911 Cotton piece goods 1,188,0001
1919—1921 Cotton piece goods 3,913,0001
1929-1931 Cotton piece goods 2,634,0001
1935—1937 Cotton piece goods 3,371,0002
1939 Cotton piece goods 1,377,0003
1949 Cotton piece goods 17,890,0004
1953 Cotton piece goods 18,066,0004
1963 Cotton piece goods 3

21,447,000

 

lRedford,.Manchester Merchants and Foreigg_Trade, p. 60.

2

P. T. Bauer, West African Trade (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1954), p. 47.

 

3G. Brian Stapleton, The Wealth of Nigeria (Ibadan: Oxford University
Press, 1967), p. 181.

4Bauer, west African Trade, p. 48.

28

cloth, which could not compete with the imported cloth either in quality,
pattern or price.22 For decades imported cotton goods dominated the
stalls at large open markets in west Africa's cities and towns and even
out on the desert fringes.23 Therefore, as mentioned by Hance, at one
stage of development in West Africa (1961) import of textiles loomed
very large on the list of imports, even if there was an increasing
desire to produce cloth locally.24
The beginning of the African wax—print market, as it is known today,
is somewhat obscure. Mr. Krantz from Texoprint stated that trade in
wax-prints actually started with the young unmarried European men who
came to West.Africa to trade in the second half of the nineteenth
century. As they settled down to trade they quickly engaged the African
women in their business. The women taught them the language and
received sewing machines and instruction in how to use them in return,
and before long the sale of prints flourished. Another beginning was
attributed to West African soldiers who were serving in Indonesia

(1810-62). They reportedly brought back Java batiks as gifts for their

wives who soon developed a liking for such cloths.25 Dutch East India

 

226. T. Basden, Niger Ibos (London: Seeley, Service and Company,
Ltd., 1938), p. 26.

23Guy Hunter, The New Societies of Tropical Africa (London: Oxford
University Press, 1962), p. 133.

24Will A. Hance, "Analysis of West African Industry", Journal of
International Affairs, Vol 15, No. l (1961), p. 37.

256. H. Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-Block Garments", Textielhistoriische

Bijdragen (1967), p. 47.

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29

Company merchants trading to Elmina (Ghana) also played a role in the
build-up of local demands for the batik cloth.26 About 1830 the Dutch
still used the Indian cloth as barter trade in West Africa, and between
1850-1900 they introduced the Java cloths which became a threat to the
trade with Indian prints and therefore were prohibited for awhile. By
1893 West Africans had developed a taste for this type of cloth.
Mr. Fleming of the Scotch Cotton Concern noticed this interest for wax-
batiks, and as a result he had such cloth manufactured by Previnaire
in Holland, who had invented a machine that could produce satisfactory
imitations of hand-made batik. Just as the designs of the Indian
cottons were adjusted to African tastes, likewise were the Java batiks.
Thus the African wax-printed textiles became one type of Manchester
cloth. Mr. Voirol of Hohlenstein explained that the Basel Trading Com-
pany (BTC), catering to the various needs of missionaries, also supplied
them with batiks, and that the Africans eventually adopted the use of
wax-printed textiles as a result of their influence. Therefore, it
appears that traders, merchants, missionaries, and returning soldiers
all played a role in introducing the wax-batiks to the West Africans.
The survey of textile trade patterns in West Africa is summarized
in Table 3.2, and the trade routes from 500-1600 A.D. were traced on
the map of Africa on page 31. In the following chapter a brief descrip-
tion of the origin and development of wax-printed textiles will be

presented.

 

26F. C. Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", West Africa, Vol. 41,
No. 2081 (March 2, 1957), p. 209.

 

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30

Table 3.2. A Date Chart Summarizing Important Trade with Textiles in
West Africa.

 

 

AD 1100 Textiles delivered to North African ports, re-routed by
caravans to West Africa.

AD 1300's Trade routes extended to Axim, Southwest Ghana.

AD 1400's Portuguese sailing ships arrived.

AD 1500's Expanded trade by ships to West Africa.

AD 1500-1800 Cloths used as currency.

AD 1553 First British ships began trading.

AD 1593 Dutch ships were sent to West Africa.

AD 1597 Dutch East India Trading Company began trading.

AD 1600 English East India Company was established.

AD 1600's "Trust" introduced as credit trading.

AD 1620 Dutch succeeded in taking over trade from the Portuguese.

AD 1621 Dutch West India Company established.

AD 1686 D. O'Dapper published list of cloth suitable for West
Africa.

AD 1700 Trading posts permanently established.

AD 1720-1750 Trade struggle between merchants of Indian cloth and
Manchester cloth.

AD 1750 Manchester cloth became accepted on Africa's West Coast;
sale of Indian cloth declined.

AD 1800's Manchester merchants produced cloth appealing to African
tastes, capturing West African market.

AD 1893 Recorded requests for wax-printed textiles.

AD 1900's Rapid increase in export of cotton goods to West Africa,
interrupted by two world wars.

AD 1970's Cloth continues to be one of chief imports.

AD 1974 Wax-printed textiles are still imported, even if they are

also produced by indigenous factories.

 

..—.

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_ —

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘ — Donkey Caravans

- Trans-Saharan Camel Caravans

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 
 

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2% Donkey Caravans

_ Head Portcrage

MaJor Routes
Caravel Routes

 

Map of Early Trade-routes.

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.5

CHAPTER IV

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF WAX-PRINTED'TEXTILES
INTENDED FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZAIRE

Fabric decoration has conceivably always been an important expres-
sion of man's social and cultural patterns, a significant and dynamic
factor in man's cultural history, since the fabric arts have been
influenced by such factors as religion, psychology, economics, and
politics. It is doubtful that one specific country can be credited as
the originator, but artisans of the most ancient civilizations prob—
ably began to color cloth with dyes and patterns almost as soon as they
learned to weave it, because application of surface design to cloth
was known in the ancient civilizations of Phoenicia, Egypt, China,
India, Mexico, Peru, and Indonesia.1 For example, the art of producing
design by printing color onto fabrics was practiced 5000 years ago as
evidenced by wall paintings and remnants of cloth in ancient Egyptian
tombs.2

The methods of fabric decoration inherited from the ancient civili—

zations remained in use with little changes until the nineteenth century.3

 

1Marjory L. Joseph, Introductory Textile Science (New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1972), pp. 331-32.

2Pettit, America's Printed and Painted Fabrics, pp. 47-48.

3"Dyes and Dyeing," Encyclopedia Britanica, Vol. VII, p. 814.

32

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33

Each country had its own characteristic methods and motifs, but during
wars and conquests, and when trade routes were opened, some designs
changed hands and were modified or adapted by other nations.4 Therefore,
textile design throughout history was influenced when one culture bor-
rowed from another, and the borrower altered patterns in accord with
his own interpretations, while each group acquired a characteristic
manner of expression different from other cultures, resulting in indi-
vidual differences within the groups but possessing a certain kinship.5
Consequently the story of fabric decoration was the story of design and
made a significant contribution to the cultural heritage of countless
civilizations of the past,6 and African wax-printed textiles today con-
tinue to be one expression of West African culture.

In a variety of distinctive styles of design, craftsmen throughout
the ages were using hand processes that changed little. As the tech-
niques persisted, fabrics were patterned by the application of color
pigments, whether by painting, printing or a combination of these
methods. The pattern was applied to the fabric with a brush, by print-
ing with woodblocks, engraved copper plates, more recently by metal

rollers, and also by various kinds of resist processes. The principal

 

4Pettit, America's Printed and Painted Fabrics, p. 49.

5Verla Birrell, The Textile Arts (New York: Harper & Brothers,
1959), p. 4.

6Meda Parker Johnston and Glen Kaufman, Design on Fabrics (New York:
Reinhold Book Corporation, 1967), p. 7.

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34

resist processes are, firstly, tie and dye, where parts of the fabric
are tied up, knotted, plaited or stitched and drawn up before dyeing.
Another form is the protecting of the fabric by placing or sewing on
stencils or clamping between engraved plates before dyeing. A third
group of processes includes the negative reserve pattern, where a pat-
tern is painted onto the fabric with one or more mordants. When the
cloth is dyed and washed the pattern appears where the mordant reacted
with the dye.7 A fourth form is batik which is the process of primary
concern in this study. The word batik in Malay comes from the sound
"tic" derived from the dropping of the wax on the cloth8 and denotes a
certain method of applying resist dyed patterns to finished fabrics.

That part of the design which is to remain free of dye is carefully
covered, or "reserved" to protect it from contact with the dye. The
substance used for reserving or covering, usually liquid wax, but also
perhaps resin, paraffin, rice paste, clay or any other dyeproof sub-
stance, is called the resist.9 This protective coating can be re-applied
to different parts of the cloth for successive dye-baths to produce a
variety of patterns.

The origins of batik are obscure, but it has been suggested that

wax-batiks probably came either from Asia to Java where the process

 

7Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 39.

8Mattibelle Gettinger, personal correspondence to Joanne B. Eicher,
Spring 1974.

gAlfred Steinman. A Survey.of.Batik Desigg_(London: F. Lewis,~

Publishers, Ltd. The Tithe House, Leighon Sea, 1958), pp. 13-15.

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35

reached its highest accomplishments or perhaps from India, and finally
reached Europe.10 Batik may have been used in Java since the seventh
century, because twelve hundred year old figures of stone, wearing
garments decorated with similar patterns to those worn today on the
wax-batiks, were discovered in Java. Apparently these designs were
handed down through the centuries. According to one source some of the
earliest and finest batik were called tuli§_which means "writing" and
it is now thought the original tuli§_batik derived from "painter's"
art. The very finest tulis batik were almost always done by men but
later the noble women took over the art. However, it is felt that
common women along the coast have done it all along.11 From the thir-
teenth century the craft ceased to be the monopoly of the royal family
and spread to the whole court which in turn encouraged a rapid develop-
ment of motifs and colors. The art of batik progressed through the
centuries and developed into a powerful industry in Java, resulting in
a steady export to neighboring countries and also to Europe.12
Javanese batiks were introduced to Holland in the seventeenth
century and spread to other parts of Europe, but due to their exotic
appearance they were not readily accepted. When Sir Thomas Raffles
(1781-1826) in the nineteenth century gave a full description of the

processes and uses of batik, and when at the same time the European

 

10Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
The MIT Press, 1969), p. 39.

11Gettinger, correspondence with Joanne B. Eicher, Spring 1974.

12Steinman, A Survey of Batik Design, p. 13.

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36

merchants were looking for ways to expand the trade, the interest was
aroused for batik fabric. Therefore, they began to study the market,

the dyes, the procedure, and the best ways of producing machine batiks
cheaper than the costly handprinted originals.l3 When first producing
batiks, the Dutch used the Javanese technique, attempting to work in

the manner of Indonesian craftsmen; but eventually they began to experi-
ment with machine made batiks and established factories in Leyden (1835),
Rotterdam, Haarlem, Helmond, and Appledorn. However, as stated by
Rodenburg, the Dutch cotton printers did not immediately start to pro-
duce machine made batik for West Africa.14 During the 1890's batik
became popular in Europe, and handprinted fabrics which had little in
common with the true Javanese batiks were in great demand. For example,
in the early 1800's, batik evening gowns were used at the Berlin Court
in Germany. Machine made batik industries were also developed in

Glarus (1840's), Thurgau, and Zurich (1850's) in Switzerland, for export
to the British and Dutch Indies. But already in the 1870's the Swiss
encountered serious difficulties in continuing the production of machine
wax-prints, and during the economic difficulties of the 1920's the

large scale production of machine batiks in Europe collapsed. Only a few

individual manufacturers were able to continue the production.15

 

13Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 40.

14Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax—block Garments", p. 43.

15Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 41.

37

As mentioned in Chapter III the Javanese wax-batiks and the machine
made batiks were introduced to West Africa in the nineteenth century by
various means; such as, traders, merchants, explorers, missionaries,
and soldiers who had returned from service in Indonesia. Apparently
Previnaire at Haarlem in Holland made the first machine made wax-prints
for West Africa, because Flemming, from the Scotch Brown Flemming
Company, about 1893 reported that the West Africans were very fond of
‘wax-prints, especially the designs from Previnaire. The speciality of
Previnaire was red dyeing, but the firm abandoned it to concentrate on
the printing of machine batiks for West Africa. However, the quantity
produced and sold is unknown because all records were kept by the
Previnaire family and presumably have been lost.16

Production of African wax-prints began in Lancashire, England, at
the end of the nineteenth century and became part of the Manchester trade
structure. The most famous of the English wax-print manufacturers was
Newton Banks Works of the Calico Printers Association, Manchester (known
today as the English Calico, Ltd.).17 The merchant converters in
Manchester at first had the cloth produced in Holland, but later on it
was also produced in England and elsewhere. For example, virtually
the whole trade of Dutch wax-prints was handled by United African Com-

pany (UAC) of Manchester; but some smaller firms also participated.18

 

16Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-block Garments", p. 47.
17Butler, "Sales of British Cotton Goods", p. 12.

18"Manchester's African Trade", West Africa (September 16, 1950),

 

p. 850.

38

Basel Trading Company (BTC), Switzerland, attempted to obtain
wax-prints for West Africa from UAC but was unsuccessful. Therefore,
they decided to produce their own prints. They bought a mill in Glarus-
Ennenda, ordered the designs from UAC, and started the production.

This was the beginning of the Swiss wax-print production for West
Africa, 1922-24.19

African craftsmen had for some time made starch resist cloth which
was well accepted by the Africans. Consequently, to cater to the con-
servative tastes of the consumer and to attempt to gain a stronger
foothold on the West African textile market, the European textile
printers made special trips to the West coast to bring back examples of
the indigenous cloth, which they copied. African prints, inspired by
the designs of such African cloth, are now held in the "Charles Beving
Collection" in the British Museum, in the "Rachel Kay Shuttlework
Collection" in Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire, England, and in the
"Collection of Printed Textiles for Export to Africa" in the Etnografisch
Museum, Antwerp, Belgium.

In summary, fabric decoration can be traced back to the ancient
civilizations and may have existed as long as the art of weaving. Even
if various cultures borrowed designs from one another, groups acquired
characteristic manners of expression all their own, and their cultural
heritage was reflected in their decorations. The African wax-prints
can be traced to the batiks of the Far East, and reached West Africa in

the nineteenth century by way of Indonesia and Europe by means of

 

19Voirol, Director, Hohlenstein, Ltd., personal interview, 1971.

39

returning Ashanti soldiers, and various traders, merchants, explorers,
and missionaries. They were first produced in Holland and later in
England, Switzerland, and other European countries, and eventually
became an important part of the Manchester trade structure. In the
following chapter the contemporary production of African wax-printed

textiles is presented.

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CHAPTER V

CONTEMPORARY PRODUCTION AND USE OF WAXFPRINTED TEXTILES
FOR WEST AFRICA AND ZAIRE

During the summer of 1971 the investigator visited the only three
remaining factories in Europe which practiced the ancient craft of wax«
printing on cloth intended for export to Africa. They were as follows:

A. Brunnschweiler (UK), Ltd., Manchester, England.

Hatema-Texoprint nv., Helmond, Holland.

Hohlenstein Textile Printing Werks, Ltd., Glarus, Switzerland.

The technique employed in the three factories was basically similar
to the one practiced in the eighteenth century except that the tech-
nology was ingeniously mechanized. The design was printed with hot
resin on both sides of high quality cotton fabric of plain weave, it
was dyed indigo, and the resin was washed out, leaving a blue pattern on
a white background. Thereafter, colors were added by successive re—

peated procedures, hand-blocking or printing.

Development of Printed Textiles in England

During the seventeenth century Indian printed and painted cottons
(chintz) became popular in Europe, and since the demands could not be

satisfied by sufficient imports, attempts were made in various,parts of

40

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41

Europe to produce imitations of the chintz.l In the 1670's European
calico printers were successful in mastering the difficult dyeing
processes which were basic to the production of chintzes.2 It appears
that Huguenot textile printers who fled to England in the seventeenth
century were the first to introduce the technique of producing imita-
tion prints in England.3 William Sherwin, an engraver of West Ham,
founded the first calico printing works, east of London.4 Other
printers established themselves in Lancashire, Derbyshire and Scotland,
and by 1840 there were 93 firms in Lancashire and 70 in Scotland. On
November 8th, 1899, the Calico Printers' Association, Ltd. was formed“
under the chairmanship of F. F. Grafton, and it included 85 percent of
the British calico printing industry with 32 printers in England and
14 in Scotland. In addition, the association included 5 Manchester
merchants, 5 Glasgow merchants and 3 from other towns.

Some time during the evolution of the printed textile industry in
England, the technique of producing machine copies of the genuine
Javanese batiks was introduced. According to one source it came to

England before 1865,6 but another source suggests that the production of

 

1Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, p. 15.
2"Printed Textiles", Encyclopedia Britanica, Vol. XXI (1971), p. 913.
3Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, p. 15.

4Pettit, "America's Printed and Painted Fabrics", p. 75.

5Calico Printers' Association, Ltd., Fiftngears of Calico Printigg_
(Manchester: Calico Printers' Association, Ltd., 1949), pp. 14—18.

6Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, p. 46.

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42

these prints began in Lancashire at the end of the nineteenth century.7
These wax-prints became a part of what in the literature is referred to
as Manchester cloth or African prints. In 1893 we learn of export to
West Africa of wax-prints, when Mr. Flemming, a shipper from Steiner
and Company in Scotland, discovered that the Africans had developed an
interest in wax-prints. Consequently, he started to trade in these
prints which he obtained from Previnaire in Holland.8 This suggests

that such prints were not in general production in England at that time.

History of Brunnschweiler,iLtd.

K. A. Brunnschweiler, born in Switzerland in 1848, made his appren-
ticeship in a Swiss firm producing among other things imitation Madras
handkerchiefs which were presented at the great exhibition of 1851 in
London.9 He got involved in the "Madras" trade, and when he immigrated
to England in 1863 to work for his Swiss uncle, J. G. Wirth, of J. G.
and A. Wirth, he apparently continued the selling of Swiss "Madras"
cloth, presumably mostly to merchants trading in west Africa. In the
1870's he became acquainted with the real Madras which he incorporated

into the trade,10 and in 1874 he established himself in.Manchester to

 

7Butler, The London Times, p. 12.

 

8Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-Block Garments," p. 46.

9A. 0. Brunnschweiler, History_of the Madras Handkerchief Trade.
Unpublished lecture notes. Manchester (1957), p. 2.

loBrunnschweiler, History of the Madras Handkerchief Trade, p. 3.

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43

deal in the Madras trade. Plate II, No. 95 shows an example of Madras
intended for Africa. He continued to deal with West Africa from a
distance, but did not send a representative to the West coast before
1928. And when branches were opened in 1934 they were still operated
at the names of their respective managers, according to Mr. Cooper
(Brunnschweiler, Ltd.), who himself spent many years working in Nigeria
and Sierra Leone, and gave evidence of first hand knowledge about the
trade with textiles. He also stated that the branch in Freetown,
followed by the one in Nigeria, was in 1941 registered under the
Brunnschweiler name, but continued to trade as a private company until
1960, specializing in the Madras trade but also selling wax-prints.

In 1960 the Calico Printers Association (CPA), which traded in printed
cloth to West Africa, decided to acquire a direct line of wax-prints
to West Africa, and since the Brunnschweiler firm was already well-
established in the Madras trade, the CPA bought the company and en-
couraged them to further develop the wax-print trade just as they had
done the Madras trade. Consequently these two specialities became the
backbone of the Brunnschweiler trade with West Africa. They were
competing with the Dutch, and the French Company C.F.A.O. who c00perated
with the Japanese and made a serious attempt to acquire the wax-print
market in Africa. After World War II the Japanese succeeded in taking
the market in East Africa, but Brunnschweiler Ltd. were concentrated
on the countries of West Africa and Zaire. The company became part of
CPA in 1960. In 1968 the Calico Printers Association merged with the

English Sewing Cotton Company to form the English Calico, Ltd., and

44

A. Brunnschweiler (UK), Ltd., was the trading name for the African

section.11

In 1971 the English Calico, Ltd., was probably the only
manufacturer of African "48" printed cotton textiles in Great Britain.

This company also has joined with the government of Zaire and two other

parties in the establishment of a print works at Kinshasa, Zaire.

Brunnschweiler Production

Two major production lines of African prints exist, stated
Mr. C00per: 1) wax-prints, and 2) fancy prints. Wax-prints are wax-
batiks which imitate the genuine Java batiks, but they are machine
printed rather than hand—painted. The fancy prints included Green
Ground, Alizarine, Blotch print, and straight/forward roller print,
imitating the white spots and crackled lines, distinctive to African
wax-prints. For many years the fancy prints formed a large part of the
Brunnschweiler production, but as a result of the CPA take-over and
growing Japanese competition in fancy prints the emphasis was changed
to wax-prints.

The investigator was invited to observe the production of African
wax-prints. Brunnschweiler imported bulks of 117 yard long pieces of
Gray cotton cloth from Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, India and Pakistan
which were sewn together in lengths of 12,000 yards for the manu-
facturing of the printed cloth. The cotton was bleached, straightened
and printed with resins on both sides by engraved copper rollers, and

as the fabric fell down in layers, the resin creased and the material

 

11L. Cooper, Director, Brunnschweiler, Ltd., personal interview,

1971.

:zperaturc
:afiric thr

Between ea

45

acquired the "cracked" lines characteristic of Javanese batik. Some-
times it was sent through a wringer to produce the same effect. In this
duplex process of waxing both sides of the cloth were printed simul-
taneously, one side a little ahead of the other. Such a misfit was
exploited for the purpose of adding a subtle effect to the cloth. Mr.
Cooper pointed out that it was significant for good results that the
temperature of the resin be exact. The next step involved passing the
fabric through several indigo dye baths, interrupted by oxidation
between each bath. The cloth appeared green after the first dip, but
turned more and more blue after each subsequent dip and airing. This
was followed by a washing to remove nearly all the wax, but purposely
leaving small spots of resin on the cloth until the terminal washing to
produce spots called "lights". Application of further coloring was
done by a continuous machine process, a treatment which had to be very
exact for satisfactory result and was regarded a trade secret (Plate I).
Only occasionally did they use the hand-block technique. Throughout the
printing every attempt was made to retain the effect and appearance
produced by the old established hand-block method. No wash and wear
finish was applied, because the African customer prefers design and eye
appeal over convenience.

In 1971 Brunnschweiler presented 800 samples in their showroom, and
offered a total range of 4,500 engraved designs, but had records of
20,000 different patterns on rollers, photographs, or cloth samples.

The chef d'atelier, Mr. T. Jones, pointed out that a print was taken off
production if there were no sales during a 4 or 5 year period; yet it
was never considered dead, and was re-introduced when orders were

received. The company employed 40 designers and produced about 25 new

46

PLATE I

Plate I is an illustration of how the depth and vividness of the same
design was improved by additional color application. No. 90 has only

indigo and white colors; No. 91 has one color added, and No. 92 has
two colors added.

1.19

47

 

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PLATE I

48

designs a week. 'Many of the traditional designs originated from the
Scottish firm, Brown Flemming, which was taken over by F. W. Grafton

in the 1920's. Between 1930 and 1960 several Print producers were
merged with Graftons, and in 1961 Grafton and Brunnschweiler merged, both
then being part of C.P.A. In 1930 Grafton re-recorded their designs
embracing all collections. C.P.A. registers all designs printed by them

and this procedure was continued for Brunnschweiler.

DeveloPment of Production in Holland

 

Historically Holland was always a country well-known for its textile
industry, including printed fabrics.12 In 1678 the first establishment
for cotton printing using the Indian technique was built by Jacob ter Gou
and Hendrik Popta at Amersfoort.13 By the second half of the eighteenth
century the Dutch printers succeeded in copying the Asiatic cottons by
using copper plates, but keen competition from the English, French and
Germans, together with the economic and import restrictions imposed by
various countries, gradually reduced the number of print shops.14
Originally the textile factories were situated in the southern Nether-
lands, but when this region in 1830 received independence and was named
Belgium, it was considered necessary to build some textile factories in

Holland, and consequently King Willem I established three new factories

 

I 12"Hatema-Texoprint n.v.", American Fabrics, No. 92 (Winter 1971-72),
p. 20.
13Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-Block Garments", p. 48.

1['Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, p. 118.

 

49

that same year. .One of these factories was Previnaire at Haarlem which
bought up the print works of Poelman in 1842 and the print works of
Wilson's in 1872. After years of struggle Previnaire was producing well
by 1900.

P. F. van Vlissingen & Company was founded in 1846 as a Calico print
work in Helmond, and it specialized in batik-like prints produced by the
handblock method for export to the Netherland Indies. By the end of the
century the firm had acquired high esteem as batik printers, especially
in Java, but was also exporting to East and West Africa.15 In the begin-
ning, the Dutch attempted to use the Javanese technique in making hand-
blocked batiks, employing craftsmen from Indonesia, but as stated by one
writer, the results lacked the richness and charm of the Javanese
batiks.16 In 1835 the first batik factory was established in Leyden,
and shortly after was followed by factories in Rotterdam, Haarlem, Helmond
and Apeldoorn. However, as mentioned by Robinson, these first attempts
were hardly imitations but rather work in the manner of Indonesian
craftsmen.17

In 1852 Previnaire invented a machine called the "Javanaise" which
could produce batik with the appearance of handmade prints, and after
having specialized in various textiles the company eventually concentrated

on the printing of textiles for Africa. According to Rodenburg,

 

15"Hatema-Texoprint n.v.", American Fabrics, No. 92 (Winter 1971-72),

 

p. 22.

16Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 40.

 

17Robinson, A History of Dyed Textiles, p. 41.

 

.11!

Li

50

Previnaire was the first to make machine made batik for West Africa
(in 1893)18 and, the firm kept up the production until 1918 when it

closed as a result of World War I.19

History of Texoprint

 

At the end of the nineteenth century, Haarlemsche Katoendrukkerij,
the former Previnaire at Helmond was the most outstanding printer of
wax-prints, and it was noticed that this factory also designed and
manufactured wax-prints to the order of Messrs. Brown Flemming in
Manchester. However, in 1920 "Haarlemsche Katoendrukkerij", was liqui-
dated and van Vlissingen acquired their original design collection, even
though Brown Flemming of England insisted on his rights to the designs,
because they were produced in England as well. During the financial
crisis in the 1920's the van Vlissingen Company of Helmond also took over
designs and sample books from the liquidated "Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij,"
and furthermore acquired another wax-print collection when the factory
of Ankersmit at Deventer closed down in 1966.20 In 1969 the Helmond
factory known as Vlisco merged with another large textile manufacturer,
Hatema,to form one of the largest printed fabric producers in

Europe and one of the major textile producers in the worEd, and

 

18Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-Block Garments", p. 46.
19Rodenburg, "Dutch Wax-Block Garments", p. 48.
206. H. Krantz, Director of Texoprint, n.v. correspondence, February

17, 1971.

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51

became known as Gamma Holding nv. Up to 1970 the company operated 17

production facilities, employed 4500 persons, and produced 2,000 new

designs.21 One of its divisions was devoted to the production of

exotic prints intended for markets in Africa, and acquired participating

ownership in five overseas printworks located in Ghana, Ivory Coast,

Nigeria, and Zaire.22 This African division employed 1,500-2,000

people, including 25 designers, and was the only division that employed

designers; the others bought all their designs. The division held

4,000 designs but only 2,000 were in actual production in 1971.

Two thousand designs were taken off production because no orders had

been placed for them in the preceding two years. However, it was stated

that any design could be brought into production on a short notice.

Approximately 200 new designs were added annually.23
During World War II the factory encountered various restrictions.

G. H. Krantz related how the factory continued secretly to produce African

wax-prints. The laboratory director worked day and night to improve his

prints and to achieve high standards, while others were successful in

concealing the prints between layers of paper; they were never discovered

by the occupying Germans. As a result of his efforts the Dutch at the

end of the war could send three shipments of printed cloth to West Africa

to supply an eagerly waiting market.24

 

21Krantz, personal interview, 1971.

22"Hatema-Texoprint, n.v.", American Fabrics, No. 92 (Winter 1971-72),

p.22.
23

 

Krantz, personal interview, 1971.

2['Krantz, personal interview, 1971.

 

52

Texoprint Production

Mr. Krantz informed the investigator that Vlisco (Texoprint) pro«
duced: 1) non waxvprints; and 2) wax—prints (batiks) for the market in
Africa. The nondwaxes were: a) Java’s (Dutch Java prints, alizarine
dyed and reserve printed large repeats (Plate II, No. 94); b) Khangas
(special prints with large repeats and printed proverb, produced until
recently for East Africa (Plate II, No. 96); and c) Imitation African
waxes (cloth printed as direct roller prints, imitating the white spots
and crackled lines, distinctive'of’African‘wax—prints).

The manufacturing process was somewhat similar to the‘one'observed
in Manchester. A comparative analysis is presented on pages 58 and 59,

pointing out how the Dutch technique differs from the English and Swiss.

Development of Production in Switzerland

As previously stated, in the early seventeenth century fast—dyed,
mmlti-colored printed and painted cottons became very popular in Europe.
The increasing demand encouraged the establishment of European print
works and expended trade. Already in 1599, according*to the old
Tegwensbuch of Glarus (Switzerland), s fulling mill wee erected "at the
hollow stones" by'Master Johann Kaser.25 When some other European govern-
mente (for example, Frence end England) in the seventeenth end eighteenth
centuries issued decrees egeinet import end printing of cotton goods,
Switzerland did not have any such restrictions, end the printing textile

industry flourished.

 

25Hohlenstein Textildruckerei AG, "Glarner Batik in West Africa"
(Ennenda-Glarus, Switzerland: no date), p. l.

53

 

w my: a
.. "n

a
.2 .6.“
.2 : ...

a ..
.ow

 

.09--- 0.— 0“.

PLATE II

 

b) Khanga

54

The first two print works were founded in Geneva in 1687 and 1689
and employed printers from Lyons. The most famous manufacturer was
Jean-Solomon Fazy (1709-82) who had learned calico printing in Holland
and established his own print works which became a learning center for
block designers and manufacturers from many countries. In Zurich,
David Esslinger (1679-1750) started to print cottons in 1720, but others
had been active in printing before him, probably since the turn of the
century. Many small print works were established in Berne about 1706,
but the most important areas were the cantons of Neuchatel in the West
(17008) where the Huguenots had settled in the seventeenth century, and
where the roller printing technique was adopted, and Glarus in the East
(late 17th century).26 In 1740 Landmajor Johann Streiff (1708-1780) of
Glarus established the first plant for cloth printing, producing mainly
'wax or paste resists on an indigo—blue ground with geometrical and
stylized flower designs, and became the founder of an extensive factory
system in the canton Glarus.27 In 1829 Heinrick Tschudi bought the lo-
cation of the old fulling mill at Glarus at which a certain Jakob Jenny
from Ennenda ran an indigo—dyeing mill at the time.28 By 1840 Glarus
was renowned for its wide variety of printed cloths, by 1860 machine

printing was introduced, and in 1865 the textile industry in Glarus

employed over 6,200 people, working in 22 factories, which produced

 

26Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, pp. 120—21.

27Albert Mueller (Konservator), "Der Zeugdruck in Museum des Landes
Glarus in Nafelt" (Glarus Museum Publication, no date, pp. 11-12).

28Hohlenstein, "Glarner Batik in West Africa", p. l.

 

.-
I

258

. V
’r.
‘5‘:

:
)

{1‘
p ..

l

’U

L.‘

55

approximately 48,000 kilometers of printed cloth annually, and brought
into the province 25 million francs, making it the most industrial valley
in the Alps.29

A batik industry was also developed in Switzerland (Glarus, Thurgau
and Zurich) for export to India and the Dutch East Indies. The cloth
was printed with wooden blocks reproducing the original hand painted
Javanese batiks. The first Sarongs were made in 1842 by the firm P.
Blumer and Jenny, and in 1860-61 Egidius Trumpi at Glarus began to imi-
tate the true wax effect by applying a reserve of colophonium with wooden

blocks and dyeing with indigo.30

By the late 1870's the Swiss experi-
enced great difficulty in continuing economic production despite the

use of superior dyes and the excellence of their crackle effects, because
the Indonesian merchants were able to reduce their prices. Gradually

the batik print works as well as the formerly prosperous calico printers
closed down due to foreign competition, hindering tariff agreements,
changing fashions, and the introduction of double printing. In 1971

Hohlenstein Printing Works in the town of Ennenda was the only factory

producing wax-batik textiles for the African market.

History of Hohlenstein Printing Works
The Hohlenstein Textile Printing Werks Joint-stock Company at Glarus,

Switzerland, was situated in Ennenda but with the offices in Glarus on

 

29Kaspar Freuler, "Aus der Geschichte des glarnerischen Zeugdrucks"
(Publication Glarner Land Museum, Switzerland, No. date).

BQM. L. Nabholz-Kartaschoff, personal correspondence with Joanne B.
Eicher, April 6, 1973. (Museum for Vblkerkunde and Schweizerische
Museum Fur Volkskunde, Basel Switzerland)

56

the opposite bank of the river Linth which divides the two towns.
According to the director, Mr. Voirol, Hohlenstein was in the beginning
operated by the Basel Trading Company which was one of the first estab-
lished trading companies on the coast of West Africa. It was first
organized in Ghana and Nigeria to provide articles from the homeland

for the missionaries in West Africa, but as the Africans learned to
appreciate and consequently to request the imported goods, the company
expanded and became independent of the Basel Mission. During WOrld war I
the name Basel Trading Company (BTC) was adopted.

As previously mentioned, in 1922-24 the company attempted to obtain
wax-prints intended for West Africa from the United African Company (UAC)
but they were unsuccessful and therefore decided to produce their own
prints. The mill in Glarus-Ennenda was bought, the designs were ordered
from UAC and sent to Glarus for reproduction, and a production was
started of Swiss wax—prints for West Africa. During World War II in-
creasing trade difficulties forced Hohlenstein to deal with West Africa
through a wholesale firm, and after the war it was decided to restrict
the sales to Ghana and Nigeria.” When the Ghana market was closed the
distribution was shifted to Nigeria and Zaire, and the wax—prints were
then re-distributed from Lagos (Nigeria) to other markets. In 1960 the
Basel Trading Company started to Operate its own factories in Ghana and
Nigeria utilizing the Glarus system of textile printing, and in 1969 an
additional factory was opened in Dakar (Senegal). Hohlenstein had no
market among Afro-Americans because the demand was too small to set up a
production line. The Hohlenstein Textile Manufacturing Company decided

to close down its production of wax—prints in the summer of 1973.

57

Hohlenstein Production

The Hohlenstein factory was surrounded by mountains, 2 to 3,000
meters high, supplying plenty of glacial water, which, explained Voirol,
contained a fine grade of sand that aided in the process of washing
off the wax from the cloth. Production of wax-batiks was difficult and
required great skill, because the technique employed was almost the
same as the one used centuries ago. Since so much work was put into
the production of the prints they deserved a high quality cloth to assure
a good appearance; consequently the ground cloth was imported from
Taiwan and considered to be of a superior quality to the one used for
regular cotton prints. The steps in the process of manufacturing wax-
prints at Hohlenstein were as follows: First the cloth was provided
with resist printing, using a resin from the stone—pines of the Louisiana
(USA) marshes. Next, when cooled down the cloth was drawn over big
wheel frames that were dipped into the dyeing baths, followed by 36
hours of rinsing and interrupted by periods of aeration. Not until
after this preparation were the illuminating colors impressed by hand
with wooden blocks or "moulds" made of pear wood pieces covered with
absorbing materials which were impregnated with colors (Plate I, No. 93).
The final stage of the process was the drying of the prints in the
"hanging tower", a tower—like structure with overhanging roof projections

where the cloths were hung to dry after the final dyeing and washing.31

 

31"Batik", International Trade Journal for Contract and Home Fur—
nishings, No. 10 (October, 1969), p. 66.

58
Gunparison ' Of ' the ’ManufaCturers 'TeChnIQUes

The three manufacturers followed the same general procedure in pro-
duction of wax-printed textiles for Africa, but some marked differences
were observed. Much of the work is performed by hand in the Swiss
production, compared to England where the factory was largely mechanized.
Furthermore, the Swiss employed a larger number of women in making the
prints. Resin was imported, but the blending and standardization dif-
fered and was a trade secret. Since the Swiss used small amounts of
resin, they were unable to blend. They all considered an exact tempera-
ture of the wax of utmost importance. The English and the Dutch had
extensive breaking of the wax, but no breaking took place on the Swiss
cloth. The British and the Dutch purposely left spots of resin (wax) on
the cloth until the terminal washing to produce spots called "lights",
but the Swiss made no such attempts. Indigo ground color was generally
used in England, while in Switzerland brown, or lately, brown/indigo was
preferred. In Holland, brown, dark red and lately dark orange, dull
green and combinations of indigo/orange, indigo/red, indigo/brown were
made. The Swiss apparently also differed in drawing the cloths on wheel
frames during the dyeing process. Furthermore, the Swiss producers dif-
fered from the others in air-drying of the cloths in "Hanging towers" at
40-450 F. (Apparently brown cloth cannot dry on high temperatures with-
out detrimental effect.) All manufacturers alternated dyeing and oxida-
tion of the indigo cloth, repeated up to ten times. The Swiss claimed
that the sand in the glacial water used for the washings aided in the
removal of the wax. The Dutch stated that they used special soft water
for washings which together with their special blend of resin produced

clear edges and a bright appearance. Additional colors were added in

59

England by special printing of the cloth on both sides, using engraved
rollers. This was a procedure that demanded great exactness for satis-
factory results and was considered a trade secret. Holland and
Switzerland applied additional colors by hand blocking which the English
used in exceptional cases only. Typical for the Swiss was production of
one color prints (that is, one color in addition to the ground color)
and relatively few two color prints, but the others still produced two
or three color prints. A wash and wear finish is now being used by the
Dutch in a luxury article printed on a fine cambric cotton cloth which
has proved to be a success. No wash and wear finishes were used by the

English and the Swiss manufacturers (Table 5.1).

The Use of Wax-Prints in WeSt Africa and Zaire

 

During her stay in West Africa the investigator noticed that many
of the people attached great importance to their dress, and it was well-
known that in some countries, for example, Ivory Coast, Ghana and
Nigeria, they would invest much of their capital in cloth for themselves
and their wives. Wealthy people frequently changed apparel, and some
had an immense variety of robes. Even the poor people would attempt to
have several changes or at least one good handsome cloth to wear on gala
days. Imported wax-prints were a sign of prestige, and the rich were
known to have a collection of such prints along with their own indigenous
cloths. Mr. Voirol (Hohlenstein) stated that it was not unusual for an
important person to have 70 to 80 wax-prints in his wardrobe, and that
African ambassadors stationed in Europe or traveling through Switzerland

often would stop at Glarus to stock up on wax-prints.

.‘mnndfid~vu--pvei.~. unedh d.U-u~v~vld.~ hAe -A~$--~ ~...e~:~av..1.v < I N. 1&1 3NA-V.N,.

60

.Amuouoom opouuv oHanHm>wnn coaumauownw mossy

 

madame a“ code
.m omeuoe

 

 

 

 

:muoaou woawnmn: eschew ea hookup afi weaken
muoaoo NIH muoaoo mIH mnoaoo mud
wafixooan
loam: HoaOfimoooo
muonoom ovmnuv
waaxuoanuenaa meaxuoanueeme schemata nudges Hmaoauaee<
=muemwaz
convene ou unsound on :munwaaz new umoH Mos :mustH: Mom umoa Mos
nouns Hafiooaw nouns umom Hofloomm .
woumoaou venomous woumomou wnwnmmz
.wmwomp (wwwohp (wwfiumo
soak unannouao sues oumououam sufia unannouam cowumvaxo
muses on
.mmafiu OH on a: .moaau OH ou an .ooaHu OH cu m:
woumomou venomous pounced“
museum Hosea mnwmmfip ofioum
museum ozone punch» owwvnfi onnouw owfivafi mnwohn

 

uouoom ovmuu

umuoom ovmuu

 

=muewaa= on =muemaa= =muemaa=

wnaxmoun was on wafixmonn no: woexmoun Hos

.vovaoan no .wovnoan Axo3v swoon .vooooan .Axmsv swoon
pouavumunoum no: canon pouapuowaoum vmufivumpnmum Axmsv swoon
pooauouuasm onoHHom pemdmwm mommoooum

 

 

 

 

 

 

emoovfiosooa sofiuonvoum mo nomauomaoo <

 

.H.m «Hams

61

The wax-prints (produced at Brunnschweiler, Texoprint, and
Hohlenstein) were still in great demand in West Africa in 1974, even if
these prints made up only a relatively small percentage of the total
cloth market. They were in general use from Senegal in the north to
zaire in the south as the best cloth for holidays and special occa-
sions. In certain areas the sales would amount to 50 percent of the
cloth market, according to Mr. Krantz (Texoprint), but generally it was
less. Abidjan in the Ivory Coast had a large market for wax-prints,
but in Chad (as in East Africa) the people placed little importance on
tradition and consequently used imitations of the genuine African wax-
prints instead. Such imitations were also used in Tamale in Northern
Ghana until about 1954 when the first wax-prints were introduced.
Wax-prints have been increasingly popular ever since. Mr. Voirol
claimed that the cloth printed in West Africa was actually as good as
the European, but that the Africans for some reasons preferred the
imported prints. Mr. Jones (Brunnschweiler) volunteered that there
were two kinds of prospective customers: 1) those who knew what they
wanted, maybe because they were already acquainted with the waxeprints;
and 2) those who did not know what they wanted, and when they saw the
wax-prints did not want them anyway.

According to the informants, people in the different West African
countries as well as Zaire had different preferences of design and color,
just as did the people living in the cities compared to those in the
country. Interestingly enough, cloth with designs regarded as fashion-

able in one area was described as dowdy in a neighboring district.32

 

32Ellen Thorp, Ladder of Bones (London: Jonathan Cape, 1956), p. 172.

62

Apparently many Africans preferred something intermediate between the
traditional and the fashionable. Mr. Preece (Brunnschweiler), who
constantly traveled to west Africa and who specialized in the wax-
prints for the French speaking territories, stated that Zaire and Ghana
were primarily interested in the traditional designs, while Nigeria was
less interested, except for the Rivers area (Port Harcourt district)
where the people favored the traditional more than they did in Lagos.
After the Biafran conflict the Nigerians requested prints with predwar
designs, but since these had been taken out of production they were
unavailable. Therefore, the Nigerians had no other choice but to accept
the prints intended for Togo and Zéire, even if the motifs were too
traditional for their likes. A cocoa farmer from Ghana would probably
be very conservative in his choice of color, but he might nevertheless,
prefer a cloth with patterns such as typewriters or umbrellas rather
than, as in previous days, a "medicine bag" design. Some of the designs
were very ephemeral. For example, in Zaire a picture of a factory pro-
ducing textiles for the local agent soon declined in favor; and else-
where, Dutch windmills and Western heraldic designs quickly dropped in
popularity.33 Naturally the European producers were watching the popu-
larity of the various prints. It was stated that they often took a
chance with new designs, but they observed that if the customer shopping
for cloth took a quick casual look and put it back, it probably would
have little chance for popularity. However, if she stayed with it,

adored it and discussed it with other customers, the print would stand

 

33Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

63

a good chance.34 The better the design the longer its popularity would
last, and some designs selling today date back seventy or more years.
Generally the motifs used on the African wax-prints are common property,
but once in a while a chief or family clan will "buy" a pattern and it
may thereafter be used exclusively by the owner. In the Western world
a woman at a party would attempt to wear a dress different from anyone
else, but in West Africa the best and most expensive design of wax-print
would be worn by a number of people. In the Ivory Coast, prints with
distinctive white spots were popular and in the Cameroons the people had
a liking for cloth with large designs. In general, the West African
consumer was a person of taste, who knew what he (she) wanted, and who
usually was prepared to pay the price of the wax—prints, provided they
were of the desired design and the right tone of color.35 J\

Color preferences varied considerably from country to country,
stated the European manufacturers. In zaire they preferred brown cream,
maroon, pink, purple, and a light green and yellow. Recently they also
adopted a cloth with a greenish effect which was derived from yellow/
blue. This cloth had been in popular use along the West Coast the previ—
ous four years, but at the time of the interview the people on the coast
had changed to tangerine/indigo and tangerine/yellow cloths. In Ghana
the bright blues and yellow were popular as well as the green/black.

East Nigeria gave preference to white, bordeaux, deep red, and yellow.

 

34E. Voirol, personal interview, 1971.

35L. Cooper, personal interview, 1971.

64

Togo did not like very bright colors. Ivory Coast cherished brown, dark
brown, yellow red, dark red, yellows and greens. Generally the rural
people had a preference for darker colors, while city people liked the
brighter. Consequently the special fashions and color preferences of
the various regions had to be honored, because the customer would only
buy cloth within his (her) chosen color range. The traditional color
range is indigo blue, dark maroon, dark green, ochre yellow and all
tones of brown and cream. The reason for this choice of color range is,
according to one writer, that these sombre tones take on great richness
when seen against the African landscape.36 In Northern Ghana a special
cloth called "wax-covered" was used by the poor. It was an indigo/white
cloth printed in Java design which was printed over arbitrarily with
an orange color.

In Ghana the wax-prints were used by men as well as women and chil-
dren. They used the wax-prints as a national costume, draped around
the body in a traditional way,37 but at times they also made the fabric
into western style shirts and dresses. It was expressed by one writer
that the consumers in Ghana were very discriminating in their choices,
and that they were able to distinguish a genuine wax-print at a distance
of 50 feet by its characteristic fissures caused by the cracking of the

hardened wax-resist, and that they would even check it against imitation

 

36Grace Fraser, Textiles by Britain (London: G. Allen and Unwin,

1943), p. 104.

37Wolfson, Pageant of Ghana, p. 139.

65

by tasting the cloth for the presence of indigo dye.38 Ghana was con-
sidered the fashion center of Africa by the manufacturers. In Nigeria
wax-prints were used occasionally and to a much lesser degree by the
men, but were used extensively by the women and to some degree by the
children. In Zaire the prints were used by women and children only.

Mr. Krantz mentioned that when a market woman died in West Africa it was
customary to exhibit her entire wardrobe of wax-prints, and that the
collection of treasured designs would give an idea of the status and
life of the deceased. Obviously she was esteemed according to the
number and value of the wax-prints.

It was an important part of the West African tradition to use printed
fabrics of certain color and design for special events, and to attach
special significance to design and color.39 wax-prints were especially
used for important occasions as burial cloth, funeral garments, wedding
and anniversary dress, national costume, dress for church attendance,
and for official and state functions. A design often received a name
from the consumer and might refer to his (her) conception of the design,
or personal circumstances connected with the purchase or wearing of the
cloth.40 An example of how a cloth connoted certain ideas of the wearer
was the design used in Zaire and known as the "six bougies." This
particular cloth presented a pattern of 6 spark plugs and conveyed the

idea that the person wearing it was held to be big and highly powered.41

 

38Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

39American Fabrics, No. 73 (1965-66), p. 65.

40Krantz, correspondence, June 26, 1973.

41Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

66

Another example was a well-accepted print from Hohlenstein with a motif
of 5 Olympic rings (about 1950). It became very popular in Ghana and
sold in millions of yards the next seven years, not because the people
wanted to honor the Olympic games, but because the rings to them became
a symbol of a very popular song at the time, which in part read some-
thing like this: "Don't be too unhappy because I am in prison and walk
with my hands tied." Actually they saw in the rings the chain that at
the time tied the political prisoners' hands. It appeared to the
investigator that they chose to wear this particular cloth for similar
reasons that many Americans were bracelets for the POW's kept in the
prison.camps of North Vietnam. It also seemed that the symbolic mean-
ing of many of the early designs were forgotten, and that the meaning
of a design meant different things to different people in the various
countries. The symbolism of African prints needs further investigation
and should be derived from the consumers' conceptions of the meaning.

The wax-prints were used primarily for clothing and were sold in
lengths varying from 3% to 12 yards, depending upon the location. In
Ghana it was cut in pieces of twelve yards, in Nigeria it was 6 to 8
yards, and in Zaire it was 4 3/4 yards in the past and that was still
the standard length in the country, while in the cities it sold in
lengths of 6 yards. Niger cut the cloth to 8 yard lengths, and Togo,
Dahomey and Ivory Coast cut it to 12 yards.

The costs of cloths, according to Mr. Voirol, can be arranged as
follows, the most expensive types of cloth listed first:

1. Handmade cloths

2. General wax-prints

3. Imitation wax-prints
4. General European roller prints

67

He further stated that wax-prints from various countries can be
arranged on a grading scale according to price, the most expensive
listed first:

1. Swiss made wax—prints

2. Dutch made wax-prints

3. English made wax-prints

4. Japanese made wax-prints

5. African made wax-prints

The Swiss cloth was sold in the markets cut in the following lengths:
3 3/4 yards, 6 yards, 8 yards, and 12 yards. The price depended on how
many colors were used, but in 1971 a one color print cost five Francs
per yard. The Dutch wax-prints would sell for 12 to 15 dollars per 12
yards in 1971, but would vary some according to the different countries.

In conclusion, in 1971 wax-printed textiles were produced for West
Africa and Zaire by three European manufacturers as well as an increasing
number of indigenous factories. One European print works (Switzerland)
was closed down in 1973. The process of manufacturing was largely
similar with some distinct differences, and by comparison the Swiss pro-
duction took considerable time, because they used much hand work. The
prints were made of high grade cotton, which was bleached, straightened,
and printed with resin (wax) to resist the dye where needed. The cloth
was passed through several dye baths, alternated with periods of oxida-
tion, and eventually washed to remove the wax. Additional coloring was
done by hand blocking or engraved copper rollers, and finally the cloth
was dried at a suitable temperature. The cloth is used almost exclusively

in west Africa where it has become an important part of the tradition to

use such prints for special occasions by men, women, and children.

68

The African wax-prints were signs of prestige and were collected and

kept by the consumers, and it was not unusual to exhibit the collection
of cloth of a deceased person to Show his (her) status in life. Great
variation in color and motifs was found in the wax-prints, with each
country and area expressing specific preferences. The symbolism of the
motifs is not always evident to the observer and needs further investiga-
tion based on the consumers' conceptions. The following chapter pro-
vides an analysis, description, and comparison of selected motifs and a

classification of the sample collections.

CHAPTER VI

ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLE COLLECTION

Two almost identical sample collections of African wax-prints
were obtained from the three manufacturers; one each in England, Holland,
and Switzerland. These collections, owned by Eicher and Nielsen, are
presently available for examination and additional studies at, respec-
tively, Michigan State University and Andrews University (Michigan).
Two hundred and twenty-five samples were obtained with 135 different
designs. The Nielsen collection described in this chapter contains 117
different samples produced from cotton fibers and constructed in plain
weave. The printing method in design application is wax-resistant.
(The Eicher collection contains 108 samples and a few of these were

included in the description and comparison.)

Design and Classification of wax-prints

From the designer's point of view a good textile design is one
that has a unified composition, serves the purpose intended for it, and
represents the culture that created it. It may echo the past or antici-
pate the future but it must above all else reflect the actual source of

its origin.1 Artists and designers have been employed by the textile

 

1Verla Birrell, The Textile Arts (New York: Harper and Brothers
Publishers, 1959), p. 8.

69

70

manufacturers to prepare imaginative forms and details in every known
color, shade and tone. The results have been a great variety of cotton
goods which have been placed on the market through the years, few of
which have been seen by the general public, as most people outside the
textile industry are unaware of the great number of beautiful textiles
available. This is especially true of the African wax-prints.

Classification of African wax-printed textiles has never been
seriously attempted, to the knowledge of this writer. Therefore, an
attempt was made to make a practical system of classification to be
used for the orderly arrangement and storage of wax-print collections.
Previous classification systems were worked out for other types of
textiles. For example, Sir Peter Buck (1911) used motif as the basic
criterion for grouping.2 Buck was concerned with the evolutionary
theory and attempted to determine the sequence of development of motifs.
W. J. Phillips (1966) restated and improved on Buck's classification,
emphasizing pattern analysis and description, and added another class
of motifs.3 Irene Emery (1966) developed an illustrated classification
of fabrics according to structure.4 Janet Harrell (1967) classified

the Eicher collection of handcrafted Nigerian textiles,5 according

 

2Sir Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa), "On the Maori Art of Weaving
Cloaks, Capes, and Kilts", New Zealand Dominion Museum Bulletin, No. 3
(1911), pp. 69-90.

3W. J. Phillips, Maori Pattern and Taniko Designs (Wellington:
Wingfield Press, 1960).

4Irene Emery, The Primary Structures of Fabrics. An Illustrated
Classification (Washington, D. C.: The Textile Museum, 1966).

5Janet Harrell, "Classification and Documentation of the Eicher
Collection of Selected Nigerian Textile Fabrics," An unpublished Master's
problems Michigan State University, 1967.

71

to region, fabric construction, design process and use for which.fabric
was designed, and S. M..Mead (1968) made a classification of Taaniko
patterns (Taaniko refers to a specialized ornamented cloth among the
Maori of NewZealand).6 He aimed at exhaustiveness, and focused attene~

tion on the dominant motif used. Patterns were graphed and photographed.

Desigg
African waxvprinted textiles are carefully and brilliantly designed

with exotic and beautiful motifs of unusual colors, and are prepared by
designers steeped in the tastes and traditions of the Africans.7 The
designs are either traditional or untraditional. A design is declared
traditional by manufacturers when in the course of time (i.e., after
three and more years) it was purchased regularly by the African market
in varying quantities. Such a design was at one time or another named
by the consumer and marketed under that name. When the.consumer bought
the cloth, it was kept throughout life and often exhibited after death.
as commemoration of the life and status of the deceased. .Therefore, the
three criteria for designating a textile as a "traditional.design” were:
1) that it was sold regularly over a course of years; 2) that it was
given a name; and 3) that it was kept and valued. Some traditional de-
signs dated back 85 or more years. The "Flying Duck" is an example.

Many others were dated pre-World War I and II, and some were post-

World War 11. Apparently there are various degrees of traditional

 

6Sidney M. Mead, The Art of Taaniko Weaving_(Wellington: A. H.
and A. W. Reed, 1968).

7Fraser, Textiles by Britain, p. 103.

 

72

designs, that is, some are more traditional than others, and, of course,
some are not traditional at all and therefore quickly drop out of pro-
duction and use. Krantz suggested that perhaps the tradition could be
kept alive by favorable construction of design and the very best use

of color proportions. When wax-prints are not significant enough to be
named by the consumers, they are not kept, not considered traditional
and soon cease to be produced.

The name of a design reflects either the consumer's conception of
the design or perhaps a personal experience or incident related to the
purchase or wearing of the print. Therefore, a traditional design would
indicate to the bystander certain known circumstances in which the
person wearing the cloth, was, is, or hopes to be.8 One writer stated
that once the African public gives the design a name, sales will con-
sistently continue to improve, even though the name may not appear to
the non—African to have any connection with the design.9

Messrs. Cooper, Jones, Krantz, and Voirol all agreed that it often
took.many years to produce a classic, and that there were no fixed rules
or directions on how to produce an exceptional African design. The
designer sometimes had certain expectations about a design but he would
not know how well it was accepted until he, after some time, saw the

sales record. The popularity of a design was the result of the totality

 

8Krantz, correspondence, June 26, 1973.

9Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

73

of the African culture, language, geography, and the environmental con-
ditions of the people.

Krantz pointed out that examination of the old "Haarlemsche
Katoendrukkeri" collection indicated great diversity of style and source
of inspiration. Motifs of designs in general have various inspira-
tional sources. According to Richard F. Bach of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York, designs always lived and prospered on: 1) the
inspiration of past masters acquired from.museum.collections; 2) the
inspiration brought by the consumers, direhted either by need or satis-
faction; and 3) the inspiration derived from living artists and crafts-
men who reflect current life that swirls around them.10 More specific-
ally the African wax-print designs were derived from the following
inspirational sources.

1) Indian cottons. Generally the Indian cottons provided a rich
legacy for the designers, including the pattern book of the East India
Company of the early 1800's.11 According to Albert Muller, curator of
the Glarus Museum, the Indian original patterns raise a fantastic world.
The pattern books have page after page of naturalistic drawings and
paintings in wild ecstaéy suiting the tastes of the people in distant

countries.12

 

loGarett warren, Romance of Desigg_(New York: Doubleday, 1926),
p. XIII.

11Robinson, A History of Printed Textiles, pp. 114-16.

12Albert Muller, "Der Zeugdruck in Museum des Landes Glarus in
Nafels".

74

2) Javanese batiks. Originally the designs and symbols of Java
batik were derived from natural forms and evolved toward the abstract.
Java batik was influenced by the myriad cultures and religions of Asia,
and designs were based on historical and mythological events as well as
local customs.13 The Dutch brought the Java batiks to Europe in the
seventeenth century, and in the nineteenth century they started to make
machine batik using craftmen from Indonesia. Undoubtedly Java batiks
served as inspirational sources for many years.

3) European prints. Some of the European prints could be traced
to other cultures and historic periods. According to Muller, the old
pattern books at the Museum Fur V31kerkunde und Schweiserishes Museum .
for Volkerkund at the Freuler Palace in Nafels, presented a vivid pic—
ture of the nineteenth century civilization; the colorful cheerfulness
of the peasant ornamentation was preserved in the oldest cloths, which
later on became the crucible of“ornaments and symbols from the whole
world, while batiks with amazing skill arose for destinationS'in Africa
and elsewhere. Fabrics were saturated with timeless symbols and bits of
history of civilization were handed down to us by‘the Glarus designers.14

4) African indigenous cloth. The designs of Manchester cloth,
including the African wax—prints, evolved from the indigenous hand tex-

tile industry of West Africa. The peoples of the West Coast have a

 

13"The 'Writing' of Batik" (Wood-Ridge, N- J-3 Craftools, Inc.),
p. 6.

14Albert Muller, "Der Zeugdruck in Museum des Landes Glarus in
Nafels".

75

highly developed sense of design, color, and quality, and their cotton
goods are an immensely important part of their'inherent‘culture.15

5) Traditional African objects and Symbols.' Another important
source of inspiration was the many traditional objects and symbols found
in West Africa. For example, a favorite motif in Ghana was the stool
used by rulers. Fertility was used 38‘8 motif for design by depicting
a woman and two children's heads,‘suggesting‘twins, or in‘another
instance a pod containing three beans which symbolize triplets.16

6) Contacts with consumers, traders, and market women in Africa.
Another source of inspiration was the direct contact with consumers,
the African traders and especially the market women who at times came
up with their own suggestions and requests. Designs from other companies
were also used and altered.

7) Historical events, current events, political figyres and ideas.
Generally non-traditional designs depicting political figures and
events were of short duration, except when the individual died an extra-
ordinary death (for examples, Lumumba and J. F. Kennedy). In 1946 Zaire
requested cloth with the allied victory design, including the busts of

President Eisenhower and Winston Churchill, together with tanks and the

dove of peace.17 However, the producers were generally reluctant to use

 

 

15"Manchester African Trade",_flest Africa, p. 850.
16Beauchamp, " A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

17Beauchamp, "A Gay Garb for Ghana", p. 209.

76

politics in the making of designs. For example, Brunnschweiler refused
to take sides in the Biafran conflict, when the two involved parties
requested printed cloths with certain political and nationalistic senti-
ments and symbols.

8) Religion and mythology, Some designs can be traced to African
mythology and a few prints have religious influence. There are many
taboos in the African culture, and the producers take great care not to
offend the African customs.18

9) Natural forms. Many designs were derived from nature; for
example, from plants and their parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and
fruits) or from animals such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,
fishes, insects and other invertebrates. Celestial bodies, rocks,
minerals and diamonds were also inspirational sources.

10) Geometrical design_. Since Mohammed forbade the making of the

likeness of living objects, great development of geometrical designs

took place, especially in designs for areas with strong Muslem influence.

Classification

It is proposed that an adequate classification system for wax-
printed textiles intended for the African market should meet the follow-
ing minimum criteria. The classifier should:

1) State the classification clearly

2) Consider the dominant motif

3) Describe rather than interpret

4) Make the classification be comprehensive and expansive
5) Make the classification simple and easy to use

 

8Cooper, personal interview, 1971.

77

6) Facilitate grouping of samples for easy access
7) Number and catalog samples

According to Johnston and Kaufman, the motifs of printed African
fabrics fall into three general categories (although.more than one may
be combined in a single fabric). First, there are those that tell a
story; secondly, those that have symbolic significance or that serve
as identification; and thirdly, those that are simple ornamentations
with a pattern.19 Such a general‘classification'iS‘not'specific‘enough
to make it practical for a large‘collection. Some other'classification
schemes which could be used are:

1) Traditional or non—traditional desigg§3“A “previously mentioned
an African printed design is considered traditional when it is sold
regularly, when it has received a name from the consumer, and when it
is kept and cherished by the buyer. The criteria for nonstraditional
design are: lack of a name bestowed by the consumer, lack of sufficient
admiration to make the print worth "treasuringP, and lack of enough sales
to keep the print on the market for several years. However, to divide
the printed textiles into two groups only, appears to be too simple.
Furthermore, since it takes some years to determine if a design is tradi—
tional or not, it is impossible to predict whether new designs will be
traditional.

2) Symbolic meaning, The symbolic meaning of‘a motif is often
very obscure, because it involves time, and cultural and historical

relationships which are not always clearly understood. Some designs

 

l92Meda Parker Johnston and Glen Kaufman, Design on Fabrics

(New York: Reinhold Book Corporation, 1967), p. 21.

 

78

selling today date back to originals prepared in the last century, and
the meaning of the symbols have been lost. The temptation to attach
meaning and even religious symbolism'tO‘the motifs of the decorative
arts was always strong in the East, especially”in Java,‘but'the fact
that such interpretations were often contradictory and inconsistent
encouraged the assumption that“invention*of‘the‘forms“sometimes pre—
ceded the meanings.20 'It is the opinion of'the'writer that this is
equally true for the African“wax-printed‘textiles,‘as evidenced by the
fact that the symbolic meaning and the naming of‘the print often was
conceived in connection‘withfthe purchase or use'of'the'fabric.“ Many
designs apparently have no symbolic meaning, and others can only be
ascertained by the specialist or the African consumer, ‘Therefore, since
the symbolic meaning is obscure and subject to interpretation, this
particular classification method is less“desirab1e, at least until fur“

ther research has established the meaning“of'the symbolien.

3) Inspirational sources. Since the printed‘textiles often were

 

inspired by other prints;‘traditional~objects‘and‘symbols;“direct con«
tacts with consumers, designers and traders; historical and current
events; political figures and concepts; past"masters in art; religion
and mythology; and natural and geometric shapes; it“would’be‘possible
to classify the prints accordingly.‘ Such‘a“system“wou1d'probably also
involve evolutionary developments, cultural, historical, and social
relationships; it would be an exhaustive task, requiring‘the work of a

specialist. Furthermore, other'inherent weaknesses are that the

 

20John Irwin, Batiks, p. 9.

79

inspirational source of many textiles is unknown'and'untraceabie”today,
and such classification often would involve a certain amount of inter«
pretation by the classifier.

4) Sgylg, The concept‘of'style,“familiar‘t0'artists,"anthr0polOv
gists, and archaeologists, is a rather difficult one, because style has
different meanings to different people. It is subject to interpretation
complicated by one's value system, and somewhat limited by a person
being conservative (resisting change) or progressive (adopting innova-
tions). Meyer Schapiro (1953) defined style as "the constant form--and
sometimes the constant elements, qualities, and expression--in the art
of an individual or of a group."21 By this he meant that the work of
an individual or a group exhibits similarities of form, quality, and
expression to a degree that an investigator would have little difficulty
in recognizing that the works belong to that individual or group.22
Classification according to the style revealed in'a design is certainly
feasible, but has little practical value for a collection used for
general teaching purposes, although it may be of value in art and
costume history.

5) Shépg, The universe is composed of shapes of infinite variety,
shapes that have meaning for man, often in a symbolic sense. Giving
them connotations from his past experience, man learns to read shapes as

we read handwriting.23 Shapes can be divided into four categories:

 

21Meyer Schapiro, "Style", in Kroeber, A. L., Anthropology Today.
An Encyclopedic Inventory. (Chicago, 1953), p. 287.

22Mead, The Art of Taaniko Weaving, p. 47.

23Marjorie Elliott Bevlin. Design Through Discovery (New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1970), p. 37.

80

l) Realistic shapes present a likeness of an object that is easily
recognizable; 2) Abstract shapes are derived from nature or familiar
objects but are simplified, distorted or exaggerated to enhance their
qualities; 3) Geometrical shapes are mathematical in character, often
expressing the man-made environment, or depicting purely geometrical
shapes. 4) Nonobjective shapes rarely resemble any recognizable object.
Nevertheless, they have a close relationship to nature (are biomorphic)
since they are fluid and express growth and flexibility. This method
of classification by shape of motif appears to be a useful instrument
in grouping of textile designs, but it presupposes considerable knowl-
edge and understanding of design. It would also necessitate sub—‘
division since it is impractical to hold a large textile collection

in four categories.

6) 9212;, Printed textiles could also be arranged in groups
according to the dominant color. Colors are impressive and important
but for classification purposes not as significant as motifs. Therefore,
such a grouping would be of little value in arranging a printed textile
collection, unless the collection was for the specific purpose of
studying predominating colors.

7) Combinations. Since none of the schemes listed are entirely

 

satisfactory, perhaps a combination of two or more would be a valuable
solution. That is, a textile collection could be arranged into major
groups according to one of the preferred schemes, and it could possibly
be further subdivided according to one or more of the other schemes.

One limitation of this method would be that if two selected schemes

81

had different purposes, it would not be practical. For example, classi—
fication according to shapes of the motif would be at variance with
classification according to color.

Considering the limitations of the described schemes, the investi-
gator suggests that a collection of African wax-prints could be arranged
for easy access in categories according to the subject matter inherent
in the main motif. Religion, mythology, tradition, culture, history,
current events, nature, science, technology, architecture, art, arti-
facts, non-objectives, musical instruments, personal objects, as well as
all other aspects of daily life could be drawn upon. A collection of
early prints (1909-39) for West Africa was studied and photographed at
the Victoria and Albert Museum in London during the summer of 1971.

Mrs. Morrison of the museum's circulation department had made a tenta-
tive classification of these prints according to subject matter. Some
of the interesting designs from the collection were classified as:

1) anatomical designs, 2) architectural designs, 3) occupational designs,
4) tie-and-dye designs, and 5) umbrella designs.

A similar method was utilized in the classification of the Eicher
and Nielsen collections, because it was easy to use, concentrated on the
dominant motif, allowed for distinct classification into known subjects,
could be cataloged and numbered, and suggested itself to further
expansion.

At the courtesy of the three manufacturers their show-rooms were
visited and the designs of the African wax—prints were studied and in
some cases photographed. The collections obtained were classified and

cataloged according to subject matter as listed in "Key to classification

81

had different purposes, it would not be practical. For example, classi-
fication according to shapes of the motif would be at variance with
classification according to color.

Considering the limitations of the described schemes, the investi-
gator suggests that a collection of African wax-prints could be arranged
for easy access in categories according to the subject matter inherent
in the main motif. Religion, mythology, tradition, culture, history,
current events, nature, science, technology, architecture, art, arti-
facts, non-objectives, musical instruments, personal objects, as well as
all other aspects of daily life could be drawn upon. A collection of
early prints (1909-39) for West Africa was studied and photographed at
the Victoria and Albert Museum in London during the summer of 1971.

Mrs. Morrison of the museum's circulation department had made a tenta-
tive classification of these prints according to subject matter. Some
of the interesting designs from the collection were classified as:

l) anatomical designs, 2) architectural designs, 3) occupational designs,
4) tie-and-dye designs, and 5) umbrella designs.

A similar method was utilized in the classification of the Eicher
and Nielsen collections, because it was easy to use, concentrated on the
dominant motif, allowed for distinct classification into known subjects,
could be cataloged and numbered, and suggested itself to further
expansion.

At the courtesy of the three manufacturers their show-rooms were
visited and the designs of the African wax-prints were studied and in
some cases photographed. The collections obtained were classified and

cataloged according to subject matter as listed in "Key to classification

82

system" (Table 6.1). For convenience the subjects covered in the
present collections were arranged alphabetically. Additional letter
combinations can be added when the collection expands into new sub—
jects and sub-divisions. A catalog of the collections was included in

the Appendix (see Appendix B).

Description and Comparison of Selected Samples from the
African wax-printed Textile Collection

Selected samples of African wax-prints from the acquired collec-
tions were described and compared. To present a representative sampling
of the collection, selection was based upon the following criteria:
Samples were selected (1) from each of the three manufacturers;
(2) from various decades; (3) from a variety of motif categories;
(4) from prints with available information, and (5) from representative
types:

a) Traditional and non-traditional

b) Old and new

c) Old designs presented in new ways

d) Combinations of several motifs

e) Unusual motifs and striking colors

f) Traceable inspirational sources

3) Acceptable or rejectable to consumers

h) Those known to have been named by consumers

(Selected samples of wax-print designs were arranged in categories

in Table 6.2.)

In describing each of the selected samples an attempt was made to
present the following information:

1) Collection number and name of design (if known).

2) Reason for choice of sample. For example, traceable inspira-
tional source. Miscellaneous information.

83

Table 6.1. Key to Classification System

 

 

Production number:

Collection number:

Animals

Birds
Fish
Insects
Mammals
Millipedes
Reptiles
Shells
Snails
Spiders
Wings

Calendars
Combinations
Education

Games

Geometric designs

Insignia

producers provided a production number which was
entered in space provided in the catalog.

each sample was assigned a collection number com-
posed of three parts:

(1) Producer: Roman numeral
I assigned to A Brunnschweiler
II assigned to Texoprint
III assigned to Hohlenstein

(2) Category: determined according to subject mat-
"ter of dominant motif. Designated by
capital letters as listed in key.
(Sub-divisions were designated by
small letters as listed in key.)

(3) Accession: samples were assigned numbers in
sequence of acquisition and appear
as last numeral in the collection
number.

Example: I—A—sb—Z

A Man M

A-b Eye M—e

A—f

A-i Masks Ma

A—m

A-ma Nationalism N

A-r

A-s Non—objective Na

A-sa

A—sb Plants P

A-w

C Flowers P-f
‘Fruits P—fa

Ca Seaweeds P-s

E Trees P—t
Vines P—v

Umbrellas U
Ga
I

 

84

Table 6.2. Selected Samples of Wax-print Designs Arranged in Categories

 

 

Traditional designs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I-A-b-l The Flying Duck
I-Ca-20 The Banana
I-Na-l9 The Shell
I-Na-22 The Good Husband
I-G-15 Dice Check
Old designs
I-Ga-8 The Target (pre-l920)
I-Ca-12 The Lamp (pre-1920)
I-Ca-ll The Staircase
I-Ca-22 The Good Husband
I-Ca-18 Day and Night
Recent designs.
I-U-4 The Umbrella (1971)
I-U-64 Umbrella stripe (1971)
I-E-25 The Alphabet (1970)
I-Ga-58 Tieplate (1970)
I-N-62 Congo Independence (1969)
Old designsgpresented
in new ways I-A-b-47 Migration
I-Ga-56 Eye Target
I-Na-65 Damask
II-Ca-109 Back of Tortoise
III-Ca-ll4 Four Fields
Combinations
I-Ca- The Batik
I-Ca-46 Diamond-Record-Shell
II-Ca-lOl Broken Pots
III-Ca-ll4 Four Fields
III-Ca-llS Linoleum
Degigns with unusual
motifs and colors. I-U-63 Umbrella
I-U-64 Umbrella stripe
II-Ca-78 Broken Pots
II-Na-107 "Gecko Feet"

III-A—r-131 Snake

 

continued

Table 6.2--continued

85

 

 

Traceable inspirational.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source I—Ca-6 Java Lion (Java)
I—P—t—29 Tree of Life (Persia)
I—Na—65 Damask (Arabs)
I-Ca—36 ' The Arab Horseman (Arabs)
IaA—b-44 Bird in Maize (Java)
Designs named by consumers
II—Ga—69 "A red eye cannot turn
' into flames of fire."
II-P-77 Unity is strength
"One tree alone cannot stand
the wind."
IInA—f—83 WOmen are fond of fish
IIéM—e—86 The eye/ The eye of God.
II—Ga—92 ‘ African Mat / Show your love.
Designs well received by
consumers . I—Ca-Zl Yaw Donkor
TAM—45 Mask
IIIaA—b—llB Heron (Nigeria only)
III—Ca—124 Tarquajah (in Zaire)
III-Ga—128 Olympia
Degigns rejected by
consumers III—Ca—124 Tarquajah (in Ghana)
III—A—b—llB Heron (all countries, except
Nigeria)
Designs with political
influence I—N—62 Congo Independence
I—N—66 Uhuru
I-N—67 4th Anniversaire——-
I—N—68 President'Kennedy,

 

86

3) Arrangement of design in one of four categories:24
a) "Centerpiece." A dominant motif in center of field;

b) "Four corners." Two*or four different motifS'per*repeat
of 36 inches;

c) "Patchwork." Parts of various designs arranged systemv
atically or scattered per square yard;

d) "All—over." A square yard covered with similar motifs in
the same position and dimensions.

4) Description of the repeat. 'The major section of the repeat
is in this study designated as the field. ‘The single-or‘double
panels surrounding the field or parallel to the'selvedge are
named the border.

5) Size. Size of repeat, motif or any parts of the design are
presented in inches.

6) Color. The colors are listed and, as far as‘possible, based
on the Calico Printers"Association'Limited’s"Waxfprints:
Standard Shades.25

 

7) Finally a reference is made to the collection which holds the
sample.

 

24Krantz, correspondence, June 26, 1973.

25Calico Printers' Association, Waxfiprints: Standard Shades

(Manchester: F. W. Ashton & Company, Ltd., no date).

87

PLATE III

Description of Selected English Samples

88

I-A-b-l The F1ying Duck. The Flying Duck remains one of the oldest
designs, and it is traditional because it is old, named, kept, and
still in use. The design was acquired from the old Brown Flemming
collection and probably dates back to the 1880's. Brown Flemming was
one of the first merchants who traded in wax-prints for Africa, and
when he went out of business in the 1920's the Grafton company took
over his collection of old designs. Arrangement is patchwork. The
design is composed of a number of circular motifs, each 12" in diameter,
and each made up of 7 concentric indigo colored rings, enclosing 3
indigo colored birds on a marbled lime—yellow‘background., Each ring
is linked to the next by two other birds. .Two of the five birds are
of smaller size, giving an illusion of depth to the motif. The over—
all background is indigo colored vertical stripes and crackled veining
on a lime-yellow background. Colors are indigo and lime—yellow.
(Eicher and Nielsen)

I-Ca—6 Java lion. Java lien is an old Grafton design which borrowed
its motif from the Java batiks. Arrangement is patchwork.- The field
is patterned with stylized lions, birds,.and plants on.a dotted back—
ground. Colors are indigo, brick—red on white (Nielsen), and indigo
and dyed yellow on white (Eicher).

I-Ga-8 Target. Target is an old Grafton design which was always
popular on the coast. Arrangement is all-over. The field is covered
with 8" olive-drab colored targets on a red background with indigo
colored dots. Colors are indigo, olive—drab and red (Nielsen), and .
indigo, yellow and dolphin brown (Eicher). ~

I-Ca-ll The Staircase. The staircase is an intriguing old design
which gained popularity all down the West Coast of Africa to Zaire.
Arrangement is centerpiece. A large yellow heart is placed in.the
center of the field, enclosing what appears to be a crown decorated with
two Fleur de lis and one Maltesian Cross. Ten streamers radiate from
the heart, each suspending a smaller heart bearing the name of a large
Ghanaian town and also the picture of Minerva. In each corner of the
field is a square containing three banners. Two large squares are ,
connected by a chain containing seven smaller squares of Minerva heads.
The field is surrounded by a wavy-lined border. The colors are indigo,
yellow and tange (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

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90

I-Ca-l3 The Lamp Pattern. Theglamp pattern is another old Brown
Flemming design with a unique motif. Arrangement is centerpiece.

The motif is a human hand with 12 dots in the palm, placed in the center
of what appears to be an old lantern from which the rays of light
emanates over a landscape of plants and standards. A row of hands is
hanging as a cover over the motif, and a square of simulated script is
placed between each lamp. Colors are traditional indigo, tange and
white (Eicher and Nielsen).

I-G—lS Dice Check. Dice check is an old Brown Flemming design which
has been a best seller all along the coast of West Africa. Arrangement
is patchwork. The main design is composed of 3" squares depicting

dice and checkerboard arranged in diagonal rows. Colors are indigo,
red and buttercup yellow (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

I-I-l6 Staff of Kingship. Staff of kingship is also an old Brown
Flemming design. In Ghana each state, clan and family have their
traditional emblems. The staff which is represented in this print is
the kind carried by the chief's lin uist, an individual to whom all
persons wishing to address the chie should direct their words.
Arrangement is centerpiece. The design is a series of four representa-
tions of the staff of kingship covering the entire field and on a

solid indigo background. Colors are the traditional indigo, white and
dark brown (Eicher and Nielsen).

I—Ca-18 Day and Nigh_, Day and nigh£_is yet another Brown Flemming
design. Arrangement is patchwork. The rectangular field is divided
into two triangles, representing day and night respectively. The

former is dominated by light indigo background color, and the latter by
dark indigo background. Stylized plants interspersed with semi-circular
shapes and crosses is patterning the field and the whole rectangle is
enclosed by a border which is patterned with geometric designs. Colors
are indigo, white and lime yellow (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

 

 

l . g . \\
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i » «—

F'TTT

I-I-l6 Staff of Kingship I-Ca—l8 Day and Night

 

92

I—Na—l9 The Shell. The shell is one.of the_fsnbuixBrouafiElullils
designs, which is classified as non-objective because the Dutch call

it Bunch of bananas. Arrangement is all-over. The design is composed
of rows of 9" x 7" stylized "cowries" which face each other on a yellow
background. Colors are indigo, red and yellow (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I-Ca-20 The Banana. The banana is an example of a traditional design
from the Brown Flemming collection, and it is still considered a best
seller. Arrangement is patchwork. The field is patterned with red
banana-like shapes, stylized seashells, javanese wing designs and
foliage. There is a border of flowers and foliage to the one selvedge
only. Colors are indigo, red and olive drab (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I-Ca—Zl Yaw Donkor. Yaw Donkor was designed for Ghana only and was
also named Little trailground. Arrangement is patchwork. The prominent
motif is the wing design which is used frequently in the Java batiks.
The wings are tied together by garlands. Another dominant motif
resembles a covered dish. Colors are indigo, white and yellow
(Nielsen).

 

I-Na-22 The Good Husband. Thetgood husband is yet another best seller
from the Brown Flemming collection. It has served as inspirational
source for three other designs. Why is it called Good husband no one
seems to know. Arrangement is centerpiece. The center of the field

is made up of various geometrical motifs, interspersed with simulated
script, and the borders, which are all around the field, are panels
patterned with smaller geometrical designs. Colors are indigo, gold
and white (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I-Na-l9 The Shell

I-Ca-Zl Yaw Donkor I—Na-22 The Good Husband

 

94

I-E-25 The‘Alphabet. .Recently educational designs became pepular in
Africa, and in 1970 Brunnschweiller revived an old Grafton_deaign
depicting some school materials. Arrangement is centerpiece. The
alphabet is placed on a checkerboard centered on the field, and between
the checkerboards are two groups portraying:. (a) an open book, pencil
and ruler, and (b) a chalkboard placed on an-easelnflanked-by-two
slates. Colors are indigo, claret and broken—gourds yellow (Eicher

and Nielsen).

I-P—t—29 The Tree of Life. The tree of life can be traced to old
Indo-European chintz with a motif which;recentzresearch-considersa
hybrid product of cross—cultural trade influences of-the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries.26 Arrangement is.patchwork.. The design is
presented as a tree trunk with serpentine branches, and bearing foliage,
flowers, and fruits of a rather‘mixedqandumultiformed botanical associ—
ation. Colors are indigo and brickdred on pale blue background (Eicher
and Nielsen).

 

 

I-Ga-30 Polomint. The name of the design Polomint is derived from

the small candy which is also called Life—saver and_is sold'in.most

of the world. It was made in 1963 and is a-typical Nigerian-design
which has been popular for years. It was also.used in the production of
imitation African wax-prints, and it was the first;design-produced.in
the African wax-print mills. All-over is the-arrangement...The entire
field is covered with polomint design which-is repeated in.rows-contain—
ing heavy "mints" in the middle progressing-to very thin "mints" at each
end. Colors are indigo and mustard green (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I—G-3l Okwe Board. Okwe board is a design from 1963 which borrowed its
motif from a popular West African game. Arrangement is centerpiece.
The design is two okwe boards linked by a diamond on a background of
tendrils. Colors are indigo, buttercup yellow, and deep tange (Eicher
and Nielsen).

 

 

26John Irwin and Katharine B. Brett, Origins of Chintz (London:
Victoria and Albert Museum. Her Majesty's Stationary Office by Butler
& Tanner Ltd., 1970), p. 16.

I—G—31 Okwe Board

-29 The Tree ._

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I-E-25 The Alphabet
I-Ga-30 Polomint

 

96

I—Ca-36 The Arab Horseman.. The Arab horseman is.a new design from 1968
which was inspired by the horsemen of the.Arabs andethe Hausa.” The
costume of the rider is typicalleastern in.origin. Arrangement is center—
piece. The central motif depicts a rider clothed in white with only face
and hands showing and mounted on an elaborately decorated horse. In the
foreground is a tent with the door.left open, and a large bird is flying
above. Colors are indigo, white and tange on a basket weave background
(Eicher and Nielsen).

I-E-37 The Good Book.. Theigood book was designed in 1965. Arrangee.
ment is patchwork. The motif is a finger pointing to the open book,
inviting the spectator to read the good book. Colors are indigo, white
and tawny (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I—Na-39 The Good Husband-Panels.. This design is inspired by the Good
husband. Arrangement is all—over. The entire field is covered with
rows of the same geometrical motifs as was used in the borders.of Good
husband design. It is a combination-of.small.squares.and.rectangles.
Colors are indigo, gold and white (Eicher), and indigo, tabac and white
(Nielsen).

I-Na-4l Two Husbands. The motif idea in this print is also borrowed
from Good husband, but the geometrical designs are arranged as four
corners. The field has two large squares with.geometrica1idesigns.
arranged in a star, superimposed upon an inverted square.andnsurrounded
by simulated script. Borders are covered with sma11.geometrical designs.
Colors are indigo, sienna and white (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

The Arab Horseman I—E—37 The Good Book

I-Na-39 The Good Husband Panels I—Na-4l Two Husbands

 

98

I-A-b-44 Bird in Maize. A bird in maize is a 1967 print with a

definite Java influence. .Arrangement.is centerpiece. -The.motif is a
large stylized bird with a smaller stylized.bird to the right.and a
stylized flower to the left, enclosed in a parallelogramuand.flanked
by triangles with tendril designs. .The.border.is made of sma11.rec-
tangles with designs. Colors are indigo, tange and white (Eicher and
Nielsen).

I-Na—45 The Mask. In the African culture masks have a.myriad of mean—
ings and functions and are frequently used in ritualistic ceremonies.
Since masks are of many types, reflecting regional variations and inter-
tribal influences, the designer chose not to-depict any specific.type of
mask but an abstract representation. The mask turned out.to.be.a best
seller. Arrangement is all—over even.if the motifs are larger than
usual. The field is covered with rows of abstract masks. Colors are
indigo, virus brown and lime-yellow on white (Eicher), and indigo,

red, tabac on cream background (Nielsen).

 

I-A-b-47 Migration. Migration is a 1967.sample derived frothhe old
Flying;Duck, illustrating how manufacturers.introduce:oldgdesignsuin
new ways. Arrangement is all-over.. The circulargmotiftwas“reduced.from
12 to 5 inches, and the two birds linking-the circles inithe original
design were eliminated. In Migration theicircles are-arranged in.8
straight rows as compared to the origina1.3.rows witthhe motifs alter—
nating. The all over background was not'striped.as.inwtheuFlying;Duck
but rather indigo dot and line pattern.on.red.w Colors areiindigo, flame
and cream (Eicher), and indigo, red and olive‘green (Nielsen).

 

I-Na-35. Skin. The skin was designed in 1968.and is one of.the few
African prints imported to the United States. Allnouerris.the_arrange—
ment. The motif resembles a snake skin. Colors are indigo, Othlood
and tabac (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

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I-Na-35 Skin

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I-A-b-47 Migration

I-A—b

 

100

I-A—i—SS Papillon. Papillon is an example of a design inspired by

the designer's visit to Africa. Arrangement is patchwork. Large
butterflies on honey-combed background are centered in diamond shapes

and repeated throughout the field. Colors are indigo and green (Eicher),
and indigo, red, broken-gourd yellow and brown (Nielsen).

I-Ga-56 Eye Target. A 1970 design with a motif borrowed from the old
Target. The target in this design is only 6" and the center is replaced
by an eye. The target is surrounded by a ring of small eyes as well

as eyes interspersed between the targets. Colors are indigo, white,
yellow and red (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

I-Ga-SB Tieplate. Tieplate is a contemporary design from 1970.
Arrangement is centerpiece. The motif is a set of concentric circles
made of various non-objective forms, surrounded by Spiderweb abstracts,
and flanked by non-objective shapes in the borders. Colors are indigo,
gold and lime (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

I-A-b-6O Guinea Fowl. A 1968 print with the Guinea fowl as the motif.
Arrangement is patchwork. The field contains a central square with a
Guinea fowl in still another square superimposed diagonally on the
former, and flanked by 5 other Guinea fowls, of which the 4 are shared
with the adjoining repeat. The effect is three continuous rows of
Guinea fowls, enclosed by borders along the selvedge, patterned with
squares and triangles with small Guinea fowls. Colors are indigo and
tabac on white (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

IuninSS Papillon

I-Ga—58 Tieplate I-A—b-60 Guinea Fowl

 

102

I-N-62 Congo Independence. Congo independence was produced in 1969 to
commemorate the first decade of ZaITe's (Congo) independence (1960-1970).
Arrangement is patchwork. The repeat is composed of rows of circular
shapes, overlapping and inscribed with: 1960 Independence 1970.

Most of the circular shapes contain a star, but a few depict a map of
zaire. Colors are indigo, gold and red (Eicher and Nielsen).

 

 

I-U-63 The Umbrella. The umbrella came as a new and popular design ,
from 1971. The umbrella is a significant status symbol in Ghana and to
a less degree in some other African countries. It is an item of
practical importance to all Africans living under the tropical sun and
experiencing trOpical rains. Arrangement is centerpiece. The motif is
a large open umbrella and four smaller ones with tassels, flanked by a
border of twenty small umbrellas. Colors are indigo, white,:red and
mustard (Nielsen).

 

I-U-64 The Umbrella Stripe. The umbrella stripe is another 1971 wax-
print with the umbrella motif. Arrangement is patchwork. The umbrellas
are arranged in nine vertical panels, and the repeats are 23%" x 10%".
Four columns of closed umbrellas, each topped with three open umbrellas,
alternate with five panels of open umbrellas in various sizes. The
former are placed on a white marbled background, the latter on indigo.
Each repeat is separated by a border with a "skin" pattern. Colors are
indigo, tange and white (Eicher).

 

 

I-Na-65 The Damask. This motif is borrowed from one of the old
damasks used by the Muslims. Arrangement is centerpiece. The motif is
similar to the Fleur de lis of the fourteenth century Syria. The Fleur
de lis is placed in a 14k" diamond against a background of abstract
designs. Colors are indigo and gold (Nielsen).

 

I—U—63 The Umbrella
I-Na-65 The Damask

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104

I-N-66 Uhuru. The uhuru is an example of a print.which was.used to
commemorate an African political leader, and more than.50,000 yards
were sold upon his death. Arrangement is.centerpiece. A portrait of
Lumumba is centered in a golden star, surrounded by a circle with.the
inscription: Coego independence 1960 MNC. Two portraits make up one
repeat. Above and below the circles are.Ziire flags and.the.inscrip—
tion: Uhuru, which means freedom. Colors are indigo, buttercup yellow
and white. This print is a typical example of extended use of

"lights" (Nielsen).

 

I-N-67 4th Anniversaire De L'Independence. This is a design made

to commemorate the 4th anniversary of independence in Zfiire.(l964).
Arrangement is centerpiece. On a background of ideographic designs

the cloth portrays the prime minister S. E. Cyrille.Adoula, arched.by
the labels: 30gjuine 1964 and AnneLdu Travail, and undergirded by the
labels: Annéedu Travail and 4th anniversaire de lvindépendence. The
inscriptions are flanked by the label: 1964 Reconstruction Nationale
and a circle with a bird holding a leaf in.the beak. Colors are indigo,
claret and buttercup yellow (Eicher).

 

 

I—N-68 President Kennedy. This print is an example of how a politically
important person from outside Africa sometimes is chosen as a design
motif. It was sold all along the coast of West Africa in the years
following the assasination of President J. F. Kennedy in 1963. Arrange—
ment is centerpiece. President J. F. Kennedy is portrayed in the center
of a diamond shape, flanked by the American presidential seal.in the

four corners. Colors are indigo, gold and white (Nielsen).

 

‘\ <4}

/ Wununu\ // r

 

I-N-66 Uhuru I—N—67 4th Anniversaire de L'
Independence

 

I—N—68 President Kennedy

106

PLATE IV

Description of Selected Dutch Samples

107

II-Ga-69 "A red eye cannot turn into flames of fire." "A red eye
cannot turn into flames of fire" is an example of a design named by the
consumer using a proverb. The arrangement is patchwork. The field is
covered with 1%" mustard colored squares in different geometric patterns,
arranged in diagonal rows. In every other row every second square is a
red blotch which apparently gave rise to the name. The field is framed
by a 3" border patterned in a conventional geometric design. Colors

are indigo, mustard and red (Nielsen).

II-Ga—7l Name Unknown. This design is identical to II-Ga-69 but in
reduced size and in a different color combination. Colors are indigo,
pink, tabac on cream background (Eicher).

 

II-A-i-76 Butterfly. Butterfly is an example of a traceable inspira-
tional source. The arrangement is patchwork. Pairs of indigo and
buttercup yellow butterflies, stylized plants, and geometrical forms
are repeated on a red background filled with indigo "tendrils." Colors
are indigo, buttercup yellow and red (Nielsen).

II—P-t-77 Unity is Strengeh. The unity is strepgth.motif is signifi—
cant in being associated with a proverb: "One tree alone cannot stand
the wind." The arrangement is centerpiece. The motif is composed of

a single fallen tree in contrast to a group of standing trees. In the
foreground are stylized flowers and close to the center is the inscrip-
tion: ”Dua Kur Gye Enum A Obu." The 6%" border is parallel to the
selvedge and contains leaves and flowers. Colors are indigo, rust and
broken—gourd yellow (Nielsen).

3“ I.

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II-A-i-76 Butterfly

 

II—P-t-77 Unity is Strength

109

II-Ca-78 Broken Pots. This print from 1934 is an example of a combi-
nation of natural and geometrical designs. Arrangement is patchwork.
The field is covered all over by squares, arranged in diagonal rows,
separated by rectangular and square dividers. The squares are of two
kinds, (1) squares combining eight triangles resembling pieces of a
broken pot, and (2) squares filled with stylized foliage. Colors are
indigo, red, light mustard and cream (Nielsen).

II-A—f-83 WOmen are Fond of Fish.. women are fond of fish is another
example of a print named by the consumer. It is arranged as patchwork,
and the motif is borrowed from the sea. The field.is patterned.with
stylized seaweed and a school of fish, repeated on a background of
undulating lines. Borders only at the selvedge. One border is pat-
terned with rows of "fish hooks," and the other border with "fishbones."
The colors are indigo, brick red and yellow (Nielsen).

 

II—M—e-86 The Eye. In Ghana the consumer named The Eye "The Eye of
God." It is another patchwork arrangement. The field is.covered with
alternate wide and narrow panels. The narrow panels are patterned
with a tange colored net design on indigo, and theswide panels depict
indigo and tange colored eyes of various sizes on a White background
with wavy lines. On every third wide panel an exceptionally large
eye is incorporated into the design, presumably the "eye of God."
Colors are indigo, rust and white (Nielsen).

II-Ca-87 Name Unknown.. An example of a striking motif. It is patch-
work arrangement, and the motif is an octahedron in the center of the
field, surrounded by 10 diamonds and 16 sixpoint stars intermingled
with leaves. Borders on the selvedge are filled.with stylized.flowers
and leaves and sixpointed stars. Colors are indigo, red and tange on
white (Nielsen).

 

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II—A-f-83 WOmen are Fond of Fish

IIHCav78 Broken Pots

_‘
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Name Unknown

II-Caw87

II—M—e—86 The Eye

111

II-A—b—88 Name Unknown”. Birds served as source of.inspiration.
Arrangement is patchwork. The field is patterned with alternating
8%" x 6%" rectangles depicting (a) flying birds on a white marbled
background, and (b) tange and indigo stripes and white dots. Colors
are indigo, tange and broken—gourd yellow (Nielsen).

II-Na-89 Name Unknown. This is an example of a rather unnsnai design,
arranged as patchwork. Parallel pairs of what appear as ornamental
trimmings show on veined background cover the.width.o£-tha field. The
"trimmings" contain stylized leaves, geometric shapes, and none
objective forms. On the "trimmings" are placed rectangular-shapes,
diamond shapes, and "seal" shapes at intervals.. Colors are indigo,
broken—gourd yellow and virus brown CNielsen).

II—Ga-92 African Mat. .African Mat has been named by consumers in
Ghana "Show your love." Apparently the motif is borrowed-£rumwthe
typical African mat which in the Airican.way Ofelife serves many.pure
poses, including the symbol of hospitality.. All-over is the form of
arrangement. The motif consists of squares of a basketiweavendesign
arranged in alternating warp and weft direction, cavering.the.entire
field. The colors are indigo and broken—gourd yellow CNielsen).

II-Adm—97 Name Unknown. This is an example of a traceable inspira-
tional source. It was designed for Nigeria in 1930 but 18.nowxsold in
Ivory Coast and zaire as well. All—over is the form at arrangement.
The field is patterned by rows of red, running horses on a ”Y" pats
terned buttercup yellow background. Colors are indigo, red and butter“
cup yellow (Eicher).

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112

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II—A—m—97 Name Unkown

113

II-M—e-98 Name Unknown. This design is another variation of the eye
motif. Arrangement is patchwork. Indigo colored eyes of various
sizes are arranged in 9" x 7%" rectangles. A dominant indigo colored
eye on a wavy, gourd-yellow background alternate with rectangles
filled with rows of small open and closed eyes. Colors are indigo
and broken-gourd yellow (Eicher).

II-Ca-lOl Name Unknown. This design is a combination of two famous
motifs: the ”broken pots" and the "back of the tortoise." Arrange-
ment is patchwork, and the center of the field has a 9%" x 9%" square
depicting the "broken pot" motif, flanked on each side by a "back of
the tortoise" motif. Along the selvedge is a row of 7" x 7" squares,
joined at the corners, with the "broken pot" motif. The colors are
indigo and broken-gourd yellow on white (Nielsen).

II-P-fa-104 Groundnuts. The inspirational source of Groundnuts
obviously was groundnuts (peanuts). All-over is the arrangement, and
the motif is composed of diagonal rows of unshelled groundnuts
(peanuts) on a brown background. Colors are brown, red and gourd-
yellow "lights" (Eicher).

II-Na-106 Name Unknown. The uniqueness of this design strikes us
with its motif and unusual background color. Arrangement is center-
piece. Two large indigo and deep tange concentric rings with free
flowing ends make up the entire pattern on a tabac background (21%" in
diameter). Colors are indigo, deep tange and tabac (Nielsen).

 

v . v v v '
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II-P-fa—104 Groundnuts

II—Na-lOé Name Unknown

115

II-Na-107 Name Unknown. This is an interesting and unusual design,
arranged in patchwork. The field is composed of five panels with
stylized dual "gecko feet", separated by panels with the same motif in
smaller size. The colors are indigo, broken buttercup yellow and deep
tange on white (Nielsen).

 

II-Ca-109 Name Unknown. This print reveals, as an example, how
Texoprint used old designs in new ways (1967). The arrangement is all-
over, and the field is covered with 2" x 2%" "back of tortoise" designs
on a background of cream with indigo and tange undulating lines.
Penetrating into the field from the selvedge are narrow wedges at 6%"
intervals. Colors are indigo, broken-gourd yellow and rust (Nielsen).

 

II-C-112 Name Unknown. This is another example of a traceable inspira-
tional source. Arrangement is patchwork, and the motif is three rows
of square calendars, repeated on a background of tendrils. The follow-
ing inscriptions are placed parallel to selvedge: (l) "guaranteed
Dutch Wax" and (2) "Verklble wax Hollandais." Colors are indigo, green
and old gold on cream (Nielsen)

 

leA-s-llB Name Unknown. The inspirational source of this print is
evident, and the arrangement is four corner. The field is composed of
18" squares patterned with seashells (cowries) on a marbled background,
alternating with 18" grid. Colors are indigo, light pink and yellow
(Nielsen).

 

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II-Ca—109 Name Unknown

II—Na—107 Name Unknown

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Name Unknown

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117

II-Ga-lll Name Unknown. This is a new design produced in 1969 for
Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The arrangement is centerpiece. The pattern
is a 45" long indigo colored diamond shape with a 12" center circle and
"net" background. The circle appears in red, yellow and pale blue
consecutive rings. The diamond shape is viewed on a background of red,

ellow and pale blue stripes, radiating from.the center and giving the

llusion of rays streaming from the diamond shape. Colors are indigo,
red and yellow on white (Nielsen).

 

 

II—Ga-lll Name Unknown

119

PLATE V

Description of Selected Swiss Samples

120

III-Ca-ll4 Four Fields. Four Fields is an example of how old favorite
designs can be combined and used in new ways. Arrangement is four
corners. The field is made up of four 23" x 17" rectangles, each with
a different motif: (1) a centered star with rays of light; (2) two
stylized peacocks enclosed in a diamond shape on a background of simu-
lated script; (3) a stylized motif depicting an ostrich feather on
"dice" background; (4) stylized plant motifs. Colors are (a) indigo
and gourd—yellow (Eicher), and (b) indigo, claret red and buttercup
yellow (Nielsen).

III-Ca-llS Linoleum. Another example of combination of motifs is the
Linoleum. The arrangement is four corner. The field is divided into
four 10%" squares, separated by 4" panels of leaves. A different motif
is placed in each of the four squares: (1) two peacocks, (2) a turtle,
(3) a "shell", (4) a"record" (Phonograph). The center panels contain
three upturned squares with motifs borrowed from the "broken pots."

The entire field is surrounded by two borders: (1) the inside border
is borrowed from "broken pots" border, and (2) the outside border is
made of parallel stripes. The colors are the new mixture of brown and
indigo (Eicher).

III-A-b-118 Heron. Heron is a design typical for Nigeria which became
popular again after the Biafran conflict. Arrangement is patchwork.

It depicts three flying herons in 12%" scarlet circles. The circles
are arranged as alternating pairs on a wavy background. Colors are
scarlet,‘indigo and yellow (Nielsen).

III-Ca-124 Tarquajoh. Targuajoh serves as an example of how one par-
ticular design may be accepted in one part of Africa and rejected in
another. In 1970 this cloth was a best seller in Zaire, selling in the
brilliant colors of the sample. However, when the cloth was previously
introduced into Ghana in the traditional colors (indigo, gold and dark
green), it was not acceptable and did not sell. Arrangement is patch-
work. The design shows an interesting arrangement of panels, geometric
motifs, and stylized natural shapes. The panels alternate in width of
5%" and 11". The 5%" panels are patterned with leaves and six-pointed
stars. The 11" panels are patterned with 9%" squares with stylized
birds surrounding a six-pointed star. Alternating with the squares are
two elongated diamond shapes, the interval being patterned with leaves.
The two sides are bordered with small geometric designs. Colors are
brown, purple and yellow (Nielsen).

III—Ca—124 Tarquajoh

III—Ca-llS Linoleum

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122

III-Ca-128 Olympia. Olympia illustrates acceptance of a new design.
Arrangement is all-over. Five olympic rings are repeated.on.a "veined"
background. It was designed in 1945 and millions of yards were sold the
following seven years, not because the peOple of Ghana desired to honor
the Olympic games, but because the rings, to them, symbolized a very
popular song at the time which in part read: "Donft be too unhappy
because I am in prison and walk with my hands tied." The people of
Ghana saw in the rings the chains that tied the prisoner's hands. It
appeared to the writer that they chose to wear this particular cloth
for similar reasons to those that caused many Americans to wear POW
bracelets during the Viet Nam conflict. The colors are brown and
buttercup yellow (Eicher and Nielsen).

III—A-r—131 Snake. Snake is a striking cloth in a hot pink color used
exclusively in Zaire. Arrangement is patchwork. The motif consists of
10%" wide circles, alternating in indigo and tabac colors, simulating
coiled snakes, and 5" x 6" rectangles patterned inna striped arrange-
ment. The motifs alternate in rows on a "veined" background. Colors
are pink, indigo and tabac (Nielsen).

III-A—r-l32 Small Snake. Small snake is similar to IIIeA—r—l3l
but with smaller motifs and different colors. The colors are brown and
light green (Eicher).

 

III-A-i-l33 Eye of Insect. Eye of insect is a hundred percent
Hohlenstein design, and it is only produced in the colors of the sample.
All-over is the arrangement. The design is composed of 4" wide circles
depicting the compound eye of an insect (omnitidia), repeated on a light
brown "honeycomb" background. Colors are brown and pink (Eicher and
Nielsen).

 

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III—A-r—131 Snake

III-A-r-132 Small Snake

III—A-i-133 Eye of Insect

 

124

PLATE VI

Comparison of Selected Samples

Selected samples of African wax-prints with similar motifs produced
by Brunnschweiler, Texoprint, and Hohlenstein were compared according
to name, date, arrangement of the overall design and individual motifs,
border, background, size of motifs and color. Often the year of design
was unavailable but old Brown Flemming designs were considered pre—l920,
and the old Grafton designs were probably from 1920's and 1930's.
F. W. Grafton was the first to make a record of the designs. Most of the
Texoprint samples received were already dated by the manufacturer.
Information on other dates were obtained during personal visits to show~
rooms. Hohlenstein considered a wax-print old if it pre-dated 1950.
Obviously producers borrowed from each other but no attempt was made to
discover who originated a design. Sometimes the identical motif was
used,at other times the same motif was used with modifications, by the
three manufacturers. Most of the time a manufacturer produced the wax-

prints in more than one color combination.

125

A comparison of the same motif produced by three manufacturers.

I—Na-45 The Mask--Brunnschweiler old design, Arrangement is patchwork.
Design is composed of five 7%" panels with abstract mask motifs, sur-
rounded by what appears as stylized "seadweed" or "chains," separated
by borders. Background is a "hook"-like pattern. Colors are red and
tabac on cream.

II-Na-79 The Back of Tortoise--Texoprint 1936. Arrangement is patch-
work. One difference from the Brunnschweiler sample is that the design
is made of a field covered by motifs similar to the Mask, but inter-
mingled with stylized "sea-weeds" or "chains" on a background of "hooks."
Another difference is that one side of the field is divided into two
rectangles, and a wedge pierces half-way through the field from the
opposite side. Border is of geometric designs. Colors are indigo and
yellow.

Texoprint also produced a Tortoise Back with an all-over pattern of 11
rows of smaller tortoise motifs with wedges penetrating from each side,
6%" apart. Background is wavy-line. Colors are indigo, tange and
yellow.

 

III-Na-119 The Scale--Hoh1enstein pre-l950. Arrangement is patchwork.
Same general idea as Texoprint'sample but with different details. In
this design the rectangles are separated by a wedge and the field is
composed of 12 motifs ("scales"). The "seadweed" or "chains" are more
elaborate, and the oval shaped links alternate with round ones. Colors
are brown and red on light brown.

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II—Nav79 The Back of Tortoise

I—Nav45 The Mask

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III—Na—ll9 The Scale

Back

Tortoise

127

I-Ca-18 Night and Day--Brunnschweiler old Brown Flemming, Arrangement
is patchwork. The field is divided into two triangles, surrounded

by an all-around border. The design is depicting night and day, illus-
trated by dark and light color backgrounds. The "day-triangle" is
covered with stylized flowers and flying birds. Three larger flower
motifs catch the eye. The "night—triangle" is covered with a variety
of symbols. Colors are indigo and yellow.

II—Ca—80 Night and Day-—Texoprint 1936. Arrangement is patchwork.
Design is similar to the sample from Brunnschweiler, except that the
"day-triangle" has only one eye catching motif. Colors are indigo,
brick-red and gourd-yellow.

 

III-Ca-122 Night and Day—~Hohlenstein pre-l950. Arrangement is patch-
work. Design idea is similar to the two other samples, but the indi-
vidual motifs are slightly different. The border is also different.
Colors are indigo, tange and gourd-yellow.

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III-Ca—122 Night and Day

 

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129

I-Ga-8 Target--Brunnschweiler unknown (old). Arrangement is all-over.
The field is composed of rows of targets. The motif is made of 8%"
circular targets with an eye. Background is composed of dots inter-
connected with lines. Colors are indigo, olive-drab and red.

IIwGav8l Target—«Texoprintl1936. Arrangement is all-over.' This'design
is similar to the Brunnschweiler sample. Colors are indigo,”go1d and
yellow.

III-Ga-117 Sunbeamr-Hohlenstein_pre-19S0. Arrangement is all-over.
The motif idea is similar to the two other samples, but the targets
are shaped oval rather than circular. Background is also similar but
the interconnecting lines are finer. Colors are indigo and blue.

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III—Ga-ll7 Sunbeam

131

I-A-sa-Z Spider's Web--Brunnschweiler early 1900's. Arrangement is
centerpiece. The motif is a 21 3/4" spider web placed in the center
of the field. Seven insects are caught in the web by the spider.
Wedges flank the field on each side. Background pattern is small
circles. Border of leaf design at each selvedge. Colors are indigo,
light mustard and brickwced.

II-A-sa-73 Spider's Web-~Texoprint 1932. Arrangement is centerpiece.
A design similar to the Brunnschweiler sample, but the web has no
spider and insects. The web is seen against a "scaly" background
pattern. Enclosing the web is a row of wedges (on two sides) in
graduated sizes. Border of mixed design at each selvedge. Colors
are indigo, ABC brown and broken-gourd yellow.

III-Ca-113 Spinning Wheel--Hohlenstein pre-1950. Arrangement is center-
piece. The spinning_whee1 looks like the Spider's Web from Texoprint,
but it is completely surrounded by a ring of 32 wedges. Background is
scaly, and a border with leaves runs parallel to selvedge. Colors are
brown, light purple, light green on light brown.

 

132

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III-Ca—ll3 Spinning Wheel

 

IIeA—sa-73 Spider's Web

133

I-Na-l9 Shell--Brunnschweiler old Brown Flemming, Arrangement is all-
over. Design is composed of rows of 9" x 7" stylized sea-shells facing
each other on a yellow background of all-over squares. These squares
appear as crosses or viewed from another angle as "cunwaform glyphs".
Colors are indigo, red and broken-gourd yellow.

II-Na-82 Bunch of Banana-*Texoprint 1936. Arrangement is all-over.
Design is identical to Shell. Colors are indigo, gold and lime-
yellow.

Hohlenstein--No sample.

I-Ca-ZO The Banana--Brunnschweiler old Brown Flemming, Arrangement is
patchwork. The field is patterned with banana-like shapes, stylized
"seashells," wing designs and foliage. A wide border along one selvedge
is filled with flowers and leaves. Colors are indigo, olive-drab and
red.

Texoprint--No sample.

III-Ca-116 The Bananar-Hohlensteingpre-l950. Arrangement is patchwork.
The design of Hohlenstein's sample of The Banana is almost identical
(with only minor differences) to the Brunnschweiler sample. Minute
differences appear in size and shape of some motifs. Colors are indigo,
tange and broken-gourd yellow.

I-Na-19 Shell II-Na-82 Bunch of Banana

I-Ca-ZO The Banana III—Ca—ll6 The Banana

 

135

I-P-t-29 Tree of Life--Brunnschweiler 1963 reprint of old design,
Arrangement is patchwork. Design is presented as a tree trunk with
serpentine branches, and bearing foliage, flowers and fruits of a mixed
botanical association. Colors are indigo, brick-red and white.

II-P-t-75 Good Jewels- Make No Noise-~Texoprint 1933. Arrangement is
patchwork. Design of Good Jewels Make No Noise is similar to Tree of
Life but with an increased number of motifs as well as variations of
them. Branches appear to originate from a tree-trunk in the Brunnsch-
weiler sample, but not in the sample from Texoprint. Colors are indigo,
virus-brown and white.

Hohlenstein--No sample.

I-Ca-Zl Yaw Donkor--Brunnschweiler old Grafton. Arrangement is patch-
work. Design is made of wing motifs which are tied together by gar-
lands, and which appears as a "covered dish" or an unidentified African
object. Non-Objective forms are scattered on the background. Colors
are indigo and broken-gourd yellow.

ll-Ca-72 Yaw Donkor--Texoprint 1930. Arrangement is patchwork. Design
of the Texoprint sample resembles the Brunnschweiler design, but with
distinct variations. The "covered dish" is lacking, garlands are dif-
ferently arranged, and stylized leaves and flowers take the place of

the non-objective forms scattered in the Brunnschweiler sample. Colors
are indigo, brick-red and buttercup yellow.

Hohlenstein--No sample.

Donkor

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72

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I—Ca-Zl Yaw Donkor

 

137

I-A-f—l7 Sea Bed-Brunnschweiler old Grafton design:~ Arrangement is
patchwork. The field is patterned with.a school of fish and large
stylized "seaweeds." Background is patterned all—over with undulating
lines (waves). Borders parallel to each selvedge are patterned with

a row of "fishhooks? on the one side and simulated "fishbones" on the
other side. Colors are indigo, tange and cream.

II-A-f—83 WOmen are Fond of Fish-—Texoprint 1939. Arrangement is
patchwork. Design of Wbmen are fond of Fish is very similar to the
design of Sea _B_cfl, but in the Texoprint sample the "seaweeds" are
smaller and are arranged along both selvedges while in the Brunnsch- '
weiler sample the "seaweeds" flows out from only one selvedge. Colors
are indigo, brick—red and yellow.

Hohlenstein--No sample.
Brunnschweiler--No sample.

II—Ca-78 Broken Pots--Texoprint 1934. Arrangement is patchwork. The
field is covered all-over by squares, arranged in diagonal rows,
separated by rectangular and square dividers. The squares are of two
kinds, (1) squares combining 8 triangles resembling pieces of a broken
pot, and (2) squares filled with stylized foliage. Colors are indigo,
red, light mustard and cream.

III-Ca-120 Turtle--Hoh1enstein_pre—l950. Arrangement is patchwork.

‘ The field in this sample is divided into three panels, separated by
borders. The design is identical to the Broken Pots, but the four
adjoining motifs from that design (squares) were enlarged to form 14"
x 14" squares arranged as centerpiece in the panels on a background of
cungéfiorm glyphs. Colors are indigo, yellow and red.

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III—Ca-lZO Turtle <:—

139

In summary, two sample collections of African wax—prints (225
samples with 135 different designs) were obtained from three European
manufacturers. The motifs of the designs were analyzed, described and
compared considering the inspirational sources, historical background,
year of design, arrangement of motifs, size of motifs, border, back-
ground, and color. Great diversity of design and color was observed.
Designs were traditional and non—traditional, and some were of old and

others of recent origin.

CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Summary

This study attempted to trace the history and development of waxF
printed textiles in West Africa from the early trade patterns of the
cloth commerce to the eighteenth century introduction of waprrints.
The major concern was to investigate the contemporary production and
use of such textiles which are produced in Europe for export primarily
to West Africa and Zéire, and to classify and analyze the designs of
a sample collection obtained from.three European manufacturers in
England, Holland, and Switzerland.

The premise of this investigation was that the African waxeprints
are not just ordinary printed fabrics, but contain expressions of West
African tradition and culture, and therefore have acquired significant
social prestige. The waxeprints are designed especially for the people
of West Africa and Zaire, and it is.assumed that.these prints will cone
tinue to be in demand for special occasions as long as they retain
traditional designs and reflect the West African culture.

A review of the literature revealed that decorated cloth was in
use in the early West African empires, that textiles were among the
chief imports in the thirteenth century, and that wavarinted textiles

probably were introduced in the nineteenth century. Fabric decoration

140

141

dates back to the ancient civilizations, and the methods employed were
passed on with few changes until the nineteenth century. The origins
of batik are obscure, but batik cloth reached its highest accomplish-
ments in Java, and from Java it was introduced to Holland in the
seventeenth century. However, Java batik did not become p0pular and
spread to other parts of Europe until the eighteenth century, and only
in the nineteenth century did Europe attempt to produce imitations of
the Java batiks. Such imitations, made especially for West Africa,
became part of the Manchester textile trade and have been exported to
Africa since the late nineteenth century.

In 1971 wax-printed textiles were produced for West Africa and
Zaire by three European manufacturers as well as by an increasing number
of mills operated in various West African countries. The technique
employed by the three factories was basically similar to the one prac—
ticed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries except that the tech—
nology was ingeniously mechanized. The design was printed with hot
resin (wax) on both sides of high quality cotton fabric of plain weave;
it was dyed indigo, and the resin was washed out, leaving a blue pattern
on a white background. Additional coloring was done by successive
repeated procedures, hand—blocking or printing. Throughout the process
attempts were made to attain the appearance produced by the old hand
method.

The wax—prints were used almost exclusively in West Africa. They
are worn by men as well as women and children. By some of the people it
was used as their best cloth, by others it was in use only on special

occasions; such as, ceremonial dances, local and state functions,

142

weddings, funerals, and as burial cloth. Color and design preferences
varied from country to country, as well as between town and country.
In general, the West African consumer had a highly develOped sense of
design, color, and quality. Therefore, he was not prepared to buy
second quality goods but was discriminating in his choices. The wax—
prints were adopted as national costume, acquired the significance of
status symbol, indicating wealth and social prestige, and some of the
people transferred much of their wealth into cloth.

The beautiful and carefully designed African wax—prints are not
known by many people outside of West Africa. The designs are either
traditional or untraditional. A design became traditional when it was
sold regularly over a period of years, when it was given a name, and
when it was valued and kept for the future. The consumers often named
the wax-prints according to what the motifs conveyed to them, or accord-
ing to an experience connected with the purchase or wearing of the cloth.
An examination of the collections in the producers' showrooms indicated
great diversity in color combination, style, design, and source of
inspiration. Apparently many were inspired by printed Indian cottons,
Javanese batiks, European prints, African indigenous cloth, traditional
African objects and symbols, consumer contacts, historical events,
religion, mythology, proverbs, utilitarian objects, natural forms, and
geometrical designs.

From the three European manufacturers, two almost identical wax—
print collections were obtained: The Eicher collection, presently avail—
able at.Michigan State University (108 samples); and the Nielsen col-

lection, presently available at Andrews University, Michigan (117 samples).

143

The combined collections totalled 225 samples of which 135 were of dif—
ferent design. It was proposed that a simple classification system be
used to arrange the collections into categories according to the
dominant motif of the design. The wax-print designs were described ac-
cording to inspirational source, historical background, arrangement of
motif, and description and color of design. A comparison was made of

ten similar designs produced by the various manufacturers.

Conclusions

African wax-printed textiles provide an example of how cultural
ideas are expressed and objectified in the designs. Great diversity in
color and design reflect the varied acceptance of the many African
countries. The search for the symbolic meaning of the wax-print designs
is complicated by the fact that African consumers often perceive the
motif differently from what was intended by the producers, and that the
consumers often name the design according to certain circumstances in
connection with the purchase or use of the cloth. Great changes take
place in modern West Africa, but while the Africans are perfectly will—
ing to innovate and modernize their society in many respects, it appears
evident that the traditional wax-printed textiles will continue to be

used and valued for a long time to come.

Recommendations

 

During this investigation the following possibilities for further

research emerged and are suggested.

144

African motivation for choice of design. A study conducted in West
Africa to interview consumers in an attempt to discover their motivation
for preferences of certain designs.

Naming of African waxeprints.- A study among West African consumers
to attempt to discover how they perceive various designs and reasons
for consequent naming.

Artistic expression of African'waxeprints. ‘A study of African
wax—prints from the point of view of elements and guidelines of design.

Catalgg_of‘wax+prints. A catalog of interesting African wax—prints
held in private and public collections.

Comparative study of African“and‘Europeanfiproduced waxtprints.

A comparative study of African‘wax+prints produced in Europe and Africa.

Trade in African.waxeprints.. A comparison and analysis of the past
75 years of trade in waxvprinted‘textiles to West Africa.

Study of Javafis,gKhanga£s,,andtMadras*. 'A study of Java, Khanga,
and Madras fabrics exported to Africa.

Japanese(production'of‘waprrints“for“Africa.v"A study of Japanese
wax—prints exported primarily to East Africa.

Investigation of African nonewaxfiprints.. An investigation of the

socio—economic importance of nonewax—printS'in various parts of Africa.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

LIST OF QUESTIONS

145

146

APPENDIX A

A list of questions of interest to the investigator, sent to each manu—
facturer before interviews in summer of 1971.

 

l.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Production or design number of fabric.

Name of designer.

Year of design, number of years of"production.
Manufacturer, country of.

Type of cloth.

Type of print.

Price of wax—prints.

Type and form of design.

Color combinations.

Arrangement of motifs.

Source of motifs.

Possible symbolic meaning of designs.

Quantity of production and sale of selected prints.
Countries importing Africandwax-prints.

Available historical information about origin and development of
African Wax-prints.

"Bestsellers". Why?

Opportunity to photograph production and sample cloths.
Availability of design books, graphs, and drawings.
Information about acceptance and use of prints by Africans.

Possibility of obtaining a sample collection of African wax-prints.

APPENDIX B

CATALOG OF AFRICAN WAX-PRINTS

147

148

APPENDIX B

CATALOG 0F AFRICAN WAX-PRINTS HELD IN EICHER

Production number:

Accession number:

Cataloginumber:

Year & name:

Arrangement:

 

Motif Category:

Color:

AND NIELSEN COLLECTIONS

manufacturers provided the production numbers.

samples were assigned numbers in sequence of acquisi-
tion, and the accession number appears last in the
catalog number.

each sample in the collection was assigned a number
in the catalog. A Roman numeral refers to the pro-
ducer.
I assigned to A. Brunnschweiler, Ltd.
II assigned to Vlisco, Texoprint, n.v.
III assigned to Hohlenstein, Ltd.

Motif category was designated by letters according
to subject matter as listed in key to classifica-
tion system (Table 6.1).

year.of design and name of print were listed when
possible.

arrangement of design was according to one of four
categories: "Centerpiece", "Four Corners",
"Patchwork", and "All-Over".

designs were grouped according to subject matter of
the dominant motif.

colors were as far as possible determined according
to Wax Prints-—Standard Shades by the Calico Printers
Association Limited. The shade numbers used by the
Standard Shades were retained (00-91) and additional
numbers added for unlisted shades.

 

Keygto Standard Shades:.

3 pad blue 18 tawny 35 tange

5 dyed yellow 19 olive drab 37 flame
11 yellow 20 light mustard 39 deep tange
12 broken gourd yellow 21 olive green 43 oxblood

13 buttercup yellow 24 gold 46 dolphin brown
16 dark mustard 26 sienna 49 pink

l7 mustard

27 tabac 52 abc brown

Key to Standard Shades (cont'd):

54
55
56
61
62
70

virus brown
dark brown
brown
green

congo green
red

Additional Shades:

 

93 cream

94 indigo

95 indigo & brown
96 special brown
Collection:

 

71
72
73
77
88
91

97
98

149

scarlet

claret

brick red
special blue

violet

lime yellow

dark violet
light violet

Eicher collection was designated (E)

Nielsen collection was designated (N)

Original design collections:

Brown Flemming (B.F.)
F. W. Grafton (F.G.)
Elson and Neal (Elson)

size of the repeat was measured to the nearest inch and

Size:
listed as width x length.
Market:
numbers:
1. Ghana 9.
2. Nigeria 10.
3. Zéire 11.
4. Sierra Leone 12.
5. Ivory Coast 13.
6. Liberia l4.
7. Togo 15.

8. Dahomey

the intended markets were listed according to the following

Senegal

Mali

Guinea

Brazzaville

Central African Republic
Chad

Niger

150

vmoafiuaoo

 

mH.~H.m szmo.mm.qs Amos

.o.s a.m.m.~.a sexes Amvmm.aa.ss swam euozeoums nausea: nous OHICL<IH «as u

ma

NH.HH.¢.A szau.m.ss moan ones

.w.m m.s.m.~.a maxmfl Amy mm.qs nmafinaoo xuoseuums m>ms use Imus sumouH mas u
NH.HH.m.a szoa.ma.sm onsa

.w.s .m.s.m.~.a mum Amvoq.as.ss censuses» naposaam “amuse noun mumouH mos u
sows amma

.u.s a.s.m.N.H meos AzsmV NH.sm umannaoo euosnuums umum\emosmmm Imus almouH «as u
NH.HH.m.a sz ma.sm sown smsa

.u.s .m.s.m.N.H waxes Amv Hm.em [mannaoo euoseoumg none m>ms smug oumuuH mas o

azvsm.~H.es
MH.N.N.H sNxNN Amvsm.afl.sm .nnouaon euozeoums mamas mmsfl msmzum son o
Azwmv soap

oxen sm.~H.ss [mafiaaoo auoseoums usages: sumonH can u
mH.a now“ come

.u.s .m.s.m.~.a sages Azsmem.ss -mafinaoo euoseoums Assam was sans» mumouH own u
NH.HH AzsmV coma

.u.m .s.a.m.~.a mess ma.o~.qm mumspam momfiaumuamo ems m.umsfiam sauna Numm-<-H mom u

NH.HH.¢
.s.m .a.m.s.N.H stHm AZsmvflm.ss means euoseuuma eons masses use momma Hunu<-H mas u
macauomaaoo Ammsoafiv
awfimmp ummmmu aoauomaaoo huowmumo Humans woman:
Hmafimauo nexus: mo muwm was MOHoo wane: unmammamuu< mamz “mow onMumo nOHuoovosm

 

 

AmeHuooHHoo comamwz paw um50fimv

mHZHmmIN<3 z<UHmm¢ mo GOA4H<U

m NHszmm<

151

wonaflucoo

 

pesos»

aofiu IHHmuH mHuuHA mmmH

.u.m H means sz Ha.em umafinaou euoseoume “canon as» -mua HmumunH mms o
NH.s.s Azsmv eons cums

.s.m .m.s.m.~.a Hflxwa s~.~a.sm Immanaoo euosnuuma museum was none omnmuuH sasuu

ma

.NH.HH.s.a Azsmv omsa

.m.m .m.e.m.~.a meNH oa.~H.sm .finouaon auosnouma Hamem use laws maumzuH Hasuu
NH.HH.A new» omsa

.m.m .m.s.m.~.a mmxs. AZAmvHs.ss [manages enosaouma sewaz was man uous mHImUIH moons
mH.HH.m Azsmv Amos

.o.m .a.m.e.N.H sexes mm.mm.sm swam euoseoums vmnmmm [was neumu<uH moons

HH.s.a use. lemma .

.m.m .n.e.m.~.a Hagen Azsmvmm.sm «newsman momsgumuamo [mass mo mmmum Imus oHuHuH com o
NH.HH.m.a Azsmv omma

.m.m .m.s.m.~.H sxs NH.oa.sm mmawm enoseoums someouousn :mus mH1uuH man u
HH.m Azsmv cuss

.s.m .a.m.s.N.H Assam sm.ae.ss swans euoseoums wagons museums; nous ssuaueuH Hmm o
nos“ ommfl

.m.m .a.m.s.~.e «muss Azsmv nm.ss -mafisaou mommaumunmu cumuumm same guys maumuuH so. u
Ha.m.a sown omma

.o.s .m.s.m.N.H wmxos Azsmvs~.sm -mnasaoo euozeuuma asses maemamo Imus «HumouH mms a
HH.s.a AZsmv cons omma

.m.m .m.s.m.N.H smxos mm.HH.sm umanpaoo moosaumunmo mmmouamum nuns HaumouH was s

macauoma Amonoawv
IHoo amammp moons“ coauooaaoo %uommumo Humans Hones:
Hmafiwwuo nexus: «0 exam was uoHoo mauoz unmsowamuu< mamz ummw wOHMumu doauosvoum

 

 

emsaaucoouum x~nzmmm<

152

ponnfiuooo

 

Azwmv doom
a.m.~ smxoq sm.as.sm suns mumfiauouaou uses accesses mesa mmunuauH «mas o
szma.es
a.m.m.m and Amvm.ss unnumaomm um>oIHHm swam: moss «mumouH amaa o
s Azsmv
.a.m.s.m.~ «was. sm.ma.sm mmamm oomfiaumuamu eumom mane mesa HmuwnH “can o
a.q.~ axes Azsmvsa.qa unnumaomm um>osaam use: oaom meme omumouH nose o
~H.Ha.m.a moms
.m.s.m.~.s mmxss Azsmvms.ss mmmuu euoseoums mung no mass .usmu smuuumuH amen o
szma.sm cons «nonemwm owsfl .
.m.m a.m.s.~.fi amass Amvam.sm Immaaaou momfisumunmu A can as was [was wNImouH Nmms u
szmn.aa.¢m mmfiuum moon
m.s.~.H mama Amvsm.m.ss usuuoaomm euoseuums -mafiuuom smoum Hess amumuuH anemic
szom.sm «swam .muaoa o~mH
.s.s m.~ maxsm Amvsw.em mmamm euoseosms umwn .muummm tans smuouH some a
mH.~H
.HH.m.a.o Azsmv onH
.s.s m.s.m.~m* mmxss NH.~a.ss nonumussm momssnmuamo umnmeaae Imus mmumuH NNNH o
.HH.s.a.o szss.ss mmsfl
.o.m m.s.m.N.H waxes Amvmm.hm.qm swam euoasouma muonemfim nous smumu<uH Now a
mH.~H.m.a . museums omma
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NH.HH oNsH
.s.m .a.m.s.~.fl «mus. AZsmve~.ss .flnonaoa momwaumuqmo uamnmsm woos -mus «Numan one u
soauoofl Ammsoafiv
IHoo awwmow umommu muowoumo Humane Humane
Hmnflmfiuo nexus: mo muwm uoaoo mauoz uaosmwnmuu< mamz umow wOHMumU moguonvoum

 

 

pmanfiuGOUIIm Nanmmm¢

woodwuaoo

153

 

NH.~ Azoa~.oa.eo need
.e.e.m.~.H one Amoao.ee.eo memos “spouses some may .ueou eeumsz memm o
o.a.e.m.~ eere Azomeem.oo meufie. momeououomu «use: as mouflm aeoH eeueu<rH eeNN o
down
eased Azomoom.eo neoneaoo auoseoumo usages: meuoouH eeNN o
Azomo some
No.5.e.~ eoxmm oe.e~.eo unneeaoo euoaeoumo «see ass: eeoH NeueouH Homo o
~H.a
.e.e.m.~ NHxHN Azomoe~.eo .eeosaoo “wanes pace meanness ass eeoa HeuozuH oNNN o
soap magnum
o.a.e.~ omxma Azomoom.eo nooeeaou auoaeuumo [Houmumeaoamoo eeoe oeuoouH eNNN o
sz n~.qm Hoamm
o.s.e.~ emxee Ame o~.eo .eeouaoa Hm>ouHHo oamemom eooo eeoH omuezuH oNNN o
Azsmo noon
NH.a.e eerH HH.em.eo nonoeaoo euoseoumo Hmaoweeo e>eo eeoH omuoouH eeam o
Azo oH.oo noes
o.e.e.~ onHN Ame e~.eo unneeaoo euoaeoumo zoom eooo mes mesa amueouH meow o
GOfiu
o.a.e.e.e mmxee Azomo e~.eo uncensou someoumucmo omameuom eons eeoH eeumouH some o
em:
on emuuoo NH.HH.o AonH.~e.eo
-xm omH< .a.e.e.m.a mxe AmoHH.oH.eo .oeouooa um>ouflflm seem eeoH emuezuH eeea o
Azo me.eo
emxee Amoe~.eo mousse someoumuaou Homes Homes eonenoue eoaa o
sowuoma Ammnoafiv
IHoo awammv ummmmu %Howoumo Henson Humane
Hmoawwuo umxumz «0 exam HoHoo mwuoz unmsmwamuu< mamz Meow measumo nowuonvoum

 

 

omaafiudoollm Nanmmm<

monafluaoo

 

AZomV
noeflm oH.e.m eHxNH HH.om.eo censuses» uo>onHHm smegma mam oaoa eeueouH maoea o
Azo
es eo.NH.oa.eo
oomflm .oH.NH.e.m momma Ame He.eo snowman euoseoumo ooHHHomm eeoH eeuenenH ease <
Azoao.eo
comes m emxaa Amooa.e~.eo nanoeaou euoseoume Hoooweno oases oeoa eeueouH eeae <
Azome.a~.eo
comes m Bases Amoam.ma.eo nonoeaoo xuoseouoo eeeam some mesa meumouH HaeHH <
Azomo
m mmxmm eH.HH.eo ease euozeuume eooeo as ewes oeoH NeueueuH eoem o
Azoom.HH.eo coon
“w A enema Amooa.ea.eo leaneaou xuoseoume masses ooemmflo mesa HelmouH omem o
1..
Azomo
NH.a.m.H one oa.ea.oo .eeouooo He>ouflam sauce oncomm seed oeaeouH emmm o
Azoee.flo.eo coon euoseouem
e.a.e.m.m eases AmoeN.~e.eo -mnfieaoo euoseoueo uefiamaeous eeoa oeuoouH meow o
ems
on common Azwmv
-xm owes NH.o.a.m.H emxefl e~.ee.oo meanness um>oIHHo m>e3ooee mesa oeuuuouH seem o
Azeem.oa.eo
NH.a.e.e.H exe Amomo.am.eo mouse um>ouaam ooeueumez sees seneu<uH ammm o
Azoom.eo some Hesse
a.e.e.m.~ mmxee Amoa~.~a.eo umaseaoo muofieumuomo noncommuecoamflo seem eeumouH memo o
coauooa Ammnoaev
aHoo awwmmp umomou knowwumo Hogans Hones:
Hmafiwfiuo umxumz mo mNHm HoHoo afiuoz unmamwamuu< mamz new» woamumu nOfiuuopoum

 

 

emaaeuaoouum anzmmm<

pooamuaoo

when mo moamsm
ounH away no:

155

 

m.m.m.s mxm Azoom.es.em usuomaoom euoszuumo nomo ems emm < omms meumouss omoee\es
Ems
ssm mmxee Aze em.em usmsosuan oomsmuouomo memosom eems meuzus mooss e
moampaommwas
Amv .A on muss
m emxee ms.me.em usmaosueo moosmumuamo smum>an< sue eems meuzus
ams
m mmxee Azo ms.em useaosumo. momsmyouamu asses oems eeuzus
emxmm Aze ms.em .meouaoa moosmumuaoo season meumz-s
oomsm m.m mmxos Amomm.em masseuse: euosnouom mmsuum assesses smms eeuous mmmes «
oomsm e.m.m mmxee Azoom.es.em messages: suoseoemm mssoueao smms melons somes 4
Azwmv Bow mommpamm
oomsm m esxes mm.om.em Ismaosumo euosnuumm :mens omnoo mems meuzns esmms <
Azomo
oomsm m.m.m msxms mm.ms.em enumeas euoseuumm meson moans mems seusuers mamms e
aoesm es.m.m.m.~ esxes Azsmom~.em mouse euoseoomm sacs mousse mems oeueueus eomms <
oomsm es.m.m.m es.ms Azemosm.em -maseaoo euozeoumo ems “oz mems mmuoous esmms e
Azemv
oomsm es.m esxee em.em.em .meouooo momsmumuamo mouse use omms mmumzus mmoes e
es.ms.e
oomsm .m.e.m.m.s mum AZomo mm.em mouse um>oasse suseo mems mmneu<us msmms «
nomuooa Ammnoomq
Isoo owsmow ummeos muowoumo Henson Hogans
smaswmuo umxumz mo oumm uoHou memo: ucoamwamun< mamz snow mOHMumo nomuoopoum

 

 

omsasuaoouum xsozmmme

156

UGDfifiUSOU

 

Ame
m.m mxes mm.mm.se.em Booso euoseoooo ooooos aom oems emu>uouss omeo\es
nose so
m msxee Azemm.ss.em nose sooznoooo oooe one ooaoz mmms mmusuouss mmeo\es
madman
m.m msxsm Azom.e~.em .meouooo Hooousso so eooom emms menozuss emeo\es
m.m.m.s mxm Amoss.em.em osuooaoom oopousso oomoos emms smuoouss mmeo\es.
mfiomu
m.m.s mmxee smoss.mm.em looseaoo mooseoooo oomsz one moo emms omuoouss omeo\es
omwou
m.m.m.s mmxee Azo ms.em .moouooo enoseoooo noom o so soon emms mmuozuss smeo\es
Azo oooso
m.m.m.m mxm mm.ms.om.em soosoaoo soozeoooo moon oosoom omms mmuoouss msoom\es
euwsmuum
e.m.m mmxeo Azoms.mm.em ooooo ooosooouooo os mason mmms mmuoumuss memo\es
m.m.m msxom Azoom.ms.em oooooos mooseoooo mssooooom mmms emusu<uss oommm\os
ommoz 02 exp:
m.m.m.s msxms Ame em.em ooooso sooseoooo osoaoo eooo mmms mmuoumuss eemo\es
m.m.m.m e\mxs Amee mm.em osnooaoom uo>ousso ooso mmms emuoonss emmo\es
m.m.m mmxee Azomm.ss.em osmosmo ooosooooooo nos o.uoosmm Nmms mmueou<nss memo\es
macaw
m.m.m msxms smoem.mm.em nooseaoo sooseoooo Loeooo so» omms mmuoouss somo\es
m.m.m.s sxs Amomo.mm.em osoooaoom mooseoooo osoosoo omms sm-oouss esmm\es
m.m.m ssxms smees.ss.em ossooo mooseoooo ssoom omms omuooueuss oeeme\es
nomuomH Awmnoamv
Isoo owmmop umomou muowoumo Hones: Hones:
Hmammmuo nexus: mo ousm uoaoo memo: unmammamuu< mamz umow woamumu cosmosvoum

 

 

vmsafiudoollm Nanmmm<

157

wooafiuaoo

 

maomu
m.m.~.s osxss Ame ms.em :ooseaoo enoseoooo osooxoo mmms oosuoouss moos m
ms.m.m ssxms Ame ~s.em moose uo>ousso osooxoo mmms mmteu<uss msos m
m.m msxms Ame ms.em oomo mooseoooo osooxoo mmms mmuouzwss mom m
m.m.m msxm Amoom.ms.om osoaaoa_ oopousso osoosoo emms mmua1<uss oommm\os
maomu
m.m.~.s msxes Ame ms.em uoosoaoo mooseoooo osooxoo emms emuoolss mom m
m.m.~.s mxs AZomoms.om .meonooo oo>ousso osooso: emms mmuozuss emm m
Azomo
m.m.m.s exm mm.em.em .meouooo uo>ousso oaooeoo emms emuozuss mess m
Azomm.ss.sm
m.m.s msxms smome.mm.se ooooso sooseoooo osooxoo emms mmumuss mmos\es
m.m.~.s sxs szo ms.em osuooaoom uo>ousso so: ooosuss emms «muoouss eeos\es
Azomv
m.m.s xxe se.sm.em .eoouooo oo>ousso oesooo osoomsz mmms smuozuss mmmo\es
m.e.m.m.s msxos Ame ms.em nose mooseooom ooooeoo smms omuen<uss ooe m
e.m.s msmxo Azoem.ms.em .meouooo euoseoooo oaooaoo smms mmuozuss mmm m
m.m.m.m.s msxms Azoms.om.em moose euoseoooo ozooxoo smms mmueu<uss mem m
moosu
ms.m.m.m.s emxee Azomm.om.em -ooseaoo eooseoooo osooeoo moms mm-oouss eee m
m.e.m esxms Azomm.em oomo xuozeoooo omm one moms emuouzwss oemo\es
m.e.m.m sxm AZomvmm.em moose uo>ousso ossoo ooosoo moms mmueuouss emmo\es
Gowuoms Awmnoamv
Iaoo awmmmp ummaou huomoumo Hogans Humans
Hmamwmuo moxumz_ mo mNHm Hosou msuoz udofiowcmuu< mamz How» monumU somuoopoum

 

 

vmaafiuaoollm Nanmmm<

ponnsudou

 

_ oooso omms
m emxee smomm.em tooseaoo ouooooo1oooe aoosooss -.ouo mssnoousss
Azoom.ss.em oooso omms
m smxee Amoss.em nooseaoo ouooooosuoos oesosm noon :ouo ess-oousss

m mmxee Azome.ss.em ossoeo mooouoo-ooos osoosoo omms mssuoporss mmem\es

Aze
m mass mm.se.em.em oooooosoo mooseoooo osoosoo, omms mss;ouss smmm\es
m.~ msxee AZoms.om.em osoooaoom ooosmuooooo oaooxoo mems ssstoosss emem\es
m mmxee Amomm.mm.em ooooso ooosooooooo oaooaoo mems osstegmuss eem~\es

mdomu
m.m.m mxee AZVNs.mm.em Looseaoo uo>o.sso oaooeoo mems mos-oozss oeem\es
m.s ssxmm Amoom.m.em oooosm uo>ossso oaoosoo eems mossosmxss ooemm\es
8

up m.m.s exm Azoms.~m.em .seotooo euoseoooo oaoosoo eems mostozrss emom\es
m mmxee szo m~.mm.om .seouooo. ooosooooooo osooeo: eems eosuozuss smom\es

Ame
m.m.s mxe se.mm.ms.em woooossssa. uo>ousso oaoosos mems mosuoaxerss emms\os
m.m.m.s mam smoom.ms.em mono uo>olsso ooooeooooo mems oosuosumuss memo\es
m.m.m.m.s mus Azomo.mm.em .meo.ooo oo>ossso oaoosoo mems mosuozuss mmss m

Azomo
m.m msxss mm.ss.em osnooaoom sooaaoooo ozooxo: omms mosxoozss mess m

mnoau .
m.m.s msxeo Azoms.om -ooseaoo. suoseoooo osooeoo. mems sos-oouss omss m
nomuooa Ammnoamv
Isoo swsmop unmaou huommumo Hogans Henson
Hmsmmmuo nexus: mo onmm Hoaoo ,msuozw udofiomfimun¢ mamz snow woamumo somuonwoum

 

 

oososoooosum xsozmmm<

wmoawuaoo

159

 

m.s omxom Azomo ms.em osuooaoom ooosouooooo osoamso emms mmsuoousss
s ssxes Azomom.em osuooaoom oopousso Hossoooom mems mmsnoousss
Azomvse.em
m.s sxs Azomoms.em ooooo oo>ousso oooo emms emsuosumusss
AZomvms.om

m.s mxs Azomose.em osoooaoom oooousso ooossom emms mmsuoousss

mooso omms
m.s mmxee Azomm.m.em nooseaoo mooseoooo oomoomoom loom omsuoousss

Azo mm.em omms
m.s ssxmm Ame om.em nose sooseoooo ooeoso uouo mmsueueusss

Azomm.ms.em oooso omms
m.s smxeo Ame mm.em nooseaoo mooseoooo oemsz ooe moo nooo mmsuoousss

Azose.em omms
m omxeo smess.me.em oooooos esoseoooo ooooos loom smsnsu<1sss

Azoom.ss.em mooso omms
m.s omxsm Amose.em nooseaoo sooaeooom osooos nous omsuoonsss

Azoom.em omms
m.s emxsm Ame ms.em .meouooo sooaeoooo osoom mes uooo mssuozusss

omms
m omxem Azoms.sm.em mouse mooseooom oooom none mssueuersss

Azomomm.em omms
m.H mxos Azwqum omuumaomw Ho>0IHHm amoQSSm noun NHHImUIHHH

maomu omma
sso msxeo Azoms.mm.em nooseaoo sooseoooo ooooom uooo essuoousss

comuooa Awesomwv
IHoo Gwswop umomon huowoumo Humans Henson
Hmmwmmuo umxumz mo mnmm Hosoo memo: unmamwsmuu< mamz umow woamumo aomuoowoum

 

 

woodwuaoollm Nanmmm<

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