At a Glance
Postage stamps tell the story of the textile town
Exhibition “Textile Philately” at Haus der Seidenkultur.
“Textile Philately” is the title of the new temporary exhibition at Haus der Seidenkultur (HdS), which opened on Sunday, 21st August. The private collection of velvet weaver Hans Siegfried Hermanns on the subject “Textiles on postage stamps” forms the core of the exhibition.
(Collector Hanns-Siegfried Hermanns)
“This collection gives a wide insight into the complex processes involved in textile production starting with the extraction of the fibres right up to the finished product,“ says curator Dr. Ulrike Denter who has assembled some 130 exhibits. These include numerous postage stamps and postcards which reflect part of the history of the textile town.
(Curator Dr. Ulrike Denter)
“Textile Philately” depicts how the postal system in Krefeld evolved. Amongst the Krefeld postage stamps with special postmarks are the first postage stamps to be used in in the silk town and the first Krefeld postmark dating from1798. The exhibition impressively demonstrates how quickly the postal system grew in the textile town.
The exhibition in the former weaving workshop for ecclesiastical textiles focuses on textile occupations, manufacturing processes and those companies which once played a dominant role in the textile town. “It is surprising how postage stamps and postcards can depict a fascinating episode of Krefeld textile history,” said Dr. Ulrike Denter whilst preparing the exhibition.
“Textile Philately” also presents the now forgotten mechanically applied advertising stamps which companies such as “Crefelder Baumwoll-Spinnerei” (cotton spinning mill) or “ Diana-Spinnstoff-Manufaktur“ used.
Rare items amongst the exhibits are the postage stamps which are printed on textiles or have been artistically embroidered. Textile postcards depict the Local Court and the weaving school or mark “German Tailors’ Day” in Krefeld. One postage stamp was dedicated to the famous Bauhaus follower, painter and graphic artist Prof. Georg Muche who once taught the master class at the Krefeld Textile Engineering College.
“Textile Philately”: That was naturally reason enough for the HdS to issue a postage stamp of its own. “However our postage stamp is only valid in the private postal system in the Netherlands,” explains HdS Chairman Hansgeorg Hauser.
(HdS issues its own postage stamp to mark the exhibition “Textile Philately”)
The exhibition will run until 30th July 2012.