WHAT GOES TO THE MAKING OF A SILK GOWN.
Visitors to the International Exhibition at Edinburgh who have watched with wonder and admiration the deft fingers of the silk-winder as she winds the delicate straw-coloured threads from the cocoon, may be interested to know something of the rise and progress of the manufacture of this, the most beautiful and costly of all our textile fabrics.
The spinning of silk was first discovered in China, and is supposed to have been practised there almost two thousand eight hundred years before the birth of Christ. A Chinese empress, See-ling, a native of India, is said to have discovered, probably by accident, that those wonderful cocoons which the silkworm prepares for its transformation might be pressed into the service of man in the same way as cotton and flax are. She unravelled the delicate fibres, and found them to be strong, though fine, and capable of being woven into a web. Prosecuting her researches, she learned how to breed and rear the worms so as to obtain an abundant supply of cocoons; and in this way initiated a new industry, which the empresses who succeeded her delighted to foster.
For a long time the weaving of silk was in the hands of the court ladies; then, by slow degrees, it passed from rank to rank, until it became the favourite occupation of all classes of women. It was introduced into Europe by way of Constantinople; and in 527 A.D., in the reign of Justinian, it had become so far common that garments of silk were the favourite wear of the Byzantine nobles. The origin and manufacture of this beautiful fabric seem, however, to have been very imperfectly understood, until two monks who had travelled through India and China astonished the emperor and his court by informing them that the shining silk garments which they admired so much owed their existence in the first place to the labours of a small worm. Justinian, like many crowned heads, was often in want of money, and it occurred to him, as he listened to the travellers’ wonderful tales, that if he could introduce the manufacture of this costly cloth into his dominions, it would be a sure and increasing source of revenue. Thus judging, he offered the two monks a large reward if they would procure for him a supply of the eggs of this wonderful creature. The monks undertook the commission; and after much difficulty, succeeded in procuring a few ounces of the eggs of the silkworm moth. This treasure, which they had not obtained without danger, they hid in two hollow canes which they used as staffs. One of these precious staffs was lost; but the other was safely presented to Justinian; and the supply of eggs so curiously procured laid the foundation of a flourishing silk-manufacture.
This, which was at first a close monopoly, guarded with the most jealous care, gradually became extended to other countries, as wave after wave of conquest swept over the Eastern Empire. One of these conquerors, Roger, king of Sicily, in 1140 transported a whole colony of silk-weavers, with a plentiful supply of eggs, from Constantinople to Palermo, where, for many centuries afterwards, a great manufacture of silk flourished. It was not until nearly a hundred years after the Sicilian king’s invasion of Constantinople that the enterprising citizens of Genoa and Venice succeeded in procuring a supply of the coveted eggs, and very soon made their countries famous for the manufacture of silk. In 1300, the velvets of Genoa were renowned throughout Europe; but there was always an attempt, more or less, to make the manufacture of silk a monopoly; and it was not until nearly two hundred years after the Italian cities had become famous centres of the silk industry, that the manufacture was introduced into France. When it did come, it was, as in the case of Roger of Sicily, in the train of a conqueror. Francis I., while pursuing his conquests in the north of Italy, became aware of the wealth and importance of this branch of industry, and succeeded, partly by bribery, partly by force, in planting colonies of silk-weavers in Lyons, Avignon, and Tours. In all these cities it flourished greatly in a short time, particularly in Lyons, which speedily became one of the centres of the silk-manufacture throughout Europe.
In England, James I. made an effort to introduce it; but, in spite of his fostering care, it did not at first take kindly to the soil, and, in fact, never throve until it was re-introduced by the Huguenot refugees who were driven from France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Under their care it became for a short time very prosperous, and England bade fair to rival either Italy or France; but the trade was from the first a close monopoly, from which all outsiders, either foreigners or natives, were jealously excluded. The consequence of this was that there was no improvement; the manufacture stood still in England, while in France it was making gigantic strides. It was in vain that successive acts of parliament were enacted to foster and encourage it; it continued to decline until 1824, when it was at last freed from the swaddling bands which had so long impeded all free growth and progress. It has, however, been found impossible to recover as yet our lost ground, and the great proportion of the silk used in this country still comes from France. In the year 1877, our import of silk amounted to £12,631,822, of which by far the greater amount came from France. France, indeed, at this moment far surpasses, in the production of silk, any other country in the world, the annual value of this manufacture being about thirty millions. Many causes have been at work in France to produce this result, one of which is undoubtedly the attention paid to technical education, and the extent to which it is taken advantage of by both men and women.
There are two distinct systems under which, across the Channel, this important manufacture is carried on. Around Lyons, the trade is in the hands of small practical manufacturers, who have risen by dint of industry and skill from the ranks of workmen. These men set up in business for themselves, but not in any large way; they do not employ many hands, and often themselves work harder than any of their assistants. These hands, both male and female—for women are employed as largely as men—can and do receive instruction at a very cheap rate, and from the best masters, at one or other of the Ecoles de Théorie of Lyons. There the whole process and the best modes of silk manufacture are exhaustively taught. Chemistry and the arts of colouring silk, with the drawing and designing of patterns, are included in the lessons. This system of small manufacturers, who board in their own families the apprentices whom they train to their trade, was once general throughout France; but within the last fifty years it has in many districts been superseded by another, known as the Convent Factory system. It sprang up first among the Jura Mountains at the small village of Jujurieux. A native of the village, a poor lad, had worked at Lyons as an apprentice in the establishment of one of the small master manufacturers so common there. By dint of industry and intelligence, Jean Bonnet soon became a master himself, and entering into contracts with important Parisian houses, in course of time accumulated a large fortune. Returning to his native place, he found it as he had left it, ugly, decaying, and wretchedly poor, and resolved to raise it to prosperity. He began by buying a large piece of ground, on which he built a number of pretty cottages, a handsome church, and finally a large factory, in which he resolved to employ only women. He fed, lodged, and clothed the poor girls whom he received into his employment, paid them small wages, and taught them the art of silk-weaving along with the rudiments of education. At the beginning of his enterprise, he had many difficulties to contend with; his pupils in the first instance often preferred the rough work of the fields; but he persevered with his experiment until he had conquered all obstacles, and made Jujurieux prosperous, and his system a success. The girls, the native material out of which he formed his workwomen, became, by the aid of a select body of nuns whom he had enlisted in his service, famous throughout France for their good conduct and respectability.
The success of this first convent factory led to the establishment of many others, which with varying fortunes still continue to be worked very much on the same principle. Not all were so successful as that of Jujurieux; but many have been so to a great degree, and there are now three large factories conducted on this principle in the south of France. Sometimes nuns are employed as teachers, but not invariably so; in many instances their place is taken by female superintendents expert at the trade. These women, like the small master manufacturers, often display the kindliest interest in those under their charge; and if they see a girl exceptionally clever and intelligent, will make no inconsiderable personal sacrifices to enable her to perfect herself in the higher branches of the industry by becoming a designer of new materials, of patterns, and combinations of colour, such as are rigidly demanded with every successive season by the uncompromising tyranny of Fashion.