Serbian men with wool they hid from the Germans during the war, 1919 (Library of Congress)
wool; shortages
Photograph of Serbian men posing with sacks of wool they had hidden from the Germans during WWI
American Red Cross photograph collection
LOC
LOC Red Cross collection public domain
AnnaMaria von Phul Watercolor
American Indian woman wearing trade blanket
Anna Maria von Phul
Missouri Historical Society
ca. 1815
Conserving wool cartoon, 1941-45, US. By Charles Shows. (NARA)
Soldier and woman in bathing suit walk on the beach. Caption "I'm conserving wool, this bathing suit's painted on."
Charles Shows
NARA
1941-45
NARA - check
Group of knitting samples and yarns for US Army and Navy during WWI; Given by Fleischer Yarn Co., Pennsylvania, to the US National Museum in 1918.
knitting; war work
Photographs (record shots only, not for print publication) of items from group of yarn skeins in Navy grey and Army khaki; and samples of items to be knitted for the armed forces by civilians: balaclava style hat, scarf, mittens, etc.
Fleischer Yarn Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NMAH/Textiles
1917-18
NMAH
Roumania: Packing wool, August 1917. German Official Photograph, WWI
wool; commandeer
Photograph of men and women, possibly under guard, packing sacks with wool. German Official Photograph. August 1917. Wool is for delivery to Germany. Note on card: Bufa 4534. Roumania.
German Official Photograph, World War I
NARA
1917
NARA public domain
Connecticut State Council of Defense War Exhibit, Hartford 18 Oct 1918. Conservation of wool and cloth. (NARA)
wool; shortages
Photograph of display set up to instruct in ways to conserve wool and other textiles for the war effort. October 1918, Connecticut.
J. Fred Dunn, photographer
NARA
18 Oct 1918
NARA public domain
Wool sorting room; Steere Mill, Wanskuck Co., RI. 1918 (NARA)
wool; woollen industry
Photograph of group of men with wool sorting bins in front and mountains of raw wool behind. "Industries of War. Manufacturing woolen cloth for government, Steere Mill, Wansjuck Co. Wool sorting room"
John R. Hess, photographer, Providence, RI.
NARA
1918
NARA public domain
Sorting wool after Cleaning and Washing, Lawrence, Massachusetts. ca. 1912. (NYPL)
wool sorting
Keystone stereograph of man sorting wool surrounded by baskets and boxes
Keystone Views
NYPL
ca. 1912
NYPL
Photograph, Sheep grazing in the High Wallowas on E. Eagle Creek - Orin Hutton sheep (NARA)
sheep; American west
Photograph of mountainous landscape with sheep scattered in foreground range with trees rising to mountains beyond.
L.D. Bailey, photographer
NARA
1945
NARA
Fleece on the sheep's back
wool
Photograph of sheep's fleece
M Shaw
2019
Fabric of War project owns rights
Fleece on sorting table
wool
M Shaw
2019
Fabric of War project owns rights
Saxony superfine merino wool
wool
sample of Saxony superfine merino
M Shaw
Fabric of War project owns rights
Poster: 20 at home to 1 in the Trenches
war effort
Poster for co-operative work on Homefront to support soldiers at the front
National Industrial Cooperative Movement
Library of Congress
1917-18
LOC public domain
A Button Hole
Wool uniforms worn by US Union soldiers in the American Civil War.
Greatcoat button hole created with silk twist thread in a standard buttonhole (or blanket) stitch, over a laid thread, to produce a solid line around the slit opening. Good workmanship meant closely spaced, even stitches that kept the thick, heavy woolen cloth from fraying with use.
US Army Quartermaster
US Army Quartermaster Museum
1861-1865
Trish FitzSimons
US Army Quartermaster Museum
photograph
Manufacturing sheepskin lined garments for the US Government, 1918 (NARA)
Photograph of male and female workers handling and cutting pattern pieces from sheepskins to make mackinaws, jerkins, and coats for the US Government during WWI. Taken at the Wyman Partridge Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota.. Cutting thousands of pelts for collars and linings.
Wyman Partridge Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota
NARA
4 Oct 1918
Civil War Greatcoat
Military uniforms; American Civil War
Union infantry overcoat with shoulder cape and stand collar; made of new wool broadcloth, tightly woven in a plain weave, and heavily fulled (washed to prevent shrinkage and increase durability) with collar and brass buttons. This US Army Overcoat would have been produced sometime between 1851 and 1861. It has the name A.Harrison inside, which may be the name of the soldier that wore it, for at least part of its life in the US Civil War. <em>See <a href="https://fabricofwar.gitlab.io/coat/">Interactive Greatcoat</a></em>
<a href="http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/main.html?n=1"></a>
<p><a href="http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/main.html?n=1">US Army Quartermaster Museum </a><span lang="en-us">Ft. Lee, VA.<br /><br />Object QMR-85.10.03<br /><br /><br /></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/main.html?n=1"></a></p>
1851-1861
US Army Quartermaster Museum.Ft. Lee, VA.
Photograph by Stephen Harrison.
Colour photograph.
A Brass Button
Military uniforms
Standard US Army eagle button.
No letter appears on the shield to indicate a particular branch of service. The nap (brushed surface) of the woolen cloth has worn off with use and abrasion, revealing the warp and weft threads.
U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, Ft. Lee, VA
1861-1865
US Army Quartermaster Museum.
Colour Photograph
The Collar
Wool uniforms worn by US Union soldiers in the American Civil War.
The stitching here is so even it almost looks like machine work, but is hand sewn. The double-layer, high standing collar protected a soldier from drafts, just as the elbow length cape added protection from wind and weather.
U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, Ft. Lee, VA
1861-1865
Colour photograph
Bales on Bullocks
Australian wool
Bales of wool ready to be transported for manufacturing.
Getting wool to market from all parts of inland Australia where it was produced was never easy, especially before motorized transport
The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. # 00g03065.jpg.
Black & White Photograph
Wool show room, Sydney
Global Wool Trade; Wool Grades & Classing; Sheep and Wool
Photograph of tables filled with sheep’s fleeces at a wool show room in Sydney, Australia. Wool sales began to move to Australia from England in the later 19th century, when technology such as steam-powered ships and the telegraph enabled more rapid communication and transportation - not just of the wool, but of those who bought and sold it.
Tyrell collection: <a href="https://collection.maas.museum/object/27934">Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences,</a> Kerry and Co, Sydney Australia. Object Number 85/1284-1359 Tyrell Inventory Number 49/71, 2620 Kerry Studio Number
Black & white photograph
Spinning Wool
Australian and NZ wool production and industries
Spinning wool in factory
Sepia tinted photograph
Sheep in yards
Australian and NZ wool industries
Classing sheep in yards
Kerry Collection, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney 85/1284-810
B&W photograph
Wool Standards Sample, 1946: Grades 36 and 44
Wool Grades & Classing; Global Wool Trade
The 1926 standards distinguished 12 grades of wool by fiber diameter. By 1968 the U.S. classification had 16 grades, from Finer than grade 80s, down to Coarser than grade 36. This group of three samples shows the coarser, long staple grades. Notice that the one marked “36” is also labeled “Braid”. This suggests that this type of wool was best suited to manufacturing durable upholstery and garment trimmings, such as braids or cords.
1946
Colour photograph
Wool Standards Sample, 1946: Grades 56, 58, and 60
Wool Grades & Classing: Global Wool Trade
The 1926 standards distinguished 12 grades of wool by fiber diameter. By 1968 the U.S. classification had 16 grades, from Finer than grade 80s, down to Coarser than grade 36. This group of three samples shows the medium grades.
1946
Colour photograph
Ewe Hogget Haddon Rig 1892
Australian wool; Sheep & Wool
Wool sample "Ewe Hogget" 1892
Haddon Rig, Warren NSW.
<a href="https://maas.museum/inside-the-collection/2011/11/18/the-peppin-merino/">Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences</a> Sydney
1892
Photograph by Sandra McEwen ( former Curator at MASS)
Colour photograph
Wool Standards Sample, 1946: Grades 64, 70, and 80
Wool Grades & Classing: Global Wool Trade
Samples from the US Quartermasters ‘Official Standards Box’. The 1926 standards distinguished 12 grades of wool by fiber diameter. By 1968 the U.S. classification had 16 grades, from finer than grade 80s, down to coarser than grade 36. This group of three samples shows the finer grades.
US Quartermasters Museum, Ft Lee, Virginia.
1946
Colour photograph.
Booklet of Standard Uniform Fabrics, US Army
Military Uniforms; Wool & War
Folder of sample uniform fabrics: War Department, Office of Quartermaster General, Washington D.C. Whether in peace or war, the world’s military forces required cloth of many different weights (tropical, medium, and heavy), types (flannel for shorts, twill for trousers, broadcloth for overcoats), and qualities (new wool, part shoddy, cotton mixed). Dress and field uniforms suffered very different conditions. And all these fabrics had to be woven, dyed, and finished to strict specifications.
U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum
1930
Colour photograph
Official standards of the United States for grades of wool 1946
Wool Grades & Classing: Global Wool Trade
Wool Standards Box, 1946: US Department of Agriculture. Notice inside the cover of a large box that included Wool Grades 36&44, 56-60 and 64-80. Box top with signed certificate of standards, verifying samples of raw wool.
A sheep’s fleece could be graded into many qualities of wool fibers. Fibre diameter (fineness) was an important factor in what products the wool could be used to manufacture, and in its price. Standards boxes ensured that wool grades were clear to both sellers and buyers.
U.S. Army Quartermaster’s Museum
1946
Collar Fragment: 16th Australian Infantry Battalion
Military Uniforms
Fragment of officer's tunic collar: 16 Battalion, AIF, Bloody Angle, Gallipoli. Remains of a proper right side Australian officer's tunic collar. Attached to it are a Rising Sun badge and three other badges.
<a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1244480">Australian War Memorial</a>#RELAWM07839.012
1915
Australian War Memorial
Oxidized brass, Wool. c1915
Inside view: Standard Uniform Army Fabrics booklet US Army
Military Uniforms
US Quartermasters Museum, Fort Lee Virginia.
1930