About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherThames & Hudson

ISBN-100500291136

ISBN-139780500291139

eBay Product ID (ePID)159968915

Product Key Features

Book TitleTextiles: the Whole Story : Uses · Meanings · Significance

Number of Pages304 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2014

TopicTextile & Costume, Fiber Arts & Textiles

IllustratorYes

GenreDesign, Crafts & Hobbies

AuthorBeverly Gordon

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight45.9 Oz

Item Length10.3 in

Item Width7.9 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

ReviewsWhen this book was published in hardcover in 2011, I called it 'a bravura scholarly performance' . . . It is a pleasure to see this paperback form, at roughly half the original price.

Synopsis"Leads readers from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century, while weaving its story from strands of craft, history and anthropology, and science and culture. . . . An outstanding achievement." --Library Journal, This worldwide survey is essential reading for anyone with a passion for textiles, whether creative, professional or educational. A dazzling array of illustrations includes paintings and photographs of both historic and contemporary textiles and a broad collection of textiles being created, worn and lived with. The author reminds us powerfully of the significance of fabrics throughout human history. Her expertise is enriched by her own hands-on experience: spinning silk from silkworm cocoons, weaving cloth and creating natural dyes. As a curator she has studied thousands of textiles. Bridging past and present - from the Stone Age to 21st-century 'smart fabrics' which can regulate body temperature or measure the wearer's pulse - the book integrates craft, art, science, history and anthropology, drawing on examples from around the globe. Here are topics such as the universality of textiles in human language and experience; their social role in bonding families and communities; the importance of textiles in world trade; their spiritual and sacred aspects; and the work of artists using textiles as their medium., The author bridges past and present, from the Stone Age--when humans first learned to make cordage and thread--to twenty-first-century "smart fabrics," which can regulate body temperature or measure the wearer's pulse. Her discussion integrates craft, art, science, history, and anthropology, and she draws on examples from around the globe. A dazzling array of illustrations includes paintings and photographs of historic and contemporary textiles plus a broad collection of textiles being created, worn, and lived with today., There are few aspects of our lives--physical, emotional, spiritual--in which thread and fabrics do not play a notable part. Beverly Gordon reminds us memorably and movingly of the powerful significance of fabric throughout human history. Her expertise is enriched by her own hands-on experience: spinning silk from silkworm cocoons, weaving cloth, and creating natural dyes. In addition, she has studied thousands of textiles in a curatorial context; her familiarity includes the processing and handling of textiles as well as the making of them. The author bridges past and present, from the Stone Age--when humans first learned to make cordage and thread--to twenty-first-century "smart fabrics," which can regulate body temperature or measure the wearer's pulse. Her discussion integrates craft, art, science, history, and anthropology, and she draws on examples from around the globe. A dazzling array of illustrations includes paintings and photographs of historic and contemporary textiles plus a broad collection of textiles being created, worn, and lived with today.

LC Classification NumberNK8806