"Beim weiblichen Buchbindermeister"
Eine undatierte [1920er] Photoserie in einer nicht identifizierten Zeitschrift bei einer unbekannten Buchbinderei die von einer Buchbindemeisterin betrieben wurde, und wo nur Frauen als Gesellinnen und Lehrlingen arbeiteten. Auf der Rückseite Werbung für Schnittmuster in denen ein Postfach in Leipzig erwähnt wird, was aber nichts zu sagen hat was den Ort der Zeitschrift betrifft.
"At the female Master bookbinders" An undated [1920s] photo series taken for an unknown periodical at an unidentified woman-owned bindery that only employed and apprenticed women. On the verso, fashion patterns for "older" women that reference a post office box in Leipzig, which doesn't have to mean anything.
Doppelseite mit Beschreibung in der Mitte Double-page spread with description in the center
Ernst Collin wrote a number of articles related to binderies and war production during the First World War. Among them "Papier als Spinnstoff" (1918) in which he described making textiles from paper for use in clothing, tarps, packs, and elsewhere as a substitute for the harder to come by cotton, wool, linen. In the case of Germany, the cellulose was derived from plentiful softwoods. In the article he also acknowledged that paper had a long tradition as the basis for textiles in Asia. Shifu anyone? Have to love Open Access!
In January 1917, the New York Sun noted that the Germans had devised paper-based threads for making “sacks and bags, girdles, doilies, aprons, working garments,” as well as dresses and other clothing. “The inventors have discovered a way to give the ‘paper cloth’ great resistance to dampness,” the reported added, answering one obvious question on readers’ minds. Other articles noted that the Germans made parts of military uniforms out of paper, including those worn by their pilots and submarine crews.
From "When Paper Clothing Was the Perfect Fit:
A war-weary world needed a new wardrobe,
and this cheap, washable attire seemed to rise to the occasion"
Apparently an attempt was also made to introduce textiles from paper in the US and elsewhere after the war:
But it was the possibilities of paper clothing that captured attention in the U.S., especially after the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce imported a batch of Austrian paper suits, displayed them at its offices in Washington, D.C., and then sent them on tour to cities around the country. When the Washington exhibit opened in September 1920, the Associated Press noted that “one suit is quoted at fifteen cents, and is washable.” The exhibit also featured paper table covers, laundry bags, wall decorations and twine, among other items.
With the end of rationing and increasing "prosperity," the use of paper for textiles came to a quick end, despite attempts in the 60s. Why wear ersatz when the real thing is available again...
Found some references to paper fashion in the 60s from Pathe as well, in this case for women.
Fast forward to 2018, and we have "paper on skin", the "Burnie Wearable Art Competition" in Tasmania, Australia. "The garments must be wearable and made from at least 80 per cent paper.
The competition is a nod to Burnie’s connection to papermaking, past and
present." Until 2010, Burnie was home to a paper mill that closed after failing to find a buyer...
Collin, Ernst. "Die Buchbinderei im Weltkriege". Archiv für Buchgewerbe, Leipzig: A. Waldow - Verlag des deutschen Buchgewerbevereins, Vol 53, 1918. (275-279)
Collin, Ernst. "Papier als Spinnstoff". Archiv für Buchgewerbe, Leipzig: A. Waldow - Verlag des deutschen Buchgewerbevereins, Vol 55, 1918. (17-19)
