Versatile A Shima Cho Or Fabric Sample Book: Early Twentieth Century Get 95% Off Today [raPKgETX]

early twentieth century
when closed: 10 1/4" x 7 1/4" x 3/4", 26 cm x 18.5 cm x 2 cm
8 double sided pages of samples; 1 single sided page of samples

Shimacho means, literally, "stripe album." The small, cotton swatches contained within it are usually striped cotton, or some variation on striped cotton. In this case the swatches are affixed to the inside of a kind of recycled book.

This book shows 8  pages with swatches on each side of the page and one page showing swatches glued to only one side. The balance of the book is in pages of what appear to be printed script that have been turned inside-out before being bound.

A shimacho is said to be an album of home weaving that a bride takes from her family home when she's married and begins her life in the home of her new husband's family.  Most likely this is in part true, however it is more likely that a shimacho has a broader beginning and a less prosaic life.  It is not unthinkable that a sliver of a neighbor's weaving found its way into a shimacho, or some such thing.

Often the striped cloth in a shimacho shows narrow stripes or small checks in dark colors.  The reason for this is that in old Japan there were sumptuary laws which dictated how a person could dress and how they should conduct other aspects of their lives.  Most of the population was only allowed to wear dark, somber colors and cloth showing very little pattern, if any.

Therefore, shimacho usually reflect this societal dictate by showing scraps of hand woven cotton in dark colors.

This one contains lovely pieces of striped and checked mainly hand loomed cotton cloth which date from the early twentieth century, more or less.

A wonderful thing to own.