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Paisley's museum collections
reflect its fame is as a centre of the textile industry in the
19th and 20th centuries. The town's hand loom weavers were highly
skilled, weaving fine lawns and muslins and so were able to
seize the opportunity when the intricately patterned Kashmir
shawls imported by the East India Company became the height
of fashion. Paisley's output soon dominated the market to the
extent that the shawls and their traditional patterns became
known throughout the English speaking world as Paisleys. The
Museum contains the world's finest collection of Paisley shawls
and pattern books. Museum staff have been working on looms in
the collection for a number of years, to reproduce the techniques
of the weavers who produced the immensely intricate shawls woven
in the town in the last century. The museum also has an extensive
body of manufacturing records together with costume. The main
collections include:
- 10 cases of Needlework Development Scheme textiles, ?-c1961
- Records of J & P Coats Ltd, cotton thread manufacturers,
Paisley and subsidiary companies, 1808-1981
- Paisley Shawl Collection comprising of over 1000 items
- Collection of Pattern books
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