Greene & Pike Cotton Printing

Full View of Emily Hollingsworth’s Dress 2004.39.22	Close up of dress’s pattern	Picture of label sewn onto dress by wearer’s descendants.

Emily Hollingsworth wore an ivory, floral silk brocade dress in 1835, according to a label sewn onto the dress by Emily’s descendants. Despite the dress’s storage in Pratt House where water damage, lack of climate control, and insects threaten to deteriorate the museum’s textile treasures, the dress’s silk is fortunately in wonderful condition. Underneath the silk is cotton lining to protect the textile from any soiling caused by body oils. While the cotton helped to preserve Emily’s dress for almost two centuries, it also tells a story of New England’s textile industry’s expansion during the nineteenth-century.

“Power Loom”	“Greene Pike Bleachers Providence”

Printed in brown ink on the lining are the words “Power Loom,” indicating how the textile was manufactured. Edmund Cartwright designed and invented the first power loom in 1784 and he constructed it in 1785. Because it was the first of its kind, the loom required various improvements, inviting various entrepreneurs and inventors to design their own renditions of Cartwright’s loom. Francis Cabot Lowell constructed the first American power loom in 1813 and Lowell, Massachusetts, named after the inventor, was specifically designed as a town specialized in textile manufacturing. Lowell’s power loom spread to nearby industrial towns in New England, as evidenced by Emily Hollingsworth’s cotton lining.

Stamped into the cotton at the hem of the dress is a maker’s mark reading “Greene Pike Bleachers Providence,” referencing the Clyde Bleachery and Print Works, which Simon H. Greene and his partner Edward Pike founded in 1828. Greene and Pike established this company with the purpose to bleach and print cotton cloth. Located in Warwick, Rhode Island, the company played the important role of introducing cotton printing to the town in 1833, a process which remained a staple of their manufacturing throughout the century. For example, by 1908, the plant was bleaching 1,500,000 yards of cloth and printing 1,250,000 yards per week and its “Washington” printed cotton line in 1870s was known nationwide.

When Pike died in 1842, Greene bought full partnership rights from Pike’s heirs, which ushered in a period where Greene’s sons and heirs acquired greater control of the textile production industry. After 1865, the mill’s name changed to S. H. Green & Sons when Simon’s sons became active partners with Simon. The firm remained in operation until 1925 and in 1926, the company’s assets were sold at auction.

Artifacts pulled from Pratt House unearth remarkable stories that reveal how our ancestors lived in the past and Emily Hollingsworth’s dress adds to the United States’ industrialist history. Although the ivory silk brocade is one single constructed dress, it began as separate parts manufactured in different regions before Emily wore it in 1835.

“Textile label for the textile print works founded in 1828 by Simon H. Greene and Edward Pike. Depicts Washington, in uniform, holding a sheet of paper, and standing next to his horse near a river. Label also contains corner details of fasces and United States shields framed in garland. The firm, renamed S. H. Greene & Sons in 1865, were nationally known for their ‘Washington’ line of printed textiles Courtesy of Library Company of Philadelphia c. 1871

“Textile label for the textile print works founded in 1828 by Simon H. Greene and Edward Pike. Depicts Washington, in a sitting room, standing next to a table with knitting, and holding a letter reading ‘For the Soldiers at Valley Forge, George Washington.’ View also includes a window looking onto a winter scene and a framed portrait of George Washington. Label also contains an ornamental border. The firm, renamed S. H. Greene & Sons in 1865, were nationally known for their ‘Washington’ line of printed textiles.” Courtesy of Library Company of Philadelphia C. 1871

References:

Who Invented the Power Loom?: https://www.thoughtco.com/power-loom-edmund-cartwright-1991499

Lowell Mill Girls and the Factory System, 1840: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/age-jackson/resources/lowell-mill-girls-and-factory-system-1840

Library Company of Philadelphia: http://www.librarycompany.org/ 

Rhode Island Historical Society: http://www.rihs.org/mssinv/Mss953.htm

Edmund Cartwright: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cartwright_edmund.shtml