The Sleeping Gypsy by artist Henri Rousseau - Fine Art on Vintage Fabric

vintage fabric - "The Sleeping Gypsy" - by artist Henri Rousseau

This retro 1960s - 1970s fabric available on Revival Fabrics depicts the 1897 painting "The Sleeping Gypsy" by French artist Henri Rousseau. 

Images of this painting can be found on the book cover of Aesop's Fables, as well as other books. The Museum of Modern Art in New York houses the original "The Sleeping Beauty" Henri Rousseau painting, seen in the photo below.

You may not be able to own the original Rousseau art to hang on your wall, but what could be better than wearing it.

Fascinating Vintage Fabric of the Week - Taki 183 - Graffiti Artist

 

This vintage 1970s fabric had me stumped. Are the letters and numbers from a high school year book, classroom room numbers, or maybe bible verses?  I had to do a bit of research to find out the meaning behind the names and numbers. 

The fabric is sold and no longer available, but please read about TAKI 183 - Graffiti Artist Pioneer.


Take a look at the center of the photo and you will find TAKI 183 in yellow. 

It turns out that TAKI 183 was the alias of the very first graffiti artist written about in the media in 1971 by The New York Times.  Taki was the nickname of a Greek teenager that lived in New York and 183 was the number of the street he lived.

Taki soon had copycats such as The King 145, Roberta 223, Mike 38 and many others.

You can read the full story about TAKI 183 by The New York Times dated July 21, 1971.

Check out the TAKI 183 website, you'll find photos of Taki's graffiti and biography (and The New York Times article above).

To see the history of graffiti check out the short timeline clips on "Timeline of Graffiti"  TAKI 183 is the fourth clip in.

This is one historic retro fabric that I am doubtful I'll come across again.  It's been said that the last whereabouts of Taki is he owns a foreign car shop.

Vintage Hawaiian Fabrics - selvage, hangtag, and label photos

Recently I found a grouping of vintage 1960s Hawaiian fabrics with fantastic selvage information, printed paper label, and paper hangtag.  Selvages are 44/45 inches wide.

You'll find these vintage fabrics available on Revival Fabrics website in the Hawaiian and Tropical vintage fabric section

An excellent book and reference guide of the history of Hawaiian clothing is The Aloha Shirt: Spirit Of The Islands by Dale Hope.  This is my go to book when I need to know about Hawaiian shirt makers, in depth history of the textile trade and textile artists of Hawaii.  The gorgeous photos make this a book I'll never part with.  (You can find a copy on Amazon)

Enjoy the photos below, let me know what you think I'd love to hear from you.



G. Von Hamm Textiles, Hawaii Print - paper label
smooth non-stretch garment polyester fabric
print colors: strawberry red, white, navy blue

Von Hamm-Young Honolulu - hangtag
VHY Hawaiian Textiles - printed on selvage
cotton with a crepe, barkcloth texture
print colors: shades of green, brown, white

 

G.V.H HAWAIIPRINT - printed on selvage
cotton with a crepe, barkcloth texture
print colors: white, chocolate brown, bright 1960s colors

   

G.V.H HAWAIIPRINT - printed on selvage
acrylic or cotton with a crepe texture
print colors: rich shades of purple and blue

Trans-Pacific Textiles LTD - printed on selvage
cotton with a crepe, barkcloth texture
print colors: shades of blue, white

 

G.V.H. HAWAIIPRINT - printed on selvage
smooth non-stretch garment polyester fabric
print colors: shades of green, tan, blue, white, yellow, black

 

VHY HAWAIIAN TEXTILES - printed on selvage
acrylic or cotton with a crepe texture
print colors: crisp white, bold and bright

 

The Unicorn in Captivity - Unicorn Tapestries - Vintage Fabric

Recently I found a vintage fabric that is my Favorite Vintage Fabric of the Week!

Known as The Unicorn in Captivity, this fabric is based on a series of medieval Unicorn Tapestries from 1495-1505, and is based on religious symbolism. The tapestries are housed at The Cloisters in New York, a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The fabric is on Revival Fabrics right now.

To read more about the incredible Unicorn Tapestries series, visit the MOMA website. Below is a photo of The Unicorn in Captivity tapestry at the MOMA