The Textile Manufactures of India is an 18 volume set of fabric sample books put together in 1866 by John Forbes Watson and published by the India Office of the British Government.
This website makes all 700 textile samples in these books available to explore digitally for the first time. You can browse through the fabrics by volume, or you can search according to categories such as material, object type, pattern, decorative technique or use. There is also an index of technical terms and an advanced search function.
Young people from Lancashire have catalogued, photographed and help design the content you can explore here. This website is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World.
The Textile Manufactures of India is also the inspiration for a ground-breaking exhibition at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery – Global Threads: Asian Textiles & Fashion Today (14 May 2011 to 30 June 2012), which is also co-curated by young people and part of Stories of the World.
