"Rainbow" selvedge is actually just a generic name for colored selvedges.
Some are 3-band....some are 7-band....some are anywhere in between.
Sometimes the colors on one side of the cloth don't match the colors (or
order of colors) on the other side.  Some times the selvedge is 3"
wide...others, it is about 1 1/2" wide.  You will find some that will have
wide bands of color and others with thin bands.  There is a WIDE range of
variations.

Every company that manufactured tradecloth developed their own edge,
distinguishing their cloth from all other manufacturers' cloth.

As for dating of the cloth...it would really depend on what region the
cloth was from.  Tribes in the east, obviously, had access to this cloth
far longer than Plains tribes.  Much of the cloth came from England, so I
would imagine there are historic sources available overseas.

One type of cloth I find quite interesting is, what is referred to as,
Queen Victoria cloth.  It was a special run of purple cloth with (if I
recall) a three band selvedge edge, issued in honor of Queen Victoria in
the late 1800's.  I know of a few pieces that made it to North America and
were used by native artists in various ways.  One of which is a fantastic
pair of Crow leggins, which are in the collection of a private collector.
They are very unique.

You might consider contacting either of these two International Committees
of ICOM for more help.  I'm sure someone knows of research that was done on
the European wool industry in the 1800s.

       International Committee for Museums and Collections of Costume
       (COSTUME)




       International Committee for Museums and Collections of Ethnography
       (ICME)




Best of luck in your search.

                 John P. Lukavic
                 Commission of Fine Arts
                 Ph: (202) 504-2200
                 Fax: (202) 504-2195
                 [log in to unmask]



             thomas w kavanagh
             <tkavanag@INDIANA
             .EDU>                                                      To
             Sent by: Museum           [log in to unmask]
             discussion list                                            cc
             <[log in to unmask]
             SE.LSOFT.COM>                                         Subject
                                       Re: Trade Cloth and Other Queries

             04/12/2004 06:09
             PM


             Please respond to
             Museum discussion
                   list
             <[log in to unmask]
               SE.LSOFT.COM>






[log in to unmask]  wrote

<snip>
> Both companies manufacture "rainbow selvedge" cloth (the type you are
> referring to).

Actually not, but something slightly prior, and I should have been more
specific. "Rainbow selvedge" is (inside -> out) blue, yellow, pink, blue,
red, pink, yellow, blue.

I need a date for the more simple blue -> yellow selvedge.

Thomas Kavanagh, Ph.D.

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).