Collection of Five Lyon Silk-Weaving Volumes with Manuscript Textile Studies and Fabric Samples, ca. 1903–1928.

A remarkable and highly specialized collection of five volumes relating to the theory and practice of silk weaving in Lyon during the early twentieth century, assembled and partly compiled by André Belal, a student of the École des Sciences et Arts Industriels de Lyon “La Martinière.” The group dates from approximately 1903 to 1928 and provides an exceptional insight into the technical education and artisanal processes of the Lyonnais silk industry.

The collection comprises three substantial manuscript volumes devoted to silk weaving techniques, all densely filled with handwritten technical notes, weave diagrams, drafting calculations, point-paper patterns, and numerous mounted silk samples. The manuscripts appear to have belonged to a single owner and working student, identified as André Belal, whose diploma is preserved among the inserted ephemera. The volumes document both theoretical instruction and practical experimentation in textile construction, including weave structures, figured silks, jacquard patterning, and fabric analysis.

Several original woven silk specimens remain tipped into the pages, ranging from monochrome structural studies to vividly colored Art Nouveau-inspired pattern designs. These samples serve not merely as illustrations but as technical demonstrations accompanying the manuscript analyses and weave drafts.

Included in the collection are two important printed technical works from Lyon’s weaving industry:

• Recueil d'armures pour tissus de soie by J. Moiret, a rare limited-edition technical compendium of weave structures for silk fabrics, published in Lyon in 1911. (First pages loose).
• Théorie du tissage des étoffes de soie by J. Loir, an advanced theoretical treatise on silk weaving, enriched in this copy by the insertion of additional fabric samples. (Spine damaged).

The accompanying ephemera considerably enhance the documentary and historical value of the archive. Most notable is the diploma awarded to André Belal in 1903 by the École des Sciences et Arts Industriels de Lyon “La Martinière”, one of France’s leading technical institutions for textile education. Additional inserted notes and loose materials further suggest prolonged professional or academic use over several decades.

Taken together, the five volumes form an unusually coherent archive of silk-weaving pedagogy and practice in Lyon during the final flourishing period of the French silk industry. The combination of manuscript technical material, original woven samples, and rare printed references makes the collection valuable both for the history of textiles and for the study of industrial and artistic education in early twentieth-century France.