Dutch linen trade labels – 18th century

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Wrappers for skeins of ‘nun’s thread’ – a “finer thread, called ounce or nun’s thread, from its having formerly been made by nuns in France and Flanders” (A.J. Warden, The Linen Trade, Ancient and Modern (1867), p. 539). Three examples from more than 536 trade labels, chiefly for the linen thread trade (both export and domestic) pasted into three albums with title Houtsneden door Izaak van der Vinne [Woodcuts by Isaac van der Vinne (1665-1740)]. Call number: (Ex) NC1002.L3 V56f [These wrappers: volume 1, leaf 16.]

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About Stephen Ferguson

Stephen Ferguson is Librarian Emeritus, Princeton University Library. He came to Princeton in 1975 to be Curator of Rare Books, after several years of professional work at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.). Between 2014 and 2026, he held various posts as an Associate University Librarian at Princeton. He has degrees from Bowdoin (A.B.) and Rutgers (M.L.S.). His scholarly interests include book history, provenance research, and the history of collecting. He has taught at Drew University on the latter topic.