The recent exhibition of books on and from North Africa in the UL brought together a fascinating selection of volumes on textiles. In putting the display together, Irene Fabry-Tehranchi kindly considered my interest in the topic. The fact that I teach on the (Un)clothed body module for the MMLL comparative paper CS5: The Body means that I am always looking for material that resonates with this subject area. My research in North African literature has always involved consideration of the ways in which social customs, including dress, are represented in literature, thought and art on or from the region.
In addition to this, I am a keen amateur embroiderer and on a trip to Paris in recent years I discovered a silk embroidery floss called ‘soie d’Alger’ (Algiers silk), considered one of the finest silk embroidery threads available, produced by the family-owned firm Au ver à soie. Their website suggests that there is no connection between this stranded embroidery floss and the city of Algiers. The silk itself is imported from China, and the name ‘soie d’Alger’ is believed to be related to the process of spinning the stranded silk. But I am reluctant to accept this lack of geo-political connection without some investigation. Irene has pointed me in the direction of French press database Retronews and highlighted several articles on the French production of silk in Algeria under French rule. She also sourced a number of colonial exhibition catalogues and agricultural reports from the 19th and 20th centuries containing information on the production of fibres including silk, wool and cotton in French Algeria. Continue reading “Books on North African Textiles at Cambridge University Library”
Languages across Borders 