The Haskell Silk Company: Manufacturers of Silk Dress Goods Acknowledged as "The Standard for the Trade"

 

by

Jacqueline Field

 

In November 1882 The American Silk Journal noted that, "The Haskell Silk Company of Saccarappa, Maine, is running 20 looms on black grograin, having discontinued the manufacture of twist a number of months ago." This transition from thread making to weaving signaled a major development.  Over the next period of years the change was followed by a series of factory expansions.  Output steadily increased.  By the turn of the century Haskell fabrics were sold coast to coast and the name Haskell was synonymous with affordable high quality plain staple dress goods--from ranges of solid and changeable taffeta, to messaline and duchesse satin.

 

The Haskell Silk Company story parallels that of the silk industry.  Haskell operated from 1874 to 1930.  This half-century saw rapid mechanization in the silk industry, the manufacture of immense quantities of silk fabric and, in the final decade, the onset of decline.  Where the silk industry was principally concentrated within a radius of New York--in southern New England, New Jersey and Northern Pennsylvania--the Haskell Silk Company was singularly located in Maine.  How did this remotely situated small company metamorphose into a major manufacturer of fine staple silks with national name recognition?  In a crowded market with silks of various qualities churned out by a profusion of large and small manufacturers what made Haskell silks special?  This paper examines the elements that contributed to their development and to the evolution of the Haskell Company--a silk manufacturer as remarkable for its stability and longevity under one family's control as for its superior product.

 

Jacqueline Field is an independent researcher resident in Portland, Maine.  Previously, following experience in the textile industry in Britain she joined the faculty at Callendar Park College, Scotland, teaching textile and design courses.  After moving to the United States, she continued her teaching career, first at the University of Southern Maine and, later, at Westbrook College where she also curated a costume and textile collection.  Her current research is centered on silk in Maine and the American silk industry.  Published articles related to silk include, "Silk and Style: Affording American Machine-Made Silks at the Turn of the Twentieth Century" (1999) and "Dyes, Chemistry and Clothing: The Influence of Word War I on Fabrics, Fashions and Silk." (2001) in Dress, the Annual Journal of The Costume Society of America.

 

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