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These 18 volumes of textile samples from 19th century India were made so British manufacturers could copy the designs.These samples include beautiful hand-woven silks, hand-printed cottons and hand-embroidered muslins designed and made throughout South Asia. They were put together by John Forbes Watson in 1866 when he was Reporter for the Products of India at the India Office. Although Watson's publication is a beautiful survey of South Asian textile design, it's a much more controversial document than it first seems. It was compiled at a time when British textile manufacturers traded with markets around the world. In the 1860s the industry had suffered greatly because of the Cotton Famine, when the American Civil War prevented cotton from America reaching Britain. Watson's publication was intended to encourage British textile manufacturing by providing the industry with examples to copy so that the vast South Asian market could be exploited. Preston was one of 13 British towns and cities to receive a copy of Watson's Textile Manufactures of India. Although the impact of this publication is debated, it's clear that then, as now, the lives of millions of people around the world were linked by the production and consumption of cloth. Watson's project illustrates a moment in this complex story.

These 18 volumes of textile samples from 19th century India were made so British manufacturers could copy the designs.