Blythe House is the current home to the V&A's vast collection of textile sample books and catalogues of past displays, all are archives, used for reference to the public and specially stored in room upon room of the history of (mainly) British textiles from the past.
Some of the books have been on display in the South Kensington Museum itself and others have been restored back to former glory after suffering damage, some were used in shops, haberdasheries and upholstery shops in previous years.
The books and catalogues have been donated and all are handled preciously.
We got the chance to view and read the books, looking at some of Liberty's original prints and Heal's furniture coverings. The trip was insightful to how important British textiles was and is, some of the patterns were inspiring and used age-old techniques, it's a rich resource to collate the history of the V & A and past textiles.
It all seems very secretive when your there, with the winding long corridors and unnamed doors filled with past history, it was definitely useful to know of Blythe House for future research and influences.
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