Technological impact on design changes in nineteenth century printed textile fabrics

Textile technology and technological innovations played a major role in the nineteenth century textile industry. According to several twentieth century authors, technology dominates many industries if not our entire society. The purpose of this study was to examine the onset of technological dominance in the textile industry and to study the impact that technological changes had on New England printed cottons, specifically between 1823 and 1911.;Printed cotton textiles were the products of many manufactories in New England in the nineteenth century. The increasing innovations in machinery, raw materials, and processes led to an increased quantity of goods, a change in the skills needed to produce these goods, and a change in the final product. This study collected and examined a body of data pertaining to innovations in textiles printing, the printed textile goods, and the social environment in which these goods were produced and sold.;The results of this study showed that technology did not impact on the changes in the designs of the textiles until the end of the nineteenth century. The samples examined at the end of the time period had a greater variety of colors, greater variety of repeat sizes, and larger repeats. It was expected that the technology would have a greater direct impact on the styles used, the motifs, the intricacies of the designs, and the colors. However, the greater influences on design changes came, rather, from the shift in the population, the commercialization of the product, and only indirectly impacted on style changes.;Changes such as fashion lag, skill of workers, aesthetic movements and social values seemed to impact directly on the changes on the textile designers in this study. Technology, on the other hand, indirectly impacted by providing a greater variety of choices for the manufacturers.;The extent to which technology impacts on today's fashion and style decisions has not yet been studied. This study builds a framework for contemporary research into the role that technology plays in our aesthetics.