RSN Collection
The Collection of the Royal School of Needlework comprises some 60,000 specialist objects, these include:
1. Archival materials from the history of the RSN
2. Books of botanical drawings and other sources of design inspiration
3. Books on needlework from the late 19th century onwards
4. Designs by artists commissioned by the RSN
5. Designs by RSN staff for work for customers or exhibitions
6. Prickings of commissioned pieces
7. Examples of many types of embroidery worked at the RSN
8. Examples of embroidery from around the world
9. Examples of work by RSN-trained embroiderers
10. RSN Apprentice pieces
11. Pieces donated to the Collection by Friends and supporters
12. Photographic materials dating back to the founding of the RSN
13. Business records dating from the founding of the RSN (though not complete)
Textile pieces are mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries, though there are some
which are much older.
Access
Unfortunately we are not able to make the Collection freely accessible, because it is stored in cupboards at our home at Hampton Court Palace, and we only have a part-time Curator (Eva Hansson) and Archivist (Dr Lynn Hulse).
We would like to catalogue the Collection and make it available on line but this major project must wait for a sponsor before we can bring it to fruition.
If you have a specific query we have to charge for research and we would also need to know if there was a time limit before work would be accepted.
However, it is possible to have an insight into the Collection by attending a Studio Tour and especially the Study Tours which are two-hour sessions usually led by the Archivist or Curator
What is special about the RSN Collection?
The RSN Collection is particularly rich in designs commissioned by the RSN from the leaders of the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic movements: Walter Crane, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Rev Selwyn Image, George Aitcheson, Gertrude Jekyll and many others, some of which were featured in the 1880 Handbook of Embroidery published by the RSN.
Few of these designs have been seen in any exhibition for decades, if at all. In fact, some designs were assumed to be lost
The Collection also contains the RSN's own early business records which show the history and development of art embroidery, and especially the RSN's leading role in the development of art embroidery in the UK and the US.
The archive contains a very full record of work done by the RSN and sent to Philadelphia in 1876 for the International Centennial Exhibition. It was this room-sized display which launched art embroidery in the US and was very influential on the work of Candace Wheeler. The RSN archive includes a catalogue of the objects made, many of the designs commissioned, some autographed in the artists' own hands, and a picture of the room.
Why isn't the RSN Collection better known?
As a non-profit organisation which has moved to smaller rooms than it once occupied, the Collection is mostly in storage and even the most splendid pieces are rarely seen other than by visitors to the RSN at Hampton Court Palace. Even off-site exhibitions tend to request the same few textile pieces rather than really using the glory of the Collection: the designs
Furthermore, it has been a 'stored and closed' Collection rather than catalogued and accessible. As a result, secondary sources about the RSN are invariably wrong, with inaccurate information based on little more than anecdotal evidence, while other writers omitted the RSN altogether. It is only in the last few years that the RSN Archivist and Curator, with the help of a volunteer team, have been able to unpack some of what we have, and delve into what we know about it - though we accept there are still huge gaps, especially in relation to the whereabouts of many of the textiles.
Future plans
In 2009 the RSN is planning to issue a reproduction of the 1880 Handbook of Embroidery on CD Rom with commentary and introduction (details still being finalised).
Dr Lynn Hulse, RSN Archivist is currently working on a book on the RSN's early history, due for publication in 2010.
