Our Bright Young Collectors series continues today with Emma Treleaven, winner of the 2023 ABA National Book Collecting Prize.
Where are you from / where do you live?
I grew up in Canada, but I’ve lived in London, England for over 10 years now. I’m lucky to call both places home!
What did you study at University? What do you do now for an occupation?
I studied Fashion History and Theory for my BA and Museum Studies for my MA, and am now doing a PhD about Women shoemakers working in London between 1850 and 1914. I also work as the Collections Manager, which is sort of like a curator, at Amersham Museum just outside London.
Please introduce us to your book collection. What areas do you collect in?
I collect books and ephemera about how people made clothing and textiles in a domestic setting in the past, primarily before 1975. I use my collection to learn how to make things, to inspire me, and to preserve knowledge and skills I think are important.
How many books are in your collection?
I have around 100 books in my collection, plus two manuscripts, about thirty pamphlets and magazines, and over 150 knitting and sewing patterns. It’s grown a lot in the past year as I was lucky enough to win two book collecting prizes!
What was the first book you bought for your collection?
I don’t actually know what the first book I bought for my collection was. I’ve been really lucky with people gifting me books, that’s really how my collection started, so I can’t remember what my first purchase actually was. One of the first ones I remember being really excited about was Flora Klickmann’s The Home Art Book of Fancy Stitchery from 1912, which I bought at an antique fair in rural British Columbia for $3 as a teenager. I now have an almost complete set of Klickmann’s making publications and have use them regularly, so it was $3 well spent!
How about the most recent book?
My most recent acquisition is a first edition of Children’s and Maternity Garments by the Women’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences from 1931. I’m having a baby soon and wanted to see how women makers like myself met the challenges of dressing stylishly with a growing baby bump in the past. I have a few other books from the Women’s Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences series, which are all great because they have beautiful diagrams and photos in them as well as great instructions, so I knew the maternity and children’s book would be a great addition to my collection.
And your favorite book in your collection?
I really don’t like to play favourites with my collection, they are all special! But I do go through phases of using them more or less, which is dependant on whatever I’m making at the time. At the moment I’m planning a dress with a smocked yoke (lots of little gathers with decorative stitches on top, think formal dresses for little girls type of thing), so all of my materials about smocking are getting lots of attention. When I was working on my wedding dress, all my books about needle lace were my constant companions for about six months.
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