On Tuesday the 18th of May, Jantiene van Elk (Head of the library) will give an online lecture during the ICOM International Museum Day. The lecture ‘Bringing colour to history’ will focus on how old dye recipe notebooks from 1700 till 1970 are still relevant today. 

Date: Tuesday, 18 May
Time: 16:00 – 17:00
Language: English
Cost: Free
Sign up: mail to aanmelden@textielmuseum.nl 

The library of the TextielMuseum stores a collection of manuscripts with dye recipes. These are handwritten notebooks with recipes that were used in the textile industry between 1700 and 1970. Most of them are from nineteenth-century Tilburg. These books have recently been digitised in the Tilburg Regional Archives. During the ICOM International Museum Day, Jantiene van Elk (head of the library) will give a lecture on these special manuscripts with dye recipes. Discover where these dyes came from, how they were brought to the colonies and Europe, and if they are still of use today.

ICOM International Museum Day

The theme of the ICOM International Museum Day is ‘The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine’. We add to this theme by looking at the historical collection of the museum and how can learn from this in the present and the future. The collection of dye recipe books shows that a historical collection can provide inspiration, critical reflection and knowledge for contemporary questions about sustainability and Tilburg’s place in the world in the past.

Around the collection, the library organises a citizen science project. Read more about it here.

Sign up 

The online lecture takes place on Tuesday, May 18 from 16:00 – 17:00 via Microsoft Teams. From 15:45 onwards those interested are welcome to join online. Sign up by sending an email to aanmelden@textielmuseum.nl. On the day itself, you will receive a link to the meeting via mail.

Please be aware: the maximum number of participants is 250.