We mined a rare book of textile manufacturers and compared the lost of companies in the City’s peak to today
Textile Research
A data visualization of Philadelphia’s textile industry, past and present
We undertook a research and mapping project to document the growth and decline of Philadelphia’s once booming textile industry. We poured over the Free Library of Philadelphia’s collection of Davison’s Blue Book Textile Directories from 1903 through 2007, tracking the top ten cities by number of textile manufacturing business listings over time.
Our maps and illustrative graphs provided context and inspiration to a cohort of contemporary artists paired with local textile businesses today for a Mural Arts-funded artists-in-residency program.