| Ref No | DB |
| Title | Donald Brothers, Furnishing Fabrics, Dundee |
| Description | Records of Directors: Articles of Association 1921, Records of Incorporation 1921, Agency agreements 1926-1975, Partnership Agreements 1911-1912, Minutes of Directors 1922-1956; Records of Shareholders 1925; Records of Administration: Letter books and correspondence 1910-1970; Financial Records: Annual accounts 1949-1978, Ledgers 1907-1918. Records of Pattern Design: Pattern Books: Designers (1914-1936); Canvasses (1896-1946)), Linens (1907-1946), Tissues (1910-1946) and Unnumbered (1945-1972); Sample pieces of printed and woven fabric and colour blankets 1923 - 1972; Colour Atlases - reference books, Loose patterns and designs 1927-1960, Design patents 1909-1949, Records of Designers 1990s. Sales Records: Counter Books 1915-1939; Sales Cards c. 1980 - 1984; Bunches no date. Staff Records: Pensions 1943-1951, Personal 1888-1891. Property Records: Inventories and Valuations 1880-1924. Marketing and PR: Leaflets 1960s-1980s, Company Inventories 1845-2002, Press cuttings 1949-1980, Photographs 1905-1970. Relations with External Bodies: Awards 1960-1974, Brochures 1970s, Articles 1897-1995. |
| Date | 1845-2011 |
| Level | Fonds |
| Repository | Heriot-Watt University Heritage and Information Governance Scottish Borders Campus |
| Admin History | The founder of the firm was James Donald, a tailor from Kirkton of Lundie born in 1780. In 1829 he built Pitalpin works and Mansion House in Lochee for flax spinning and weaving, running the business with son James as Donald and Son. In the 1850s the firm went bankrupt. However, their fortunes recovered and in 1862 James junior built the James Park Factory in Albert Street, Dundee. When he retired in 1864 the firm was renamed Donald Brothers and run by sons James, David and John Donald. By 1900, according to Kelly's Directory, they were producing jute, linen and hemp fabrics primarily for industrial use.
However, the firm was already suffering from a slump in in the domestic jute industry. By the late 1890s the firm had moved to producing rugged linen and canvas for domestic use, one of the earliest successes being textile wall coverings for museums. A further turning point for the firm was the return of Francis James Donald from India in 1900 having been running a tea plantation.. His brother David had been ill for some time, and indeed died in 1906, and Bernard was less interested in running the business. They exported to the Continent, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, most significantly to Arts and Crafts guru Gustav Stickley. Their Art fabrics were extensively used within Art galleries and the Arts & Crafts interior in Britain and America between 1896-1914. In particular, the textured canvas and linen fabrics were used in Stickley's Craftsman furniture. Woven fabrics were manufactured by Lockharts of Kircaldy.
In 1924 a Limited Company was formed with Directors Francis, Edmond Archer who managed the London office and Wallace Ellison of Frances Stevenson and Sons, Dundee. In 1924 the Glamis Road facility was acquired and they gained international recognition for their printed fabrics marketed under the trade name Old Glamis Fabrics which was founded in 1926. Best known for high quality woven linen furnishings, their range include textured weaves, jacquard woven tapestries and prints. Many designs were produced by artists who also designed textiles such as Marion Dorn, Robert Stewart, Marian Mahler and Bernard Adeney a well as in-house staff such as Creative Director Peter Simpson. This reflected a general movement after the First World War to integrate art into industry. The firm received a Royal Warrant in 1934 in recognition of the high quality of their work.
The factory was extended in the 1950s to increase production. Woven and printed fabrics were used in ocean liners and large hotels and the company continued to sell extensively to the US through New York agents such as JOFA. The employment of creative director Peter Simpson in the 1950s led to a move of creating very textured, woven woollen fabrics. However, by 1976 the company was in financial trouble and in 1977 William Halley and Sons bought the firm over. Peter Simpson left to become the Design Director at Bute Fabrics. In 1984 production was moved to Wallace Craigie works and the Glamis Road factory was closed. The firm still produced high quality woven furnishing fabrics until 2007 when the firm went into administration. |
| Extent | 30 metres |
| Related Material | Collection of Donald Brother fabrics created by Lockharts held at Glasgow School of Art. Contact the Archivist, Glasgow School of Art. |
| Custodial History | When the company moved out of the Glamis Road factory in the 1980s the records were offered to the Scottish College of Textiles and collected by Ronald Moore, former Weaving Lecturer at the Scottish College of Textiles. Two trips were made, salvaging records which had been designated for destruction. Records were later officially listed as part of the Archive by the Business Archives Council (Scotland) Surveying Officer in 1988. Additional deposits have been received in the 1990s and in 2006. |
| Publication | The emergence of Donald Brothers as manufacturers of decorative fabrics: the feel for rugged texture PhD Thesis by Helen Douglas, Edinburgh University 1997.
The Architect of Floors; Modernism, Art and Marion Dorn Designs. Christine Boydell. Published Schoeser 1996. Available in the Archive.
Bold Impressions; Block Printing 1910 - 1950 exhibition catalogue published by Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Available in the Archive.
British Textile Designers Today by H.G. Hayes Marshall published by F. Lewis, Leigh-on-Sea, 1939.
How Donald Brothers stay small and influence people by Margaret Duckett. Design, February 1970
The Silver Studio Collection: A London Design Studio 1880-1963 Lund Humphries: London for Middlesex Polytechnic
20th Century Pattern Design: Textile & Wallpaper Pioneers. Lesley Jackson. Mitchell Beazley, 2002. Available in the Library. |
| Term | Interior design |
| Arts and crafts movement |
| Linen industry |
| Printed textile materials |
| Weaving |
| Textile industry |
| Textiles |
| Jute manufacture |