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Collection

87/745 Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 4, 87/745 Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 4, 87/745 Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 4, 87/745 Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 4, 87/745 Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]. Click to enlarge

Pillowcase made from flour bag

This simple household item is an excellent example of the ‘making do’ tradition and the local re-use of materials. Unlike recycling, such re-use does not require transport to a depot or factory, sorting, forming into a new product and transport to the consumer. As it cuts out all these energy-consuming steps, and the energy-intensive step of melting in the case of plastic, glass or metal, re-use is preferable to recycling.

Debbie Rudder, Curator, 2012

Summary

Object No.

87/745

Object Statement

Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]

Physical Description

Pillowcase, flour bag, cotton, Mrs. F L Manwaring, Australia, [c 1930-1945]

Pillowcase made from a Bakers Gem brand 25 pound flour bag originally used by Burrows Hume Flour Mill at Albury in NSW. The fabric has been cut and hemmed to convert it for re-use.

Short URL

https://ma.as/78294

Dimensions

Width

510 mm

Production

Notes

The donor, Mrs F L Manwaring, made the pillowcase sometime between 1930 and 1945. She turned the flour bag inside out so that the logos printed on it were less obtrusive, and then stitched on an extra length of fabric to provide a flap to fold over the end of a pillow.

History

Notes

The pillowcase was used by members of Mrs Manwaring's family.

Source

Credit Line

Gift of F L Manwaring, 1987

Acquisition Date

26 June 1987

Cite this Object

Harvard

Pillowcase made from flour bag 2018, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 8 December 2019, <https://ma.as/78294>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/78294 |title=Pillowcase made from flour bag |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=8 December 2019 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}
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