Talk: The Triumph of Textiles

11am

Sunday 28 September 2025

Included in museum admission or existing Unlimited Pass

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The authors behind The Triumph of Textiles (Edinburgh University Press, 2024) join us to discuss the book, their research, and the rich textile heritage of Dundee.

Whether you have connections to the city's textile past or are new to Dundee, this fascinating talk is not to be missed! It's an opportunity to delve deeper into the city's fabric as we weave from 1700s to the early 20th century.

About the Book

The Triumph of Textiles offers the most comprehensive account to date of Dundee’s emergence as a global textile manufacturing city. The reasons for this remarkable achievement are explained, including the role of the British state and the other opportunities that derived from the British empire. The authors, both distinguished historians, challenge long held assumptions. Was whale oil really the key catalyst for jute? Why have well designed rugs and carpets amongst the product mix been overlooked? Why has the fact that linen rather than jute ‘made’ industrial Dundee not been acknowledged? Why, given its reputation for squalor, did so many former rural dwellers in Scotland and Ireland flock to the town?

About the Authors

Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press’s A History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee’s history, he has co-edited and written several books on the city.

Jim Tomlinson is Professor Emeritus at the University of Glasgow, and author of Churchill and Industrial Britain: Liberalism, Empire and Employment, 1900-1929 (Bloomsbury, 2025).

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Admission to the event includes admission to Verdant Works Museum for a whole year from date of purchase; just show your Eventbrite confirmation to redeem your Unlimited Pass on arrival at Verdant Works.

Whilst every effort is taken to ensure this information is accurate, mistakes do happen. Dundee Heritage Trust reserves the right to make changes as necessary.

Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded after purchase except in the case of a cancelled workshop/event.

Cancellations may occur due to circumstances out with our control or where they do not reach the minimum number of participants required. Events which do not meet the minimum number of participants will be cancelled no later than 7 days in advance.

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