Articles in this issue of the journal In Situ Dedicated to the dynamics of the heritage of textile production, it offers an up-to-date overview of the various aspects of the heritage of a dominant activity in the industrial history of our country. This review of the conservation and presentation of the heritage of textile production makes it possible to highlight new themes while revealing the most significant successes and failures of the actions carried out over the past thirty years of years.
It is first of all the diversity of heritage that is mentioned. After operations on large architectural complexes and remarkable buildings, greater attention is now paid to furniture. The heritage of industry cannot be reduced to buildings, which exist only to house production machinery. More than any other heritage asset, these machines are extremely vulnerable and their conservation requires a strong determination. These technical elements must be combined with the preservation of know-how, a fundamental component that is now better taken into account.
A second step shows that the exploitation of new sources can lead to new heritage approaches. This dynamic can be seen in the case of large companies as well as in the case of a constellation of small companies, or in the diversification of fibres such as hemp and flax.
In a third part, a recent theme, that of dyeing, explores sometimes tenuous material traces preserved according to diversified approaches. The emergence of ecological issues is not foreign to this and seems to find place in the recent heritage of the textile industry.
Finally, let us emphasize that these heritages show the importance, for public policies: policies of the local authorities or State policies such as the protection of historical monuments, the appellation «Musée de France» or the label « Living Heritage Enterprise” – to be accompanied by private initiatives, whether they are the result of an association’s struggle or the will of an industrialist.
The issue is freely available on https://journals.openedition.org/insitu/37714
In Situ. Heritage Review, published by the Ministry of Culture – Directorate-General for Heritage and Architecture, offers heritage professionals and researchers the opportunity to disseminate and promote the results of their work on knowledge, the conservation and transmission of works and objects for which they are responsible or study. Its aim is to foster exchanges between the different actors and between the many disciplines that make up the heritage sciences. It shall make available to the public the knowledge thus produced.
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