Scandinavian translation needed...

[H.Johnson]

I was recently helped by some Scandinavian Loungers with a translation of leather terms.

I now need help with the term 'Vadmel'. I know from a Google search that this is a traditional Scandinavian wool, but I can't get a definition of its characteristics - for instance is it like serge, melton etc.

I am doing research to assist someone who wants to recreate the clothing worn by Scandinavian explorers. Any help or sources of information (or material!) are welcome.

 

[just_me]

It's Norwegian.

"The Norwegian cloth called Vadmel (Norwegian) is also known as loden (German), or fulled woolen cloth (English). This twill woven cloth can be made in different weights and fulled to meet the needs of a variety of types of garments."

 

[Spitfire]

It's danish too...

In danish "vadmel" is "homespun"

 

[Norwayman]

Hi,

Yes that is right, Vadmel is a very closely woven wool, in the old days used
to work clothes, now used among other things, the Norwegian national
suits, coats, hats and so on..

 

[H.Johnson]

Thanks - and if I mentioned 'Dr Yeager's Sanitary Woollen Clothing', (yes, that's really what it was called) would that ring any Norwegian bells?

As well as a cloth specification for the type of cloth, some illustrations of this type of clothing would be nice...

 

[BellyTank]

I think it would be correct to say that the term, "Vadmel" has become a generic term for heavy woollen cloths used in uniforms, hunting clothing, etc. Also, of course traditional national dress items.

I think I have seen cloth in Copenhagen, which was described as Vadmel but was very close to Melton.

A translation of "Vadmel" from Norsk to English yields the word "Frieze", in textile terms, "a heavy woolen fabric with a long nap"- cloth of Friesland.
An agicultural region of the Netherlands, or the German province?
Both are close to the North Sea.



Alan, this article may interest you:

http://www.wendyjsundquist.com/Course Description.htm

http://www.wendyjsundquist.com/Nelson.htm

and the images:
http://www.wendyjsundquist.com/Photo Gallery.htm

Note the use of the word "stampa" and see the associated images.

http://www.almankas.no/Bunadene-våre/Herre/Aust-Telemark/Grønn-jakke


I'm guessing that the/your research is about exploration in the early 20th century?

Please share your findings- this is getting interesting.


B
T

 

[Speedster]

Thanks - and if I mentioned 'Dr Yeager's Sanitary Woollen Clothing', (yes, that's really what it was called) would that ring any Norwegian bells?

You sure it's Dr Yeager's ?. Because in your own backyard you have Jaeger which originally started out as Dr Jaeger's Sanitary Woolen System. A litte of their background here (http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/Ja-Kh/Jaeger.html):

quote
Jaeger is a British retail fashion company producing distinctive clothes for both men and women. Its origins lie in Germany over a century ago—a period when theories of rational dress abounded throughout Europe and the United States. In 1880 Dr. Gustav Jaeger of Stuttgart, a zoologist and physiologist, expounded his belief that only clothes made of animal fibers (principally wool) were conducive to one's health.

Jaeger's theories were translated into English by Lewis Tomalin and taken up by the Times, which devoted a leading article to Dr. Jaeger's ideas on 4 October 1884, on the occasion of the London International Health Exhibition in South Kensington. Tomalin obtained Dr. Jaeger's permission to use his name and opened a shop to sell the "Sanitary Woollen System" of clothing on Fore Street, in London, where two of the earliest and most famous customers were Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. The latter heartily endorsed the product and wore Jaeger clothing for much of his long life.

Jaeger clothes were remarkable not only for their material— extraordinarily fine machine-knit wool jersey, cashmere, alpaca, and vicuna ("the woollen stuffs which are microscopically tested for adulteration with vegetable fibre can be supplied by the yard," ran an advertisement of 1884)—but also for their unrestrictive construction. This made both underwear and outerwear particularly suitable for traveling. "Day and night—prevents chill—a necessity to all who value health," claimed an 1898 advertisement for "lovely and luxurious dressing gowns."

Famous British expeditions were fitted out in Jaeger, from Scott and Shackleton in the Arctic to Stanley on his search for Dr. Livingstone in Africa and later. Before World War I, Jaeger's functional, mobile approach gave the firm much of its impetus in what was to prove a rapidly expanding market from its new purpose-built shops, such as those in Regent Street, London, and Edinburgh, and its wholesale company supplying agents as far afield as Shanghai. By the 1930s, however, Jaeger had greatly extended its range from the early emphasis on "sanitary wear" as exemplified in turn-of-the-century exhortations to "Wear wool to South Africa—khaki drill spells chill." Under the founder's son, H.F. Tomalin, the emphasis turned from functionalism to fashionability, all a woman (or man) needed for work and leisure, from country tweeds, twinsets, and stylish coats to swimsuits and slacks.

Jaeger exported its goods to such diverse locales as Beirut and Buenos Aires, upholding Tomalin's now-dated dictum, "Wherever you go among white people you will find that Jaeger is known." Jaeger's continuing attention to the actual fabric of their clothes gave them an honored place in the British postwar export market, but the emphasis on durability continues to the present. The original ethos of health clothing, however, has long been superseded by one of cool, timeless elegance, albeit still in fine materials—an image aided by the high caliber of Jaeger design.

After some difficult years during the 1990s when sales slumped, Jaeger began revamping its image and designs. The company successfully blended its traditional look with updated takes: tweeds were replaced with cashmere, suede, leather, and newer, high-performance fabrics. The firm's intention was to draw in younger buyers without alienating established clients. Shops emphasized service, and employees were specifically trained to assist customers in incorporating new pieces with items they already owned. In 2001 Jaeger hired well-known and highly respected designer Bella Freud to add some pizzazz to the mix. In addition to Jaeger's traditional lines, Freud brought in miniskirts, bomber jackets, a little black dress, and a "Juliette Greco resistance coat" inspired by Jaeger's 1930s and 1940s designs. Regardless of these design changes, the company remains committed to quality fabrics and tailoring at reasonable prices.

Jaeger is one of the few fashion companies able to produce a complete package, from sourcing exclusive fabrics and producing original designs through to manufacturing extensive ranges of tailoring and knitwear. These ranges are sold throughout the world, as exporting the Jaeger product has always been a prime part of the business. Jaeger Ladieswear and Jaeger Man are as distinctive as the firm's witty "straw" logo; Jaeger designs in the 21st century reach markets undreamed of by Dr. Jaeger and his English translator.

—Doreen Ehrlich;

updated by Carrie Snyder
unquote

and an interesting piece from the New York Times published October 30, 1889: "The fraud exposed": http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=980CE0D81130E633A25753C3A9669D94689FD7CF

Dr Gustav Jäger's book: "Selections from Essays on Health-Culture, and the Sanitary Woolen System" is even available on-line here at the American Libraries Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/selectionsfromes00jgrich

 

[Spitfire]

Wow - well done Sherlock:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[H.Johnson]

Yes, there used to be a Jeager factory relatively close to me before the company 'went off the rails' and started to make modern clothing that is popular with trendy people.

The research that I am doing is in collaboration with an ageing ex-employee of the company and does, as BT suggests, relate to a project to recreate late 19thC and early 20th C expedition clothing (in the way that the 1920s Everest clothing was recreated) although not necessarily involving the Arctic...

We are calling it 'Yeager' (an alternative spelling) for obvious reasons.

It's the weight of cloth that we need to establish - the term 'vadmel' implied to us a weighty heft, but some of the images we have are clearly intended for safari in extremely hot climates. The articles that BT links to appears to show that the cloth had many weights. This is useful. Also many derivations. I suspect that alpaca and vicuns wool doesn't feature in the Norwegian vadmel...

 

[H.Johnson]

More on this. BT was right about the sport but wrong about the time. We are talking much earlier - the 1880s - and we are talking Norwegian, not English (or Irish). Need I say more?

Our research indicated that before Mr. Tomalin (in England) acquired the rights to manufacture the pure woollen ('sanitary') cloth, Herr Dr. Jeager's fabric was used widely in cold and alpine parts of Europe (he developed it in Stuttgart) by tailors for a variety of mens' dress, but particularly for the 'simple, practical, hygienic' Rational Clothing style then in vogue.

A future generation of Scandinavian Arctic and sub-Arctic explorers and pioneers certainly trained and practiced wearing the patented Sanitary Woollen Clothing in the Rational Style. We believe (from diaries of the time) that this style of clothing formed the basis of underlayers on at least one famous expedition (photographs tend to show only the outer layers). It is this we are interested in researching and eventually reproducing. And there could be a recreation and a TV programme in there somewhere...

Help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Creeping Past]

What about hemp? Surely, hemp fabric would have featured in historical undercrackers...

 

[H.Johnson]

Hemp as an undergarment material

In some cases maybe, but not in Dr Jeager's Sanitary Woollen system, which was based on eliminating vegetable fibre (and other 'polluting' substances) from the staple yarn. As we would say today, 'Pure New Wool'. As 'vadmel' is a fairly generic term, although Dr. Jeager never uses this term for his specification of fabric, I can see why it is used.

It is well known that the Norwegian gentleman who is the subject of the research subscribed to Dr Jeager's theories in his personal dress, but we don't know to what extent his expedition(s) were outfitted in the same way.

I am in the process of arranging access to the historical archives of the British company 'Dr. Jeager's Sanitary Woollen System Co. Ltd.' in the National Archives (Westminster). I suspect that this will reveal that there is no connection between the Bristish company and the outfitting of this particular expedition, but we will see...

 

[Creeping Past]

Apologies for the unwarranted hempen intrusion. It's a verbal tic I picked up while researching types of canvas...

I'm very interested in this project and await updates like you wouldn't believe.

I do get out, but clearly not often enough...