Choosing new fabric? Look through this electronic swatchbook.

Trying to decide on new dress fabric or date a piece in an antique quilt.  Check out this link below before you head to the fabric store.  This is an amazing resource which I gleaned from the Victorianna online magazine. This magazine is well worth the time to explore.  You'll find more information like this.

Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum has an Electronic Swatchbook containing bright, unfaded swatches of fabrics for both home decor and fashion ranging from the 1830s to the 1920s. These period swatchbooks were made and used for a variety of purposes. Fabric manufacturers and merchants assembled large swatchbooks to record and promote the latest textile designs to markets at home and abroad. The books were also prepared by pattern services that collected and sold fabric designs by various manufacturers.
Today, nearly two thousand public domain patterns are available to use and re-use, including more than 900 from the 1830s, 300 from 1849, 40 from 1887, 300 from the 1890s, and 300 from the 1920s. Within the interior design and fashion textile industry, these fabric swatches are treasured as a source of instruction and of inspiration. Hours of visual exploration await the costume and textile collector as they search this incredible collection by color or by year
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/electronicswatchbook/