ANNE WANNER'S Textiles in History   /  biographies
 
Therese de Dillmont (1846-1890)
born 10 October until 22 May 1890










The life of Therese de Dillmont
From an article in "Textilkunst 3 / 1979"

by Marianne Stradal
reported by A.W.

Photo by G.Schneider
copyright: Archives municipales de Mulhouse, France, "Fonds DMC".

see her book digitalized: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/needlework-h.html
 
Therese de Dillmont was born on october 10th 1846. Her father was a major in the army, but he already died in 1857. At this time her mother moved with her children to Vienna. In 1864 she wrote to the emperor Franz Joseph, begging for help with the education of her youngest daughter. She then received 80 Gulden every year until 1868. Therese was educated as a governess and a teacher. It seems that she also visited the embroidery school in Vienna which was founded in 1874. During all her life she was a friend of Mrs Bach the director of the school.

In 1884 she became engaged at Mulhouse in the world wide known embroidery yarn fatory. In 1886 her encyclopedia of feminine handwork was published. This book has been translated into 17 languages and it was published over and over again up to the present day.
All other publication of the factory bear Th. de Dillmonts name and in many european Metropoles of the time shops were opened under her name: 1885 in Paris, 1886 in Berlin, 1887 in London, 1884 in Vienna.
Therese de Dillmont worked in her workshop at Dornach, whith is situated close to the cities of Mulhouse and Basle. Many women from the Elsass would be sitting here in their costume and they embroidered her mistresses designs.

In 1889 Therese de Dillmont married Josef Scheuermann. The needlework factory in Mulhouse did not like this at all. One year later, in 1890 Therese died. Her niece with the same name succeeded her. In her working contract it said that she was not supposed to get married. The reason was that the name de Dillmont could not possibly be changed by marriage because it was so closely related to the factory and to the books.

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