The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection contains 13,000 textiles and related objects. These span a broad spectrum of times, places, and techniques from archeological material (primarily Peruvian and Coptic) through contemporary fiber art. Particular strengths are ethnographic textiles and costumes (especially South and Southeast Asian and Latin American material), as well as European and American home furnishing and apparel fabrics.

The Collection also invites you to visit the University of Wisconsin Digtial Collection: Teaching and Learning Resources.

There are approximately 8,000 of our 13,000 textiles that are included in the UW Library's Digital Collections database. Access is currently limited to users on campus or those with UW ID numbers.