ALBERTON was a large-scale spinning company that existed in and around Baltimore County, Maryland, one of the centers of American industrial development from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.
At the time, it was the center of a major cotton-producing region, which boasted a 70% share of the U.S. cotton market. Although frequently devastated by natural disasters, the company was rebuilt by Albert, the son of the founder, and the factory and town were renamed ALBERTON in his honor.
With duck fabric as its main product, while selling many products to the U.S. government.
Later, Albert became a politician who went on to serve as the U.S. Postmaster General, a testament to the scale of his business.” U.S. ARMY DUCK”, as the name suggests, has been used by the U.S. military since World War I, and is the origin of the duck fabric that is still widely used today.
In 1938, ALBERTON was acquired by another company, and the name of the company, as well as the city we renamed. And, the name ALBERTON was buried in history. However, the duck fabric business continued to expand.
The development of the textile industry was triggered by the Industrial Revolution, which brought people together in large cities. Connected by rail, the industries prospered and flourished rapidly.
Duck fabric was a major supporter of industry in general, however as affluence spread due to the rapid growth and technological advances duck slowly became less widely used. Little by the little the duck fabric industry shrank as demand decreased. High-quality lined-duck fabric slowly fell out of use.
In 2016, ALBERTON®, a brand created by Japanese fabric producers, was launched in Japan with the aim of infusing new value into this once lost fabric icon, using the past as a standard and updating to modern specs.
Vintage fabrics were analyzed from various perspectives, including old books, documents, and actual fabrics. We sourced old style power looms that could produce as similar a fabric as possible. We then reconstructed the fabrics with the same standards as the original.
The fabric produced on these machines has blue lines at the selvedge edges of the fabric. This was woven as a guide for the sewing machine operators, and the standard dimensions were set in detail for each use, which suggests that the fabric was used in a wide range of fields.
Our fabric is woven at high density using uneven yarns, so it not only has a distinct vintage character but is also strong. Alberton 15oz U.S. Army Duck is a high grade fabric that was used for high-grade products.
The paraffin waxed fabric has high-density water repellency with +α water repellency, making it suitable for modern outdoor activities. (ALBERTON® has been trademarked in Japan and the U.S.)