Analysing, archiving and conservation of the Sümerbank İzmir Halkapınar Basma Sanayii Müessesesi textile albums

Sümerbank as one of the leading institutions through the development period of 1930?s Turkey became a symbol for the history of Turkish economy and textile for seventy years. After the acceptance of the industry plans of Sanayi ve Maadin Bankası in 1933, Sümerbank factories initially contributed to a local industry- building project. In spite of their limited material and colour ranges due to the economical conditions, Sümerbank fabrics led to the development of a national textile design style and fashion by introducing its own fabrics and distinctive designs. Sümerbank as a material culture and its institutions had played significant economical, cultural and social roles in the modernization process of the Turkish Republic. Its founding principle was to develop industry, to educate working people mostly living in rural areas, to encourage the usage of local products and to maintain the integration of urban and rural areas starting from 1930?s. Along with the privatization process started in 1987, some of the settlements like İzmir Halkapınar Basma Sanayii Müessesesi had been demolished, some had been handed over to private sectors, municipalities and universities, and most of the products like fabrics, and machinery had been destroyed. After the rapidly changing economical and social conditions of the institution for the last thirty years, Sümerbank left behind a very important textile archive after finished its production from 2000?s. The main focus of the study is to present the material culture of Sümerbank textiles by exemplifying specific and selected textile albums founded from the İzmir Halkapınar Basma Sanayii Müessesesi in 2006. In this respect, the study is also acquainted with the textile albums that are archived, restorated and storaged under the leadership of Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Traditional Turkish Arts. Technical and design analysis of the textile albums are also exemplified in the study both with the information about the factory and Sümerbank institution. In this context, to offer the design scholars, designers and design students a designerly insight into this remarkable period of the Turkish design history is also intended by presenting of this cultural heritage as an important element of Turkish design and material culture within the framework of this study.