ABC Wax Archive

The Whitworth is proud to have acquired the ABC Wax Archive, the last surviving industrial design archive of a significant Manchester textile printing company.

An incredibly valuable resource, it shows the rich history of British textiles made for export to the African (and some Middle Eastern or Asian) markets. The acquisition presents an opportunity for the Whitworth to engage with local communities and histories, while contributing a more expansive, nuanced and complex view of the textile industry in Manchester and globally.

Over the next 18 months, research into the archive will be undertaken and an emerging curator supported by Frieze and Deutsche Bank.

The ABC Wax Archive was presented by The Cha Group in 2023, supported by the Friends of the Whitworth.