Marghab Linens Ltd. was a company specialising in table linens founded on

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in 1933 by

British Cypriot The British Cypriot community in the United Kingdom consists of British people born on, or with ancestors from, the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. British Cypriot people may be of Greek-, Turkish-, Lebanese- Maronite-, or Armenian-Cyp ...

Emile Marghab and his

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

n wife Vera (''née'' Way); and disestablished in 1980. The company was also known as Emile Marghab Inc. Since 1850, when Madeiran natives were introduced to hand embroidery as a means of industry, the islands had been renowned for their needlework. The Marghabs took advantage of this reputation, producing textiles that were skilfully hand-embroidered on the highest quality Irish linen and a form of

organdy Organdy or Organdie is a kind of sheer fabric. It is a lightweight balanced plain weave cotton with features of sheerness and crispness. Characteristics Organdy is a stiffened material; sheerest among its peers, such as lawn cloth and Batiste ...

called Margandie, made in Switzerland, and harder wearing than usual organdy. The linens were designed by Vera, and hand-embroidered as a home industry by the women on Madeira, who Vera insisted received payment per stitch - which for a single

place mat A placemat or table mat is a covering or pad designating an individual place setting, unlike the larger tablecloth that covers the entire surface. Placemats are made from many different materials, depending on their purpose: to protect, decorate ...

could amount to seventy thousand stitches. Marghab linens were retailed through leading American department stores such as

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

, and

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

. In 1945 Vera Marghab was awarded the

Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of t ...

. Emile died in 1947, and his wife took charge of the business until its disestablishment in 1980. She died in 1995. While linens have continued to be produced by Madeira since Marghab closed in 1980, as of 2015 the quality and workmanship in Marghab's output remains highly regarded. In 1970, the

South Dakota Art Museum South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

were gifted nearly eight hundred examples of Marghab linens, followed by many gifts from Vera and her trustees. The Marghab Gallery was dedicated in 1970. As of 2015, the Museum's holdings are described as the world's most complete collection of Marghab linens, with over three hundred patterns and almost 2800 objects. The Museum holds at least one example of almost every design produced, but deaccessioned and sold off all the duplicates at auction in 2005 in order to raise money for building work. At the time of the auction, it was noted that Marghab linens had previously sold for hundreds of dollars over their reserve prices, and that it was extremely difficult to find matched sets.

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