Ben Thylan fur company sketches, 1951-1963

New York furrier Ben Thylan̕s sketch collection consists of two boxes of 1,625 original pencil sketches, in color, of fur design from 1951 to 1963. All sketches (except for one menswear sketch) portray highly elegant fur outerwear for women. These usually include volumnious, emphasized sleeves and fancy collars. They also include work wear with long to short coats, mostly with dresses and skirts which were at least knee length.

The time period represented is mostly early 1950s with some collections from later 1950s as well. The sketches have not been organized according to date or season; they are mixed and numbered in various folders with date ranges. Renderings depict very elegant outerwear for adult women.

The types of furs portrayed include Alaskan wild mink, Alaskan seal, sable, fox, ermine, chinchilla, otter, beaver, black Persian velvet, Russian sable, seal, and leopard (these sketches date about a decade before the use of leopard was outlawed), among various other furs. Colors of furs include white, brown, black, yellow, grey, blue, pink, and some patterns such as stripes. Notable features of outerwear include layering, use of pleats, colored lining, emphasized collars and cuffs, elegant drapery, stylized hoods, full-length and shorter coats for different seasons, shawls, and ponchos. Some couture pieces are included as is an extensive Spring 1953 collection. Two embroidery patterns are included in box 1; one is for sleeves and one is for a chest embellishment on specific garments.