Producing printed cottons, called calicoes, was not the professional life first sought by Archibald Hamilton Rowan (1751–1834), who had been born into the gentry class. As a young man during the time of revolutions, Rowan publicly championed Irish liberty and co-founded Dublin’s rebellious branch of the Society of United Irishmen. His passionate actions and fame resulted in imprisonment, jailbreak, and exile that included lost years with his wife and ten children.

While exiled in 1795, he sought business opportunities in the Brandywine region and acquired a calico printing business. This humble book is a rare record of samples for cotton fabric designs and colors and also preserves a lonely chapter in Rowan’s tumultuous life. Ultimately, his wife negotiated for his pardon, and this book, covered with an Irish newspaper, returned with Rowan to Ireland.