Laura Emily Start (1875 – 1957) was an English ethnographer who wrote and lectured on global textiles. After gaining an M.Ed., she lectured in Education and Handicraft at the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

and wrote and co-authored several books and articles, including her hand-drawn artifact diagrams, on textile collections from Europe, Central America, and Asia. In 1939 she collaborated with

Edith Durham Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...

on ''The Durham Collection of Garments and Embroideries from Albania and Yugoslavia'', which, according to Taylor, 'remains a model of good practice today.'

Select works

* 'Coptic Cloths', ''Bankfield Museum Notes'' 4 (1914) * 'Burmese Textiles from the Shan and Kachin Districts', ''Notes from Bankfield Museum'' 7 (1917) * (with Alfred C. Haddon) ''Iban or Sea Dayak Fabrics and Their Patterns'' (1936) * (with Edith Durham) ''The Durham Collection of Garments and Embroideries from Albania and Yugoslavia'' (1939) * 'Indian Textiles from Guatemala and Mexico', ''Man'' 48 (1948) * ''The McDougall Collection of Indian Textiles from Guatemala'' (1968)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Start, Laura Emily 1875 births 1957 deaths British ethnographers 20th-century English women educators 20th-century English educators