Jennifer,

Have you checked Florence Montgomery's "Textiles in America, 1650-1870"? The illustrated sources are based on merchant documents of the time(s) and may include similar imports.  My copy is at the office, and I will check on Monday. Meanwhile, I see that a preview is available in Google Books:http://books.google.com/books?id=1emELgbrnS0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false, which would allow you to at least peruse the Table of Contents.

Jane Hammond
Textile Conservator
ICA-Art Conservation
www.ica-artconservation.org

On Jan 11, 2013, at 5:54 PM, Kim Baird <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I used the compact edition of the OED, copyright 1971. It’s got 4 pages of the bigger one on each page, in tiny print. Comes with its own magnifying glass.
> Kim
>  
> From: Textile Conservators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jennifer Barnett
> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 2:44 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: What is 'tibet' fabric?
>  
> Thank you Kim and Lynda,
>  
> I have since discovered in a Dutch on-line dictionary that tibet is made from Tibetan sheep rather than goats or antelopes in the Himalayas. It seems the sheep have an undercoat of fine wool as well as the coarser, hairier outer coat, according to the Wikipedia pages on these sheep.
>  
> Good to hear of 'thibet'. Which OED did you use? I have the Concise version, the Mac OS version which I thought was quite extensive, Oxford Reference Online and Oxford Art/Grove Art Online, Oxford Dictionaries Online but could not find tibet (fabric).
>  
> Yes, 'stuff' is an old term for fabric. Incidentally, 'stof' is one of the Dutch terms for fabric and still used today.
> And indeed, there are many varieties on the same terms and not just for textiles, which is vaguely reassuring.
>  
> The search goes on...
>  
> 
> Jennifer Barnett
> Tournebise
> L.D. La Goutte
> FR -  42260 Bully
> [log in to unmask]
> tel: +(33)(0)477 65 20 11
> 
>