Printing roller to make a fabric calendar, 1986, TOTO.

Calendars were printed to promote the company’s designs. They were sent as a promotional tool to hang on the wall of traders’ and merchants’ premises. This calendar features 15 designs, all in a dark blue and white colourway. This style of fabric has many names but is commonly known as shweshwe. The sections of sample patterns around the calendar state their design reference number so that customers can order the corresponding fabric.

Shweshwe was designed and manufactured in Europe for over 150 years but since the 1990s Da Gama Textiles in South Africa have taken over and produced the TOTO range and are global leaders in shweshwe textiles.