| Sumario: | In 1927 the American silk manufacturer, H.R. Mallinson & Co., debuted a series of dress fabrics illustrated with recognizable motifs from twelve of the country's national parks. Despite the designer's efforts to transform landscapes into fashionable patterns, Mallinson's advertisements encouraged consumers to interpret their silks as an extension, rather than an adaptation, of representational modes of viewing land. The series proved so popular that within a few months of its release, Mallinson announced its efforts to speed up production and issued an advertisement warning would-be design pirates against infringing on the company's "legal property." This article considers the myriad "patterns of possession" which characterize Mallinson's National Park silks. To do so, it offers a close reading of H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s designs and advertising campaigns, contemporary National Park policy, and the industry-wide agitation for stronger copyright protections. Holding public, personal, and intellectual property in tension, this article demonstrates how logics of colonial possession repeat at scales as immense as the national parks and as intimate as women's fashion.
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