Jim Thompson (Designer)

Jim Thompson , also James HW Thompson (born March 21, 1906 in Greenville , Delaware ; † unknown) was an American entrepreneur who made a significant contribution to revolutionizing the silk and textile industry in Thailand .

The wildest rumors surround his mysterious disappearance on Easter Sunday in 1967: he was kidnapped, eaten by a tiger, killed, committed suicide or immersed in another life.

Thompson is still considered to be one of the most famous western foreigners in Asia.

Life

Training and military career

Thompson studied at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania . After graduating, he worked as an architect in New York until 1940 . Then he volunteered for US military service. During the Second World War he came to the Secret Service Office of Strategic Services (OSS). He was posted to work with French troops in North Africa. Later his military service also took him to France, Italy and Asia.

At the end of World War II, Thompson was on his way to Bangkok . There he took over the responsibility as OSS station chief and at the end of 1946 received the order to return to the USA to be discharged from the army.

Working in Thailand

After unsuccessful attempts to get into the old Oriental Hotel , he founded his own silk business at the beginning of 1948 and the Thai Silk Company Limited at the end of 1948. At that time, silk production in Thailand was not a commercial factor. Rather, families wove silk for their own use, for example for use in ceremonies.

By combining industrial manufacturing standards and traditional weaving, he succeeded in increasing the quality and volume of the silk produced disproportionately. He primarily made use of a network of Muslim weaver families, which he settled in Bangkok opposite his residential complex built in 1959 and consisting of six houses. The house is now a museum. It still contains high quality antiques that Thompson collected. He used many old Asian motifs for the design of silk materials.

Thompson was considered a highly talented salesman. Within a few years, he made Thai silk popular. International hotels and celebrities were among his customers and guests.

On March 27, 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared without a trace during a visit to the Cameron Highlands in the jungles of Malaysia . Several searches were unsuccessful. His body was never found, nor were any other traces found. His disappearance also remains mysterious because he successfully completed survival training during his time in the secret service.

Jim Thompson House

Jim Thompson house

In 1976 the James HW Thompson Foundation was established to manage his legacy. Thompson's property in Pathum Wan , a district of Bangkok, on Soi Kasemsan 2, was also transferred to the foundation. The Jim Thompson House is one of the tourist attractions of the city in the complex of several traditional Thai houses, parts are exhibited his extensive art collection. Thompson discovered some of the five houses near Ayutthaya and had them rebuilt in Bangkok. The houses are surrounded by a jungle garden and, in addition to his fascinating life story, lead the visitor through the mysterious story of his disappearance in the Cameron Highlands into a world of silk, Asian culture and art history.

literature

• William Warren, Luca Invernizzi Tettoni (Photographer): Jim Thompson. The House on the Klong . Archipelago Press, Singapore 2003. ISBN 981-3018-68-2 (book with many photos about the Jim Thompson House, English)
• William Warren: Jim Thompson. The unsolved mystery . Archipelago Press, Singapore, 1998. ISBN 981-3018-82-8 (biography of the life and mysterious disappearance of Jim Thompson, English)

Web links

• Homepage of the Jim Thompson House , English
• Homepage of the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company , English
• Article in Die Zeit about Jim Thompson