The late Donald King is praised for his work in textile history. His contributions to the collection of historic textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum include a sample of English dress embroidery dated 1600, an English seal bag embroidered with a heraldic motif dating from the 16th century, and an embroidered altar frontal. The museum also received an Italian christening mantle because of the reputation which Donald King built at the Victoria and Albert for historical textiles.