Textiles - Overview
The 50,000 objects in the textile collections fall into two main categories: raw fibers, yarns, and fabrics, and machines, tools, and other textile technology. Shawls, coverlets, samplers, laces, linens, synthetics, and other fabrics are part of the first group, along with the 400 quilts in the National Quilt Collection. Some of the Museum's most popular artifacts, such as the Star-Spangled Banner and the gowns of the first ladies, have an obvious textile connection.
The machinery and tools include spinning wheels, sewing machines, thimbles, needlework tools, looms, and an invention that changed the course of American agriculture and society. A model of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, made by the inventor in the early 1800s, shows the workings of a machine that helped make cotton plantations profitable in the South and encouraged the spread of slavery.
"Textiles - Overview" showing 80 items.
Page 1 of 8
Mary Ingersoll's Sampler
- Description
- Man in fawn-colored fall-front trousers, short blue jacket decorated with faceted gilt beads, and tall dark hat. On his arm, lady wearing long dress with wide white collar and blue bonnet tied with long bonnet-strings; she carries parasol and reticule and wears necklace or chain of gilt beads. To right of couple, blue-domed building (temple?) with tall columns on hill above pond, with two deer and flowering bush; to left of couple large tree and under it, sheep and dog. In each upper corner, bluebird under grapevine; children's names enclosed in panel outlined by wave band. Grapes on vines in upper corners worked by coiling purple thread and tacking down each coil in two or three places. Border on all four sides, straight vine bearing roses and rose buds. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, chain, four-sided, French knot. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 28/in.
- Inscriptions:
- "FAMILY RECORD
- Mr Levi Ingersoll was born Dec 26th 1775
Miss Sarah Hubbard was born Jan 2nd 1779
They were united in marriage Jan 31 1802
- THEIR DESCENDANTS
- Hannah Ingersoll was born Jan 30th 1803
Eliza Ingersoll was born Oct 30th 1804
Ann Ingersoll was born Nov 1st 1806
Henry H Ingersoll was born Feb 25th 1809
Charles Ingersoll was born Jan 23rd 1811
Jane Ingersoll was born July 1st 1815
Mary Ingersoll was born Sept 27th 1819 [last 2 numbers replaced or filled in later]
Sarah Ingersoll was born Feb 10th 1821 [last number replaced or filled in later]
- By Miss Mary Ingersoll in the 9th year of her age New York 1830" [number 9 replaced or filled in later]
- Background:
- Mary was born on September 27, 1819, to Levi and Sarah Hubbard Ingersoll in Pound Ridge, New York. She died unmarried on April 18, 1889.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1830
- associated dates
- 1990-03-26
- maker
- Ingersoll, Mary
- ID Number
- 1990.0146.01
- catalog number
- 1990.0146.01
- accession number
- 1990.0146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hester Ann Posey's Sampler
- Description
- Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black. Border of geometric flowering vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, satin, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 31/in.
- Inscriptions:
- "A Family Reccord
Nathaniel and Margaret Pof[s]ey
The Parent's of thof[s]e Children
SoPhia Maria Pof[s]ey born Oct 8th 1813
Fredrick Jerome Pof[s]ey born Feb 28 1815
Margaret Pof[s]ey born Dec 19th 1816
John Pittf[s] Pof[s]ey born Oct 12 1818
Mary Jane Pof[s]ey born Dec 3d 1820
Hester Ann Pof[s]ey born Dec 28 1822
Nathaniel Boliver Pof[s]ey born April 11 1827
Henry Clay Pof[s]ey born Aug 14 1829"
- To left of monument in square:
- "Weep not my frien
df[s]. af[s] you paff[ss] by.
af[s] you are now. f[s]o
once Waf[s] I. af[s] i
am now. So you
muf[s]t be. prepare
to meet me in
Eternity."
- Embroidered on the monument are the following words:
- "sacred
to The -
Memory of
Margaret Posey
Who died Feb 2
A.D. 1824 aged 8 YS
1 Month and 14 days
- Below monument:
"Hester. Ann. Poseyf[s] Sampler Finished in the 15.th
year of her age. A.D. 1837."
- Background:
- Hester was born on December 28, 1822, to Nathaniel and Margaret Posey. Nathaniel and Margaret Kemp were married on October 9, 1812, in Frederick, Maryland. Hester was a teacher and did not marry.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1837
- maker
- Posey, Hester Ann
- ID Number
- TE*E365238
- catalog number
- E365238.000
- accession number
- 124238
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mary Harrison's Sampler
- Description
- In upper half of sampler, flanking verses, flowering plant with birds flying overhead, and lady and gentleman under tree. Man wears short flared coat and carries cane; lady wears elaborate hat, long-sleeved dress, and pantalettes, and carries small bag with long ribbon straps and what appears to be furled parasol. In lower half, large flat-roofed building with tall windows and columns. On flat roof recessed second story also flat-roofed but with large semicircular window. Building stands on lawn (or hill) flanked by trees, urns of flowers, and spotted dog. Border of geometric strawberry vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, queen, satin, double cross, four-sided, chain, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 29, weft 31/in.
- Inscriptions:
- "What iS the blooming fair
And tincture of the Skin
to Peace of mind from care
And harmony within
Sickness and age will blaSt
All outward charmeS away
Virtue will Sooth at last
in deathS tremendiouS day
- See the Kind Shepherd JeSuS StandS
with all engaging charmeS
Hark how he calls his tender lambs
And folds them in his arms
- Mary Harrison Aged Eleven Years
Alexandria July 1830"
- Background:
- This may have been stitched by the Mary Harrison who was born about 1820, daughter of Reverend Elias Harrison. She married Joseph M. Newton as her second husband in 1858. Or it may have been stitched by the Mary Harrison who was born in 1818, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Carlin Harrison of Alexandria, Virginia, and who married Isaac Kell in 1841.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1830
- maker
- Harrison, Mary
- ID Number
- TE*T14710
- catalog number
- T14710
- accession number
- 280469
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Laura Stone's Sampler
- Description
- In the center section, a two and one half story house is flanked by birds on trees and flower baskets. The house on Laura Stone’s sampler may have some important meaning to her. To achieve the look of bricks, she stitched two cross stitches over two threads by two threads and then left a single thread blank. She also left a single thread blank between each row of stitches. The flower baskets symbolize friendship and love, and the birds on the trees would indicate her love of nature. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 46, weft 40/in. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, detached chain, Algerian eye, stem, and eyelet. This sampler has been attributed by descendants to Laura Stone.
- Laura Stone was born June 22, 1806, to Amaziah and Fanny Hall Stone in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. She married John P. Henry (1806 –1847) in 1834. They had six children - Maria Abigail (1836-), John Harfield (1838-), Elizabeth Laura (1840-), Charles E. (1842-), James S. (1844-), and George L. (1846-). She married David Holman in 1850, and she died on March 21, 1863. Harlan Fiske Stone (Chief Justice of the United States 1941-1946) was the grandson of her twin brother Lauson Stone.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1830
- maker
- Stone, Laura
- ID Number
- TE*T17766
- catalog number
- T17766
- accession number
- 315495
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1839 Frances M. Jolly's Quilt Top
- Description
- The embroidered inscription “Frances M Jolly 1839” graces the center medallion of this quilt top. This signed and dated silk-and-wool-embroidered quilt top came from an African American family, and the maker, Frances M. Jolly, was said to be an ancestor of one of the donor’s grandparents. The family, of whom little else is known, is said to have lived in Massachusetts and moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina.
- A 37½-inch black square set diagonally in the center with red corner triangles is the focal point of this quilt top. It is surrounded by three borders: a 9-inch black, a 10-inch orange, and an 11-inch black. Appliquéd flowers, leaves, and vines embellished with braid and embroidery decorate the surface.
- The edges of the appliquéd motifs are not turned under, but are held in place by buttonhole stitching in matching or near-matching thread colors. Silk or cotton threads are used for securing the appliqué motifs, stitching, and the embroidery, except for the inscription, which is chain-stitched in red wool. The quilt has both hand and machine stitching. The outer two borders are machine-stitched, indicating that they were joined after 1860 when sewing machines became common in households. Wool fabrics are used for both the pieced sections and the appliquéd motifs. Wool and silk braid and silk ribbon contribute to the overall design.
- Little is known about Frances M. Jolly. A headstone in the White Cloud Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Calloway County, Missouri bears the name “Frances M. Jolly dau of E. H. and A. M. Jolly Feb 15, 1915 and Feb. 11, 1916.” Whether this has a connection to the Frances M. Jolly that is inscribed on this quilt top is a question that remains to be answered with further research and information.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1839
- quilter
- Jolly, Frances M.
- ID Number
- 1983.0241.01
- catalog number
- 1983.0241.01
- accession number
- 1983.0241
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Elizabeth Shermer's Sampler
- Description
- One lower-case alphabet; six block alphabets; 26 letters. Numbers 1 through 17. Three practice eyelets, one worked in red cotton, two worked in red wool. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, tent, four-sided, eyelet, upright cross. THREAD COUNT: warp 26, weft 39/in.
- Inscription:
- "Elizabeth Shermer's
work done in the
eleventh year of her
age
1833"
- Background:
- This may be the Elizabeth Shermer who was born to Anthony and Anna Barbara Diehl Shermer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sixth alphabet on her sampler is very unusual and has been found on other Pennsylvania samplers.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1833
- maker
- Shermer, Elizabeth
- ID Number
- 1985.0856.01
- accession number
- 1985.0856
- catalog number
- 1985.0856.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rebecca Ballinger's Sampler
- Description
- Two block upper-case alphabets, no "J," alternate colors. One block lower-case alphabet of alternate colors. Numbers 1 through 9. One crown. Satin-stitched sawtooth crossband; one crossband worked in Irish stitch, also basket and two large diamonds in lower half. Two weeping willow trees, each with bird in its top, and three boxes, one containing verse and two containing maker's name and date and group of initials. Box on right side contains initials "WB," "CB," "JS," and "EJ." Box on left side contains initials "WB," "LB," "WP," "EP," "NU," "CU," "WB," "EB," 'SB," "MB," "LP," and "LU" as well as "Rebecca Ballinger 1830." Strawberry border. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, Algerian eye, satin, rice, Irish, queen, crosslet, long-armed cross, gobelin. THREAD COUNT: warp 24, weft 34/in.
- Inscription:
- "In thy fair book of life divine
My, god, incribe [sic] my name
There, let it fill some humble place
Beneath the slaughter'd Lamb"
- Background:
- Rebecca was born on March 22, 1814, to William and Lydia Smith Ballinger in Pipe Creek, Maryland. The family moved to Ohio in 1819, and Rebecca stitched her sampler under the tutelage of Ann Thorn in Jefferson County. The initials on her sampler are of her grandparents, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, and two nieces who died in infancy. The initials in black are family members who had died by the time she stitched her sampler. Rebecca married Thomas H. Terrell as his second wife on April 22, 1863.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1830
- maker
- Ballinger, Rebecca
- ID Number
- 1989.0343.12
- accession number
- 1989.0343
- catalog number
- 1989.0343.12
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mary M. Meem's Sampler
- Description
- Worked in pink, green, blue, beige, cream, tan, brown, gold, and black thread. Decorated with central flowering cornucopia above bird and inscription, all enclosed within strawberry queen-stitch border. Silk embroidery on plain-weave linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, queen, straight. THREAD COUNT: warp 30, weft 28/in.
- Inscription:
- "Mary M. Meem
finished this work in her fifteenth year
of her age
George Town D.C
A.D 1836"
- Background:
- Mary Margaret was born on October 17, 1821, to George A. and Rebecca Ann Mudd Meem in Georgetown, D.C. She married Seth Nichols as his second wife on April 8, 1842, and they had seven children—Clayton, Charles, Catherine, Caroline, Tillman, Ann, and Seth. He was a tailor, and they lived in Frederick, Maryland. Sometime after Seth's death on June 14, 1871, she moved back to Georgetown, D.C., and died there on October 27, 1889. She is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1836
- maker
- Meem, Mary M.
- ID Number
- 2004.0246.01
- accession number
- 2004.0246
- catalog number
- 2004.0246.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
1830 Jane Valentine's "Irish Chain" Quilt
- Description
- On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No. of Pieced Blocks 168 Small Blocks 4,2,42." Another inscription in a different hand and ink on a back corner states: “My Mothers 5040 Blocks 1832 In Case of My death to be given to My Sister Hattie Blodgett.”
- The quilt is made of 3-inch plain and pieced blocks. The blocks are comprised of about 130 different roller-printed cottons with small print motifs. An examination of the quilt reveals that there are 348 white blocks and 348 pieced blocks; the segments of the pieced blocks are 5/8-inch square, and there are 10,092 of them. Diagonal grid quilting follows the “chain.” The plain white blocks are quilted, 6 stitches per inch, with a floral motif. The “Irish Chain” pattern was in use in the early 1800s and may have been adapted from weaving patterns.
- Margaret Jane Valentine was the daughter of Peter Valentine (1784-1865) and Elizabeth Hilliker. Jane married Benjamin Brown Jr. on November 16, 1831. Harriet Brown was born in 1848 and married Charles Blodgett. It was Mrs. Harriet E. Blodgett who in 1915 donated this quilt and a coverlet. At the time she wrote that the quilt was “. . . pieced by my mother. Commenced in 1825 when she was about fourteen finished 1830. . . I feel a great desire to put them [both quilt and coverlet] where they will be preserved.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1830
- maker
- Valentine, Jane
- ID Number
- TE*E287383
- accession number
- 58478
- catalog number
- E287383
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Catalina Juliana Mason's Sampler
- Description
- In center, urn surrounded by wreath and flanked by words of inscription. Around center panel, on all four sides, eight geometric borders. Silk thread on cotton ground. STITCHES: -cross, satin, stem, herringbone, triple herringbone, fishbone, pulled thread, open chain variation. THREAD COUNT: warp 59 weft 47/in.
- Inscription:
- Over the urn in the center panel:
"VIVA
YSABEL ZA"
flanking the urn and wreath in the center panel:
"LO HIZO CATA-
LINA MA-
SON DIS-
CIPULA
D DA AM
BROSIA
MARTIN
EZ EN LA
ACADEMIA DE PUERTO RICO A 21 DE MA-
YO DE 1836
Y SELO DEDY
CA A SU PA-
PA BALOR,
CONSTAN
SIA Y APLI-
CACION
CON LA ESPE
RIENCIA H
EGARA A CON"
The translation of the inscription is "Long Live Isabel II. This was made by Catalina Mason student of Mrs. Ambrosia Martin in the year of 1836 in the academy of Puerto Rico on the 21st of May Dedicated to her father Courage, Perseverance, and Diligence with experience to arrive to know."
- Background:
- Catalina Juliana was born on June 19, 1823, to Sidney and Maria Benito Dorado Mason, in St. Johns, Puerto Rico. Catalina's father was American consul in St. Johns from 1829 to 1835. Desiring to educate his children in his native land, Mr. Mason brought his family to the United States in one of his own sailing vessels. After arrival in Baltimore, they were taken to Gloucester, Massachusetts. His wife soon succumbed to the rigors of the climate and died on September 14, 1835. On the death of his wife, Mr. Mason gave up all business interests and set forth on an extended tour of Europe. Before departing, he traveled to Puerto Rico one more time and took Catalina with him. She stitched her sampler during this stay in Puerto Rico. When they returned, he placed Catalina at Miss Emma Willard's boarding school for girls in Troy, New York.
- Recalled from Europe by the death of his son on Dec 25, 1839, he took up residence in New York, and Catalina finished her school days with the Misses McClennachan. She married Theodorus Bailey Myers in 1847, and they had two children, Theodorus Bailey and Cassie Mason. She and her husband made many trips to Europe, and she was known to have paid a visit to the famous dressmaker, Worth. Her niece admired her hands, saying "They were not ornamental only, for they could sew and embroider beautifully, and do all sorts of fine worsted work." Catalina died on August 27, 1905. See also Catalina Mason's map sampler.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1836
- maker
- Mason, Catalina Juliana
- ID Number
- TE*H33413
- accession number
- 70138
- catalog number
- H33413
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center