Textiles

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.

A length of printed crepe plain weave fabric. Pattern "Colonial Stars", one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co.George Washington Bicentennial Prints.
Description
A length of printed crepe plain weave fabric. Pattern "Colonial Stars", one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co.George Washington Bicentennial Prints. The allover, tossed, non-directional design uses blue stars, singly and in groups of 2 and 3 against a ground of evenly spaced tiny blue dots on an off-white ground. The discoloration and oily residue apparent on this fabric sample suggests that either a) it was not either pure dye or pure silk, as are most of the other Mallinson fabrics; or b) it was stored in contact with another object from which it picked up the residue which discolored it. More research needs to be done to determine the origin of the damage.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932
maker
H R Mallinson and Company, Incorporated
ID Number
TE.T06960
accession number
118355
catalog number
T06960.000
..A length of Mallinson trade name "Indestructible Voile" sheer silk fabric printed with the "Palm Beach" design from the firm's 1928 "Playgrounds of the World" series.
Description
..A length of Mallinson trade name "Indestructible Voile" sheer silk fabric printed with the "Palm Beach" design from the firm's 1928 "Playgrounds of the World" series. "Indestructible Voile" was one of the Mallinson firm's perennial best-selling silk qualities, and was a long-serving trade name. The print is an allover design with a block layout; scenes of bathing, dining, horseback riding, and architectural features of the "Palm Beach" scene, set off by palm trees. Colorway is in in shades of red, purple, gray and yellow on ground of pink (tea rose). The typical Mallinson selvage inscription, Mallinson's Silks DeLuxe Playgrounds of the World Palm Beach. Company numbers: 1800/2664. Colorway # 13. The company gave a photograph of the area represented in the design as part of this accession.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1928
maker
H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
ID Number
TE.T05736
catalog number
T5736
T (/) 5736
accession number
101284
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric pattern "Virginia Floral", one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial prints.
Description
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric pattern "Virginia Floral", one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial prints. Colonial gardens inspired the design of flower garlands, dotted with candlesticks and lanterns.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932
maker
H R Mallinson and Company, Incorporated
ID Number
TE.T06951
accession number
118355
catalog number
T06951.000
accession number
118355
A length of printed crepe. Pattern "Nellie Custis" one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co.
Description
A length of printed crepe. Pattern "Nellie Custis" one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial prints.Pattern inspired by an old silk brocade is made up of many different tiny flower motifs with plain 2 inch border along one selvage, outlined with a flower garland in a running vine effect. The discoloration and oily residue apparent in this textile sample suggests that either a) it was not either pure dye or pure silk, as most of the other Mallinson samples are, or b) it was stored for some time in contact with another object that damaged it. Additional research should be done to determine the source and cause of the discoloration and residue.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932
maker
H R Mallinson and Company, Incorporated
ID Number
TE.T06955
accession number
118355
catalog number
T06955.000
A length of Mallinson trade name "Vagabond crepe" novelty silk printed with the "Palm Beach" design from the firm's 1928 "Playgrounds of the World" series.
Description
A length of Mallinson trade name "Vagabond crepe" novelty silk printed with the "Palm Beach" design from the firm's 1928 "Playgrounds of the World" series. This crepe variation is woven with doupioni weft or filling (rough, irregular silk reeled from double cocoons) and silk warp. The print is an allover design with a block layout; scenes of bathing, dining, horseback riding, and architectural features of the "Palm Beach" scene, set off by palm trees. Colorway is in blue, orchid, tan, brown, gold and black on a white ground.
The typical Mallinson selvage inscription, Mallinson's Silks DeLuxe Playgrounds of the World Palm Beach. Company numbers: 523/2664. Colorway # 16.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1928
maker
H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
ID Number
TE.T05742
catalog number
T (/) 5742
T5742
accession number
101284
After a young lady learned to embroider a sampler, she might attend a female academy to make a silk embroidered picture. This was a more challenging technique that became popular in the early 1800s.
Description
After a young lady learned to embroider a sampler, she might attend a female academy to make a silk embroidered picture. This was a more challenging technique that became popular in the early 1800s. Subjects included classical, biblical, and historical scenes, as well as mourning pictures. The death of George Washington gave impetus to this new fad of the mourning picture. The genre included an assortment of plinths, urn, mourners, and trees in a garden setting.
This mourning embroidery by Mary Gorham was dedicated to her father, Capt. Isaac Gorham. The pastoral image shows a woman approaching an urn on a plinth that rests beneath a three-branched weeping willow. The large gold urn, outlined in brown and garlanded with flowers, carries on its marble-simulated silk embroidered pedestal the inked inscription: "Cap.t Isaac / Gorham born / Feb.y 15 . 1747 . died / Aug.t. 13. 1795. aged / 48." The young woman, in a white Regency costume with a brown bow, stands to the right of the urn. Her bonnet is completed in black ink; her features and curls are inked in brown; one arm is outlined in graphite, and the other is barely visible behind a willow branch. The picture is in the original gold leaf frame, and the glass is reverse-painted in black, with gold leaf motifs in each corner and a 1/4" gold rim around the oval mourning picture with the maker's name, "M. GORHAM," at the bottom. It is stitched on a plain weave ivory silk ground with silk embroidery threads. The stitches are seed, lazy daisy, straight, satin, and outline.
This example includes the typical objects found in mourning embroideries: a garden, weeping willow trees, a woman in mourning, and an urn on a plinth. The willow tree is a symbol of mourning and sorrow as well as a tree that drains the ground of water, thereby keeping the site dry. Capt. Isaac Gorham was a mariner and he died at sea.
Mary Gorham was born December 10, 1791, to Isaac and Sarah Thomas Gorham in Bristol, Rhode Island. She married Rev. John P. K. Henshaw(1792-1852) on July 19, 1814. They had eleven children: John Kewley (1815-1843), Alexander (1817-1854), Mary Gorham (1819-1888), William Milnor (1820-1850), Rev. Daniel (1822-1908), Charles Henry (1825-1825), Elizabeth W. (1826-1826), I. Gorham (1828-1828), Charles Henry (1830-1910), Richmond (1833-1890), and Sarah (1831-1832). Mary died September 26, 1881, in Bristol, Rhode Island. See her older sister Jemina Gorham’s sampler.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1805
maker
Gorham, Mary
Gorham, Mary
ID Number
2007.0156.01
accession number
2007.0156
catalog number
2007.0156.01
Men's fashion went through a revolutionary change during the last half of the eighteenth century, as clothing steadily shrank from a curvaceous, full-skirted style into a slender, vertical silhouette.
Description
Men's fashion went through a revolutionary change during the last half of the eighteenth century, as clothing steadily shrank from a curvaceous, full-skirted style into a slender, vertical silhouette. The waistcoat was a vest-like garment that a man wore, along with his breeches, over his shirt and under his suit coat. This particular waistcoat dates from the second quarter of the century and represents men’s clothing before it had begun to evolve.
The unidentified gentleman from Maine who wore this garment sometime around 1740 would have probably purchased it as a flat textile for his tailor to cut and fit to his measurements. When it was finished, he must have presented an impressive figure. His waistcoat, with its squared fronts and full skirts, would have draped over his torso and swirled around his upper thighs. Wide pocket flaps protruded over his hips, held out by three otherwise useless buttons beneath them. Moreover, the pattern of the silk fabric made his waistcoat appear even more massive. The design, which was woven just for this purpose, featured a huge floral pattern around the edges of the skirts and fronts that accentuated the expansive scale of the garment.
This waistcoat of brown tone-on-tone warp-patterned silk brocade is woven to form, with a diaper pattern–a small diagonal grid–that covers the ground and a large-scale serpentine leaf and flower design along the straight front base and center front edges. Both pocket flaps are also woven to form, and their lower edges are cut in mirror-imaged S-curves; they are sewn at either side of the center front on each hip. Although the pocket flaps have three decorative vertical buttonholes, the holes were never cut. Three non-functional buttons are sewn under each pocket flap.
Fifteen buttons are sewn along the right center front. Fifteen buttonholes are worked along the left center front, but the lowest four were never cut open and thus can not be buttoned. The upper eleven buttons are domed, with a brown silk diamond embroidered in four sections, surrounded by a small diapered ground. The lower four buttons, and the buttons under the pocket flaps, are mostly flat and covered with brown basket-weave silk.
The back skirts of the waistcoat are of the primary fabric, but the upper back is of plain-weave brown silk. The fronts and back skirt are lined with brown silk twill, and the upper back is lined with napped off-white cotton and linen fustian. The waistcoat is open down the center back from the shoulders to the hem. Three pairs of cotton tape ties originally spanned the slit, but they are now missing. The skirt is vented at the sides from waist to hem. The overall length of the front, measured from the shoulder seam to hem, is 36 in. (91.4 cm).
To see how the clothing of a prosperous man would have been worn, link to the portrait of an Unidentified British Navy Officer, about 1745, by John Wollaston, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The officer wears a waistcoat that is cut much like the brown silk one shown here.
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men’s Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Date made
1740 - 1760
maker
unknown
ID Number
CS.293501.003
catalog number
293501.003
accession number
293501
This Jacquard double-cloth coverlet was donated as "a pair of drapes." Colonial Revival décor favored antique coverlet portieres. It is thought to have been woven in Ohio in the 1830s and is inscribed with the initials "J.W." in each corner.
Description
This Jacquard double-cloth coverlet was donated as "a pair of drapes." Colonial Revival décor favored antique coverlet portieres. It is thought to have been woven in Ohio in the 1830s and is inscribed with the initials "J.W." in each corner. Each of the two sections of the coverlet is 88 inches long, and 36 inches wide. The structure is composed of two sets of warps and wefts made up of 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun white cotton and 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun madder red and indigo-dyed wool. The centerfield pattern consists of meandering floral straight repeat, creating columns of flowers that change direction at the center due to the coverlet’s two-panel construction. The weaver’s masterful understanding of color led him to change colors both the warp and weft allowing flowers to change color and utilizing half-tones when necessary. A running flower and leaf border frames the entire coverlet with the initials interwoven at the corners in lieu of a traditional corner block.
Jane Caughey (1795-1874), the donor's great grandmother, passed the coverlet down through the generations. Jane and her husband, William (b. 1781) were both born and married in Pennsylvania but lived most of their lives in New Concord, Muskingum County, Ohio. Jane and William’s first child, Rebecca Caughey Martin, was born in Pennsylvania in 1821. The first child born in Ohio, William, was born in 1832.
This coverlet was woven using a Jacquard head, which wasn't readily available in the US until after 1820. These looms and the Figured and Fancy coverlets woven on them were almost always operated by male, professional weavers. The donor's claim that her great-grandmother wove this coverlet is almost certainly false, but the claim that she raised the sheep and prepared the wool used to make it are likely accurate. Coverlet weavers often advertised that they were taking orders and would provide the cotton yarns needed and any dying, if the customer supplied the spun wool yarns.
This coverlet was probably woven by an Irish-born weaver named William Lunn (c. 1787-c. 1855). William and his wife Hannah immigrated to Pennsylvania sometime before 1820, as their son George was born in Pennsylvania in 1825-26. He first appears in Muskingum County, Ohio in the 1840 census, and both he and his son are listed as weavers in the 1850 census. William dies sometime in the 1850s, and his wife Hannah appears living with her son George who is recorded as a farmer in the 1860 Federal Census. The choice of both centerfield and border floral designs match those that appear on signed Lunn coverlets and the time frame and geography also lineup, suggesting that William Lunn wove this coverlet in the 1830s-1840s.
The appearance of the "JW" initials found in the corners of the coverlet are a mystery. There is no one in that belongs to or marries into the Caughey family with initials that match. It is possible that Jane and William Caughey purchased this coverlet at a public vendue or bought a readymade coverlet for which another client had failed to pay. The association with Lunn makes this the only the eighth attributed William Lunn coverlet.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
1820-1840
1830-1840
ID Number
TE.T13519
catalog number
T13519.000
accession number
254763
This Muir Family Figured and Fancy double-cloth coverlet has a geometric, stylized-floral carpet medallion centerfield with floral borders and a dated Muir Family cornerblock trademark in the lower two corners.
Description
This Muir Family Figured and Fancy double-cloth coverlet has a geometric, stylized-floral carpet medallion centerfield with floral borders and a dated Muir Family cornerblock trademark in the lower two corners. Two sets of blue and white wool and cotton warp and weft were used to create this coverlet, and there is a self-fringe along the lower edge. The upper edge of the coverlet is worn as is often the case with use. The dark blue yarns are wool singles, and the white yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun natural cotton.
This coverlet was made by one of the four Muir brothers who emigrated from Kilmarnock, Scotland between the years 1835-41. They were the sons of Scottish weaver, Thomas Muir and were active weavers from 1840-1864, settling first in Germantown, Wayne County, Indiana then dispersing across the state and later into Missouri as was the case with Robert Muir (b. 1808). Robert sold the farm in Germantown and moved to Liberty Twp., Delaware Co., IN. and was active 1840-1864. While in Liberty Township, Robert had invested in the Cincinnati, New Castle, Michigan Railroad. In 1853, he was able to sell his stocks in the railroad along with the farm and relocate to Missouri to live near the family of his brother-in-law, another Kilmarnock-born Indiana weaver, Joseph Gilmour.
Thomas Muir (1810-1888) lived in Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana and was also active from 1840-1864. Thomas’ life is a bit of a mystery. There is little documentary evidence of his life in this country, but he and his brother William fought for the Union during the Civil War. John Muir (1815-1892) is the best documented of the weaving brothers. After making it to Indiana with his first wife and four children, the family lived with his brother, Robert. John moved to Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana in 1843. His weaving shop was located on the North side of the town square. In 1855, he and his brother William invested in land speculation in the town of Fillmore, Indiana, convinced it was going to become the next railroad boomtown. John’s last move was to Jackson Township, Parke County, Indiana where he passed away in 1888.
William Muir (1818-1888), the youngest of the brothers was trained as a drawboy and silk and paisley shawl weaver in Scotland, immigrating to the US in 1840 where he first lived in Germantown, Wayne Co., Indiana and was active from 1840-1864. In 1842, William left the partnership with his brother, John and moved to Indianapolis where he operated a three-loom workshop and employed two Irish weavers, Jonathan Wilson and Robert Shaw as journeymen. William’s business grew with the new city and by 1858, he sold railroad stock and his holdings in Indianapolis, purchased a 340-acre farm Clay County, Indiana, and essentially retired from full-time weaving.
The fact that the brothers were all active at the same time and likely shared or had copies of the same patterns and used the same signature trademark cornerblock, makes it hard if not impossible to associate this coverlet with any single brother. The Henry Ford Museum has another coverlet by the Muir Family in the exact same pattern suggesting that rather than a bespoke piece commissioned by an individual, this pattern was produced on spec and either marketed by the brothers themselves or sold through a dealer. If like the Craig family of Indiana, the Muirs were also using a modified drawloom rather than a Jacquard pattern mechanism to produce their coverlets, the tie-ups, treadling, and weaving would have been repeated from memory. The fact that William was trained as a drawboy would suggest that the family was engaged in drawloom weaving.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1847
ID Number
TE.T12680
catalog number
T12680.000
accession number
237217
Samuel Hippert wove this Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet which features a carpet medallion center field in a stylized “Double Iris” pattern.
Description
Samuel Hippert wove this Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet which features a carpet medallion center field in a stylized “Double Iris” pattern. The bottom and side borders feature pairs of addorsed roosters and garland inner border, inscribed mid-border featuring the weaver’s initials and the word patent, and double flower outer border. The inscribed cornerblocks contain the initials S.H., the location, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and the date, 1837. The use of the term patent in the border indicates that Hippert was weaving on an improved loom with a registered patent. It is possible that Hippert was weaving with the improved carpet and coverlet loom patented by fellow coverlet weavers and industrial machinists, Jonathan Conger and George Deterich. Conger and Deterich registered their patent in 1831. Structurally, the coverlet is 2:1 tied-Beiderwand, an integrated weave structure where evenly spaced warp yarns are dedicated to binding or tying two separate weave structures together on alternating sides of the fabric. This alternation creates a ribbed effect on the surface of the textile that makes this structure easy to identify. The weaver used rose, dark blue, white and green 2-ply , S-twist, Z-spun wool, and Z-spun white cotton singles for the weft or filling and light blue Z-spun singles for the tying warp and 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton for the remainder of the warp yarns. The coverlet was woven in two lengthwise panels and may have been originally been longer. There is significant damage and loss across the top half of the coverlet likely due to insects and storage issues. It is possible it was re-hemmed sometime in its past and that some of the length on the top half was removed. At one time there was a self-fringe on each side and an applied fringe on the lower edge. There is still traces of these fringes remaining.
Samuel Hippert (Hippard) (1808-1886) was the weaver. According to Clarita Anderson and John Heisey, Hippert was active in Mt. Joy and Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania into the 1840s. Samuel and his wife, Mary’s youngest child, George was born in Pennsylvania in 1847. The family must have already been planning a move, because the 1850 Federal Census lists Samuel and his family living in Somers, Preble County, Ohio. He is recorded as working as a wool manufacturer. History of Preble County, Ohio (1881) by H.Z. Williams and Brothers further explained that Hippert opened a woolen mill and carding factory 1848 and eventually bought and operated another nearby woolen factory producing roving, yarn, finished cloth, and blankets from 1854-1860. These blankets presumably being coverlets although Hippert’s signed coverlets all come from his time in Lancaster County. The 1860 Federal Census recorded Samuel and his family living in Cass County, Indiana where he is identified as a wool carder. After that census, Samuel disappears from the record. His wife, Mary, age fifty-six and his son, George, age twenty-three are listed as living in Ward Three, Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1870 Federal Census. George was a clerk at a bookstore, and Mary kept house. What became of Samuel during that decade has thus far remained a mystery. In 1880, George is living in New York City. Samuel apparently returned to Pennsylvania where he died in Harrisburg in 1886. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1837
weaver
Hippert, Samuel
ID Number
TE.E259592
catalog number
E259592.000
accession number
051534
The weaver of this overshot, “Double Bowknot” or “Big Leaf” pattern is unknown, but she was a master weaver.
Description
The weaver of this overshot, “Double Bowknot” or “Big Leaf” pattern is unknown, but she was a master weaver. Using olive green and pokeberry dyed Z-spun wool singles and white 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, she was able to use the different colored supplementary pattern weft to create a vibrant two-panel coverlet. The coverlet measures 99 inches by 80 inches, and has self-fringe on three sides. This coverlet is in excellent overall condition. The “Double Bowknot” pattern, as with all coverlet patterns, has many names that very based on location and time. This pattern is also known as “Muscadine Hulls” in the Southern United States.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
ID Number
TE.T13000
catalog number
T13000.000
accession number
249079
Henry Oberly (1805-1874) likely wove this blue and red, Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet for Anna Nancy King Zook (1784-1840) in Berks County, Pennsylvania sometime between 1835 and 1840.
Description
Henry Oberly (1805-1874) likely wove this blue and red, Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet for Anna Nancy King Zook (1784-1840) in Berks County, Pennsylvania sometime between 1835 and 1840. The coverlet features a “Double Rose” carpet medallion centerfield where the motif is contained in large sunburst designs. There are borders along three sides. The side borders depict large adorsed peacocks on branches, and the bottom border depicts a town scene. Rather than traditional cornerblocks, the weaver has turned the bottom border pattern and included the client’s name, “Anna Zook” along the top. The coverlet was constructed from two panels that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed up the middle. The coverlet measures 94 inches by 80.5 inches. There is fringe on 3 sides of the coverlet. Motifs from this coverlet can also be found on coverlets woven by Henry Oberly (1805-1874), and Jacob Witmer (c.1797 - c.1887) of Lancaster Co. PA. Anna Zook’s location in Berks County as well as Oberly’s use of the same peacock and centerfield motifs, suggest that Oberly is the weaver of the this coverlet.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840s-1850s
1835-1840
maker
unknown
ID Number
1984.0170.06
accession number
1984.0170
catalog number
1984.0170.06
This red, white, and blue overshot coverlet was woven in the “Tennessee Trouble” pattern. The ground warp is a white single Z-spun cotton. The ground weft is single Z-spun cotton. The supplementary pattern weft is single Z-spun wool in blue and red.
Description
This red, white, and blue overshot coverlet was woven in the “Tennessee Trouble” pattern. The ground warp is a white single Z-spun cotton. The ground weft is single Z-spun cotton. The supplementary pattern weft is single Z-spun wool in blue and red. The coverlet is hemmed along the top and bottom. The coverlet was constructed of two panels woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The seam sewn together with white cotton thread using a back stitch. The hems have been redone as is common with use. This coverlet descended through the donor’s family from Tennessee to California. The donor’s father received the coverlet from his mother, Margaret Ellen Maddux Hogins at her death in 1911. Margaret and her husband, Bailey Peyton Hogin had moved to California in 1871 and brought the coverlet with them from Tennessee. Margaret’s parents were Thomas Maddux and Elizabeth Garrett who moved to Smith County, Tennessee from Virginia in 1833. Family legend holds that this coverlet was woven by Elizabeth Carlin (b. 1797), the mother of Thomas Maddux.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1870
1820-1830
ID Number
1980.0631.01
accession number
1980.0631
catalog number
1980.0631.01
This red, white, and blue, overshot coverlet was woven in a “Patch Pattern” variation. The coverlet measures 98 inches by 81 inches and is made up of three panels that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width.
Description
This red, white, and blue, overshot coverlet was woven in a “Patch Pattern” variation. The coverlet measures 98 inches by 81 inches and is made up of three panels that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The red and indigo wool supplementary pattern weft yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun, and the white cotton yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun. There are deep borders along all four sides of the coverlet that are created from fractional reductions of the main “Patch Pattern” motif. There is no information about this coverlet’s maker or origins.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T14680
accession number
279888
This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter coverlet features a block woven, geometric design throughout based on variations of “Snowball” and “Rose and Star” patterns. The coverlet has a “Pine Tree” variation border on three sides.
Description
This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter coverlet features a block woven, geometric design throughout based on variations of “Snowball” and “Rose and Star” patterns. The coverlet has a “Pine Tree” variation border on three sides. The border designs on geometric, block-woven coverlets are created from fractional reductions of the block pattern motifs. This coverlet uses two different block pattern designs. The block pattern repeat measures 5 inches by 5 inches. There is a relatively long, knotted applied fringe on two sides of coverlet. It is believed this fringe was added much later. One edge is unfinished, the other is hand hemmed. The coverlet was woven in two pieces and seamed up the middle with whip stitch. There is no information about who may have made this coverlet or where is originally was used. These patterns and style of coverlet could be found all along the East Coast and were woven by English, German, and Scots-Irish settlers. This coverlet was likely woven anytime between the years, 1790-1830 because of the use of mill-spun cotton yarn in the warp and weft.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
date made
c. 1790-1830
ID Number
1980.0376.01
accession number
1980.0376
catalog number
1980.0376.01
This red and white, reverse twill coverlet likely comes from the New Market, Maryland area. The weaver used reverse twill to create a block pattern. The coverlet was constructed from two sections woven as one length, cut, and seamed together.
Description
This red and white, reverse twill coverlet likely comes from the New Market, Maryland area. The weaver used reverse twill to create a block pattern. The coverlet was constructed from two sections woven as one length, cut, and seamed together. The pattern block is formed by the use of herringbone left to right twill as well as a diamond twill square. The pattern repeat measures five and a half inches by five and three-eighths inches. The coverlet is well matched at the seam. There is some loss and the overall condition is fair to poor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th Century
ID Number
TE.T18025
catalog number
T18025.000
accession number
321786
This Jacquard, Biederwand coverlet features a large scalloped central medallion with basket-weave centerfield and eagle, "Washington," inscriptions and portraits in each corner. There are stylized floral borders along the top and sides.
Description
This Jacquard, Biederwand coverlet features a large scalloped central medallion with basket-weave centerfield and eagle, "Washington," inscriptions and portraits in each corner. There are stylized floral borders along the top and sides. Horizontal color banding in fuchsia, teal, peach and yellow wool singles create the pattern, and thick and thin cotton warps and wefts form an integrated ground structure. The design, arrangement of motifs, and color choices likely date this coverlet to 1875-1900, particularly during the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The synthetic colors, sparse use of wool, design, and commemorative theme lead us to believe this coverlet is an early Colonial Revival coverlet made popular by the 1876 Centennial. The wool is wearing away in places leaving slack in the fine cotton warp threads. There is no center seam and the weaving is extremely even suggesting that this coverlet woven in a mill on a power loom rather than by a craftsperson in a workshop. The Centennial Exposition was an important time in the history of the coverlet. The exhibitions featured pattern books and antique coverlets sparking a revival in both the figured Jacquard coverlets and the older geometric and overshot designs. This exhibition helped inspire both the Colonial Revival trend, which we still live with today and the Craft Revival which breathed new life into American hand-weaving and craft production. This coverlet is in fair condition. There is some wear to the wool yarns, which are very loosely spun and the rolled hems at the top and bottom edges are coming undone. Because this coverlet is both unsigned and undated it makes it almost impossible to assign a manufacturer or precise date.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875-1900
ID Number
TE.T13348
catalog number
T13348.000
accession number
252487
The weaver of these Scipio, New York coverlets has yet to be identified.
Description
The weaver of these Scipio, New York coverlets has yet to be identified. This blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet has a “Double Rose,” carpet medallion centerfield, double-headed “Eagle and Federal Hall” side borders, double-headed “Eagle and Tree” bottom border, and no fringe. The pattern repeat unit is 18.5 inches by 14.25 inches. The border is 7.5 Inches wide on all sides. The coverlet has a center seam which is hand stitched but does not appear to be original because the thread is so white in contrast to the yellowed white yarns in the coverlet It has been hemmed on all four sides. It was a common practice to undo the center seam when washing coverlets. Because of their overall size and the weight of them wet, they were more easily managed in panels. The coverlet has woven inscription in the two bottom corner blocks which read, "Matilda Gray Scipio NY 1830." Being double-cloth, the coverlet was woven from two sets of warps and wefts made up of 3-ply, S-Twist, Z-Spun cotton and wool yarns. Although this coverlet was woven in New York, it was purchased by the donor in the twentieth century in Napa, California, attesting the importance of coverlets as family heirlooms and their association with westward expansion in America. There were many people named Matilda Gray living in New York State in 1830; however, the best candidate for the owner of this coverlet seems to be the Matilda Gray born circa 1809-1812.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1830
ID Number
1982.0459.01
accession number
1982.0459
catalog number
1982.0459.01
The donor collected this black, red, and white, overshot coverlet in 1908 in Fayetteville, Alabama from an elderly woman who claimed to have prepared the wool and woven it in the mid-1850s.
Description
The donor collected this black, red, and white, overshot coverlet in 1908 in Fayetteville, Alabama from an elderly woman who claimed to have prepared the wool and woven it in the mid-1850s. The pattern is known as “Pine Blossom.” The coverlet measures 98 inches by 90.5 inches and is made of three lengths of fabric, that are seamed together. The red dye used in the coverlet is likely pokeberry.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Mid-1850s?
date made
c. 1855
ID Number
TE.T8432
catalog number
T08432.000
accession number
157596
This red and white, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet comes from the Copp Family collection of Stonington, Connecticut and was woven sometime between 1790 and 1800.
Description
This red and white, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet comes from the Copp Family collection of Stonington, Connecticut and was woven sometime between 1790 and 1800. The pattern is a variation of the “Monk’s Belt” pattern most commonly known as “Braddock’s Defeat.” The coverlet is constructed of a natural linen warp, natural cotton weft, and madder-dyed, red wool supplementary weft yarnsThe coverlet is composed of three panels woven as one length, cut, and seamed with a 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun, linen thread. This a 2.75 inch looped fringe is attached to three sides. The coverlet is a rare example of early imported spun cotton threads being used in weaving. The cotton yarns were not yet strong enough for use as warp threads, but here serve as the ground cloth weft threads.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
early 19th century
probably late 18th century
date made
c. 1770-1800
c. 1790-1800
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.H6675
catalog number
H006675.000
accession number
28810
This brown and white, overshot coverlet has been separated into its two panels. Whether this is due to use or because of early-20th-century Colonial Revival repurposing as portieres or curtains is unknown.
Description
This brown and white, overshot coverlet has been separated into its two panels. Whether this is due to use or because of early-20th-century Colonial Revival repurposing as portieres or curtains is unknown. The pattern is a variation of a pattern known as “Granite State.” Each panel measures 102 inches by 42 inches, making the whole coverlet measure 102 inches by 84 inches. There is no evidence of fringe and the top and bottom edges are hemmed. The coverlet is composed of a linen warp, cotton ground weft, and brown wool, supplementary pattern weft. The use of linen in the warp indicates a likely late-eighteenth-century manufacture date as industrially-spun cotton was not strong enough to be used in the warp until the start of the nineteenth century. There is evidence in the accession file to suggest that this coverlet was made and passed down through the Babcock family of Rhode Island, but more research is needed to confirm the attribution.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
early 19th century
date made
late 18th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12598
accession number
220211
catalog number
T12598
This overshot, indigo and white coverlet (now separated into two panels) is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. Overshot patterning is based on a float weave structure, where a supplementary weft yarn is added to create the pattern.
Description
This overshot, indigo and white coverlet (now separated into two panels) is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. Overshot patterning is based on a float weave structure, where a supplementary weft yarn is added to create the pattern. The yarn floats or shoots over the top of the plain weave ground cloth creating the pattern. The pattern is a reversible negative, meaning that the color combination is reversed on the opposite side. Overshot coverlets can be woven on simple four-shaft looms. They are usually associated with domestic production and many of them are attributed to female weavers. Professional male weavers also wove floatwork coverlets. Many overshot patterns have names; however, these names changed and varied due to time and location. According to the donor, this coverlet descended through the Van Meter family of New York and was likely woven in the first half of the nineteenth century by a female ancestor. The two coverlet panels would have been joined with a center seam. These panels were repurposed during the early 20th century Colonial Revival decorating period and used as portieres in the Van Meter home. Each of the two panels measures 75 inches by 35.25 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T14960A
catalog number
T14960.00S
T14960.A-S
accession number
286274
catalog number
T14960-B/S
This white and blue, geometric, double-cloth coverlet panel features a “Single Snowball” pattern centerfield and “Pine Tree” border.
Description
This white and blue, geometric, double-cloth coverlet panel features a “Single Snowball” pattern centerfield and “Pine Tree” border. These patterns were developed in the German States of the Holy Roman Empire at the end of the seventeenth century and were initially used in damask linen weaving on a much smaller scale. Several German weavers published books during the Early Modern period, and they were translated into numerous languages and this style of block weaving, as it is known, spread across Europe. Immigrant weavers brought these structures and pattern to the United States, increased the scale of the patterns and wove them as double cloth both for coverlets and ingrain carpet. This coverlet panel was initially woven as one length, cut, folded back on itself, and seamed up the middle to create the finished coverlet. The center seam was usually removed to wash coverlets as the double cloth would have been heavy and unwieldly when wet otherwise. The coverlet panel measures 84.5 inches by 34.5 inches, and there are traces of self-fringe along the bottom edge. The upper edge has been repaired with a blue printed cotton band to prevent unraveling. This coverlet panel is in overall poor shape and features several areas of loss. The “Pine Tree” borders found along three sides were created from fractional reduction of the main block patterning. While women were fully capable of weaving overshot and summer and winter coverlets on their own simple looms, many of the geometric double loom patterns required looms with multiple shafts and are traditionally associated with male, professional weavers. There is no information about who may have woven this coverlet or where it may have come from.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.0725.066
accession number
1979.0725
catalog number
1979.0725.66
This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet panel reveals when, where, and who made it, but William Wolf has remained elusive to historians.
Description
This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet panel reveals when, where, and who made it, but William Wolf has remained elusive to historians. The centerfield features octagonal carpet medallions filled with stylized sunflowers or sunbursts around which can be found geometric stars arrangements and foliate garlands. The side border features a meandering grape vine and the lower border depicts a swag garland and flower motif. The cornerblock inscription reads, “WOVE*BY/*W*WOLF/*SHELBY*/RICHLAND/*COUNTY*/OHIO*1853.” There are dozens of people names William Wolf recorded in Ohio in the 1850 Federal Census, and more research is needed to determine which of those men was the weaver of this coverlet panel. What is known of Wolf comes from his extant coverlets which date from 1836-1858 and have woven inscriptions indicating that he was weaving in Hanover, Licking County, Ohio and later in Shelby, Richland County, Ohio. This coverlet panel was woven in tied-Beiderwand structure using 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton and wool, warp and weft yarns and Z-spun cotton singles for binding warps.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1853
maker
Shelby, W. Wolf
ID Number
TE.T13141
catalog number
T13141.000
accession number
249565

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