Textiles

Coverlet

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.

Date: 1850s

1850 - 1851 Eliza Jane Baile's "Bride's" Quilt

Eliza Jane Baile lovingly stitched and inscribed this cotton album quilt top, finishing a few weeks after her marriage to Levi Manahan in 1851. Original patterns of wreaths of strawberries and flowers are framed by a strawberry vine along the quilt border.
Description
Eliza Jane Baile lovingly stitched and inscribed this cotton album quilt top, finishing a few weeks after her marriage to Levi Manahan in 1851. Original patterns of wreaths of strawberries and flowers are framed by a strawberry vine along the quilt border. Three blocks incorporate inked inscriptions within scrolls. On one corner, one may read “E J Baile. Commenced June 1850” and on the opposite corner, “Finished October 30 185l.” A third scroll has the following sentiment carefully penned:
“Sweett flowers bright as Indian Sky
Yet mild as Beauty’s soft blue eye;
Thy charms tho’ unassuming shed /
A modest splendoure o’er the mead.”
Great attention was given to the completion of this quilt. The sawteeth of the border are individually appliquéd and the strawberries stuffed. All of the motifs have outline quilting, with closely quilted background lines, 10 stitches to the inch. The overall design is further enhanced with embroidery and small details drawn in ink or watercolor.
Eliza Jane Baile, the daughter of Abner Baile (1807-1894) and Frances Pole Baile (1813-1893) was born February 13, 1832, in Maryland. According to Eliza’s obituary, her mother was a descendent of Edward III, King of England. At age nineteen, Eliza married Levi Manahan ((1824-1893) on October 11, 1851. They reared eight children on a farm near Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland.
Eliza was not only an accomplished quilter, she was also known as a folk artist. One of her oil paintings, Stone Chapel of the Methodist Church is at the Historical Society of Carroll County. Other paintings are owned and treasured by her descendents. An active member of the Stone Chapel United Methodist Church, Eliza also founded a Ladies Mite Society and served as president for 50 years. Mite Societies were voluntary organizations that were established in the nineteenth century to raise monies for mission work.
Eliza died June 25, 1923, age 91, at her home in Westminster and is buried at the Stone Chapel Cemetery. As her obituary in the Daily News, Frederick, Maryland, notes, “Her Christian character endeared her to many friends. She was well known as an artist.” In 1954, Eliza’s youngest daughter, Addie, donated her mother’s quilt to the Smithsonian. Eliza's artistic abilities are well represented in the “Bride’s Quilt” she designed and made for her marriage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1851
maker
Baile, Eliza Jane
ID Number
TE.T011149
accession number
202673
catalog number
T11149

Hempfield Railroad; coverlet; Figured and Fancy; double-cloth; c. 1851; Pennsylvania or West Virginia

An unidentified weaver wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet. The centerfield design features oak leaf and flower, sprig and floral, foliate swag, and leaf carpet medallions. All four of the borders depict the No.
Description
An unidentified weaver wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet. The centerfield design features oak leaf and flower, sprig and floral, foliate swag, and leaf carpet medallions. All four of the borders depict the No. 240 engine and coal car being operated by the engineer. The cornerblocks depict four profile portraits of M. T. McKennon, the first president of the railroad. He is surrounded by the woven inscription, “Hemfield Railroad.” The Hempfield Railroad was began in 1851 and designed to connect Wheeling, Virginia (current West Virginia) to Washington, Pennsylvania. Construction was not complete until 1857 and the railroad operated until 1871 when it was sold to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It is not clear if these coverlets were used on the passenger cars or sold to subscribers. The railroad was initially funded through subscription, and it is possible that these coverlets were made to help facilitate that process or just to commemorate the arrival of the railroad. The coverlet was likely made c. 1851 either in Wheeling or Western Pennsylvania. The railroad operated three locomotive engines, six freight and passenger cars, and eleven coal cars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851
c. 1851
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T7317
catalog number
T07317.000
accession number
123286

Overshot Coverlet; Maryland; ca. 1850

This is an overshot coverlet from mid nineteenth century, which features a patch pattern in the center. There are borders on three sides of the coverlet, formed by a fractional reduction of the central patch design.
Description
This is an overshot coverlet from mid nineteenth century, which features a patch pattern in the center. There are borders on three sides of the coverlet, formed by a fractional reduction of the central patch design. The wool yarns appear to be hand spun and dyed using plant-based dyes. The weaver used yellow along with dark and light brown yarns along with a coral colored yarn. The coral yarn may have been a different color when the coverlet was new and faded over time due to use, light, and age. There is a seam down the middle sewn with cotton thread. This coverlet was made in Maryland, possibly Street, Maryland and was woven by an unknown family member for the donor's grandfather, Samuel Sedgwick Scarborough (March 22, 1836-March 4, 1903). The coverlet passed to his son, the donor’s father. The Scarborough family came to Pennsylvania with William Penn and fought in the Revolutionary War. This coverlet is believed to have been woven by a member of the family as a loom was also passed down through the generations. The donor recalled her aunt making rugs on the old loom, which has since disappeared. The coverlet is in excellent condition and measures 94 inches by 80.5 inches. Overshot; Unusual colors, gold, brown, orange (may have been red).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
c. 1840-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T15800
catalog number
T15800.000
accession number
297386

Summer-and-Winter Coverlet; New York; 1800-1850

This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter weave coverlet was woven from a warp of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, a ground weft of single ply Z-spun cotton, and a supplementary pattern weft of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool.
Description
This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter weave coverlet was woven from a warp of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, a ground weft of single ply Z-spun cotton, and a supplementary pattern weft of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool. The coverlet is constructed of two 35.5 inch widths that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The pattern is a square variation of the “Whig Rose” pattern. There is fringe is along three sides. It appears the fringe was two inches long when new but has worn away over time. There are badly worn spots along the top and bottom edges and the center seam. The side fringe is detached and ragged in a few places. The condition of the coverlet overall is fair. According to the donors, this coverlet was woven in the first half of the nineteenth century in Cambridge, New York. The coverlet measures 92 inches by 66.5 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16959
catalog number
T16959.000
accession number
309644

Jacquard, double-cloth coverlet; c. 1830-1850; Indiana or Ohio

This blue and white, Jacquard double-woven coverlet has a center seam and fringe at the bottom end and rolled hem at the top edge.
Description
This blue and white, Jacquard double-woven coverlet has a center seam and fringe at the bottom end and rolled hem at the top edge. The centerfield design is composed of two and one-half pairs of floral wreaths or scalloped roundels made up of roses and stylized thistle and six pointed stars between them. The border is composed of grapes and groups of leaves, with a sunflower in each corner block. It is quite likely that this corner block design is an unidentified weaver’s trade mark. The two sets of warp and weft are made of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun indigo wool and 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun natural cotton. There is a self-fringe at the bottom edge and a hem at the top secured with 2-ply, s-twist, Z-spun yarn. This design matches an image of a rug design that can be found in the object file. The coverlet is likely either a product of Ohio or Indiana and made sometime between the years 1830-50.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-50
ID Number
TE.T13985
catalog number
T13985.000
accession number
268950

Invention for Improvement in Looms for Weaving Piled Fabrics

For Bigelow’s invention of a “Loom for Weaving Piled Fabrics,” he received one of his many patents, which included patents for his celebrated looms for weaving Brussels, or looped, carpets.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
For Bigelow’s invention of a “Loom for Weaving Piled Fabrics,” he received one of his many patents, which included patents for his celebrated looms for weaving Brussels, or looped, carpets.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851
patent date
1851-01-14
inventor
Bigelow, Erastus Brigham
ID Number
TE.T11411.014
accession number
89797
catalog number
T11411.014
patent number
7,898

Jacquard double-cloth coverlet; c. 1830-1850; Ohio

This blue and white, Jacquard double-cloth, coverlet was passed down through the Robbins family of Ohio. According to family history, the Robbins migrated from New York to Ohio in 1818.
Description
This blue and white, Jacquard double-cloth, coverlet was passed down through the Robbins family of Ohio. According to family history, the Robbins migrated from New York to Ohio in 1818. The patterns used on this coverlet suggest a date after 1818, meaning that this coverlet was most likely woven in Ohio between the years, 1830-1850. More research into the Robbins family genealogy and comparative analysis with other extant Ohio blue and white double-cloth coverlets should provide more information about the weaver and which county in Ohio this coverlet was woven.
Being double-cloth, there are two sets of warp and weft that make up this coverlet. The white yarns are 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton and the blue yarns are all 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool. The centerfield pattern consists of floral and foliate motifs symmetrically arranged and symmetrically interspersed with birds. The border consists of groups of flowers resembling dogwood flowers and morning glories. There is fringe on 3 sides of the coverlet, and the top edge binding is worm off. The upper edge of the coverlet is badly worn. The top lay count of the coverlet is 18x18 threads per inch.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1800-1850
date made
1830-1850
1830-1850
ID Number
TE.T13746
catalog number
T.13746
accession number
262263

1825 - 1850 Printed Cotton Panel for a Quilt

This cotton chintz panel was probably made for a quilt center. The basket of fruit and wheat, encircled by a chain of cartouches containing fruit and leaves and corner images of pineapples, peaches and grapes were popular motifs of the period.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This cotton chintz panel was probably made for a quilt center. The basket of fruit and wheat, encircled by a chain of cartouches containing fruit and leaves and corner images of pineapples, peaches and grapes were popular motifs of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
1989.0661.10
catalog number
1989.0661.10
accession number
1989.0661

Jacquard double-cloth Coverlet, 1855

Blue & white double weave, fringe on 3 side. 1. (border) chickens, trees, castles 2. (center) medallions tiles.Currently not on view
Description
Blue & white double weave, fringe on 3 side. 1. (border) chickens, trees, castles 2. (center) medallions tiles.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1855
ID Number
TE.T18657
catalog number
T18657.000
accession number
120168

Knitted lace cap

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
ID Number
1984.0920.03
accession number
1984.0920

"Washington Beauty" Geometric Double-cloth Coverlet; 1800-1850

The pattern used in this coverlet is known as “Washington Beauty,” and can be found in Heirlooms from Old Looms , p.151, published in 1955. The coverlet has "Pine Tree" borders on three sides, and a self fringe at the lower edge.
Description
The pattern used in this coverlet is known as “Washington Beauty,” and can be found in Heirlooms from Old Looms , p.151, published in 1955. The coverlet has "Pine Tree" borders on three sides, and a self fringe at the lower edge. The overall design features “Snowballs.” The coverlet is made of cotton and wool, and was probably woven in the first half of the 19th century. The name of the weaver is unknown. The complex design found in this coverlet is made entirely with squares and rectangles. Coverlet weavers kept “drafts” of the various designs they used, and sometimes sold them to each other.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
ID Number
TE.T15486
catalog number
T15486.000
accession number
294051

1825 - 1850 Mary McCormick's Embroidered Quilt

According to family tradition, Mary Anderson McCormick made a quilt for each of her seven daughters.
Description
According to family tradition, Mary Anderson McCormick made a quilt for each of her seven daughters. This all-white exquisite quilt, made for her youngest daughter, Ella, was inspired by floral designs found on embroidered silk shawls from China.
Mary worked her elaborate design in a variety of embroidery stitches. She achieved a three-dimensional effect by using thick cotton thread and working the satin stitches layer upon layer.
Mary Anderson was born in Virginia on September 12, 1793. In 1809 she married John McCormick (1788-1868) of Augusta, Kentucky. John was a tailor and the couple had eight children. Shortly after her marriage Mary suffered a crippling injury to one hand, and the only practical thing Mary could do thereafter was hold a needle. She clearly made triumphant use of her remaining hand in creating this beautiful quilt and others. Mary died in Kentucky in 1864.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
McCormick, Mary Anderson
ID Number
1990.0507.01
accession number
1990.0507
catalog number
1990.0507.01

1825 - 1850 Rachel Burr Corwin's Framed-Center Pieced Quilt

This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . .
Description
This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints.”
A variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern is used for the central panel. This is framed by borders pieced in the “Flying Geese,” “Lemoyne Star,” “Chained Square,” and “Nine-patch” patterns. The fabrics are mainly roller-printed fabrics with a few block-printed cottons. The quilting employs various geometric patterns, 5 stitches per inch.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
Corwin, Rachel Burr
ID Number
TE.T07117
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07117

1854 - Walter Hunt's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 11,161, Issued June 27, 1854Walter Hunt of New York, New YorkWalter Hunt was born in rural Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1796. The nearby town of Lowville was the site of a textile mill where Hunt’s family worked.
Description
Sewing Machine Patent Model
Patent No. 11,161, Issued June 27, 1854
Walter Hunt of New York, New York
Walter Hunt was born in rural Martinsburg, New York, on July 29, 1796. The nearby town of Lowville was the site of a textile mill where Hunt’s family worked. Hunt, adept at providing mechanical solutions to difficult problems, worked with the mill owner, Willis Hoskins, inventing and patenting improvements to the flax spinner in 1826. He traveled to New York City to raise capital for manufacturing the device.
Hunt supported his family in New York by speculating in real estate, but his love of creativity was paramount. From 1829 to 1853 his inventions and patents included a knife sharpener; a rope making machine; a heating stove; a wood saw; a flexible spring; several machines for making nails; inkwells; a fountain pen; a bottle stopper; firearms; and a safety pin.
In 1833, Hunt invented a sewing machine that used a lockstitch, but failed to patent it. The lockstitch used two threads, one passing through a loop in the other and then both interlocking. This was the first time an inventor had not mimicked a hand stitch. As Joseph N. Kane writes in Necessity’s Child: The Story of Walter Hunt, America’s Forgotten Inventor, “With nothing to serve as a basis or model, with no other machine from which parts could be obtained, he evolved a plan for mechanical sewing which was so revolutionary that had he even dared to suggest it before completion of his model he would have been scoffed at and regarded as insane.”
Ten years later, manufacturers searched for ways to mechanize sewing, and inventors turned their energies to patenting improvements to sewing machines. On May 27, 1846, Elias Howe Jr. received Patent No. 4,750 for improvements to the sewing machine, claiming to have created the first machine to sew a lockstitch using two threads. When Howe began to sue manufacturers for royalties, Hunt’s previous work emerged as attorneys argued that Hunt’s invention preceded Howe’s and therefore Howe’s patent claims were invalid.
On April 2, 1853, Hunt submitted his application for his 1834 sewing machine, as his invention preceded Howe’s machine. The Patent Office recognized Hunt’s precedence but it did not grant a patent to Hunt because he had not applied for one prior to Howe’s application. Hunt received public credit for his invention, but Howe’s patent remained valid because of a technicality.
Later, Hunt was granted a patent for other improvements on the sewing machine. In Hunt’s patent specification for Patent No. 11,161, issued on June 27, 1854, he claimed: “Said improvements consist in the manner of feeding in of the cloth and regulating the length of the stitch solely by the vibrating motion of the needle; in a rotary table or platform, upon which the cloth is placed for sewing; in guides and gages for controlling the line of the seam.”
Hunt noted that other sewing machines would jam because the material had to be pushed through the vibrating needle. He created a round rotating top that allowed the cloth to be fed through the needle at an even rate, eliminating the problem of jamming. As in the past, Hunt simply sold off the rights to the machine to others and did not capitalize on it, but he did prove that he had the mechanical ability and the creativity to improve upon the sewing machine.
Hunt continued to invent and patent devices until his death in 1859. Several were patented: shirt collars, a reversible metallic heel for shoes, lamp improvements, and a new method for manufacturing shirt fronts, collars, and cuffs. Walter Hunt’s inventive nature was captured in the New York Tribune, which wrote at his death, “For more than forty years, he has been known as an experimenter in the arts. Whether in mechanical movements, chemistry, electricity or metallic compositions, he was always at home: and, probably in all, he has tried more experiments than any other inventor.”
Location
Currently not on view
model constructed
before 1854-06-27
patent date
1854-06-27
inventor
Hunt, Walter
ID Number
TE.T07781
catalog number
T07781.000
patent number
011161
accession number
139439

1800 - 1850 Mary Jessop's Appliqued Quilt Top

This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop.
Description
This quilt top was made at Vaux Hall, a plantation near Baltimore, Md., owned by Charles Jessop. The center square, composed of motifs printed about 1800 and appliquéd with linen thread, has been attributed to Mary Gorsuch Jessop. The corners, with chintz motifs printed about 1830 and sewn with cotton thread, were added later.
The sixteen block-printed motifs applied to the center square are the work of John Hewson (1744-1821), one of the few 18th-century American textile printers who have been identified. Persuaded by Benjamin Franklin to leave England before the Revolutionary War, Hewson set up his printing works on the banks of the Delaware River near Philadelphia. There he worked with such skill and success that the British, who sought to eliminate competition for their products, posted a reward during the Revolutionary War for his body, dead or alive.
Hewson survived to demonstrate fabric-printing, aboard a float, in the Grand Federal Procession held on July 4, 1788, in Philadelphia, to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution. William Bagnall ‘s The Textile Industries of the United States , published in 1893, states, “President Washington was accustomed to point with patriotic pride to domestic fabrics worn by Mrs. Washington and printed at the works of . . . Hewson.”
Mary Gorsuch, born in Baltimore County, Md., in 1767, married Charles Jessop (1759-1828) in 1786. Their son, William, was born in 1800 about the same time that Charles bought 200 acres of land and built Vaux Hall. Mary died in 1830. William’s wife and Mary’s daughter-in-law, Cecilia Barry Jessop, may have added the corners to the quilt top in 1830. William inherited Vaux Hall and lived there until his own death in 1866 (or 1869). Vaux Hall, named for gardens in England, was destroyed in the 1930s in the construction of a dam for Baltimore.
The quilt top was placed in a trunk with other finished family quilts and put in commercial storage. At a later date it was discovered that the lock of the trunk was broken and the finished quilts missing, leaving only this quilt top. The quilt top is significant for the John Hewson prints that were used for the appliqué.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
Jessop, Mary Gorsuch
Barry, Cecelia
ID Number
TE.T15295
catalog number
T15295
accession number
292866

Craig family; Figured and Fancy double-cloth coverlet; 1852; Indiana

This blue and white, Figured and Fancy double-cloth Craig family medallion coverlet features a carpet centerfield with bell flower border along the top and bottom and willow and floral side borders.
Description
This blue and white, Figured and Fancy double-cloth Craig family medallion coverlet features a carpet centerfield with bell flower border along the top and bottom and willow and floral side borders. Dated 1852, the building with cupola cornerblock helps identify this coverlet as a product of the Craig Family of Decatur County, Indiana. This coverlet shows a lot of wear and is badly damaged along the top and bottom borders.
The Craig Family weavers consist of Scottish-born, William Craig, Sr. (1800-1880), Scottish-born cousin, James Craig (1819-1896), William Craig, Jr. (1824-1880), and James Craig (1823-1889) make up the two generations of weavers who intermarried with other Scottish immigrant weaving families, dominating the coverlet market in Floyd, Decatur, and Washington counties in Indiana. It is almost certain that their regional influence extended into Western Kentucky as well. The Craigs were prodigious weavers and entrepreneurs and the number of extant coverlets attest to this fact. Also of interest is a published interview with William Sr.'s granddaughter, Rena Craig Gilchrist found in Indiana Coverlets and Coverlet Weavers (1928) by Kate Milner Rabb. Rena Craig Gilchrist recounted how her grandfather was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1800, moving to South Carolina in 1820 to assume the role of foreman at a Southern cotton goods factory. In 1832 the Craigs and other immigrant weaving families, the Gilchrists and Youngs moved to Mt. Caramel, Indiana. In 1838, the family moved again, further distributing weavers, to Decatur County, Indiana. The Craigs at first wove on their farm just outside of Greensburg, Indiana, but soon sons William Jr. and James ventured out on their own, marrying other weaver’s daughters, and establishing workshops in Greensburg and Anderson. Their coverlet weaving became regionally famous and people were reported as having come from fifty to sixty miles by wagon with woolen yarn for enough coverlets for each child at marriage.
The Craigs continued to weave until 1860 when William Sr. retired. Cousin James opened a shop in Canton, Indiana. A local resident described his loom as," “different from any other loom I have ever seen in that the threads of the warp were each run through a loop of cords to which were attached leaden weights about the size of an ordinary lead pencil, and I should think from twelve to fifteen inches in length. I do not remember accurately about that. The other end of each cord was attached to a pedal, of which there was a considerable number. A number of cords may have been attached to a pedal, according to the colors and figures being used. This enabled him to depress any of the threads of the warp that he pleased by operating the pedals with his feet, thus opening a space for the passing of the shuttle, of which he used as many as he wished colors in the pattern.” This description suggests that members of the Craig family were using modified drawlooms, possibly what is sometimes referred to a Scotch loom, which was used to weave figured double-cloth ingrain carpet. This is interesting because the introduction of the Jacquard head attachment, which used chains of punch cards, made figured weaving much faster and cheaper in the decades before the Craig family’s foray into coverlet weaving.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1852
maker
Craig Family
ID Number
TE.T12056
catalog number
T12056.000
accession number
228755

1825 - 1850 Mary Hise Norton's Silk Quilt

Mary Hise Norton of Russellville, Kentucky, owned this elaborate silk quilt in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Each of its thirty-six 14-inch stars is pieced using 32 diamond shapes cut from velvet and striped, checked, plaid, brocaded, and warp-printed silks.
Description
Mary Hise Norton of Russellville, Kentucky, owned this elaborate silk quilt in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Each of its thirty-six 14-inch stars is pieced using 32 diamond shapes cut from velvet and striped, checked, plaid, brocaded, and warp-printed silks. The stars are set off by 4-inch and 8-inch squares and 4 x 8-inch rectangles along the edges, all of plain green silk.
The larger silk squares and the rectangles have quilted and stuffed motifs of flowers or foliage sprays, each a different design. Their backgrounds and the smaller squares are quilted in a diagonal grid. The pieced stars are outline-quilted, all at 12 stitches per inch.
Mary Hise Norton’s quilt has been displayed at many venues and has won prizes, among them the 1917 McCracken County (Kentucky) Fair Blue Ribbon and in 1981 the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society Prize.
In 1981 the donor wrote: “Our family has a rare quilt . . . the preservation of my quilt is my primary consideration. The quilt has been saved and passed down through seven generations. When my grandmother died in 1930 it was taken from her trunk and stored in a cedar chest from then until the late 70’s . . . . It is a treasure that has been added to my life. It is too rare and old to be used on a bed, I have decided to donate it to [the] Museum.” The donor noted that her great-great-grandmother, Mary Hise Norton, was known for her “artistic worth.”
The daughter of Frederick and Nancy Hise, Mary Hise was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, on March 12, 1797. She moved with her family to Russellville, Kentucky, about 1810. On April 11, 1813, she married William Norton. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on September 2, 1781, William Norton also moved to Kentucky, settling in Russellville about 1810.The Nortons were the parents of six sons and three daughters and owned a blacksmith shop and iron store. They continued to live in Russellville, Kentucky, until William’s death in 1858 and Mary’s in 1878.
According to David Morton, who in 1891 wrote The Nortons of Russellville, Kentucky, “William and Mary Norton journeyed together as husband and wife for nearly forty-five years, until they became so thoroughly assimilated as to think, talk, and even look alike . . . . Mrs. Norton was more robust in body and mind and more vivacious in temperament than her husband. She did her own thinking, had well-defined opinions and expressed them freely, loved to talk and talked well. A model housekeeper, she rose up while it was yet night and gave meat to her household, nor did her candle go out by night. She ate not the bread of idleness, and her children called her blessed; her husband also praised her. Much of the energy and financial skill evinced by her sons was derived by inheritance from her.”
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1825-1850
date made
Second quarter, 19th century
quilter
Norton, Mary Hise
ID Number
1982.0392.01
catalog number
1982.0392.01
accession number
1982.0392

1835 - 1850 Eliza Jane Todd's "Grandmother's Flower Garden" Quilt Top

Eliza Jane Todd’s silk quilt top is pieced in the “Honeycomb” or “Mosaic” pattern, also referred to as “Grandmother’s Flower Garden.” One inch hexagons are seamed by overcasting into 6 ½-inch “flowers” each having a dark center hexagon.
Description
Eliza Jane Todd’s silk quilt top is pieced in the “Honeycomb” or “Mosaic” pattern, also referred to as “Grandmother’s Flower Garden.” One inch hexagons are seamed by overcasting into 6 ½-inch “flowers” each having a dark center hexagon. Many have outer rings of red silk hexagons. The “flowers” are separated by black hexagons. A 3 ½-inch border of red silk ribbon is outlined with bands of black silk. Included at the time of donation was a paper hexagon pattern cut from a letter dated Sept. 14, 1835, that had fallen off the quilt.
Eliza Jane Todd was born in Indiana in 1820, the daughter of Robert William Todd (1795?-1885) and Catherine McCully (1800-1860), granddaughter of Owen Todd (1762-1817) and Maria Jane Paxton (1771-1834). The family was related to Mary Todd Lincoln, and Thomas Paxton, who fought at Valley Forge. Eliza never married. She died in 1895 and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida.
Eliza Jane lived with her parents in Madison, Indiana, for most of her life. Later (about 1880) she stayed with her sister, Anna Maria Todd Smith, in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Florida. In the 1850s, The Western Horticultural Review (Volume III, 1853) noted “. . . that a female competitor has successfully entered the lists in the department of Pomology, and feel bound to allude in flattering terms to the fruits presented by Miss E.J. Todd, of Madison (Indiana)” Eliza Jane (E.J. Todd) was the recipient of several awards for her fruits (pears, grapes, quinces), preserves and floral arrangements.
Until the donation, the quilt had been in the donor’s family. After Eliza Jane’s death, the quilt was with Anna Maria Todd Smith who was the donor’s grandmother. In 1936, the donor, Anna Perkins Stewart, donated her great aunt's quilt to the Museum.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1835-1850
maker
Todd, Eliza Jane
ID Number
TE.T07742
accession number
138944
catalog number
T07742

"Queen's Patch;" Summer and Winter coverlet; 1800-1850; USA

"Queen's Patch" variation pattern; Summer and Winter coverlet; first half of the 19th century. Lightweight, blue and white coverlet in a small block pattern known as a "Queen's Patch" pattern.
Description
"Queen's Patch" variation pattern; Summer and Winter coverlet; first half of the 19th century. Lightweight, blue and white coverlet in a small block pattern known as a "Queen's Patch" pattern. The coverlet is made in three lengths that are seamed together with natural, unbleached cotton thread. The warp and weft are made of highly-twisted, mill-spun, natural or unbleached cotton. The pattern is achieved with the addition of a supplementary warp yarn made of indigo-dyed wool yarn. Mr. George H. Kernodle of Washington, D.C. donated the quilt in 1936 with no background information which makes dating and identifying the location of manufacuture difficult.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
date made
1800-1850
ID Number
TE.T7615
catalog number
T07615.000
accession number
130449

LaTourette Family; coverlet, Jacquard double-cloth; 1858; Indiana

This blue and white, jacquard, double-woven coverlet was woven in two sections, each 37.25 inches wide. The total coverlet measures 97 7/8 inches by 74 ½ inches.
Description
This blue and white, jacquard, double-woven coverlet was woven in two sections, each 37.25 inches wide. The total coverlet measures 97 7/8 inches by 74 ½ inches. The centerfield pattern is composed of stylized dogwood flower medallions interspersed with bellflower-inspired carpet tiles. The side borders feature an meandering vine with irises. The bottom border features a scrolling floral vine associated with the LaTourette family of Fountain City, Indiana. This attribution is further confirmed by the flower in the cornerblock, which is the trademark of the LaTourette family. The appearance of the word "Year" indicates it was woven by Sarah LaTourette, or her brother Henry. John LaTourette. John LaTourette, the family patriarch, was born into a New York/New Jersey, Huguenot weaving family in 1793. He and his wife, Sarah Schenck moved West after their marriage in 1816, moving from Ohio to Fountain County, Indiana in 1828. It is here where John established his weaving business and taught daughter Sarah (b. 1822) and son, Henry (b. 1832) the art of Jacquard weaving. John died in 1848, and his children carried on the family business, weaving their last coverlet in 1871.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1858
referenced
LaTourette, Sarah
maker
LaTourette, Sarah
LaTourette, Henry
ID Number
TE.T2735
catalog number
T02735.000
accession number
058524

Swigget Family coverlet; overshot; 19th century; Tennessee

This overshot coverlet is constructed of two panels which were woven as one length, cut, and sewn up the center.
Description
This overshot coverlet is constructed of two panels which were woven as one length, cut, and sewn up the center. The pattern is a variation of “Queen’s Fancy.” The weaver used 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton in the warp and weft to create the plain weave ground and madder-dyed Z-spun wool singles for the supplementary pattern weft. The coverlet was received by the museum as two separate panels. The center seam was often removed to wash coverlets because of their size and their weight when wet. Also, during early Colonial Revival design, overshot coverlets like this one were repurposed as table runners, portieres, and other decorative objects outside of bedcoverings, and it is not uncommon to find them as separate panels. The overall coverlet measures 90 inches by 74 inches. Each panel is 37 inches wide. According to the donor, this particular coverlet descended in the Swigget family and was used as portieres. It is claimed to have been woven in Tennessee in the early nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
ID Number
TE.T9998A
catalog number
T09998.00A
accession number
176711

Tufted Counterpane

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
ID Number
TE.T11477.00B
catalog number
T11477.00B

1840 - 1850 Powell's Quilted and Stuffed Counterpane

Martha Powell created this quilted and stuffed counterpane. Stuffed work refers to the technique of adding extra cotton wadding under the designs before quilting, resulting in a three dimensional effect.
Description
Martha Powell created this quilted and stuffed counterpane. Stuffed work refers to the technique of adding extra cotton wadding under the designs before quilting, resulting in a three dimensional effect. The center of this counterpane is a sunburst in a laurel wreath surrounded by a flowering vine. This is in turn is framed by arcs of flowering vines. Around the outside edge are baskets of fruit and sprays of flowers. It has a cotton lining and filling. All the stuffed motifs are outlined in quilting. The background is quilted in a triple diagonal grid, 11 stitches per inch. No separate binding, front brought to back 1/4" and whipped.
Martha Powell was born in DeKalb County, Georgia, on August 6 1831. She married Fielding Travis Powell (1828-1898) in 1849 or 1857. He practiced law, was a surgeon during the Civil War, and was also known for his many writings in various fields. They had two sons, and a daughter (donor of the quilt). Martha died in 1917 and is buried in Atlanta, Georgia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
1840-1850
1840-1860
maker
Powell, Martha
ID Number
TE.T07721
accession number
136919
catalog number
T07721

1852 - Otis Avery's Patent Model of a Sewing Machine

Sewing Machine Patent ModelPatent No. 9,338, issued October 19, 1852Otis Avery of Honesdale, PennsylvaniaOtis Avery was born in Bridgewater, New York, on August 19, 1808. He learned the watchmaker’s trade from his father John, a silversmith and watchmaker.
Description
Sewing Machine Patent Model
Patent No. 9,338, issued October 19, 1852
Otis Avery of Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Otis Avery was born in Bridgewater, New York, on August 19, 1808. He learned the watchmaker’s trade from his father John, a silversmith and watchmaker. Otis opened a watch repair shop in Bethany, Pennsylvania, in 1827.
Later, he studied dentistry under a Dr. Ambler in New Berlin, New York, and received a dental certificate of qualification in 1833. In 1850, he settled in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where he practiced dentistry until his death in 1904.
Avery was mechanically talented, making many of his own dental tools. He designed a self-cleaning cuspidor and devised improvements to a typesetting machine. On October 19, 1852, he received Patent No. 9,338 for improvements on a sewing machine. The chain stitch he used was enlarged on his patent drawing and he described it in the specification as “two threads having a double lock with each other, and in practice almost every alternate stitch may be cut or broken, and yet the material will not . . . ‘rip out.’” A common problem with the chain stitch was that it could easily be unraveled. His patent claims were for the working combination of needle-bars, spring-holders, and adjustable guides, which regulated the length of the stitch together with a weight for moving the cloth forward.
The catalogue for the 1853 New York Exhibition noted that three sewing machines were exhibited by the Avery Sewing Machine Co. of New York City. Each machine was adapted for sewing different materials, such as wool, muslin, linen, and leathers. He continued to improve his machine and received Patent No. 10,880, issued May 9, 1854, and Patent No. 22,007, issued November 9, 1856.
Location
Currently not on view
model constructed
before 1852-10-19
patent date
1852-10-19
inventor
Avery, Otis
ID Number
TE.T06114
catalog number
T06114.000
patent number
009338
accession number
89797

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