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.

Place: United States

Mid 16th Century Bobbin Lace Fragment

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2013.0121.33
accession number
2013.0121
catalog number
2013.0121.33

Geometric Double-cloth Coverlet; 1820-1840

This cotton and wool double-woven coverlet was woven in two pieces that were sewn together. The overall pattern used in this coverlet is sometimes called “Snowball,” and a tree-like pattern can be seen in the borders. There is a self-fringe along the bottom edge.
Description
This cotton and wool double-woven coverlet was woven in two pieces that were sewn together. The overall pattern used in this coverlet is sometimes called “Snowball,” and a tree-like pattern can be seen in the borders. There is a self-fringe along the bottom edge. This coverlet is believed to have been made in the early 19th century. The weaver and owner remain unknown. In the early 19th century, women were still spinning wool for their coverlets, but machine-spun cotton replaced hand-spun linen relatively quickly.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820-1840
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T18478
catalog number
T18478.000
accession number
1978.0676

Elizabeth Deuel (Devel); coverlet; overshot; 1790; New York

According to the donor, Elizabeth Deuel is said to have made this blue and white, overshot, all-linen coverlet in 1790, in the Saratoga region of New York. Her name and the date are cross-stitched into the lower edge of the coverlet just above the fringe.
Description
According to the donor, Elizabeth Deuel is said to have made this blue and white, overshot, all-linen coverlet in 1790, in the Saratoga region of New York. Her name and the date are cross-stitched into the lower edge of the coverlet just above the fringe. A search of the 1790 census of the area produced no one with the surname Deuel. More research is needed to determine where Deuel lived, and if she was the weaver or the owner of this coverlet. In the 18th century, it was common for household textiles to be marked with the initials or name of the owner and the date. The average colonial home did not have a great number of household textiles, and they were considered important possessions. This coverlet was woven in two sections that were then sewn together. The coverlet is woven in a “Chariot Wheel” pattern and measures 104.75 inches by 80.25 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 18th century
1790
weaver or owner
Deuel, Elizabeth
maker or owner of coverlet
Deuel, Elizabeth
ID Number
1981.0274.05
accession number
1981.0274
catalog number
1981.0274.05

Cheney Brothers Printed Florentine Silk, 1913

Length of Cheney Brothers printed Florentine Silk. Very lightwieght plain weave. Printed with overall naturalistic pattern of locust flowers in pinks, red-orange, and purple with green leaves on a white ground. (W. 32 in., L.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers printed Florentine Silk. Very lightwieght plain weave. Printed with overall naturalistic pattern of locust flowers in pinks, red-orange, and purple with green leaves on a white ground. (W. 32 in., L. 36 in.) A Cheney sample card for printed FLorentine, with a different design on a small swatch, gives the following additional information: "Used for Kimonas (sic) and Bed Quilts and for light decorative purposes. Woven with Italian gum silk warp and spun silk singles filling."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00058
catalog number
T00058.000
accession number
55080

William Skinner and Sons pink silk satin fabric length; 1914.

William Skinner and Sons pink silk satin fabric length; 1914. Length of pink silk satin, with a red woven selvage. The selvage has a woven-in inscription, reading Skinner's 404. William Skinner & Sons was an important American manufacturer of silk satins.
Description
William Skinner and Sons pink silk satin fabric length; 1914. Length of pink silk satin, with a red woven selvage. The selvage has a woven-in inscription, reading Skinner's 404. William Skinner & Sons was an important American manufacturer of silk satins. The number 404 probably referred to a particular weight or quality classification. This particular sample is a fine soft satin but not as soft as charmeuse. Fabric length is cut and has frayed edges. Some discoloration and dirt throughout.
William Skinner emigrated from England to Massachusetts in 1843, finding work as silk dyer. He eventually opened his own silk manufacturing company, the Unquomonk Silk Co., making silk threads and yarns for weaving and sewing. In 1874, the mill was destroyed when the Mill River Dam gave way. Skinner moved his company a few miles away, to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and rebuilt the mill, expanding production to include woven fabrics (Skinner satins were nationally famous) and silk braids. He ran the company until his death in 1902, and the firm stayed in the family, and remained in operation in Holyoke, until 1961, when his heirs sold it to Indian head Mills, which immediately closed the Holyoke operation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.1914
1914
c. 1914
manufacturer
William Skinner and Sons
ID Number
TE.T01231.000
catalog number
T01231.000
accession number
56703

Cheney Brothers Silk "Jacquard Grenadine", 1913

Length of Cheney Brothers all silk jacquard-woven grenadine, 1913. A Japanese-inspired pattern based on ultra lightweight summer kimono fabrics. Small repeating eight-petal floral crest design within an ogee grid on an open plain weave ground with plain weave flowers.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers all silk jacquard-woven grenadine, 1913. A Japanese-inspired pattern based on ultra lightweight summer kimono fabrics. Small repeating eight-petal floral crest design within an ogee grid on an open plain weave ground with plain weave flowers. Color: a muted golden yellow. Imitation gauze weave. (W. 30-1/2 in., L. 36 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00096
catalog number
T00096.000
accession number
55080

Pheasant in Berlin Wool Work

A pheasant in Berlin work, worked from a pattern in Peterson’s Magazine of January 1868. See pattern TE*T14801Currently not on view
Description
A pheasant in Berlin work, worked from a pattern in Peterson’s Magazine of January 1868. See pattern TE*T14801
Location
Currently not on view
associated dates
1968
ID Number
TE.T14800
catalog number
T14800
accession number
281770

Remnant of Garment Hem with needle lace medallions

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.E334992.000
catalog number
E334992.000
accession number
96010

Black Silk Bobbin Lace Edging Fragment

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1815
ID Number
TE.T14490.00D
catalog number
T14490.00D
accession number
277490

Sea Beast

In the 20th century, women’s hobbies included embroidery techniques such as needlepoint and crewel.This rectangular canvas work depicts a "Sea Beast." Thirty-seven kneeling sea creatures with fishlike tails are on the shore, with a three-spired pavilion with sea horse banners on
Description
In the 20th century, women’s hobbies included embroidery techniques such as needlepoint and crewel.
This rectangular canvas work depicts a "Sea Beast." Thirty-seven kneeling sea creatures with fishlike tails are on the shore, with a three-spired pavilion with sea horse banners on each spire. There is a sea beast's head and two more sections of his serpent-like body rising from the waters. At the top upper right are the initials EBR 1935. The ground is cotton canvas. The threads are tapestry wool in shades of brown from beige to chocolate and the stitches are half cross and tent.
According to a family member, “Sea Beast” is based upon a painting made by a friend of Eleanor’s who was a medium.
Eleanor Butler Alexander was born on December 26, 1888, in New York City to Henry and Grace Green Alexander. She married Theodore Roosevelt II on June 20, 1910. They had four children: Grace, Theodore III, Cornelius V. S., and Quentin. She died on May 29, 1960, in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1935
maker
Roosevelt, Eleanor Butler Alexander
ID Number
TE.T13347.01
accession number
252238
catalog number
T13347

"Trail of the Forty-Niners" printed dress silk, Mallinson's Early American series

Length of printed "Indestructible Chiffon Voile" (Mallinson trade name), a sheer, plain weave, all silk fabric.
Description
Length of printed "Indestructible Chiffon Voile" (Mallinson trade name), a sheer, plain weave, all silk fabric. Printed with all over pattern "Trail of the Forty-Niners", one of the Mallinson 1929 "Early American Series." This design depicts panning gold on the Feather River, bench mining, placer mining, San Francisco and the bay, miners going to the gold fields, mountains and Lake Tahoe. Colorway: light greens, grays, peach, brown, black. Selvage width; selvage insciption.
Mallinson's 1929 "Early American" series of printed dress silks was based on historical events and figures that were perceived at the time to consitute a shared American story. It was the last of the company's line of designs based on American themes in which each design was printed in at least seven colors, in several colorways, on three or four different ground cloths. The stock market crash and economic depression that followed made the investment in this kind of design unprofitable.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1929
maker
H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
ID Number
TE.T05944
accession number
104252
catalog number
T05944.000

"Dolly Madison" dress silk; Mallinson's George Washington Bicentennial series

A length of printed pure dye silk crepe--soft lustrous, plain weave fabric #7102 (same construction as T 6943) pattern #3968 "Dolly Madison," one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial celebratory prints.
Description
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe--soft lustrous, plain weave fabric #7102 (same construction as T 6943) pattern #3968 "Dolly Madison," one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial celebratory prints. The wheat design in black and white on a yellow ground, is an adaptation of the brocaded pattern of a dress worn by Dolly Madison during the administration of James Madison. At the time this print series was introduced in 1931, this dress and others used for inspiration in this line of silk prints were on exhibition at the National Museum (now NMAH.)
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932
maker
H. R. Mallinson & Co. Inc.
ID Number
TE.T06945
catalog number
T6945
T (/) 6945
accession number
118355

Lady Elizabeth Grey Petitioning King Edward IV

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.
This expertly stitched large chenille work picture represents Lady Elizabeth Grey petitioning King Edward IV for the return of her husband’s land, following Edward’s victory over the Lancasterians in 1461, in which Lord Grey died. Lady Elizabeth is in a kneeling position, one knee on the ground, and her left arm around a small boy standing beside her. Her right hand is held by King Edward. On the left are two young men attendants, one holding a staff and dressed in the period of the event (1460s) as is King Edward. On the right are three women attendants dressed, as is Lady Elizabeth, in costumes of the period in which the embroidery was done, 1815. It is assumed the children’s mother is Lady Elizabeth Grey. Edward IV and Lady Elizabeth were later married and their sons were the "princes of the tower." Their daughter Elizabeth married Henry VII, unifying the Yorks and Lancasters and establishing the Tudor line. The ground is pale gold silk satin, and the threads are silk chenille, silk floss, and metal. The stitches are encroaching satin, laid chenille work, satin, and French knots.
The design of this embroidery is based on an engraving made by William Wynn Ryland, after a painting of this event by Angelica Kauffmann.
Elizabeth Cassel was born September 12, 1800, in Marietta, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Catherine Neff Cassel. She died unmarried in 1891. This piece of embroidery was considered very important to the family and Daniel Cassel in his book A Genealogical History of the Cassel Family in American (Norristown, Pennsylvania: Morgan R. Wills, 1896) mentions it along with the family genealogy. It was given to the National Museum of American History by a descendant. For more information about this embroidery see Piecework, March/April 2007, “Three American Schoolgirl Silk Embroideries from the Smithsonian” by Sheryl De Jong.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Cassel, Elizabeth T.
ID Number
1991.0841.01
catalog number
1991.0841.01
accession number
1991.0841

Raised Wool Work

A wreath of raised flowers in polychrome wool yarns on a black wool ground, 19th century. The raised work is a bit different in that it is created with layered stitches (laid and couched) rather than tufted or turkey stitching.Currently not on view
Description
A wreath of raised flowers in polychrome wool yarns on a black wool ground, 19th century. The raised work is a bit different in that it is created with layered stitches (laid and couched) rather than tufted or turkey stitching.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T13526
catalog number
T13526.000
accession number
259084

Cheney Brothers Silk Satin Damask, 1913

Length of a Cheney Brothers lightweight silk satin damask, 1913. All silk, turned satin damask with pattern showing in lighter shiny satin weave against darker matte reverse of the satin weave. Organzine yarns, very fine.
Description (Brief)
Length of a Cheney Brothers lightweight silk satin damask, 1913. All silk, turned satin damask with pattern showing in lighter shiny satin weave against darker matte reverse of the satin weave. Organzine yarns, very fine. Patterned with large scale 16th century Renaissance revival design featuring a foliate ogival lattice with crowns, pearls, and palmettes (without pomegranaes) in the reserves. Weave structure gives a pink figure on a red ground. (W. 51 in., L. 36 in.) Suitable weight for furnishing or apparel.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00101.000
catalog number
T00101.000
accession number
55080

Police SWAT Vest

Law enforcement personnel joined with many other groups to save lives in the wake of Katrina's passage through the Gulf Coast in August 2005.
Description
Law enforcement personnel joined with many other groups to save lives in the wake of Katrina's passage through the Gulf Coast in August 2005. Skills used to apprehend criminals were supplemented by heroic attempts to rescue victims caught up in the swirling waters of the hurricane.
On the night of the hurricane Officer David Waite of the New Orleans Police Department was wearing this bullet-proof vest when he jumped into deep water in a city housing project to save a five-day-old girl. That girl and her family were escaping their housing in an overloaded boat that had just capsized. A nearby police boat witnessed the scene. The girl's mother attempted to lift the baby out of the water, but the infant seat in which she was strapped was too heavy and sank. Waite swam down to it and pulled the seat and baby into his craft. Another officer, Lejon Roberts, administered CPR to the infant as their boat sped to a nearby hospital. The child and her family survived.
Location
Currently not on view
Associated Date
August - September 2005
user
Waite, David J.
referenced
Roberts, LeJon
New Orleans Police Department
ID Number
2006.0066.01
catalog number
2006.0066.01
accession number
2006.0066

Coverlet, turned twill; Pennsylvania; 19th C.

A nineteenth-century, Pennsylvania weaver wove this red, blue, and green, all-wool, turned twill woven coverlet. The turned twill pattern forms a squared off design with diamond twill sections. There is self-fringe along three sides.
Description
A nineteenth-century, Pennsylvania weaver wove this red, blue, and green, all-wool, turned twill woven coverlet. The turned twill pattern forms a squared off design with diamond twill sections. There is self-fringe along three sides. The coverlet was constructed of two panels, woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The coverlet measures 92 inches by 74 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
TE.T11624
catalog number
T11624.000
accession number
221533

Crochet sampler book

Crochet sample book of samples collected by Anna Beitz Behling 1890. The cover and pages are of cotton fabric. Anna was born Feb 1817 in New York and her parents came from Germany. She married Charles Ernst Behling ca 1890 and they had three daughters.
Description
Crochet sample book of samples collected by Anna Beitz Behling 1890. The cover and pages are of cotton fabric. Anna was born Feb 1817 in New York and her parents came from Germany. She married Charles Ernst Behling ca 1890 and they had three daughters. The book was donated by her daughter Glenola Behling Rose.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Behling, Anna
ID Number
TE.T15046
catalog number
T15046.000
accession number
285915

Armenian Needle Lace Doily

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th Century
maker
Kasparian, Alice Odian
ID Number
1996.0121.05
accession number
1996.0121

Overshot coverlet; New York; 1787

This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known.
Description
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known. There are two others in the NMAH collection. It is thought that the weaver worked in the Albany, New York area. The earliest coverlet that is dated in the weave was woven by this weaver. It is dated 1771 and is currently in the collection of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The coverlet was constructed from two panels and measures 89 inches by 64 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1787
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.0723.02
accession number
1979.0723
catalog number
1979.0723.2

Black Silk Bobbin Lace Edging Fragment

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1815
ID Number
TE.T14490.00A
catalog number
T14490.00A
accession number
277490

Cheney Brothers furnishing fabric, 1900-ca.1950

Cheney Brothers furnishing fabric, 1900-ca.1950. Selvage width sample of upholstery fabric woven with orange and green stripes. The green stripes are decorated with woven floral designs, 2 selvedges present, 2 edges finished with overcast stitching.
Description (Brief)
Cheney Brothers furnishing fabric, 1900-ca.1950. Selvage width sample of upholstery fabric woven with orange and green stripes. The green stripes are decorated with woven floral designs, 2 selvedges present, 2 edges finished with overcast stitching. Cheney Brothers CB logo is embroidered on one finished edge. (W. 52 in., L. 25 7/8)
Date made
20th century
date made
1900-1950
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
2006.0129.02
accession number
2006.0129

Crocheted bag

A crocheted drawstring purse of natural linen owned by Mrs. W. R. Alger of Boston ca. 1880. Anne Langdon Lodge was born June 16, 1816, to Giles and Abigail Harris Lodge in Boston, MA. She married Rev. William Rounseville Alger September 21, 1847.
Description
A crocheted drawstring purse of natural linen owned by Mrs. W. R. Alger of Boston ca. 1880. Anne Langdon Lodge was born June 16, 1816, to Giles and Abigail Harris Lodge in Boston, MA. She married Rev. William Rounseville Alger September 21, 1847. They had seven children - Henry Lodge, Abby Langdon, Caroline Rounseville, Arthur Martineau, William Ellerton, Philip Rounseville and Anne Langdon. She died May 17, 1883, in Boston.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T12711A
catalog number
T12711.00A
accession number
239090

Cheney Brothers furnishing silk, 1900-ca.1950

Cheney Brothers furnishing silk, 1900-ca.1950. Selvage width length of upholstery fabric; cream colored background with scattered woven-in sprays and sprigs of red and blue flowers with green leaves and stems tied with red ribbons.
Description (Brief)
Cheney Brothers furnishing silk, 1900-ca.1950. Selvage width length of upholstery fabric; cream colored background with scattered woven-in sprays and sprigs of red and blue flowers with green leaves and stems tied with red ribbons. The Cheney symbol is woven in in gold along selvage edge. (W. 40.5 in., L. 49 in.)
Date made
20th century
date made
1900-1950
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
2006.0129.01
accession number
2006.0129

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