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.

Brussels Muslin Applique cape with lappets

Brussels Muslin Applique cape with lappets. Ruffles at neck edge and two at lower edge. White machine made net with fine muslin floral design applied with chain stitches to the net.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Brussels Muslin Applique cape with lappets. Ruffles at neck edge and two at lower edge. White machine made net with fine muslin floral design applied with chain stitches to the net.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1900
ID Number
TE.E372201.000
catalog number
E372201.000
accession number
131392

Lydia I. Marden's Sampler

This sampler features a monument, rendered in perspective, flanked by two small trees and a flowering plant.
Description
This sampler features a monument, rendered in perspective, flanked by two small trees and a flowering plant. On the top of the sampler is the inscription:
“So fadef[s] the
lovely blooming
flower

Cut of in lifef[s]
erlief[s]t hour.”
On the monument is the inscription:
“In Memory
of
Sarah Pervier
who died 16th
of April 1826
aged 8 monthf[s]”
The monument represents death and Lydia’s inscription on the top comes from two different sources. The first line is by Anne Steele (1716-1778) from a poem entitled “On the Death of a Child” and the second line is from a hymn that is part of the Catholic liturgy for the feast of Holy Innocents (December 28). The sampler is stitched with silk and cotton embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 44, weft 44/ in. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, and detached chain.
Nothing is known about the life of Lydia Marden.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1826-1836
maker
Marden, Lydia
ID Number
TE.E388181
catalog number
E388181
accession number
182022

Honiton Lace Border

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T14085
catalog number
T14085.000
accession number
272350

Hank of silkworm gut fishing line; Spain 1880

One of five hanks of Spanish silkworm gut fishing line, "Extra salmon trout"; Spain 1880. Imported by and purchased from Conroy, Bissett & Malleson, 65 Fulton St. NY, NY. For the London Fisheries Exhibition, 1883.
Description (Brief)
One of five hanks of Spanish silkworm gut fishing line, "Extra salmon trout"; Spain 1880. Imported by and purchased from Conroy, Bissett & Malleson, 65 Fulton St. NY, NY. For the London Fisheries Exhibition, 1883. See the US National Museum Bulletin No.127, p.27.
Used for trout, salmon and bass leaders. Price $4.00 per 100. (No. E-42833: "Extra Salmon Trout"),
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1880
ID Number
TE.T01096.00B
catalog number
T01096.000
accession number
8655
catalog number
T1096.00B

Point de Gaze needle lace Border

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1900
ID Number
TE.T13758B
catalog number
T13758B
accession number
262265

Black Silk Le Puy Style Mantle

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T12164
catalog number
T12164
accession number
230744

Bobbin Lace Shawl Collar with Binche Edging

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T11827
catalog number
T11827.000

Binche bobbin lace border sample

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1730-1760
ID Number
1985.0161.08
accession number
1985.0161
catalog number
1985.0161.0008.000

lace

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T15449.342
catalog number
T15449.342
T.15449. (/) .342

Philip Schum; coverlet; Jacquard; double-cloth; 1869; Pennsylvania

This coverlet features horizontal color banding in stripes of red, green, muted aqua, and muted purple. A large scalloped floral medallion dominates the centerfield design. The four corners have faces of Washington flanked by confronted horses.
Description
This coverlet features horizontal color banding in stripes of red, green, muted aqua, and muted purple. A large scalloped floral medallion dominates the centerfield design. The four corners have faces of Washington flanked by confronted horses. Below Washington’s portrait bust is a banderole with his name. Under this is an eagle in flight with a banderole in its beak proclaiming, “Hail 1869,” and beneath that, tucked into each corner is a steamboat flying the American flag. In the middle of the border designs is an onion-domed rendition of the Capitol Building. Factory produced coverlet. Floral scrollwork and birds unite the border design. Although this coverlet is unsigned, it is identical to one signed by Philip Schum’s Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory. This coverlet measures 88 inches by 73 inches and has no center seam. It was likely produced on a power loom with a Jacquard attachment.
Philip Schum (1814-1880) was born In Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire. He immigrated to New York, moving to Lancaster County, PA in approximately 1844. He was not trained as a weaver and there is no evidence that he ever was. What we do know is that Philip Schum was a savvy businessman. He worked first as a "Malt Tramper" in New York, a position presumably linked to brewing and malting of grains. After six months, Philip was able to afford to bring his first wife Ana Margartha Bond (1820-1875) to join him in Pennsylvania. Once reunited, Philip worked as a day laborer, shoemaker, and basket-maker. He purchased a small general store in Lancaster City in 1852. By 1856, he has built his business enough to sell at a profit and purchase the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory. Philip's first wife, Anna, passed away sometime before 1879, because in this year, Philip married his second wife, Anna Margaret Koch (1834-1880). The two were tragically killed in a train accident in 1880, when a locomotive stuck their horse and buggy. The New Era, a local Lancaster newspaper titled the article about the incident with the headline, "Death's Harvest." Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory began with just one or two looms and four men. It grew to four looms and eight men quickly. By 1875, the factory had twenty looms and employed forty men. Philip Schum was no weaver. He was an entrepreneur and businessman who invested in the growing market for household textiles. Philip's estate inventory included a carpet shop, weaving shop, dye house, two stores, and a coal yard. At the time of his death were also listed 390 "Half-wool coverlets." These were valued at $920. In 1878, Philip partnered with his son, John E. Schum to form, Philip Schum, Son, and Co. Another Schum coverlet is in the collections of the MFA-Houston.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
date made
second half 19th century
1869
maker
Schum, Philip
ID Number
1997.0375.01
accession number
1997.0375

Coverlet; Figured and Fancy, double cloth; 1817; New York

This Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet was woven for Sally Loper in Westbury, Long Island, New York in 1817. This is the oldest known dated Figured and Fancy coverlet. The centerfield design is composed of rows of pine trees and tulips.
Description
This Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet was woven for Sally Loper in Westbury, Long Island, New York in 1817. This is the oldest known dated Figured and Fancy coverlet. The centerfield design is composed of rows of pine trees and tulips. The borders found on all four sides were created from directional fractional reductions of the centerfield motifs. The name of the owner Sally Loper, and the date, December 2, 1817, are woven into the upper right hand corner. The place, Westbury, Long Island, is also woven opposite the name. The coverlet measures 88.5 inches by 81 inches and was constructed from two panels woven as one length, cut, and seamed up the middle. Sarah (Sally) Bishop Loper (b. 1780) was married to Luther Loper (b. 1780). The coverlet passed to their daughter, Elmirah Jane Loper Pine, her daughter, Edna Pine Dunning, and finally to her daughter, the donor, Jane Dunning Dirks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1817-12-02
1817
owner
Loper, Sarah Bishop
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T15535
catalog number
T15535.000
accession number
294367

Remodeled Collar from Early 18th Century Needle Lace

This Gros Point de Venise needle lace has been remodeled into collar. The elaborate three-dimensional floral motifs and scrolls are edged with a woven braid at the neck edge and a narrow bobbin lace edging at the outside edge.
Description (Brief)
This Gros Point de Venise needle lace has been remodeled into collar. The elaborate three-dimensional floral motifs and scrolls are edged with a woven braid at the neck edge and a narrow bobbin lace edging at the outside edge. The original early 18th century lace has been pieced together and repaired from good quality needle lace. The repairs are crude, and made with a different color thread, but create a nice overall effect. This is one of many laces Mrs. Pinchot collected for the Smithsonian to show samples of various types of lace.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Early 18th century
Associated Name
Pinchot, Mary Eno
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.L6507
catalog number
L6507

pattern, lace

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T14753.19
catalog number
T14753.019

vestee

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1st quarter, 20th century
ID Number
TE.T11805
catalog number
T11805.000

Morning Dress

Date made
1823-01
ID Number
CS.228001.0277
catalog number
228001.0277

Hester Ann Posey's Sampler

Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black.
Description
Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black. Border of geometric flowering vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, satin, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 31/in.
Inscriptions:
"A Family Reccord
Nathaniel and Margaret Pof[s]ey
The Parent's of thof[s]e Children
SoPhia Maria Pof[s]ey born Oct 8th 1813
Fredrick Jerome Pof[s]ey born Feb 28 1815
Margaret Pof[s]ey born Dec 19th 1816
John Pittf[s] Pof[s]ey born Oct 12 1818
Mary Jane Pof[s]ey born Dec 3d 1820
Hester Ann Pof[s]ey born Dec 28 1822
Nathaniel Boliver Pof[s]ey born April 11 1827
Henry Clay Pof[s]ey born Aug 14 1829"
To left of monument in square:
"Weep not my frien
df[s]. af[s] you paff[ss] by.
af[s] you are now. f[s]o
once Waf[s] I. af[s] i
am now. So you
muf[s]t be. prepare
to meet me in
Eternity."
Embroidered on the monument are the following words:
"sacred
to The -
Memory of
Margaret Posey
Who died Feb 2
A.D. 1824 aged 8 YS
1 Month and 14 days
Below monument:
"Hester. Ann. Poseyf[s] Sampler Finished in the 15.th
year of her age. A.D. 1837."
Background:
Hester was born on December 28, 1822, to Nathaniel and Margaret Posey in Baltimore, MD. Nathaniel and Margaret Kemp were married on October 9, 1812, in Frederick, Maryland. Hester was a teacher and did not marry. She died November 7, 1916 in Frederick, MD.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1837
maker
Posey, Hester Ann
ID Number
TE.E365238
catalog number
E365238.000
accession number
124238

Small Cape with Collar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T13764
catalog number
T13764
accession number
262265

Craig Family; Figured and Fancy, double-cloth coverlet;1842; Indiana

This blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double-cloth coverlet features a carpet medallion centerfield composed of "Double Cornucopia" medallions flanked by lilies and scalloped diamonds.
Description
This blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double-cloth coverlet features a carpet medallion centerfield composed of "Double Cornucopia" medallions flanked by lilies and scalloped diamonds. The coverlet’s side borders are composed of a Greek key design decorated with stylized carnations, irises, and thistles. The top and bottom borders feature the signature Craig family, “Bellflower and Bluebell” pattern. The 1842 dated courthouse with cupola cornerblock trademarks identify this coverlet with the Craig family. The coverlet was originally owned by great-grandmother of the donor, Mrs. Tenant of Shelbyville, Indiana. Being double-cloth, this coverlet has two sets of warps and wefts—one set composed of a wool weft and cotton weft, and the other a cotton weft and wool warp.
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
1842
maker
Craig Family
ID Number
TE.T13498
catalog number
T13498.000
accession number
256599

Skein of Japan tram silk in the raw; National Silk Dyeing Co., 1915

One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting.
Description
One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02794.000
catalog number
T02794.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2794

Point de France Cuff

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th C
ID Number
TE.E317234B
catalog number
E317234.00B

Point de Venise Needle Lace Cuff

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1984.0111.051
accession number
1984.0111

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1861
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.036
catalog number
033675.036
accession number
70138

Mechlin Bobbin Lace Edging with Meandering Trail

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
2nd part, 18th century
Miss Virginia Livingston Hunt
ID Number
TE.T11839
catalog number
T11839.000

Point de Gaze needle lace collar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.E331763
catalog number
E331763.000

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