Textiles - Overview
The 50,000 objects in the textile collections fall into two main categories: raw fibers, yarns, and fabrics, and machines, tools, and other textile technology. Shawls, coverlets, samplers, laces, linens, synthetics, and other fabrics are part of the first group, along with the 400 quilts in the National Quilt Collection. Some of the Museum's most popular artifacts, such as the Star-Spangled Banner and the gowns of the first ladies, have an obvious textile connection.
The machinery and tools include spinning wheels, sewing machines, thimbles, needlework tools, looms, and an invention that changed the course of American agriculture and society. A model of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, made by the inventor in the early 1800s, shows the workings of a machine that helped make cotton plantations profitable in the South and encouraged the spread of slavery.
"Textiles - Overview" showing 683 items.
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Cardwork Mat with Greeting Card
- Description
- This cardwork picture frame contains a printed Christmas card greeting. The frame is embroidered with variegated red wool on a dark gray card. Cardwork embroidery was a popular form of needlework in the mid 19th century, and was frequently used for small items such as bookmarks and stamp covers. The perforated card was covered with holes in a grid pattern so that a design could be worked in either wool or silk threads, frequently embellished with beads.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1850-1900
- ID Number
- 1986.1023.288
- accession number
- 1986.1023
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Knitted Mittens
- Description
- These mittens were knitted of blue and white homespun wools in the early 19th century. The shag knit used at the wrists is recorded in an American diary of 1803 as the "new Mode of Knitting." The knitted pattern throughout the mittens is a poem that starts at the wrist of one mitten, spirals to the top, and continues from the wrist to the top of the second. The "Xs" are part of the design and are used as line delimiters. The poem reads, "One thing you must not borrow nor never give awayXFor he who borrows trouble will have it every dayXBut if you have a plenty and more then you can bearXIt will not lighten yoursXXif others have a shareXYou must learn to be contented then will your trouble ceaseXAnd then you may be certain that you will live in peaceXFor a contented mind is a continual feast."
- The thumb of each mitten is adorned with the name "William Watson." A printer of cheap or penny papers named William Watson was active in London from about 1805 to 1830. Each of his publications contained a woodcut, a story, and a poem. The Library of Congress has only one example of his papers, but its poem is of comparable length, and of the same moralizing quality as the mittens' poem, offering a direction for further research.
- In No Idle Hands, The Social History of American Knitting (New York: Ballantine Books, 1988), Anne L. Macdonald pictures a single mitten patterned with half of the same poem. An undated newspaper clipping attributes it to Margaret Evans of New Hampshire, possibly 18th century. The thumb of the Evans mitten appears to say, "Son 4 U Mother" and "80." At the beginning of the poem of this pair of mittens, there are two initials or numbers, perhaps "OB" or "DB" or "08" or "80." Patterns for short inscriptions and dates in knitting were published from at least the late 18th century.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- early 19th century
- ID Number
- 1979.0980.01
- catalog number
- 1979.0980.01
- accession number
- 1979.0980
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mary Ingersoll's Sampler
- Description
- Man in fawn-colored fall-front trousers, short blue jacket decorated with faceted gilt beads, and tall dark hat. On his arm, lady wearing long dress with wide white collar and blue bonnet tied with long bonnet-strings; she carries parasol and reticule and wears necklace or chain of gilt beads. To right of couple, blue-domed building (temple?) with tall columns on hill above pond, with two deer and flowering bush; to left of couple large tree and under it, sheep and dog. In each upper corner, bluebird under grapevine; children's names enclosed in panel outlined by wave band. Grapes on vines in upper corners worked by coiling purple thread and tacking down each coil in two or three places. Border on all four sides, straight vine bearing roses and rose buds. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, chain, four-sided, French knot. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 28/in.
- Inscriptions:
- "FAMILY RECORD
- Mr Levi Ingersoll was born Dec 26th 1775
Miss Sarah Hubbard was born Jan 2nd 1779
They were united in marriage Jan 31 1802
- THEIR DESCENDANTS
- Hannah Ingersoll was born Jan 30th 1803
Eliza Ingersoll was born Oct 30th 1804
Ann Ingersoll was born Nov 1st 1806
Henry H Ingersoll was born Feb 25th 1809
Charles Ingersoll was born Jan 23rd 1811
Jane Ingersoll was born July 1st 1815
Mary Ingersoll was born Sept 27th 1819 [last 2 numbers replaced or filled in later]
Sarah Ingersoll was born Feb 10th 1821 [last number replaced or filled in later]
- By Miss Mary Ingersoll in the 9th year of her age New York 1830" [number 9 replaced or filled in later]
- Background:
- Mary was born on September 27, 1819, to Levi and Sarah Hubbard Ingersoll in Pound Ridge, New York. She died unmarried on April 18, 1889.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1830
- associated dates
- 1990-03-26
- maker
- Ingersoll, Mary
- ID Number
- 1990.0146.01
- catalog number
- 1990.0146.01
- accession number
- 1990.0146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Elizabeth Throckmorton's Sampler
- Description
- This sampler features a two story house with windows and two chimneys on a stepped hill with grazing sheep. The stepped hill can be found on samplers from Philadelphia, western Maryland and New Jersey. There is a center angel and two apple baskets are on either side above the inscription. The motif of an angel means a messenger of God and the apple baskets often represent fertility and wealth. There is a three-sided geometric border, with queen stitch strawberries and leaves. (a more difficult stitch) The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 28, weft 28/in. The stitches used are cross, queen, satin, and straight.
- Elizabeth Throckmorton was born on October 18, 1795, in Monmouth County, New Jersey to Holmes (c.1759 –1821) and Susannah Forman (1762-1820) Throckmorton. Her father served in the American Revolution for three years. She married John Britton on November 18, 1813, and they had three children - John, Mary, and Catharine. Her husband John died c.1822-1823. She married Tobias Worrel on October 26, 1824, and they had a daughter Jane. According to the 1840 census they were then living in Des Moines, Iowa.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1804-1806
- maker
- Throckmorton, Elizabeth
- ID Number
- 1990.0477.01
- catalog number
- 1990.0477.01
- accession number
- 1990.0477
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Betsy Bucklin's Sampler
- Description
- Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house. Below the house, flanking flowers and birds is the verse:
- “While hof[s]tile foes
our coaf[s]ts Invade
in all the pomp of
war arrayd Ameri
cans be not dismayd
nor fear the f[s]word
or GUn
While Innocence is
all our pride and vir
tue is our only Guide
Women would f[s]corn
to be defyd if led by
WASHINGTON”
- This verse on Betsy’s sampler offers a rare opportunity to discover the political thinking of a young girl during the Revolutionary War. She is showing a brave female defiance of Britain and an unwavering faith in George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army. Betsy undoubtedly was influenced by her father who was a privateer during the Revolutionary War. At the bottom of the sampler, flanked by queen stitch flowers, is a cartouche with the inscription:
“Betf[s]y
Bucklin Her
Work Septe
mber
1781”br>
- It is not known who the author of the inscriptions is. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 25, weft 23/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, queen, rice, straight, fly, stem, tent, and gobelin.
- Betsy [Elizabeth] Bucklin was born on September 20, 1768, in Providence, Rhode Island to Capt. Daniel and Eliza Carpenter Bucklin. On November 11, 1792, Betsy married Samuel Eddy. They had three children - Martha, Jonathan, and Elizabeth. She died of consumption on October 27, 1799, in Providence, Rhode Island.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1781
- maker
- Bucklin, Betsy
- ID Number
- 2008.0159.01
- catalog number
- 2008.0159.01
- accession number
- 2008.0159
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mary Eddy's Sampler
- Description
- The verse that Mary Eddy included on her sampler was written by an English poet named William Oland (1723-85) around 1763. It was probably selected by her teacher, and the verses were generally chosen to express the ideals to which young ladies should aspire to, according to her contemporary society.
- “The Contraf[s]t
Virtue alone has that to give,
Which makes it joy to die or live
But vice can only that supply
Which makes it pain to live or die.”
- The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 27, weft 32/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, tent, Algerian eye, and stem.
- Mary Eddy was born on April 16, 1804, to Samuel and his second wife Martha Wheaton Eddy in Providence, Rhode Island. Samuel Eddy’s first wife was Betsy Bucklin. (See Betsy Bucklin’s sampler.) Mary married William Chase (1786-1875) as his second wife on March 15, 1854. They did not have any children.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1816
- maker
- Eddy, Mary
- ID Number
- 2008.0161.01
- catalog number
- 2008.0161.01
- accession number
- 2008.0161
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
B Holländer's Sampler
- Description
- This sampler features one Hebrew alphabet of 21 consonants. (Vowels were not included in the Hebrew alphabet.) The inscription on the bottom includes a first initial, the last name, and date: “B Holländer 1845.” The sampler was stitched with silk embroidery thread on a cotton ground with a thread count of warp 35, weft 35/in. It is very similar to the sampler stitched by B Lazarus 1843. These may have been done at the same school. There are very few known Jewish samplers and these are a welcome addition to the collection.
- B Holländer has not yet been identified.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1845
- maker
- Hollander, B.
- ID Number
- 2011.0040.01
- catalog number
- 2011.0040.01
- accession number
- 2011.0040
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Rachel Breck's Sampler
- Description
- This sampler features an alphabet, numbers, flowers, baskets, birds, and trees all worked in cross stitch, while the background is completely filled in with long vertical stitches. The flower baskets symbolize friendship and love, and the birds on the trees would indicate her love of nature. The figure within the cartouche is balanced by a four-storied building, which may depict the school or academy that inspired the design. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of 26/in warp, 24/in weft. The stitches used are cross, satin, chain, French knots, and straight. Rachel included the inscription:
Alas how transient all our earthly store
To-day we bloom tomorrow are no more
Rachel Breck / aged 11
- Rachel Breck also stitched a silk embroidery in 1810 entitled “Charity” at the Misses Patten School in Hartford, Connecticut.
- Rachel Breck was born July 22, 1792, to Joseph Hunt (1766-1801), a silversmith, and Abigail Kingsley (c1766-1846) Breck of Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1819 Rachel married George Hooker who was born 1798 to John and Sarah (Dwight) Hooker of Northampton. He went to Yale, class of 1814 and was a physician who resided in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. They had 8 children born between 1820 and 1833 and Rachel died in 1879.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1803
- maker
- Breck, Rachel
- ID Number
- 2011.0256.01
- catalog number
- 2011.0256.01
- accession number
- 2011.0256
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Spinning Wheel
- Description
- Spinning is the simple act of drawing out a few fibers and twisting them together to form a yarn. The process predates written history, and was first done by hand and with sticks. Spinning wheels are believed to have originated in India between 500 and 1000 A.D. By the 13th century, they were seen in Europe and were a standard piece of equipment for those making fiber into yarn. By the 17th century, they were commonly found in homes in the colonies of North America, where the production of fabric was a cottage industry. Spinning was generally seen as a woman's job. Women spun yarn at home, as well as with friends at "spinning bees," where food was served and prizes might be given to the person who produced the most or best yarn. The Industrial Revolution brought mechanization to the textile industry, and eventually spinning was done on large machines in textile mills.
- This vertical flax wheel was made in France by George Beck, in 1694. Mr. Beck gave it to Adeline Beck, who passed it onto Margaret Beck in Paris, France in 1807. In 1822 she brought it to the United States and she used it in Cincinnati and Muskingum, Ohio, for spinnng fiber into yarn. It was given to the Museum by one of her descendents in 1886.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1600-1699
- 1694
- maker
- Beck, George
- ID Number
- TE*02507
- accession number
- 17300
- catalog number
- T2507
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hester Ann Posey's Sampler
- Description
- Below family record, pyramidal monument (memorial to deceased sister) flanked by rosebushes and butterflies, under weeping willow tree, on ground-line worked in "crinkled" silk. To left of monument, verse in square outline, all lettering black. Border of geometric flowering vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, satin, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 31/in.
- Inscriptions:
- "A Family Reccord
Nathaniel and Margaret Pof[s]ey
The Parent's of thof[s]e Children
SoPhia Maria Pof[s]ey born Oct 8th 1813
Fredrick Jerome Pof[s]ey born Feb 28 1815
Margaret Pof[s]ey born Dec 19th 1816
John Pittf[s] Pof[s]ey born Oct 12 1818
Mary Jane Pof[s]ey born Dec 3d 1820
Hester Ann Pof[s]ey born Dec 28 1822
Nathaniel Boliver Pof[s]ey born April 11 1827
Henry Clay Pof[s]ey born Aug 14 1829"
- To left of monument in square:
- "Weep not my frien
df[s]. af[s] you paff[ss] by.
af[s] you are now. f[s]o
once Waf[s] I. af[s] i
am now. So you
muf[s]t be. prepare
to meet me in
Eternity."
- Embroidered on the monument are the following words:
- "sacred
to The -
Memory of
Margaret Posey
Who died Feb 2
A.D. 1824 aged 8 YS
1 Month and 14 days
- Below monument:
"Hester. Ann. Poseyf[s] Sampler Finished in the 15.th
year of her age. A.D. 1837."
- Background:
- Hester was born on December 28, 1822, to Nathaniel and Margaret Posey. Nathaniel and Margaret Kemp were married on October 9, 1812, in Frederick, Maryland. Hester was a teacher and did not marry.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1837
- maker
- Posey, Hester Ann
- ID Number
- TE*E365238
- catalog number
- E365238.000
- accession number
- 124238
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center