National Woven Coverlet Collection

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  Samuel Hippert; coverlet, Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand; 1837; Pennsylvania

  Description

  Samuel Hippert wove this Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet which features a carpet medallion center field in a stylized “Double Iris” pattern. The bottom and side borders feature pairs of addorsed roosters and garland inner border, inscribed mid-border featuring the weaver’s initials and the word patent, and double flower outer border. The inscribed cornerblocks contain the initials S.H., the location, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and the date, 1837. The use of the term patent in the border indicates that Hippert was weaving on an improved loom with a registered patent. It is possible that Hippert was weaving with the improved carpet and coverlet loom patented by fellow coverlet weavers and industrial machinists, Jonathan Conger and George Deterich. Conger and Deterich registered their patent in 1831. Structurally, the coverlet is 2:1 tied-Beiderwand, an integrated weave structure where evenly spaced warp yarns are dedicated to binding or tying two separate weave structures together on alternating sides of the fabric. This alternation creates a ribbed effect on the surface of the textile that makes this structure easy to identify. The weaver used rose, dark blue, white and green 2-ply , S-twist, Z-spun wool, and Z-spun white cotton singles for the weft or filling and light blue Z-spun singles for the tying warp and 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton for the remainder of the warp yarns. The coverlet was woven in two lengthwise panels and may have been originally been longer. There is significant damage and loss across the top half of the coverlet likely due to insects and storage issues. It is possible it was re-hemmed sometime in its past and that some of the length on the top half was removed. At one time there was a self-fringe on each side and an applied fringe on the lower edge. There is still traces of these fringes remaining.

  Samuel Hippert (Hippard) (1808-1886) was the weaver. According to Clarita Anderson and John Heisey, Hippert was active in Mt. Joy and Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania into the 1840s. Samuel and his wife, Mary’s youngest child, George was born in Pennsylvania in 1847. The family must have already been planning a move, because the 1850 Federal Census lists Samuel and his family living in Somers, Preble County, Ohio. He is recorded as working as a wool manufacturer. History of Preble County, Ohio (1881) by H.Z. Williams and Brothers further explained that Hippert opened a woolen mill and carding factory 1848 and eventually bought and operated another nearby woolen factory producing roving, yarn, finished cloth, and blankets from 1854-1860. These blankets presumably being coverlets although Hippert’s signed coverlets all come from his time in Lancaster County. The 1860 Federal Census recorded Samuel and his family living in Cass County, Indiana where he is identified as a wool carder. After that census, Samuel disappears from the record. His wife, Mary, age fifty-six and his son, George, age twenty-three are listed as living in Ward Three, Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1870 Federal Census. George was a clerk at a bookstore, and Mary kept house. What became of Samuel during that decade has thus far remained a mystery. In 1880, George is living in New York City. Samuel apparently returned to Pennsylvania where he died in Harrisburg in 1886. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1837

  weaver

  Hippert, Samuel

  ID Number

  TE.E259592

  catalog number

  E259592.000

  accession number

  051534

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Geometric Double-cloth "Snowball Tree" Coverlet, 1800-1850

  Description

  This blue and white double-woven coverlet features a "Snowball Tree" central field motif, with wavy line borders on three sides. It was woven with cotton and wool yarns, and has a fringe on all four sides. The lower edge has a self-fringe, while the sides have tape fringes that travel to the top edge and run along that edge for twenty-two inches. This coverlet was woven in two sections that were sewn together on each side. According to the donor, the yarn was spun and the coverlet was woven in the home of her great-grandmother (no name given.) The coverlet dates from the first half of the 19th century. Double-woven coverlets are reversible, with the dark color dominant on one side, and the light color dominante on the other. Such coverlets are complicated to weave and require two separate sets of warp and filling yarns.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1800-1850

  maker

  unknown

  ID Number

  TE.H12765

  catalog number

  H012765.000

  accession number

  053657

  53657

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Allanstand Cottage Industries; table mat; overshot; 1913; North Carolina

  Description

  A weaver or craftsperson associated with Allanstand Cottage Industries wove or assembled this "Double Chariot Wheels," overshot table mat by at least 1913 in Madison County, North Carolina. Allanstand was founded in 1897 by Frances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944). Goodrich was one of many educated women from the North inspired by Christian progressivism, mission work, the settlement school movement, craft revival, and colonial revival that moved to Appalachia at the end of the nineteenth century to form craft schools and develop cottage craft-based industries that would benefit the local people and save dying handicrafts in the process. This table mat/coverlet fragment was purchased by the Smithsonian from the showroom of the Southern Educational Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C. at the Department of Agriculture Building in 1913 along with an assortment of other textiles and baskets. The Southern Educational Association held craft exchanges from 1913-1926. The SEA was directed by Martha Gielow with the encouragement of President Woodrow Wilson and his first wife, Ellen. First Lady, Ellen Wilson famously called upon craftspeople from the Southern Appalachian Mountains to decorate the Blue Mountain Room in the White House. This table mat is part of a very important early museum accession showcasing early-20th century craft revival in the Southern Appalachians. It is unclear is this mat was a reproduction weaving or a repurposed larger coverlet fragment. The decorative knotted fringe is similar to those found on other whole coverlets. This pattern is called “Double Chariot Wheels.” The plain weave ground cloth is made of a cotton warp and weft and the supplementary pattern weft is indigo-dyed wool.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1913

  maker

  Allanstand School

  ID Number

  TE.T01375.000

  catalog number

  T01375.000

  accession number

  56970

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Elizabeth Johnstone; coverlet panel; Summer-and-Winter weave; c. 1770-1790; Connecticut

  Description

  This blue and white, cotton and wool geometric coverlet panel is an excellent example of the structure known as Summer-and-Winter. There is a lot of apocryphal and mythological information circulating about the origins of this structure. Is it an American invention or a European holdover? It is quite likely we will never know. Summer-and-Winter weave is an overshot weave with stricter rules. The supplementary warp yarn cannot float over more than two warp yarns. This creates a tighter fabric and also gives Summer-and-Winter its light (Summer) side and its darker (Winter) side. This particular coverlet panel was woven by the donor’s great-great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Johnstone of Hartford, Connecticut for her dowry chest in the late eighteenth century. A letter from the donor recorded that the family said the coverlet was woven in the “late Revolutionary days.” Elizabeth married John Ashley, also from Connecticut, and the couple moved to Catskill, New York where they raised their family. Elizabeth would later move to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1836 to live with son John Joseph Ashley. The pattern depicted in this panel is most commonly referred to as “Whig Rose.” This panel would likely have been one of three that would have been woven as one length, cut, and sewn together to create the full, finished width. The coverlet was likely separated into panels during subsequent generations as it was passed down through the family.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  c. 1770-1790

  ID Number

  TE.T10092

  catalog number

  T10092.000

  accession number

  180475

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Daniel and Levi Fisher; coverlet; Jacquard-woven, tied-Beiderwand 1852; Indiana

  Description

  Daniel and Levi Fisher wove this Jacquard, tied-Biederwand coverlet in South Bend, Indiana in 1852. The coverlet features a carpet medallion centerfield, palmate garland swag border, and inscribed and dated cornerblocks. It is woven in a 2:1 tied-Beiderwand structure using red, blue, and green wool and cotton yarns. There is self-fringe on the sides and an applied fringe at the lower edge. The bottom border features addorsed birds possibly referencing the weavers’ Pennsylvania German background. Thistle finches (Distelfinken) are a common German folk motif. These birds could also be the now-extinct Carolina parakeet, often confused with a parrot which is a common feature on Pennsylvania German Fraktur (Taufschein). The words "FEAR.GOD-/AND.KEEP/HIS.COMMA/NDMENTS/SOUTH BEND/1852" appear in two corners of the coverlet telling coverlet scholars that Daniel and Levi Fisher were the weavers. This particular passage comes from the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes 12:13, and the brother appear to have adopted this phrase as a kind of branding motto.

  Daniel Fisher (1821-1904) and his brother Levi (b. 1828) worked as coverlet weavers in South Bend, Indiana for an approximately ten-year-long period between the years 1845-1855. They were born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania to Henry Fisher (1795-1857) and Magdelena Snavely Fisher (b. 1798). Henry moved the family to Portage, St. Joseph County, Indiana in 1836. There he operated a woolen mill at which his children later recorded working. By the 1850 Federal Census, Daniel had married his wife, Margaret Schuder Fisher, and they had two children. Also living with the young family was his brother, Eli and two fourteen-year-old children, Simon and Elizabeth Fisher. Both Daniel and Levi are recorded as weavers, and it is likely that Daniel trained Levi in the art. By 1856, the extended family had heard of available land and opportunity in California. Over the last five years of the 1850s, most of Henry Fisher’s family would relocate to Yolo County, California and become some of the founding settlers of the village of Woodland. In subsequent Federal Census records, Daniel is recorded as a farmer, while Levi appears to have continued the trade after fighting for the Union in the Civil War. He is listed as a weaver in both the 1860 and 1870 Federal Census living near several of his other brothers. No coverlets with California attributions have ever been found.

  This coverlet was owned by the donors' great-grandparents, Jessee W. Jennings (1809-1883) and Mary Anne Pearse (1818-1890). They passed the coverlet to their daughter, Lucy Jennings (1846-1909) at the time of her marriage to John Farneman (1845-1917). The Farnemans passed the coverlet to their own daughter, Lucy Jennings Farneman (1882-1954) when she married Charles A. Tasher (1876-1933). The coverlet was donated the museum by their daughters.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1852

  ID Number

  TE.T11173

  catalog number

  T11173.000

  accession number

  205417

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Jacob B. Gernand; coverlet; Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand; 1835-1850; Maryland

  Description

  This red, green, dark blue, and natural colored jacquard tied-Beiderwand coverlet can be attributed to Jacob B. Gernand (1797-1871) likely between the years 1835-1850 in Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland. This coverlet features a “Double Rose” carpet medallion centerfield with a double border of stylized grapevines and diamond and tassel design. There is a self-fringe on the sides and bottom border. "MIDDLE/TOWN/FRED_K/COUNTY/MARY-/*LAND*" is woven into the lowers cornerblocks. It is these cornerblocks that help to attribute this coverlet to Gernand. Of the known weavers in Frederick County, Maryland, Jacob B. Gernand is the only weaver to abbreviate Frederick as “FRED_K.” Gernand purchased the rights to a patented Jacquard loom in 1835, and his only dated coverlet was woven in 1836.

  Jacob Gernand was born in Frederick County and married three times. His first wife was Elizabeth Williar. He married his second wife, Anna Theodora Becker in 1823, and his third wife was Sybilla Wilhide. He had children with each of his wives. Two of those children were also known weavers, Eugene J. Gernand and William H. Gernand (1823-1883). Jacob was very active in the Moravian Church and served as his local postmaster for many decades. The 1850 Maryland Census listed Jacob as a farm with real estate valued at $1450.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  c. 1835-1850

  referenced

  Corick, Andrew

  Uber, Frederick

  ID Number

  TE.T11174

  catalog number

  T11174.000

  accession number

  206519

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Coverlet, turned twill; Pennsylvania; 19th C.

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  James Van Ness or Auburn State Prison Loomhouse; coverlet, Jacquard; double-cloth; c. 1845; New York

  Description

  New York weaver, James Van Ness, Jr. (1811-1872) or possibly the prisoners working at the loomhouse of Auburn State Prison in Cayuga County, New York wove this blue and white, double-cloth, Figured and Fancy coverlet. The centerfield pattern is composed of horizontal rows of scalloped carpet medallions. Around those can be found the “Birds of Paradise” pattern. The side borders feature foliate and floral motifs within cartouches. The lower border continues this arrangement in a slightly different variation. The cornerblocks name the overall pattern, “Birds of Paradise” and feature a trademark similar to the ones used by Van Ness and Auburn State Prison’s loom house. There is fringe along the bottom border. The coverlet was construced of two panels seamed down the middle. Each section is 41 inches wide. The coverlet measures 85 inches by 82 inches. Emailine Rich Hammond, an ancestor of the donors, originally owned this coverlet circa 1845. Van Ness was the son of another professional weaver of the same name. Van Ness wove in Columbia and Wayne Counties, New York. He is often cited as possibly being one of the weavers hired to train the prisoners and set up the looms at Auburn State Prison, but more research is needed to confirm this. In 1862, Van Ness and his family moved to Michigan. Van Ness was tragically killed by a falling limb in Michigan while helping a neighbor fight a forest fire.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1845

  c. 1835-1850

  c. 1845

  owner

  Hammond, Emeline Rice

  maker

  unknown

  ID Number

  TE.T11789

  catalog number

  T11789.000

  accession number

  225701

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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

  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

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Lake Shore and Southern Railway Coverlet, after 1868

  Description

  This Jacquard, red, white, blue, and green double-cloth lap coverlet features a scalloped centerfield. “L. S. R. R. SLEEPING CAR” is woven into the innermost border. There is a large middle border made up of what appears to be a representation of the Michigan State Capitol building flanked by pairs of turkeys. The corners each feature a pair of deer—a buck and doe. The shorter ends of the middle border feature acorns and oak leaves and interconnected birds. The interconnected birds suggest an altered Jacquard punch-card set. There is fringe along the bottom edge. "L.S.R.R." stands for the Lakeshore and Southern Railway. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, founded in 1833, developed into a conglomeration of other railroads in the Northern Ohio, Michigan region. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad (CP&ARR) would eventually be incorporated into that system. In 1868, the railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad and renamed itself Lakeshore and Southern Railway. It is this time period in which this coverlet was woven for use in the sleeping cars of the railway’s passenger cars.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1860s-1870s

  date made

  after 1868

  ID Number

  TE.T12744

  catalog number

  T12744.000

  accession number

  240289

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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