National Woven Coverlet Collection

• 

  J.J. Heilbronn Figured and Fancy Coverlet Fragment, 1840

  Description

  J.J. Heilbronn Figured and Fancy Coverlet Fragment, 1840. Red, white & blue jacquard double weave, no visible fringe. 1. (border) potted flowers & birds 2. (center) double rose & snowflakes. John Jacob Heilbronn, was born June 15, 1815 in Alsace, France. He married January 9, 1840, Phebe Weaver in Fairfield, OH. He died July 8, 1887.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1840

  weaver

  Heilbronn, J.J.

  ID Number

  TE.T14712

  catalog number

  T14712.000

  accession number

  280847

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  S.B. Musselman coverlet; Figured & Fancy, 1842

  Description

  Red, white, and blue Jacquard woven or Figured and Fancy coverlet in single weave. Double roses motifs framed by cut-cornered rectangles regularly repeated in bands and rows; separated by rows of dots and with rosettes in octagon frames. The inner border consists of vase forms alternating with flowers; Outer borders have a double diamond and dot repeated. Outer border is along all four sides, the inner border is not. Between the two borders the word Pennsylvania is repeated over and over, forwardsand backwards. The lower corner on the right says "This coverlet belongs to me Susana Diehl 1842" . The corner on the left says" S.B.Musselman Coverlet Weaver Milford Bucks. Co 1842". This coverlet is woven with a compound, plain weave base. Warp and ground weft yarns are Z-twist single ply cotton. The pattern weft is red and blue twist single ply wool. Samuel Beidler Musselman was born June 9, 1802 to Jacob and Barbara Beidler Musselman in Milford, Bucks Co. PA. He married ca. 1824 Elizabeth Landis (1798-1873). They had eleven children. He died August 7, 1874, in Bucks Co. PA. After 1837 all of his coverlets were seamless. While he numbered many of his coverlets, he did not number this one.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1842

  weaver

  Musselman, S.B.

  ID Number

  1980.0859.01

  accession number

  1980.0859

  catalog number

  1980.0859.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory; coverlet; Jacquard; double-cloth; 1858-1880; Pennsylvania

  Description

  Weavers at the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory, owned by Philip Schum likely wove this Jacquard, mauve, red, green, and brown, double-cloth coverlet sometime between 1856 and 1880. The centerfield features a large central medallion made up of concentric floral wreaths. Inside these medallions is a large representation of the United States Capitol. The centerfield ground is made up of shaded triangles. Each corner of the centerfield design features a bird surrounded by flowers and above the bird is a boteh, a motif found on Kashmiri shawls and later European copies commonly referred to as Paisley pattern. The four-sided border is composed of meandering floral and foliate designs. There are not traditional cornerblocks on this coverlet, but there are large floral or foliate medallions in each corner that are very similar to those used on signed Philip Schum coverlets. There is fringe along three sides. This coverlet was woven on a broadloom, and possibly a power loom.

  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. This particular coverlet was purchased by the donor's grandfather in either Cincinnati or Pittsburg while he was serving as a ship's carpenter along the Ohio River trade routes. The family would later settle in Crawford County, Indiana. This fact also shows that Philip Schum's coverlets, quilts, yarn, etc. were not just being made for the local market. Schum was transporting his goods west and presumably in other directions. He was making for an American market.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1875-1900

  late 19th century

  1858-1880

  maker

  Schum, Philip

  ID Number

  TE.T14561

  catalog number

  T14561.000

  accession number

  277986

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Fragment of an overshot coverlet, early 19th c.

  Description

  Overshot, brown & white, weft-faced plain weave with one selvedge, cotton and wool, pattern consists of alternating blocks and vertical stripes. The blocks are predominantly brown with white, the stripes are white with brown. Blocks are approximately 1 1/2 x 1 5/8." Texture is unusually soft and fine for this weave. Warp yarns are white and single ply z twist cotton . the weft tarms are white and brown singles, z twist wool. The weft completely covers the warp.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  19th century

  early 19th century

  ID Number

  1979.1217.02

  accession number

  1979.1217

  catalog number

  1979.1217.02

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Reproduction sample of an NMAH coverlet, 1980

  Description

  Reproduction sample of an NMAH coverlet, 1980. Pattern has rows of groups of 5 egg-like shapes alternating with W or M shaped lines, and 4 diamond shaped groups. These rows are separated by geometric, simple shapes and blocks of color. the museum catalog number ,0723.01 is woven into the design. Sample overshot coverlet reproduced after another coverlet in NMAH's collection, T14896. White and 2 shades of blue. Woven by Dr. Joyce Cone.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1980

  maker

  Cone, Joyce E.

  ID Number

  1981.0045.002

  accession number

  1981.0045

  catalog number

  1981.0045.02

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Reproduction sample of an NMAH coverlet, 1980

  Description

  Reproduction sample of an NMAH coverlet, 1980. Geometric pattern border that runs along selvage has a design done in medium blue floats. Middle design has a group of 16 rectangles every other one joined by short diagonal lines. At the bottom are a criss-cross design with dots en each shape and rows of diamond shaped figures. There is a section where the museum catalog number T 14896 appears as part of the design. edges are plain woven linen and hand hemmed. Warp white s twist 93 ply linen; wefts white s twist 3 ply linen; Lt. blue s twist 2 ply wool; med s twist 2 ply wool

  Sample overshot coverlet reproduced after another coverlet in NMAH's collection, T14896. Made by Dr. Joyce E. Cone in 1980. White, and 2 shades of blue.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1980

  maker

  Cone, Joyce E.

  ID Number

  1981.0045.001

  accession number

  1981.0045

  catalog number

  1981.0045.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Overshot Coverlet fragment

  Description

  Fragment of a 4-harness overshot coverlet weave, woven on "opposites." Blue, green and rose wool yarns and unbleached cotton yarn in a fancy block pattern. From Mrs. Eliza Calvert Hall Obenchain.

  Because of the donor, Mrs. Allen's, importance in teaching and preserving early handweaving, and the use of materials she collected in books on the subject, NMAH should keep the fragments she donated in the collection, as part of the national woven coverlet collection.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  TE.T04789.000

  catalog number

  T04789.000

  accession number

  71965

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Fragment of an overshot coverlet

  Description

  Fragment of an overshot coverlet. Blue and white; cotton and wool; 4-harness overshot, small black pattern woven on "opposites."

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  TE.T04902.000

  catalog number

  T04902.000

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Bowe family Coverlet fragment; Maine; ca. 1800

  Description

  All wool coverlet fragment. warp: 2-ply yellow-tan. Weft: 2-ply dark brown. Woven c. 1800 by a member of the Bowe family, Libson, ME.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  c. 1800

  ID Number

  TE.T13643.000

  catalog number

  T13643.000

  accession number

  262266

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Allanstand Cottage Industries; upholstery fabric sample; overshot; 1913; North Carolina

  Description

  Weavers at Allanstand Cottage Industries in Western North Carolina wove this blue and white, overshot upholstery fabric sample c. 1913. The sample measures 36 inches square and was woven with a cotton ground warp and weft and wool supplementary pattern weft. The pattern is known as a “Double Chariot Wheel.” This was meant to be used as upholstery fabric, inspired by an overshot coverlet pattern.

  Allanstand was founded by Frances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944), a New York, college-educated, Presbyterian missionary, who moved to the Southern Appalachian region to educate the local population. She soon discovered hand-weaving traditions in the region and realized the marketability of these traditional crafts. She founded a cottage industry system with two retail outlets that catered to emerging Colonial Revival design tastes. At her retirement in 1930, she gifted the retail spaces and operations of Allanstand Cottage Industries to the newly founded Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. This sample was collected by the Smithsonian’s first curator of textiles, Frederic Lewton at the Department of Agriculture’s Southern Industrial Education Association retail space in Washington D.C. Upholstery fabric similar to this was used by First Lady, Ellen Wilson to decorate what came be known as the Blue Mountain Room in the Wilson White House.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  early 20th century

  maker

  unknown

  Allanstand School

  ID Number

  TE.T1373

  catalog number

  T01373.000

  accession number

  56970

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Fragment of a double cloth coverlet

  Description

  Fragment of a blue and white, cotton and wool, double woven coverlet, with an Irish chain design. The donor, Mrs. Laura M. Allen, was Director of Weaving in Mechanics' Institute, Rochester, N.Y.

  Because of the donor, Mrs. Allen's, importance in teaching and preserving early handweaving, and the use of materials she collected in books on the subject, NMAH should keep the fragments she donated in the collection, as part of the national woven coverlet collection.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  ID Number

  TE.T04906.000

  catalog number

  T04906.000

  accession number

  71965

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Coverlet fragment; Sallie Dougherty, Tennessee; ca. 1910

  Description

  4-harness, overshot weave: "Sun, Moon, and Start" developed in blue, rose, and tan mercerized cotton yarns. Weaver: Miss Sallie Dougherty, Russellville, TN. Mrs. Mary M. Atwater called this pattern "The Whig Rose."

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca. 1910

  ID Number

  TE.T04948.000

  catalog number

  T04948.000

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• Sample of reproduction overshot coverlet, Fieldcrest Mills, inc.

  Description (Brief)

  Sample of a reproduction bedspread made by Fieldcreast--green weft--inspired by coverlets in the collection

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  20th century

  ID Number

  TE.T17656.00C

  catalog number

  T17656.00C

  accession number

  322707

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Figured and Fancy coverlet; double-cloth; 1830; New York

  Description

  This blue and white double-cloth, Figured and Fancy coverlet was possibly made in Scipio, New York in 1830. There are “Double Lily” carpet medallions in the centerfield, and three borders depicting fruit trees, pine trees, and trees with no leaves. It is possible that this border pattern is attempting to represent the changing of the seasons from bare to leaf, to fruiting, and back again. The lower two corner blocks have this woven in: "E.V/Valen/tine/Scipio/N.Y. 1830". According to the donor, the coverlet was made for her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Hilliker Valentine (1782-1874). The weaver of Scipio coverlets has yet to be discovered. There is no evidence of active weavers working in Scipio; however, there are numerous weavers in Cayuga County. Many of these weavers advertised in local newspapers with several different locations where customers could order their coverlets, drop off their wool yarn, and then pick up the finished coverlet. It likely that the Valentine family placed the order for this coverlet at a local general store of inn, where the yarn and order was taken to a weaver or small manufactory in the county.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1830

  maker

  unknown

  ID Number

  TE.E287384

  catalog number

  E287384.000

  accession number

  058478

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Geometric overshot coverlet

  Description

  Geometric overshot coverlet. Blue and off-white, blue yarns are wool, white yarns are cotton. Series of conventionalized trees along longitudinal borders and top. Remainder divided into squares with geometrical block designs. Woven in 33" strips & sewn down center, might have been shortened.

  ID Number

  TE.E387256

  accession number

  184369

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Archibald Davidson; coverlet; Figured and Fancy, double cloth; 1835; New York

  Description

  Archibald Davidson wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet for Sarepta C. White in Ithaca, New York in 1835. The centerfield design is made up of a “Double Rose” carpet medallion pattern. The coverlet has two borders along three sides. The one at the bottom of the coverlet features American eagles, with shields, and stars, and horses. The borders that run along the other two edges, feature meandering floral vines and stars. The two lower corners have the following inscription woven into them: Sarepta C. White, Liberty & Independence, Ithaca 1835 A Davidson Fancy Weaver." The blue yarns are wool and the white yarns are cotton. The coverlet has two hemmed edges, and two edges that appear to have been cut, and are now unraveling. Archibald Davidson was born in Scotland in 1771, where he was trained as a weaver. He married Jane McPhail December 10, 1795 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and they had five sons one born in Pennsylvania and the other four in New Jersey. They lived in both Tompkins and Warsaw Counties, New York. He died January 5, 1854. In 1832 Archibald Davidson advertised himself in the Ithaca Journal and Daily Advertiser as a “fancy weaver” and went on to inform the public that he had purchased a “patent loom.” In 1849, he advertised for an apprentice, stating that: “None need apply unless well recommended.”Blue and white medallion with roses, eagles nd flowers

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  1846

  date made

  1835

  maker

  Davidson, Archibald

  ID Number

  TE.E388874

  catalog number

  E388874

  accession number

  182022

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  "Chariot Wheel" overshot coverlet; 1790-1825; United States

  Description

  This blue and white, "Chariot Wheel" patterned, overshot coverlet was a bequest to the National Museum in 1934 from the Misses Long, and had been on loan to the Smithsonian’s collection since 1910. One of the earliest coverlets in the collection, it was initially termed a counterpane. The coverlet was part of "The Arts of the Thread" exhibit in the Textile Room at the National Museum (A&I). The Misses Long were sisters living in the Washington, D.C. area and important benefactors of the Smithsonian at the end of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century. This coverlet is just one of many objects left by the sisters after their deaths. The coverlet is made of cotton and wool with two-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton warp yarns and Z-spun cotton singles making up the weft. The ground cloth is a plain or tabby weave, and the supplementary float patterning uses a high-twist, Z-spun woolen yarn that has been dyed blue almost certainly with indigo. The coverlet, like all coverlets not woven on a broad loom, has a center seam. The coverlet would have been woven as one 32-inch-wide length, cut in half, then folded back on itself and seamed up the middle, making the whole coverlet 64 inches wide. The use of cotton in the warp dates the coverlet to 1790 at the earliest. The 1825 end date was chosen, because the introduction of the Jacquard patterning mechanism all but replaced traditional overshot patterning in many regions of the United States.

  date made

  1800-1816

  c. 1790-1825

  ID Number

  TE.L6951

  accession number

  113420

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Eunice Moore; coverlet, overshot; c. 1800; Massachusetts

  Description

  According to an inscription sewn to this coverlet, Mrs. Eunice Moore of Worthington, Massachusetts wove this simple “Block and Table” overshot coverlet in 1800 from gold wool and natural cotton yarns. Moore was the grandmother of Armida Everett, mother of the donors. The coverlet measures 92 inches by 70 inches and was woven as one length, cut into two panels, and sewn up the center. It was common practice to remove the center seam to wash coverlet as their size and weight when wet made them hard to deal with. The last time this coverlet’s seam was removed, the owner sewed it together again backwards. The central pattern would originally have been two side borders and the current outer edges would have been matched up to create a larger centerfield design.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  Date made

  ca. 1800

  maker

  unknown

  ID Number

  TE.L6952

  catalog number

  L06952.000

  accession number

  113420

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  coverlet; geometric double-cloth; c. 1820-1840; poss. Pennsylvania

  Description

  This coverlet is a red, white, and blue, geometric double cloth coverlet. The main pattern is commonly known as “Lover’s Knot”. There are borders at the top and bottom which are created from a fractional reduction of the main pattern. There is evidence of self-fringe on the sides, and the bottom edge has a seven inch long decorative woven fringe applied with decorative stitchwork. It may have been a latter addition or reattached at a later date. The coverlet is constructed from two panels which were woven as one length, cut, and seamed up the middle. Not much is known about the provenance of the coverlet, but based on the design and structure, it was likely woven between 1820 and 1840 in Pennsylvania. The donor and her family lived in the Dearborn, Michigan area, but more research is needed to determine if there are earlier connections to Pennsylvania.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  c. 1820-1840

  ID Number

  TE.T10086

  catalog number

  T10086.000

  accession number

  179762

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  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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