This framed-center quilt was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation it was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints.”
A variation of the “Nine-patch” pattern is used for the central panel. This is framed by borders pieced in the “Flying Geese,” “Lemoyne Star,” “Chained Square,” and “Nine-patch” patterns. The fabrics are mainly roller-printed fabrics with a few block-printed cottons. The quilting employs various geometric patterns, 5 stitches per inch.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints . . . one is amazed at the work required to piece together patches of ½-inch dimensions.”
Fifteen-and-a-half-inch “Feathered Star” pieced blocks are set diagonally with sashing pieced in the “Garden Maze” pattern. These are framed by a six-inch pieced border. An 1829 date was given on a note pinned to the quilt, but the roller-printed cottons are more typical of those used a few years later. Small quilted floral motifs and outline quilting, 7 stitches per inch, complete the quilt.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Jacob Impson wove this Figured and Fancy, blue and white double-cloth coverlet for Louis Burnham in 1834. The coverlet was woven from two sets of cotton and wool warp and weft and has no fringe. The centerfield pattern features “Double Lily” medallions offset by starbursts. The borders along three sides appear to depict grape vines or possibly even a hops plant, used in brewing beer. The words "Cortland Village" are woven along border, as is the word “Fancy.” The names Lois Burnham and Jacob Impson and the date 1834 are woven into the lower corner blocks.
Jacob Impson (1802-1869) wove coverlets from at least 1832-1845 in Ludlowville and Cortland Village, Cortland County, New York. Impson advertised in the 1824 Ithaca Journal that he was operating a weaving workshop out of the home of John Goodrich. At some point before 1834, Impson relocated to the county seat, Cortland Village where he wove this coverlet for Lois Burnham (1792-1849). More research is needed to learn more about Lois’ life, but we do know from the NY Mortality Census that she was born in Connecticut, married, and fifty-four years old when she died of dysentery in Cortland County.
According to family information, Mary Rigby pieced this quilt top when she was six. There is a definite difference in the quality of stitching. Either Mary improved as she worked or she had help with the quilt top. She was about 8 or 9 when her mother died and possibly this activity was designed as a distraction for her. A child’s thimble (TE*T12873) used by Mary is also in the Collection.
Eight-inch blocks, pieced in a “Pinwheel” pattern are set diagonally with plain white triangles. The piecing is done by overcasting, not by a running stitch.
Mary Augusta Rigby was born September 10, 1847 in New York. Her parents were John Hankey Rigby (1819-1853) born in England and Catherine Bentley (1825-1856) born in New York. Mary married Thomas Wintringham (1846-1900) on December 18, 1877. They had two children and lived in San Rafael, California. Mary was active in community causes such as saving the original pear trees from the San Rafael Arcangel Mission. She died in California on September 9, 1945.
This coverlet is from what is known as the “Big Lion” or “Hollow Lion” group. The weaver has not yet been identified. There have been at least eighteen of these coverlets identified and collectors and scholars have attributed these coverlets to Auburn State Prison or to weaver, Harry Tyler, who also sometimes used a lion in his cornerblocks. There is; however, no evidence to corroborate these prior attributions. The centerfield design features stylized floral carpet medallions. There are borders on three sides. The side borders depict flowering trees, and the bottom border also features a different design of tall, leafed trees. The cornerblocks are unsigned and undated and contain a vertically oriented lion. This lion is depicted in outline form rather than solid as depicted in Tyler’s coverlets. This coverlet measures 84 inches by 78 inches and was constructed from two panels sewn together with a center seam. The unidentified weaver would have been from the Finger Lakes region of New York state and the coverlet was likely woven between the years 1835 and 1845.
A length of printed "Indestructible Chiffon Voile" dress silk, from H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s "Playgrounds of the World" series of printed silks. This sample is an allover printed design, "Flower Market of the Madeleine", incorporating views of an architectural feature within a framework of floral nosegays in various colors. Colors are blue, pink, red, yellows, and purple on a white ground.. Mallinson trade name "Indestructible Chiffon Voile" was an important fabric quality for the firm. It was a fine, sheer plain weave silk. Selvage inscription - Mallinson's Silks Deluxe Playgrounds of the World Flower Market of the Madeleine. The series dates to 1928 and included both European and American "playgrounds". NMAH holds samples of each design in the series.. Company numbers: 1800/2673. Colorway # 11.
A length of M. C. Migel & Co., Inc. Mexixe series. Printed taffeta silk: "Mexixe Pussy Willow". Pure dye printed taffeta, design "Mexican Humming bird" in blue, purple, and red on "Montezuma Green." Printed dress silk with scattered design of stylized bird motifs in purple, orange, blue, red, and black on a yellow-green ground (avocado green). The Mexixe series was publicized as the first time an American textile company had utilized American design inspiration without looking to Paris first. The line was inspired by the prominence of Mexico and the US southwest in the news because of the US war against Pancho Villa.
M.C. Migel & Co., which in 1915 became H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc., was known for innovation in silk design and silk manufacturing technology.
A length of cylinder-printed Pussy Willow (H. R. Mallinson & Co. trade name) silk. Soft drapey plain weave fabric: Manufacturer's numbers quality #900/ pattern 2320/ colorway 7. A directional, allover layout in a design of old time square-rigged sailing ships on a decorative ground of swirling ocean waves and stylized creatures (eg dolphins and sea monsters from old charts and maps). Light and dark greens, yellow, peach, reddish-brown (henna), and black. Produced in the same season as the "Beebe Expedition" designs, but not as part of that series.
A length of H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s "Fish Skin" design "Orchid Tissue Velvet". This is a sheer, almost transparent plain weave ground, double-woven pile fabric with a Japan silk ground and a rayon pile (fabric quality #832); The allover printed pattern of scales reminiscent of "Fish skin". Manufacturer's pattern number 670.color # 12 (red, yellow, black). The manufacturer's description of the process is: "The fabric is piece-dyed for discharge (meaning with a special dye) in a ground color, and the pile made to lie in one direction. The fabric is then run through the printing machine where the pattern is printed on the pile surface, which is afterward erected and finished. With the colors put on in the printing process is mixed a discharge chemical which removes or bleaches the ground color where it is not wanted in the pattern."
A length of H.R. Mallinson & Co.'s "Fish Skin" design, printed on "Orchid Tissue Velvet". This is a sheer, almost transparent plain weave ground, double-woven pile fabric with a Japan silk ground and a rayon pile (fabric quality #832). The allover pattern of scales reminiscent of "Fish skin". Manufacturer's pattern number 666.color # 11 (mulberry, gold, tan, black). The manufacturer's description of the process is: "The fabric is piece-dyed for discharge (meaning with a special dye) in a ground color, and the pile made to lie in one direction. The fabric is then run through the printing machine where the pattern is printed on the pile surface, which is afterward erected and finished. With the colors put on in the printing process is mixed a discharge chemical which removes or bleaches the ground color where it is not wanted in the pattern."
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.
On the front of this “Irish Chain”-patterned quilt is found an inscription in ink: “Commenced in 1825 & Finished in 1830 by Mifs Jane Valentine Scipio Cayuga Co. N.Y. No. of Pieced Blocks 168 Small Blocks 4,2,42." Another inscription in a different hand and ink on a back corner states: “My Mothers 5040 Blocks 1832 In Case of My death to be given to My Sister Hattie Blodgett.”
The quilt is made of 3-inch plain and pieced blocks. The blocks are comprised of about 130 different roller-printed cottons with small print motifs. An examination of the quilt reveals that there are 348 white blocks and 348 pieced blocks; the segments of the pieced blocks are 5/8-inch square, and there are 10,092 of them. Diagonal grid quilting follows the “chain.” The plain white blocks are quilted, 6 stitches per inch, with a floral motif. The “Irish Chain” pattern was in use in the early 1800s and may have been adapted from weaving patterns.
Margaret Jane Valentine was the daughter of Peter Valentine (1784-1865) and Elizabeth Hilliker. Jane married Benjamin Brown Jr. on November 16, 1831. Harriet Brown was born in 1848 and married Charles Blodgett. It was Mrs. Harriet E. Blodgett who in 1915 donated this quilt and a coverlet. At the time she wrote that the quilt was “. . . pieced by my mother. Commenced in 1825 when she was about fourteen finished 1830. . . I feel a great desire to put them [both quilt and coverlet] where they will be preserved.”
This coverlet with floral sprig and dotted centerfield, grapevine borders, and 8-pointed starburst cornerblocks features a woven inscription, "Andrew and Mary Corsa 1836.” It is double-woven with two sets of cotton and indigo wool warps wefts. The coverlet was woven in 1836 most likely in Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester Counties, New York. Susan Rabbit Goody wrote the book on Long Island, NY coverlets and the same grapevine border with names inscribed in the vine, and starburst cornerblocks are all common features of a yet-to-be-identified weaver.
Andrew Corsa (1762-1852), the customer, lived in Fordham Manor in the Bronx. His grandfather established a family farm on what is today the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University. Andrew's father, Isaac (1733-1822) held a commission in the British military. During the Revolution, Isaac remained loyal to the British, fleeing to Nova Scotia where he would spend the rest of his life. Andrew, however, was a patriot. He was the youngest and longest lived of the "Westchester Guides" who served as navigators, scouts, and spies for Gens. Washington and Rochambeau during the 1780-82 campaign of the American and French armies. The family farm was lost due to lawsuits and debt settlement. Andrew bought land adjacent to the family farm and started over, eventually developing his own pear cultivar, the "Corsian Vergaloo." Mary Poole was Andrew's second wife. They were married in the Fordham Dutch Reform Church in 1792. Corsa Ave. in the Bronx is named in Andrew's honor for his service during the Revolutionary War. The weaver of this coverlet is still unidentified. Goody listed a table of known grapevine border coverlets in her book. Further genealogical research on the inscription names on those coverlets shows that most of the names that are possible to accurately identify are associated with either Suffolk or Nassau Counties on Long Island, particularly the town of Southold, NY. Goody also pointed out that there is an as of yet unidentified connection between the communities of Westchester and Bronx Counties and the counties of Long Island.
This is a blue and white, double-cloth, Figured and Fancy coverlet features along fringe three sides, and a spread eagle lower border. The center design is variation of the “Double Rose” carpet medallion pattern with ivy leaf accents. The side borders display an interlocking “Double Flower” motif that is reminiscent of lotus flowers. The two lower corner blocks feature pairs of dogs and a woven inscription which reads, "1831 EAW/ Pompey." There is a four inch self-fringe on the lower edge and an applied fringe on the sides that is also four inches long. The coverlet was constructed of two panels that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed up the middle.
This coverlet was woven in Pompey, Onondaga County, New York in 1831. There has been some scholarly debate about who the Pompey weaver(s) may have been. At first scholars looked for a weaver with the last name Pompey, but they quickly realized the weaver was operating in the town of Pompey. There are extant dated coverlets in this style ranging from 1831-1836. There three coverlet weavers in Pompey at the time. Benjamin June and his son, Benjamin Jr. and Henry L. Goodrich. All three of these weavers could possibly be the maker of this and the other Pompey coverlets; however, the signed June family coverlets omit the town name from their designs, leaving Goodrich the most likely candidate. Federal census records list Henry as a resident of Rensselaer County, New York in 1830 and 1840, but occupation was not a recorded category in the early census. It is unclear when and why Henry spent time in Onondaga County and more research is needed to unravel the mystery and confirm or deny the attribution of these coverlets to Goodrich. The style of this coverlet is reflective the organization, arrangement, and style of the earlier Figured and Fancy coverlets foun
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.
This overshot, indigo and white coverlet (now separated into two panels) is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. Overshot patterning is based on a float weave structure, where a supplementary weft yarn is added to create the pattern. The yarn floats or shoots over the top of the plain weave ground cloth creating the pattern. The pattern is a reversible negative, meaning that the color combination is reversed on the opposite side. Overshot coverlets can be woven on simple four-shaft looms. They are usually associated with domestic production and many of them are attributed to female weavers. Professional male weavers also wove floatwork coverlets. Many overshot patterns have names; however, these names changed and varied due to time and location. According to the donor, this coverlet descended through the Van Meter family of New York and was likely woven in the first half of the nineteenth century by a female ancestor. The two coverlet panels would have been joined with a center seam. These panels were repurposed during the early 20th century Colonial Revival decorating period and used as portieres in the Van Meter home. Each of the two panels measures 75 inches by 35.25 inches.
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.
Cross-stitched in pink silk: “Mary Ann Kinyon 1852,” clearly identifies this quilt. A framed-center design, the center panel (51 inches by 44 inches) focus is a basket of tulips, daisies, and grapes with pineapples and tulips in the corners. The frame is a 3-inch band of cone motifs. An outer 16-inch border is quilted with a feathered vine and flowers and a triple diagonal grid 3-inch border. All finely quilted; 12 to 13 stitches per inch.
Mary Ann Bardwell was born July 29, 1816 in Onondaga Co., NY. She married Anthony Kinyon (1805-1892) about 1837. The spelling of the name was later changed to Kenyon. They farmed in the Onondaga County area and raised three children; Anson, Willis, and Flora. Mary Ann died March 25, 1903. Her precisely quilted counterpane is an example of mid-19th-century white-work.
A length of M. C. Migel & Co., Inc. Mexixe series, 1914. Printed silk taffeta, Mexixe Pussy Willow. Design - Kortez - of a small stylized spot floral motif, (same as T1981) but printed on a different ground fabric. This example has a white plain weave ground with regular, even black satin weave stripes. The Mexixe series was publicized as the first time an American textile company had utilized American design inspiration without looking to Paris first. The line was inspired by the prominence of Mexico and the US southwest in the news because of the US war against Pancho Villa.
The Mexixe series was publicized as the first time an American textile company had utilized American design inspiration without looking to Paris first. The line was inspired by the prominence of Mexico and the US southwest in the news because of the US war against Pancho Villa.
M.C. Migel & Co., which in 1915 became H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc., was known for innovation in silk design and silk manufacturing technology.
A length of M. C. Migel & Co., Inc. Mexixe series, 1914. Printed Taffeta silk: "Mexixe Pussy Willow". Pure dye printed taffeta. Red ground with vertically striped design reminiscent of an "eyedazzler" Navajo blanket. Print colors are blue, green, yellow, gray, black and white on red. The Mexixe series was publicized as the first time an American textile company had utilized American design inspiration without looking to Paris first. The line was inspired by the prominence of Mexico and the US southwest in the news because of the US war against Pancho Villa.
The Mexixe series was publicized as the first time an American textile company had utilized American design inspiration without looking to Paris first. The line was inspired by the prominence of Mexico and the US southwest in the news because of the US war against Pancho Villa.
M.C. Migel & Co., which in 1915 became H.R. Mallinson & Co., Inc., was known for innovation in silk design and silk manufacturing technology.