Quilted in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania in the early twentieth century, this is an example of the “Garden of Eden” or “Economy Block” quilt pattern. A center of twenty pieced and plain 20-inch square blocks is framed by a “Chain Square” and two plain borders. Plain-colored cotton and wool fabrics and black quilting thread contribute to its quiet elegance.
This small section of pieced fabric squares of varying sizes contains many examples of early nineteenth century fabrics. The cottons are block and roller-printed. Geometrics, florals, printed stripes, checks, and plaids are represented. A few still have traces of glaze. Linen and silk threads were used to join the pieces on this quilt top section from the early 1800s.
Philip Schum, for the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory; large, floral and geometric central medallion woven coverlet with floral urn and grape vine borders; 1866-1880; Lancaster City, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; jacquard-woven double cloth; cotton and wool; 1866-1880. This coverlet was woven on a Jacquard loom and is composed of red & green yarns arranged in a plain, double weave with fringe on 3 sides. 1. (border) urns with flowers (reminiscent of the theorem paintings and applique quilt patterns of the mid-19th century) & grapevines. 2. (center) floral medallion ([Also described as Center Star with Garland.) From Clarita Anderson and John W. Heisey: Philip Schum (1814-1880) was born In Hesse-Darmstadt, Holy Roman Empire. He immigrated 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 saavy businessman. He worked first as a "Malt Tramper," 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 basketmaker. 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 incidient 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 quicky. By 1875, the factory had twenty looms and employeed fourty 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 granfather 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.
This geometric double-cloth coverlet features a "Four Snowball" centerfield pattern with "Pine Tree” borders on three sides. It passed through at least five generations of Parker-Ellis Family before being donated to the National Museum of American History’s collections. Woven between the years 1790-1820, the coverlet was given as a wedding gift or as part of the bridal trousseau for the wedding of Daniel Ellis and Eliza Parker on January 6, 1820 in Butler County, Ohio. In 1847, the coverlet was given to son, Theodore Ellis when he married is wife, Mary A. in Montgomery County, Indiana. Theodore, in turn, presented it to his daughter Amanda Ellis Talbott on the occasion of her wedding in 1879. Estella Maude Talbott Lang received the coverlet in 1907 when she married, and the donor, Iona Long received the coverlet at her mother’s death in 1956. Family legend held that Eliza Parker’s mother wove the double-cloth coverlet for her daughter’s trousseau, and while that is very possible, more research is needed to determine where Eliza was born and who her parents were. What can be determined is that this geometric double-cloth coverlet was cherished by a family for over 150 years and made its way across the United States with each successive generation.
As this coverlet is double-cloth there are two sets of warps and wefts that change position interlocking the two cloths and creating pockets, lending to the alternative name for double-cloth, pocket cloth. There is an indigo-dyed blue wool warp and weft as well as a white, unbleached cotton warp and weft. The cotton has yellowed with age. The yarn count is 22x22. The snowball pattern with pine tree border is a ubiquitous Northern European pattern designed to create a decorative effect and provide a heavy and durable textile. The coverlet is in relatively fragile condition and the center seam is coming apart at the both the top and bottom. There is some fraying and missing sections along the top and bottom border as well. This coverlet has no fringe.
This white and blue, geometric, double-cloth coverlet panel features a “Single Snowball” pattern centerfield and “Pine Tree” border. These patterns were developed in the German States of the Holy Roman Empire at the end of the seventeenth century and were initially used in damask linen weaving on a much smaller scale. Several German weavers published books during the Early Modern period, and they were translated into numerous languages and this style of block weaving, as it is known, spread across Europe. Immigrant weavers brought these structures and pattern to the United States, increased the scale of the patterns and wove them as double cloth both for coverlets and ingrain carpet. This coverlet panel was initially woven as one length, cut, folded back on itself, and seamed up the middle to create the finished coverlet. The center seam was usually removed to wash coverlets as the double cloth would have been heavy and unwieldly when wet otherwise. The coverlet panel measures 84.5 inches by 34.5 inches, and there are traces of self-fringe along the bottom edge. The upper edge has been repaired with a blue printed cotton band to prevent unraveling. This coverlet panel is in overall poor shape and features several areas of loss. The “Pine Tree” borders found along three sides were created from fractional reduction of the main block patterning. While women were fully capable of weaving overshot and summer and winter coverlets on their own simple looms, many of the geometric double loom patterns required looms with multiple shafts and are traditionally associated with male, professional weavers. There is no information about who may have woven this coverlet or where it may have come from.
This red, white, and blue overshot coverlet was woven in the “Tennessee Trouble” pattern. The ground warp is a white single Z-spun cotton. The ground weft is single Z-spun cotton. The supplementary pattern weft is single Z-spun wool in blue and red. The coverlet is hemmed along the top and bottom. The coverlet was constructed of two panels woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The seam sewn together with white cotton thread using a back stitch. The hems have been redone as is common with use. This coverlet descended through the donor’s family from Tennessee to California. The donor’s father received the coverlet from his mother, Margaret Ellen Maddux Hogins at her death in 1911. Margaret and her husband, Bailey Peyton Hogin had moved to California in 1871 and brought the coverlet with them from Tennessee. Margaret’s parents were Thomas Maddux and Elizabeth Garrett who moved to Smith County, Tennessee from Virginia in 1833. Family legend holds that this coverlet was woven by Elizabeth Carlin (b. 1797), the mother of Thomas Maddux.
According to family legend, Elizabeth Harman wove this overshot coverlet in Highland County, Virginia in 1827. The accession file and original 1914 object label listed the coverlet creation date as 1827, but if Elizabeth Harman (1836-1881) were the weaver, it would likely have been woven between the years 1850-1881. The coverlet could also have been woven in either Highland or Augusta Co., VA. Elizabeth and her husband, Egbert and children moved to the Staunton, VA area between the years 1870-1880. As often happens, family histories tend to blur with subsequent generations. It is possible that Elizabeth Harman wove this coverlet in her youth or was given the coverlet as a wedding or trousseau gift. There is also always the possibility that the 1827 date is accurate, but that the attribution to Elizabeth was confused with an older ancestor. Without interwoven signatures or dates, it becomes impossible to absolutely date and attribute this coverlet.
This overshot coverlet is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. This pattern’s name, as with most overshot patterns, varied from region to region and state to state throughout time. In North Carolina this pattern could also be called, “Work Complete,” in Alabama, “Lady’s Fancy,” and “Gentleman’s Fancy” in Kentucky. Although the name varied, the structure remained the same. This coverlet features a plain weave ground composed of single Z-spun cotton warp and weft yarns with single Z-spun supplementary weft pattern floats. It is these floats that create the pattern and give the overshot structure its name.
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.
This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet passed down through the donor’s maternal line for many generations before coming the collections of the National Museum of American History. The centerfield design is composed of a large “Double Rose” central motif contained within a cut-corner square. Outside of this is another cut-corner square filled with floral designs. Beyond this in the centerfield can be found a Great Seal eagle in each corner and floral swag accents. The stylized floral and foliate border can be found on all four sides of the coverlet. There is an applied fringe along three sides of the coverlet. This coverlet does feature a center seam, indicating hand-loom production. There is no signature, trademark, or date on the coverlet. The coverlet measures 81 inches by 78 inches.
The coverlet descended through the Marvel family of Indiana who moved west from Delaware in 1833. On their way westward, the family lived for a time in Muskingum, Ohio around 1860. It is likely here where the coverlet was acquired. The style and structure are more common in Ohio than Indiana, where coverlet weavers tended to weave double cloth coverlets and favor two colors rather than the horizontal banding found in many Pennsylvania and Ohio coverlets. The donor received the coverlet from her mother, Julia Typhene Nelson Studebaker who had received the coverlet from her parents, Robert Marvel and Julia Ann Marvel Dickerson Jones. Robert Marvel’s parents, Robert and Sarah Wilkins Marvel were the original owners of the coverlet and according to the family, the couple used the coverlet in their double log cabin in Indiana.
This Summer-and-Winter weave coverlet of gold & tan has 1 1/4 inch gold knotted fringe on three sides with a rolled hem along the top edge. Woven in two sections, the center seam is hand sewn. Each panel is 40 1/4 inches wide. The warp and weft are both 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, and the pattern weft is 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool. The pattern is a geometric pattern similar to the German I-Block pattern found on page 123 of Marguerite P. Davison’s A Handweaver’s Pattern Book (1944). These geometric designs are often associated with Pennsylvania German weavers; however, the nature of four-harness looms and the designs that can be woven on them make these geometric patterns hard to attribute to one European weaving tradition. This particular pattern seems to be blend blockier, German geometric designs with British patterns like the Irish Chain.
Summer-and-Winter weave is often written about as the quintessentially American weave structure. Scholars like Dorothy Burnham have claimed it is a North American invention, while Craft Revival weavers and scholars like Marguerite R. Davis have claimed it was brought to North America by the Finnish and Swedish settlers of what is today Delaware where it spread to the German population of Pennsylvania. Whatever the case, the structure is noted for short weft floats (no more than two warp yarns) and its reversibility. The name of the structure is apocryphal as well. People have claimed that there is a warmer and cooler side that is appropriate for changing seasons; however, the structure is balanced on both sides and the thickness and weight of the coverlet the same throughout. The choice of name and its origin remain an American weaving mystery to this day.
Michael Eichman (1814-1883) wove this Figured and Fancy, red, white, blue, and green, tied-Beiderwand coverlet in Juniata County, Pennsylvania in 1850. The name of the weaver, Michael Eichman, and the location Juniata, Co. Penn., are woven into the two lower corners along with the date, 1850. The center field pattern is made up of “Double Lily and Starburst” carpet medallions, and the three borders feature “Rose Tree” motifs. The colors appear in stripes across the coverlet, a common design feature of Pennsylvania woven coverlets. There is no center seam indicating that Eichman was using a broadloom and possibly involved in small factory production. The coverlet measures 88 inches by 72 inches. There were several small woolen mills in Juniata County that could have employed Eichman as a fancy weaver. The coverlet was made for a member of the Phillip Crater family. It descended in the family of his son Joel, who was born in Pennsylvania, but by 1850 and according to the Federal Census, the family had moved to Illinois. In 1884 the family went to Missouri by covered wagon and the coverlet went with them. Michael Eichman was born in Hamburg in the German States, immigrating to Philadelphia in 1836, possibly working at one of the many textile factories in and around the city. He soon relocated to Freeburg, Snyder County. Family legend recorded that Eichman would carry his coverlets on his back and sell them on his way from Snyder County to Philadelphia. This was evidently a successful venture because he was able to purchase land in Cocolamus, Juniata County where he continued to weave and farm.
This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet panel reveals when, where, and who made it, but William Wolf has remained elusive to historians. The centerfield features octagonal carpet medallions filled with stylized sunflowers or sunbursts around which can be found geometric stars arrangements and foliate garlands. The side border features a meandering grape vine and the lower border depicts a swag garland and flower motif. The cornerblock inscription reads, “WOVE*BY/*W*WOLF/*SHELBY*/RICHLAND/*COUNTY*/OHIO*1853.” There are dozens of people names William Wolf recorded in Ohio in the 1850 Federal Census, and more research is needed to determine which of those men was the weaver of this coverlet panel. What is known of Wolf comes from his extant coverlets which date from 1836-1858 and have woven inscriptions indicating that he was weaving in Hanover, Licking County, Ohio and later in Shelby, Richland County, Ohio. This coverlet panel was woven in tied-Beiderwand structure using 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton and wool, warp and weft yarns and Z-spun cotton singles for binding warps.
This American Centennial, Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet was woven for and sold at the Centennial International Exposition in 1876; a souvenir for visitors. The Centennial Expo was the first official World’s Fair. The coverlet was woven using cotton and wool yarns and features Memorial Hall, the building used to house the art gallery space for the expo, in the center field. The Beaux-Arts building is labeled below, surrounded by ivy, and flanked by a pair of Great Seal eagles. The building still stands in Philadelphia today and was renovated in 2010. Above the hall is the woven inscription, "Centennial.” The dates 1776-1876 are woven into either side of Memorial Hall. There is a floral border along all four sides that depicts floral/foliate and anthemion motifs. These coverlets were produced industrially, likely in the Philadelphia area. There were made as affordable souvenirs and the lower quality is reflected in the thin and loosely spun red wool yarns and the significant loss to the upper edge. The coverlet measures 77.5 inches by 75.5 inches and was almost certainly woven on a Jacquard power loom.
Weavers at the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory likely wove this all-wool, mulberry and olive green, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania sometime between 1856 and 1880. There is a large central medallion composed of a floral design at the center surrounded by an olive wreath and garland of grape vines Beyond that are morning glory vines and roses in each corner. There are borders on all four sides made up of repeating lily of the valley motifs. There is no center seam, indicating that this coverlet was woven on a broadloom and likely a power loom. There is no fringe. The coverlet is in overall poor condition and there are large sections of loss and the hems have come undone. Philip Schum (1814-1880) was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Schum immigrated to the United States with his first wife, Ana Margartha Bond in the 1830s, settling first in New York City where he worked as a malt tramper. The family soon moved to Lancaster County where Schum worked as a shoemaker and basket maker. Schum purchased a general store in 1852, and by 1856 he had become successful enough to sell the business and start the Lancaster Carpet, Coverlet, Quilt, and Yarn Manufactory. Schum expanded his business exponentially over the ensuing decades growing from four employee to over forty. He and his second wife, Anna Margaret Koch were killed by a train in their carriage in 1880. Schum’s sons took over the business which remained successful until the 1920s. There is no evidence that Schum was ever trained as a weaver.
Samuel Butterfield (b. 1792) wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet in Oneida County, New York for A. White in 1834. The centerfield design features large “Double Tulip” carpet medallions common to many New York coverlet designs. The four-sided border depicts Great Seal Eagles with floral embellishments. The cornerblocks depict Gen. George Washington on horseback, the date, 1834, and a woven inscription naming Washington. Below this on one end the customer’s name, A. White appears and the date again. At the other end, Samuel Butterfield is listed as the weaver or owner of the manufactory along with the location of his establishment, North Hartfors, Oneida County, New York. The coverlet measures 86 inches by 68.5 inches and was constructed from two panels sewn together with a center seam. This coverlet is in like-new condition. It was almost certainly never used. Butterfield was an English immigrant who was in a partnership with fellow weaver, James Cunningham until at least 1832. The two weavers both used this exact pattern, the only difference being the weaver’s name. Butterfield along with Archibald Davidson both claim to be the first British weaver to introduce ingrain carpeting to New York in the early nineteenth century. There is some evidence that Cunningham and Butterfield were not only weavers, but also early American industrialists creating small, regional factories to produce both carpeting and coverlets. Many British immigrants were recruited by emerging coastal textile mills early in the nineteenth century, and that is almost certainly how Butterfield would have initially found his way to America. His entrepreneurial spirit is further reflected in the occupational choices of his two sons. William owned a successful lumber business in Oneida County, and his other son, Thomas was a master tanner.
This Jacquard, Biederwand coverlet features a large scalloped central medallion with basket-weave centerfield and eagle, "Washington," inscriptions and portraits in each corner. There are stylized floral borders along the top and sides. Horizontal color banding in fuchsia, teal, peach and yellow wool singles create the pattern, and thick and thin cotton warps and wefts form an integrated ground structure. The design, arrangement of motifs, and color choices likely date this coverlet to 1875-1900, particularly during the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The synthetic colors, sparse use of wool, design, and commemorative theme lead us to believe this coverlet is an early Colonial Revival coverlet made popular by the 1876 Centennial. The wool is wearing away in places leaving slack in the fine cotton warp threads. There is no center seam and the weaving is extremely even suggesting that this coverlet woven in a mill on a power loom rather than by a craftsperson in a workshop. The Centennial Exposition was an important time in the history of the coverlet. The exhibitions featured pattern books and antique coverlets sparking a revival in both the figured Jacquard coverlets and the older geometric and overshot designs. This exhibition helped inspire both the Colonial Revival trend, which we still live with today and the Craft Revival which breathed new life into American hand-weaving and craft production. This coverlet is in fair condition. There is some wear to the wool yarns, which are very loosely spun and the rolled hems at the top and bottom edges are coming undone. Because this coverlet is both unsigned and undated it makes it almost impossible to assign a manufacturer or precise date.
Daniel King (1827-1888) wove this blue and white, tied-Beiderwand, Jacquard coverlet in Wayne Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio in 1848. The centerfield pattern appears to be made up of alternating half-drop rows of stylized “Double Irises” and “Double Potted Plants” that almost extend into one another, unifying the centerfield design. The side borders depict meandering grape vines, while the bottom border shows a meandering hops plant vine. Hops and grapes both being respectively used in the production of beer and wine. The cornerblocks in the lower corners contain the woven inscription, “DANIEL/KING/TUSCAR/AWAS/CO.OHIO/1848.” The warp is composed of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton yarns and a binding warp of Z-spun cotton singles. The weft yarns are 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton and wool yarns. The coverlet measures 82.5 inches by 66 inches and is constructed of two panels stitched together with a center seam. There is self-fringe on the sides of the coverlet and likely along the bottom edge as well. The bottom fringe has been worm away over time.
King was born in Pennsylvania, moving to Tuscarawas County, Ohio by at least 1848, making this coverlet one of his earliest known pieces. He and his wife, Catherine Kenegy lived and worked in Wayne Township until relocating in 1854 to Stark County, Ohio. In 1864, King served in the Union Army during the Civil War, fighting with Company K of the 163rd Regiment of the Ohio Voluntary Infantry.
Abram Allen wove this Jacquard, double-cloth coverlet in Ohio in 1838. Measuring eighty-two inches by seventy-four inches, the coverlet features a stylized tulip, bell-flower, or pear centerfield with bird and tree borders. The side borders also feature a quadrupled sine curve border and the bottom border is made up of a six-fold sine curve. The word Ohio and the date 1838 are woven into two lower corners of the coverlet. Although unsigned, this coverlet can be attributed to Abram Allen and is similar to another coverlet in the NMAH collection (1980.0089.01). This double-cloth coverlet was woven from a combination of two sets of wool and cotton warps that exchange places revealing the pattern and lock the two separate plain weave structures together in a complementary weave structure. Abram Allen was born May 3, 1796, in Ireland. He married Kate Cata Howlan (1800-1866) June 25, 1818, and died June 7, 1867, in Clinton, OH. Coverlet scholar, John Heisey described him as the only man in the county with a flying shuttle, suggesting he owned a broad loom. This makes more sense when considering that the coverlet is one piece rather that center-seamed. Clarita Anderson noted that later in his life, Allen was listed in various census as both a wagon-maker and farmer, suggesting that weaving was only ever a part of his economic activity in Clinton County. Henry Ford Museum in Michigan and the Art Institute of Chicago both possess coverlets in the style of the one held by NMAH.
This blue and white, cotton and wool geometric coverlet 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. The weaver used a pattern most commonly known as "Cup and Saucer" with no border. A woven fringe has been pieced and applied around three edges of the coverlet. The coverlet is constructed from two panels which were woven as one length, cut, and sewn together to create the finished width. Each section is 39.5 inches wide, and the coverlet measures 85 inches by 79 inches. This coverlet descended through the donor’s family and was made in Connecticut between 1790 and 1820.
Figured beiderwand panel, natural off-white linen and green wool. Repeating pattern of human figures, buildings, and trees. Possibly Christian meaning.