Historic Coverlet design

Jennifer Hein 1/28/2016
AIC conference. April 16th to the 20th
.VA
Textiles Specialty Group
textile related poster / short synopsis to the TSG session.
Fakes, Forgeries, & Fabrications—
Vice Chair, Mary W. Ballard, Senior Textiles Conservator,
Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution
4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland MD 20746 U.S.A.
tel: 301-238-1210 fax: 301-238-3709
email ballardm@si.edu
Submitted by
Jennifer Hein ,
Art Institute Online & Purdue Construction Technology Textile Faculty
Interior Textile Product Quality Advisor,
Commercial/ Residential upholstery, drapery, carpet
Historic Object Preservation, Indoor Mold & Pest Specialist
Indianapolis, IN
jhein@iupui.edu, jheinaii.edu
INTRODUCTION
Reproductions & Historic Fabrications Of Coverlets constructed for function and
duplicated from admiration of the original weaver’ s skills
by Jennifer Hein, M.A., M.S. S.U.N.Y.– F.I.T Textile Specialist
Antique and historic textile collections abound with examples
‘influenced by, ’ ‘knock-offs’ and ‘pastiches’ of original designed costume
and textiles. Why should woven bedcovers be any different? This is the
industry standard in retail.
Textiles that are misdated by appraisers are thought of as forgeries. Yet, they
were originally intended as a creative effort that is intentional flattery of the
history of production techniques.
My personal knowledge of a beautiful 1978 reproduction project, completed by
Anne, one of the more exacting students in the Ohio State loom weaving classes
who accomplished it. She had chosen an original pattern and wove her strip
widths similar to an 1830’s overshot historic coverlet. Only the tight evenly
spun yarns from the current spinning machines were the signature of the true
1978 time period.
“All textile technology is a search for a better way to produce a less
expensive copy.”
There are slide archives available at the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian where
designers continue to pull slides of historic print designs to reproduce them

with the latest technology. The same is true for the Fashion Institute of
Technology. For a membership fee designers have access to textile swatches
and original sketches of fashion & textiles.
Sometimes these historic reproductions are more costly to produce than the
original but have less refined details to compensate for the later reproduction
time. It is no doubt that after some time has passed they may incorrectly be
viewed as originals and antiques.
The conservation, history, art and science associated with “textile fabrications”
should focus on the continued study of yarn techniques.
Coverlet Reproductions by Jennifer Hein
Jennifer Hein, M.A.,M.S.,
Textile Quality Advisor
Commercial & Residential Interiors
jhein@ iupui.edu / jhein@aii.edu
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
I have visually inspected a coverlet collection purchased and repurchased through a
deaccession- sale between three Indiana collections in 1996.
In 1974 Pauline Montgomery published a book about Indiana coverlets. Many of these
discussed were originally collected by her husband, Robert and given to the local
Children’s Museum in the early 1970’s. They were then sold in 1996 after a financial
volley back and forth between two other Indiana museum groups, the State museum
and Conner Prarie Historic Village.
Many of the coverlets were thought to be pre 1900, so Conner Prarie, the 1837-67 site
thought it was an important acquisition and a board member found private funding to
purchase the collection from TCM. I was the textile conservator for the state at that
point and our textile curator was very disappointed it was lost to another site, even after
I had advised that it contained many reproductions.
HISTORIC VILLAGES SET UP IN 1930’S
I now live within 10 miles of CP so I volunteered to review these for treatment. After
an exam of a 50 of these coverlets, I believe the set of 90 contains 40% 1930s revival era
reproductions. In the 1930’s the set up of these historic villages and the original
collection guidelines may have inspired these reproductions. Williamsburg and
Deerfield Village along with many historic homes had been set up at this time, while Mr.
Lilly was bequesting his personal property to Conner Prarie.
At this time, there was a search for bedcovers to interpret these settings. Many old
jacquard looms were still in existence in the original counties, some families had kept
reproducing original coverlet patterns after the Civil War into the 1880s. These
interpreted coverlets were made with the best of intentions but are now mixed up with
the originals from the 1790-1850’s. The yarn structure and twist are there to prove
otherwise.
In her book Pauline describes some date issues, she states,
“The Craig-Young coverlets were very similar to those of the Decatur County Craigs in
patterns and borders. Craig & Young also used the courthouse trademark but without

dates. Only by knowing the history of the trademark can one definitely (or can they)
decide which branch of the Craig family wove the coverlet. Apparently the Washington
county relatives used the trademark after the Decatur County Craigs had ceased to
weave it. Unlike the latter, Craig & Young coverlets are often brilliant in color.”
Indiana Coverlet Weavers & Their Coverlets, Pauline Montgomery, p.26.
Coverlet Repros by Jennifer Hein
OTHER REASONS FOR DUPLICATION
A second motivation for later era dates, I will describe as practical Hoosiers. Several of
the examples, I viewed were constructed from 1875-1900 for bedcovers to be used in
practical Hoosier homes. Some of this may be due to the strong northern Amish
influence that surrounds the counties that had been producing coverlets.
I have photo documented, border designs, yarn structure, and pattern similarity. I
have spent volunteer time in the cold months examining segments of this 1996 CP
coverlet acquisition. I hope you are amused.
WEAVING TERMS, DYES & BASIC PATTERN SIMILARITIES
I first documented the 90 object coverlet collection to develop a Power Point visual
presentation for my fabric qualities class in Interior Design at Purdue Construction
technology. This CD presentation covers weavers terms, natural dyes, and basic
design terminology for my textiles class. You may email me for this if you are
interested.
POSTER CONTENTS – Can you find the 1970s repros?
This poster illustrates the visual similarities and differences from decade to decade or
half century.
See if you can identify the 1975-85 reproductions constructed in the Conner Prarie
settlement? I will give you the number clue to this answer later.
There are comparison photos of
 Border jacquard designs
 Geometric overshot coverlets
 Yarn size, twist & ply variants
 Color and dye variants
 finishing techniques that bespeak of the era of reproduction.

COVERLET EXAMINATION SUMMARY Is it real or is it Memorex?
In summary, I do not believe that Fake or Forgery can be applied to coverlets or
to items for the first 5o years after their reproduction. But when they acquire
age as a vintage material, then some collectors can be fooled by “ Fabrications
to pay more than their inherent value. This is more evident in CW flags than
any other textile product.
Only time will tell whether these were worth the going price in these auction
type atmospheres of deaccession of women’s and household objects.
Any Coverlet first constructed for function no matter when the date of duplication is a
valued bedcover. The weaver admired the historic techniques and worked hard to
reproduce this product from admiration of the original weaver’ s skills.
I hope to add my Power Point visual research reference to the NPS Fiber Reference
Image library (FRIL) soon.
Anyone interested in the weaving and influence of technology in our fabric industry may
contact me to discuss this.
Answer to Reproduction Catalog Numbering Search: the 5 place 105 numbers were
the CP reproductions.
Sincerely,

Conner Prarie
Overshot pattern Coverlets,
1830’s Twill blankets
and 1850’s Jacquards
DESIGN PRIMER
Weaves: Twill, Overshot, Jacquard
Natural dyes, design elements…
Photos and text by Jennifer Hein
developed as volunteer 3-05

Textiles can be described with a 5 word description that
includes: color, pattern / design, weave, product
Two Color Twill blanket (household linen)
 1830s undulating twill weave blankets

1835 - Two tone plaid blankets
Tone- (Webster) a tint or shade of a color

Red, White & Blue natural dyed plaid blankets
 RED Natural Dyes:
 Madder- the red
root of this plant is
used in dye.
 cochineal – a red
dye prepared from
the dried bodies of a
tropical insect.
 wool warp and weft

Indigo Blue Undulating Geometric (Overshot) Coverlets
 Indigo dyed wool with cotton warp
 Indigo- (Webster) a blue dye obtained from plants or
manufactured synthetically, a deep violet blue.

White (warp) & Red & Blue (weft) striped Jacquard Coverlets
Warp (Webster) the set of yarns placed lengthwise in the loom.
Weft (Webster) filling, or a woven fabric

Jacquard loom - Schumacher glossary
p.206
 A weaving device that manipulates a series of
perforated cards that are attached to the top of the
loom. The lifting and lowering of the warp that
results makes the most intricate designs possible.
This revolutionary technique was developed in Lyon,
France by Joseph-Marie Jacquard at the turn of the
19th century/ 1810.
 Humphries, Fabric Glossary added,
 Until he succeeded a draw-boy raised the warps at
the weaver’s command for each weft insertion. This
method was invented in China for the high loom used
to weave elaborate patterns in silk.

Red & Indigo Wool with natural cotton warp
Red, White & Blue Jacquards

Motif definition
 A recurring subject,
theme or idea
according to
Webster’s

3 decades of Floral motifs=
generalized botanical flower, leaf and stem

Geometric floral motif (design) blanket
based on an embellished square
with stylized bird or pine tree border motif

Repeat floral motif border Jacquards

Medallion definition-
 A decorative design resembling a medal,
Medallion = a large medal

Two tone Medallion(design) Jacquard(weave)
Coverlets(product)

Floral Medallion Coverlets with repeat
motif borders =medallion & motif

Many Thanks to Conner Prarie for letting
us view part of their Coverlet collection as
a weaving and design primer.
 The photos are 39 of the partial corners
of coverlets and early blankets owned by
 Conner Prarie
 13400 Allisonville Road,
 Fishers, IN 46038
 North east of Indianapolis

Part of all profits will go
directly to the Conner prairie
textile collection Preservation
Fund
Symbolism of
Flowers and early
grammar
Illustrated with
1845-1865 images
from Costume &
Coverlets
Included in the
Conner Prairie
Collection

Lilies, Cornucopia & 1853 corn spray
Wiki describes cornucopia = The cornucopia (Latin: Cornu Copiae) is a symbol of
food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC, also referred to as the food of
worship and holiness, Horn of Amalthea, harvest cone, and horn of plenty. In modern
depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various
kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated
with Thanksgiving and the harvest.

1845 Oak leaf & eagle
Oak leaf = An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus (pronounced
/ˈkwɜrkəs/;[1] Latin "oak tree"), of which about 600 species exist on earth.
Oak leaf cluster, a U.S. military decoration, The rank insignia of Major (US)
and Lieutenant Colonel, as well as Lt Commander and Commander are oak
leaves

Peonies & Conch Shell, South eastern theme
Peony= Paeonia suffruticosa Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae : Angiosperms: Eudicots : Core eudicots Order:
Saxifragales Family: Paeoniaceae Genus: Paeonia
Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are
native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America. Boundaries between species are not clear and estimates of the
number of species range from 25 [1] to 40.[2] Most are herbaceous perennial plants 0.5–1.5 metres tall, but some resemble trees
up to 1.5–3 meters tall. They have compound, deeply lobed leaves, and large, often fragrant flowers, ranging from red to white or
yellow, in late spring and early summer.
For the Pearl S. Buck novel, see Peony (novel).

Water Lily, Conch & Daisies
The phrase water lily is used to describe aquatic plants of the
following families, which have lily pads: Nymphaeaceae
Nelumbonaceae (Nelumbo), also called lotus
Water lily may also refer to: Water Lilies, a famous painting series by
Claude Monet

Palmetto, Grape Vines
South Carolina Theme , Floral centerpiece
Palmetto= Members of several genera of small palms: the genus Sabal (of
Arecaceae (Palm Tree) family), containing species such the Dwarf Palmetto and the
Sabal palmetto, the Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens, Silver saw palmetto
(Acoelorraphe wrightii) Place names: United States Palmetto, Florida , Palmetto,
Georgia, Palmetto, Louisiana, Palmetto, Nevada, a ghost town

Water Lily & Conch
Conch= A conch (pronounced /ˈkɒŋk)[1] is a common name applied to a
number of different species of medium-sized to large sea snails or
their shells, generally those which are large and have a high spire and a
siphonal canal.
True conches are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae,

Wiki describes Urn = An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered and without
handles, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal.
"Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard
were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late
1760s. They went out of fashion in the following decade, in favor of
knife boxes that were placed on the sideboard.
In Classical terms, an urn is a large decorative covered container of
wood, metal, pottery, etc. In furniture, it was a large wooden vase-like
container which was usually set on a pedestal on either side of a side
table.

1846 Values of
Raising Young & the Church

Porcelain Doll
with cloth body
Porcelain= Porcelain is a ceramic material made
by heating raw materials, including clay in the
form of kaolin, in a kiln to a 2,192 °F
temperature. The toughness, strength, and
translucence of porcelain are from the
formation of glass . Porcelain derives its
present name from old Italian porcellana
(cowrie shell) because of its resemblance to
the translucent surface of the shell.[1]
Porcelain can informally be referred to as
"china" in some English-speaking countries, as
China was the birth place of porcelain making.[2

Floral Spray & Paisley ribbon Brocade on 1860s robe
Paisley= Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Indian and
Persian origin. The pattern is sometimes called "Persian pickles" by American
traditionalists, especially quiltmakers,[1] or "Welsh pears" in Welsh textiles .[2]
Resembling a twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is Iranian and Indian in
origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland. [3]

Printed floral spray on dobby “dot” gauze
Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave.
Gauze was originally made of silk and was used for clothing. It is now used for many different
things, including gauze sponges for medical purposes.

Aster spray on ribbon gauze
Aster=Aster (genus), a genus of flowering plants in the family
Asteraceae

Carnation “Nose Gay” with
baby’s breadth

Green Printed floral group,
Daisy, peonie, pansies

Checker board & Red cross cotton print
dress for a Bisque hand &
porcelain head doll.
Bisque= the terms porcelain doll, bisque doll and china
doll are sometimes used interchangeably. But collectors,
when referring to antique dolls, make a distinction
between china dolls, made of glazed porcelain, and
bisque dolls, made of unglazed porcelain.
Check = A checkerboard is an 8×8 board and the 64
squares are of alternating dark and light color, often red
and black. The term checkerboard also denotes any
rectangular square-tiled board. It refers not to a physical
board but to the mathematical abstraction of such a
board.
The adjective checkered refers to the pattern shown in
many locations, such as the checkered flag used to
signify the end of a vehicle race, or the Purina logo.

Carnations =is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm
tall. The leaves are glaucous greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm
long. The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme; they
are 3–5 cm diameter, and sweetly scented; the original natural flower color is
bright pinkish-purple,

Berry Blooms
Berry= is a term for any small edible fruit. These "berries" are usually
juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly colored, sweet or sour, and don't
have a stone or pit, although many seeds may be present.
Many berries, such as the tomato, are edible,

Pansies on Printed Gauze
Pansy=The modern garden pansy had its origin in the Iver, Buckinghamshire,
estate of James, Lord Gambier, whose gardener William Thompson began
about 1813[4] crossing various viola species with Viola tricolor. Pansy violets
are a large group of hybrid plants cultivated as garden flowers.

Coverlet fragment from Fayette Co, IN
Fragment may refer to: A small part/portion broken off something; debris
Fragment (computer graphics), all the data necessary to generate a pixel in
the frame buffer or a Sentence fragment, a sentence not containing a subject
or a predicate.

Stylized 3 color flower
stylized=In geometric abstraction, with a reference to naturalistic
entity. Figurative and representational (or realistic) art often
contains partial abstraction

Half Medallion filled with blooms
Medallion= is generally a circular object that has been sculpted,
molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an
insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering.

Thanks to an Avid Researcher, Michael Begley, this project took shape over
years of exploration.

Credits
• Conner Prairie,
• Allisonville Rd,
• Fishers, IN
• Photos and presentation by
• Jennifer Hein
• Textile Specialist,
• conservatour@msn.com

Historic Coverlet design

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Historic Coverlet design

Similar to Historic Coverlet design (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Historic Coverlet design