The Qopp Family Textiles 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

NUMBER 7 

FRONTISPIECE. View of Salem, Massachusetts, in the mid-eighteenth century. Salem, like the other New England and Atlantic seaports, 

received goods from many parts of the civilized world. Textile materials, shown in the foreground of this engraving by Leizelt, are being 

unloaded onto the wharf for checking and distribution. In spite of our image of Colonial life as being ruggedly independent and selfsufficient, the colonists were not only ready but eager to buy cheaper goods imported from abroad. (Smithsonian photo 70489.) 
The Copp Family Textiles 

Grace Rogers Cooper 

CURATOR, DIVISION OF TEXTILES 

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS 

City of Washington • 1971 
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S. DILLON RIPLEY 

Secretary 

Smithsonian Institution 

COVER ILLUSTRATION: A professional weaver at his loom. From The Panorama of Professions and 

Trades or Every Man's Book by Edward Hazen. Philadelphia, 1836. (Smithsonian Photo S7898-A.) 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $2. 

Stock Number 047-000-00175-1 

Catalog Number SI 1.28 :7 
Qontents 

Page 

Preface vii 

The Copp Family 1 

Catalog of the Copp Household Textiles 3 

Needlework 3 

Quilt Making 3 

Embroidery 9 

Bed Furniture 20 

Bed Linens 25 

Sheets and Pillow Cases 25 

Bed Ticking 29 

Table Linens and Toweling 30 

Tapes and Fringes 35 

Woven Fringes 35 

Netted Fringes 35 

Coverlets and Rug 37 

Imported Fabrics 46 

Textile Manufacture in America in the Eighteenth Century.. 51 

Appendix 60 

Methods Used to Clean and Prepare Textiles 60 

Bibliography 63 
'Preface 

AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION of household textiles, costume items, furniture and 

related family pieces used by the Copp family of Stonington, Connecticut, from 

1750 to 1850, were presented to the United States National Museum in the 1890s 

by John Brenton Copp. The group of household fabrics is a rare cross-section of 

the types of textile materials found and used in a prosperous, but not wealthy, 

New England home of the period. All of the textile items described in this catalog 

were made in or bought for the Copp home at the time of their original manufacture. 

Although it is not uncommon for families to save some treasured items from their 

beloved ancestors, it is far less common to save so much of the more utilitarian 

types of fabrics—ticking by the bolt, handwoven sheets by the dozens, yards and 

yards of fringes—items that many other, more frugal, New Englanders might 

have continued to use throughout the nineteenth century. The Copp descendents, 

primarily John Brenton Copp, appreciated the value and future interest of these 

"everyday," seemingly homely textiles. They were exhibited in the late nineteenth century at centennial celebrations, giving rise to the family dating of so many 

pieces as "1775" or pre-American Revolution. Although many of the textiles 

are not that early, they do represent a most important period of the late eighteenth 

and early nineteenth century. But as significant as the early dating, is the fact that 

such seemingly ordinary items were offered to, and accepted by the Museum over 

seventy-five years ago, thus preserving for the future a realistic picture of family 

possessions of the past.1 

In addition to the general background information, this catalog includes 

considerable technical information about each textile. The decision to make a 

complete technical study of each fabric was made by this division at the time it 

become custodian of the first group of Copp textiles in 1961. These included thirty 

sheets, twenty-four of which were marked with embroidered initials. Since linen 

sheets have a tendency to vary only slightly in appearance, it was theorized that a 

study of the yarns and a yarn count of each sheet might reveal a clue to their 

dating. The embroidered initials did not help much, however. Unfortunately 

for our purposes, the Copps liked certain given names and used them repeatedly in 

successive generations. It was hoped that some conclusions might be drawn as to 

which generation a given sheet might belong by an analysis of the construction. 

Although we were unable to arrive at any conclusion in dating these sheets, the 

information that was gathered from this initial technical study helped us to 

understand better the problems of dating home-woven textiles. To increase the 

value of these textiles to subsequent curators and historians, technical analyses 

were also made for the remaining Copp household textiles as they came into the 

custody of this division. It is hoped that this information will be of continuing use 

1

 A history of the Copp Family and a study of the entire collection of Copp material is in preparation by Mrs. Anne W. Murray, Curator Emeritus, Department of Cultural History, the National Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution. 

Vll 
in comparative studies of other Connecticut or New England textiles of the 

period and also with examples from other geographical regions of the United States. 

The condition of most of the Copp textiles was basically good; they had had 

little or careful use and had been stored with reasonable precautions. However, 

fabrics stored over a long period of time acquire some soiling or discoloration due 

to an acid condition of many storage containers and to the many types of fumes to 

which they are exposed. 

Some of the white textiles were badly discolored. It was decided that for 

continued preservation the cellulose fibers should be put into as near neutral 

condition as could be done safely. The dust-removal and wet-cleaning methods 

used were solely for the purpose of preservation; the resulting improvement in 

appearance was a bonus, but not the primary concern. An italic notation next to 

the catalog number in the entry of each textile indicates whether the item was 

cleaned by our Textile Laboratory. Notes on the cleaning methods used for each 

class of items are summarized in the Appendix. 

For further study a bibliography on pertinent related subjects is included at 

the close of this catalog. 

Portions of the Copp collection have been exhibited in the Museum since 

the 1890s. Most recently the entire collection of household textiles were shown 

for the first time in a special exhibit from March 1968 to March 1970 in the National 

Museum of History and Technology. Many of these items will also be shown in 

the future Hall of Textiles. A number of pieces of furniture and related family 

items are now on exhibition in the Hall of Everyday Life in America and some 

costume items may be seen in the American Costume Gallery on the second floor 

of the National Museum of History and Technology. 

I am greatly indebted to the work of my staff in the preparation of this catalog: 

Miss Rita J. Adrosko, Associate Curator; Miss Doris Bowman, Lace and Needlework Specialist; Mrs. Maureen McHugh, Textile Conservation Specialist; and 

Mrs. Lois Vann, Textile Technician; for their cooperative work in recording the 

technical information. And to Miss Adrosko for the preparation of the brief 

history of the Copp Family and preparation of the excellent special exhibition of 

"The Copp Family Textiles." 

GRACE ROGERS COOPER 

Curator 

Division of Textiles 

vin 
The Qopp Family 

ABSTRACT: At the time this exhibit was proposed, the Copp collection 

of textiles and other family memorabilia, although unique in its scope 

of everyday household textiles, had received little exposure since 

its receipt in the late nineteenth century. The nature of household 

linens, however, made it imperative to take a considerably morethan-superficial look in order to distinguish one white piece from the 

next. Consequently, studies were made on each textile item in the 

collection which are now being published for the first time in this 

catalog. 

In preparing textile items for exhibition, the historical information as to how, why, and where each textile was made is not the 

only element involved in considering them for exhibition. The physical handling of textiles must also receive serious study. Although, 

unlike ceramics, textiles do not break, their preservation is a complex 

problem. Old textiles that are in seemingly good condition can deteriorate from strain in handling, or too much light, or dust. Acid 

transferred from the hands of people touching the fabrics (as in 

hanging or mounting them), improper finishing of exhibition cases, 

overexposure, and heat are additional hazards. Unfortunately, 

many rare and irreplaceable museum textiles have been "lost" in 

the museum due to any one of these factors. Therefore, the methods 

used to meet the problems of cleaning, mounting, and exhibiting 

the Copp Family Textiles have been described in an appendix. 

T H E AUTHOR: Grace R. Cooper is Curator in Charge of the 

Division of Textiles, National Museum of History and Technology. 

She also serves as the Department Editor and Advisor for Textile 

for the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Her textile specialization, although limited to those of American interest, is not confined to 

domestic fabrics but ranges from primitive spinning wheels to sewing 

machines and from printed cottons to thirteen-star flags. 

T H E COPPS WERE CHARACTERIZED by an early men who survived the ordeals of settling in a new 

twentieth-century historian as a family whose land, and lived on to enjoy its rewards, 

"social family life was fully enjoyed, for . . . wit, The first Copp to reach America was William, a 

beauty and culture united [among them] to form 26-year-old London shoemaker who in 1635 set out 

nature's noble men and women."2 They were proba- for the Massachusetts Colony on the good ship 

bly fairly typical of the hardy God-fearing English- Blessing. He landed east of Boston and became the 

first owner of Copp's Hill in north Boston where his 

first wife Judith was later buried. William's son 

2 Grace Wheeler, The Homes of Our Ancestors, p. 43. Jonathan established the Connecticut branch of the 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

family around Stonington later in the seventeenth 

century. Many of his male descendents gained 

comfortable prosperity as merchants and businessmen, while their wives and daughters led full lives 

as mothers of large families in which education and 

refinement were encouraged. 

Storekeeper Daniel Copp's advertisement in a 

1798 newspaper reveals that his stock, covering a 

great variety of goods, was comparable to that of 

many stores of the period. His textiles from Europe 

and India included such basic items as "elegant light 

and dark Chintzes and Calicoes, corded Dimities 

handkerchiefs," as well as "a pleasing assortment of 

Ribbons .. . of all figures" and "a variety of fashionable stockings." Besides imported cloths he "also 

had on hand, groceries of all kinds; snuff . . flour 

. . . excellent dried codfish and crockery which could 

be sold at a very small advance for Cash, or most 

kinds of Country Produce."3 Undoubtedly many of 

these goods found their way into Copp wardrobes 

and larders. 

The long succession of Jonathans, Samuels, 

Catherines, Esters, Marys, and Sarahs makes it 

rather difficult to set in order the generations and 

their contributions to the collection. Although many 

items are marked with finely cross-stitched initials, 

the recurrence of the same given names makes it 

almost impossible to attribute them to specific individuals. Thus, for example, the sheets initialed MC 

could have belonged to Margaret, born in 1727, 

Mary, born in 1745, or Molly (also called Mary), 

born in 1777. 

Among the more colorful Copps was thricemarried Samuel—known as Uncle Sam—who stated 

after taking his third wife, "I married first for love 

and second for her purse, the third for a warming 

pan, doctor and nurse."4 A bolster cover (not illustrated) is identified by the hand-inked name of his 

second wife, B. Chapman, (Betsey), a Norwich, 

Connecticut, woman whom he married in 1844. 

3

 The Connecticut Gazette and the Universal Intelligencer. New 

London, Connecticut: 6 June 1798. 

4

 Grace Wheeler, op. cit. 

A daughter, Phebe Esther, born to his first wife, 

made one of the two samplers (Figure 10). The 

design of this embroidery, made in 1822 when Phebe 

Esther was eight years old, is obviously based on a 

similar sampler made fifty-seven years earlier by 

a relative—possibly a second cousin—whose name 

Esther is embroidered on her sampler (Figure 9). 

Samuel's brother, John Brown Copp, who was 

born in 1779, may also have made a contribution to 

the family's textiles. According to a family story this 

deaf and dumb fellow, a stonemason by trade, was 

gifted with an "artist's mind and eye." It is said 

that he "drew patterns for white bed spreads or 

counterpanes .. . for the young ladies of the neighborhood, who [felt they had to] own one of these 

among their marriage portion. They were made of 

cotton or linen homespun cloth, and embroidered in 

design with white cotton. . . . One or more of these 

can now [1903] usually be found among the treasured 

possessions of almost every old family in town. . . ,"5 

The patterns for the embroidered counterpanes 

(Figures 11, 13, and 16) could have been drawn by 

John Brown Copp, for the above description fits 

them very well and their dating coincides with the 

period in which he would have been active. 

In spite of the fact that at least two Copps— 

Oliver and Daniel—were storekeepers who could 

have supplied most of the family's textile needs, it is 

quite possible that some of the simple cloths, such as 

sheeting and table linens, were handwoven at home 

with yarn spun by women. The Universal Asylum 

and Columbian Magazine in November 1791 stated, 

"There is scarcely a family in the State of Connecticut so rich or so poor as not assiduously to attend to 

domestic manufactures . . . ." Such comments added 

to the family's sense of thrift (seen in their quilt 

shown in Figure 4) and the presence of many willing 

hands made it quite unlikely that the great quantity 

of yardage used — nearly fifty yards in the set of 

checked bed furniture alone—would have been 

purchased. 

RITA J. ADROSKO 

Grace Wheeler, op. cit. 
Qatalog of the Qopp Household Textiles 

NEEDLEWORK 

Quilt ^Making 

IN EARLY NEW ENGLAND quilt making was a matter 

of extreme necessity and practicality. Fabrics were 

precious. The tiniest scraps of fabrics, including 

those that had been used and reused, were saved to 

be pieced together in a hit-or-miss fashion and quilted 

into warm bed covers. 

By the second half of the eighteenth century, the 

heavy exertions required to clear the land and sustain life in the early days of the colony had been 

gradually replaced by less strenous domestic routines. The resulting increase in their free time meant 

that housewives could give more consideration to 

the decorative aspect of such utilitarian concerns as 

quiltmaking. A more plentiful supply of both 

domestic and imported fabrics was available as well. 

Although fabrics were used more extravagantly, to 

the extent of piecing quilts in a definite pattern or 

making a quilt with the entire top of one fabric 

decorated with a quilted design, the old habit of 

thrift was not forsaken. The smallest scraps continued to be saved and used. Worn sheets and blankets often served as linings. The nineteenth century, 

however, brought a progressive disregard for the 

saving ways associated with quilting in the previous 

century. 

The three quilts in this collection represent three 

distinct types, all typical of eighteenth-century 

America—the quilted counterpane, made of a single 

fabric; the pieced quilt in an overall repeated 

pattern, made up of different fabrics; the pieced 

quilt in a single motif design, using different fabrics. 

Quilted counterpane (Figure 1), 100 by 89 inches, 

6

 "Water camblet (also chamblet and camlet), those which after 

weaving receive a certain preparation with water and are then 

passed under a hot press, which gives them smoothness and 

lustre.'" Quoted from Chambers' Cyclopaedia, 1731 edition, in 

James, History of Worsted Manufacture. The sharp creases visible 

in Figure 1 indicate where the folds of the fabric were subjected 

to the hot press. The piece is probably an English fabric. 

top fabric of water camblet,6 indigo, warp and weft 

two-ply Z-twist wool,7 thread count 40 by 39; 

quilted and seamed with two-ply, indigo wool 

thread, S-twist; it is lined with two different natural 

wool fabrics, probably portions of old blankets, one 

with a thread count 41 by 35 of smooth, tight singleply Z-twist yarns. The second blanket, with a thread 

count of 43 by 30 and with the initial C cross-stitched 

to it in dark blue, two-ply S-twist wool thread, is of 

softer single-ply Z-twist yarns and stitched with twoply linen thread, S-twist. The counterpane is interlined with carded wool fibers and bound at the edges 

with the indigo wool fabric stitched to the right side, 

then turned back to the lining and stitched with a 

running stitch. It is quilted in a combination of two 

popular Colonial American patterns, the pineapple 

and tree of life—which in this quilt trails off to a 

flowering vine border—with diagonal ground quilting. It was probably made in the third quarter of the 

eighteenth century. H.6643 

Pieced quilt (Figure 3) 101 by 101 inches, "NinePatch" design. The alternating major pattern 

squares are made up of nine pieces stitched together, 

set with alternating major squares of the same size 

in white to make an overall pattern of intersecting 

7

 The identification of the yarn fiber as wool is based on microscopic examination, as are all other fiber identifications. Twoply indicates that two single yarns have been twisted together. 

Z-twist indicates the direction of the twist to be /, or from right 

to left; S-twist means the direction of the twist is \ , or from left 

to right. The direction of the twist is, therefore, one more characteristic in the identification of a textile. If the term 2/2-ply is 

used, it means that two two-ply yarns have been twisted together. 

In the thread count, the first number refers to the warp yarns 

and the second the weft yarns in one square inch of the textile 

in question. The thread counts are made by averaging a minimum of three places, if the textile is of sufficient size to permit 

this. A slight variance of one or two yarns would not necessarily 

mean that two pieces of like fabric did not come from the same 

loom run. Washing, bleaching, dyeing, and daily use could change 

the thread count to a limited degree if both pieces had not been 

treated in exactly the same manner. There is also more variation 

in the weft count of handwoven fabrics. 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 1.—Quilted counterpane. (Smithsonian photo 3279S-A.) 

diagonal lines. The top is cotton, the printed fabrics 

are in browns. It is pieced with two-ply linen thread 

and quilted with both two-ply linen and two-ply 

cotton thread, with diagonal quilting in the pieced 

squares, and shell quilting in the all-white squares. 

It is lined with linen, probably an old sheet, marked 

in cross stitch D C, perhaps standing for Dolle Copp, 

who was born 1772. The interlining is of carded 

wool; edges are bound with linen stitched with twoply linen thread. Although the wool interlining is 
NUMBER 7 

./-»-- _«*>— r*' -i-c .. l*.r*-rj 

7^ZZ^rSr////y?~ 

3c*-

FIGURE 2.—Detail of Figure 2, showing center pineapple 

design. (Smithsonian photo 61288-B.) 

5 

more typical of an earlier period, the dark ground 

prints used would indicate that this quilt was made in 

the late eighteenth century. H.6679 

Pieced quilt (Figure 4), 83 by 85 inches, variation 

of the "Framed Medallion" design. The medallion 

is made up of a group of five 2^-inch patches pieced 

in the "Variable Star" pattern, surrounded by five 

rows of patches of the same size, with the initial 

frame in a two-inch "Chained Square" pattern. 

(The variety of dress fabrics used in this quilt are 

worthy of note and will be described separately.) 

The major part of the top is stitched with two-ply 

linen thread, the blue border is pieced with two-ply 

blue cotton thread; part of the linen lining is an old 

sheet marked H V; the lining is seamed with both 

two-ply linen and two-ply cotton thread. The quilt 

was probably made about 1795 or a little later. 

H.6680 

The fabrics in the quilt shown in Figure 4 are 

quite unusual because of both their condition and 

pattern variety. Although they play an inconspicuous part in the overall effect, at least nine different 

white fabrics appear in the top—five dimities and 

two each of plain cotton and plain linen. There are 

three different woven silk and linen stripe patterns, 

in blue and white, red and white, and yellow and 

white. The greatest treasure trove, however, is the 

variety of printed dress fabrics—at a conservative 

count over 150—dating from the 1770s-1790s. It 

is hard to believe that such a variety could represent 

the fabrics of a single household, even with many 

friends and access to a dry goods store, over a span 

of two generations. This goodly selection gives some 

idea of the great number of printed dress goods that 

were in use in a single community in eighteenth 

century America.8 

There are three major groupings of printed fabrics 

in this quilt: all linen; cotton and linen; and all 

cotton. Only a half dozen or more are in the first two 

categories; the remaining ones are all cotton. A 

sampling of each is illustrated. The photographs 

illustrate the frugality of the times, when even 

very small pieces of fabric were stitched together to 

make a unit. The smallest piece in the quilt is y2 by 

VA by yi inch. The photographs reproduce the fabric 

pattern at about three quarters actual size. 

FIGURE 3. —Pieced quilt, "Nine-Patch" design. (Smithsonian 

photo 61291-1.) 

8

 In 1784, John Lord Sheffield in his Observations on the Commerce of the American States (p. 40), stated that after woolens, 

linens, and cutlery, "Printed Callicoes and other printed goods" 

accounted for the largest volume of articles imported into the 

American states. 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 4.—Pieced quilt, variation of the "Framed Medallion" design. (Smithsonian photo 6535.) 
NUMBER 7 

StfK<dlf 

2JEyf-''' '-£ 

< -or v 

% jl 

1 alb \ 

» M M 

FIGURE 5.—Block printed 

fabrics used in quilt 

shown in Figure 4. 

a, Linen, b, c, d, Linen 

and cotton. e,f, k, 

Cotton, g, Resist cotton. 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 6.—Quilted dressing table cover. (Smithsonian photo 61668-A.) 

Linen (Figure 5), block-printed in two shades of 

brown on natural color linen, stippled ground; thread 

count warp 40 (Z-twist) and weft 32 (Z-twist); 

probably English, 1780s. The other printed linens 

are of the same general style, printed primarily in 

browns with small amount of red, with stippled 

grounds. Their thread counts vary from 40 to 48 in 

the warp and from 28 to 40 in the weft; one is a 

balanced fabric. 

Linen and cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in 

brown and gold on a natural color ground with an 

overall stipple pattern similar to above; thread 

count linen warp 52 (Z-twist) and cotton weft 54 

(S-twist); probably English of the 1780s. 

Linen and cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in 

browns on white; thread count linen warp 40 

(Z-twist) and cotton weft 24 (S-twist); possibly 

American of the 1770s. 

Linen and cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in red, 

brown, yellow, and tan on white. Stippling on the 

white stripe is in red; thread count linen warp 40 

(Z-twist) and cotton weft 28 (S-twist); possibly 

American of the 1780s. 

Cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in a red stripe 

with an overprint of dark brown serpentine pattern 

on a white ground; thread count 44 (Z-twist) and 

28 (S-twist); three blue threads in the selvedge indicate an English cotton of post-1774; the weft has 

only a very slight twist and was probably spun on a 

jenny rather than on an Arkwright spinning frame 

as was the warp. This is one of several prints in the 

quilt having remaining selvedges with the bluethread clue. 

Cotton, (Figure 5) block-printed in an Indian 

mound-of-earth design in yellow, red, and green on 

a white ground; thread count 54 (Z-twist) and 52 

(S-twist); probably French of the 1780s. 

Cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in a resist snail 

shell design, indigo dyed; thread count 68 (Z-twist) 

by 53 (S-twist); probably an Indian cotton, possibly 

printed in America in the 1780s; the fabric was used 

for the wide outside border of the quilt; it shows 

signs of earlier usage and was probably a dress 

originally. 

Cotton (Figure 5), block-printed in a small flower 

and rosebud sprigged design in brown outline with 

red flowers and yellow leaves; thread count 60 

(Z-twist) by 55 (S-twist); probably French, 1780s; 

fabric used in one of the dresses in the Costume 

collection. 
NUMBER 7 

FIGURE 7.—Quilted dressing table cover. (Smithsonian photo 61668.) 

Quilted dressing table or toilette cover (Figure 6)9, 

44 by 2A-}4 inches; cotton top, thread count 128 by 

104 both single-ply Z-twist yarns; cotton lining, 

thread count 48 by 41 single Z-twist yarns; quilted 

with three-ply S-twist cotton thread; the quilting 

pattern in a flower basket with a semicircular wreath 

in back stitch and "stuffed work," a padding accomplished by forcing a thick soft cotton yarn or 

fibers, as appropriate, through the lining fabric in the 

areas of the design. Fabric was added to both ends 

after the original was in use. It was probably made 

about 1825. Cleaned T. 67-162. H.6549. 

Quilted dressing table cover (Figure 7), 33 ^ by 

20}4 inches; cotton top, thread count 92 by 74, both 

single-ply Z-twist yarns; cotton lining, thread count 

42 by 37 single-ply Z-twist yarns; quilted with twoply S-twist cotton thread. The quilting pattern is a 

flower basket with a semicircular wreath in back 

stitch and "stuffed work." Probably made about 

1825. Cleaned T-67-161. H.6589 

9

 Although items such as this are sometimes catalogued in 

museums as bureau covers, contemporary references list similar 

objects as dressing table or toilette covers. 

Dressing table cover (Figure 8), 35 inches by 20}4 

inches; made from an earlier piece of embroidered 

muslin, thread count 52 by 48, single-ply cotton, 

embroidered in pulled work, chain stitch, running 

stitch, satin stitch in three-ply S-twist cotton and 

two-ply S-twist linen. Cotton fabric, 148 by 112, 

with portions cut away to show the main part of the 

pot-of-flowers design of the early piece superimposed 

about 1820; additional embroidery in three-ply 

S-twist cotton through both fabrics. The early 

embroidery was probably made during fourth quarter of eighteenth century, the dressing table cover 

was made about 1820. Cleaned T-67-32. H.6593 

Embroidery 

As soon as time permitted, the need for beauty 

and self-expression led the Colonial housewife to 

decorate her household fabrics. The implement that 

she used was the needle. Girls were taught to embroider quite early and each dutifully worked her 

sampler. As a housewife, long hours of sewing and 

213-261 0-76- 2 
10 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

-—_—*~ /*—. 

^^ESSK^ " 

* ';:i<*S?3>-

m— 

FIGURE 8. —Dressing table cover of embroidered muslin. (Smithsonian photo 61291-G.) 

mending gave her the proficiency that helped her to 

be artistic. Patterns were few and were frequently 

copied from earlier works. By the eighteenth century 

there emerged a fresh and charming quality to the 

embroideries produced in this country that could 

be identified as "American." 

Sampler (Figure 9), 11 by 13^2 inches. Multicolor 

silk embroidery in tent stitch, eye stitch, and crossedcorners cross stitch on a linen ground, thread count 

36 by 39 Z-twist. It shows alphabets, numerals, 

flowers, tree and verse, "Better it is to be of an 

humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil 

with the proud." Marked "Esther Copp her sampler 

made in the eleventh year of her age August AD 

1765." H.6590 

Sampler (Figure 10), 2\fA by \6}4 inches; multicolor silk embroidery in the same stitches as the 

eighteenth-century one in Figure 16, on a linen 

ground, thread count 29 by 31 Z-twist. The width of 

the sampler is a full fabric width, selvedge to selvedge; the design was obviously inspired by the 

earlier sampler, with the addition of a typical nineteenth century multiple border. In addition to the 

earlier verse the following were added, "Let the 

sweet work of prayer and praise employ my youngest 

breath, Thus I'm prepared for longer days or fit for 

earlier death" and "This work I did to let you see, 

What care my parents took of me." Marked "Phebe 

Esther Copp aged 8 1822." H.6591 

Embroidered counterpane (Figure 11), 104 inches 
NUMBER 7 11 

FIGURE 9.—Sampler, 1765. (Smithsonian photo 27466.) 
12 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

« „-^, ^' -J*it /**-< v*-' •**•* ""^; »rSi >" • J-»v ^*ii ^/^ r*2* 5 

___^--^ ^ il1 

ffi*g^^ 

FIGURE 10.—Sampler, 1822. (Smithsonian photo 27467.) 

long by 98 ^ inches wide. The ground fabric is 

corded cotton

 10

 with a linen warp, fabric width 33 ^ 

inches, weft of 10 to 13 medium weight yarns between single heavy wefts, thread count 46 by 48. 

It has a floral design with swag and tassel border 

couched

 u in heavy soft two-ply linen thread. There 

are traces of cut ends of two-ply linen thread on 

both the sides and bottom edges indicating that the 

counterpane probably had a fringe originally. Probably made in the second half of the eighteenth 

century. H.6664-B 

10

 Most "cotton" fabrics produced in Europe and America 

before the end of the eighteenth century were woven on a linen 

warp. See chapter on textile manufactures in the eighteenth 

century. 

11

 Couching is the technique of laying one yarn or thread on 

the surface of a fabric and stitching it in place with a second 

thread. The use of cotton on the surface with linen used as the 

stitching thread is a good indication that it predates the machine 

spinning of cotton. 

Embroidered counterpane (Figure 13), 94 inches 

long by 82 inches wide with four-inch fringe on sides 

and bottom. The ground fabric is corded cotton, 

with a weft of six fine yarns with one heavy and one 

fine yarn thrown together at each seventh pick, 

fabric width 27/28 inches, thread count 34 by 49. It 

is embroidered in a pineapple pattern

 n with pot of 

flowers and running floral border in candlewicking

 13 

in a knotted stitch. It is seamed with two-ply linen 

and also with two-ply cotton thread, hemmed with 

two-ply linen thread. A cotton netted fringe was 

stitched on with two-ply cotton thread. Probably 

made about 1800. H.6644-C 

12

 This pineapple pattern is very similar to the one in the 

quilted counterpane shown in Figure 1. 

13

 Heavy, soft twist, two-ply cotton yarn. 
NUMBER 7 13 

'iy.-i 

ifA mwm m 

I \ > Wv

^:--^ .^'ufA^W. .(\1|/) A A,V\\L '• /7 t : / A1 • 

A-,1A ,

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A 

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n 

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' » 

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w I ift& 

6 » v '<: 

i' ;• c. iw'j I'M. "3, '• ft c 

A. 

FIGURE 11. —Embroidered counterpane. (Smithsonian photo 61288-C.) 
14 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

A#J^ A A A: 

•s-i ••%-. 

FIGURE 12. — Detail, showing corner of counterpane in Figure 11. (Smithsonian photo 61287-B.) 
NUMBER 7 15 

FIGURE 13. —Embroidered counterpane with fringe. (Smithsonian photo 61289.) 
16 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

!!*& * 

,c. 

%, 

m. 

/ 

M 

'-•-*)> J

^,. 

is « \ 

t -

V 

•

<

-

;

bA.., 

FIGURE 14.—Detail, 

showing central 

pot-of-flowers 

design on counterpane 

in Figure 13. 

(Smithsonian 

photo 61288-F.) 

Embroidered counterpane (Figure 16), 94 inches 

long by 87 inches wide; the ground fabric, corded 

cotton, weft of eleven fine yarns with one heavy and 

one fine yarn thrown together at each twelfth pick, 

fabric width 30 inches with some variation up to 

half an inch, thread count 38 by 39. Embroidered in 

a geometric

 14

 and floral design with a swag and 

14

 Most of the embroidered counterpanes of this type that 

have geometrical aspects to their design were inspired by the 

tufted woven counterpane designs. Concerted effort was made to 

follow the line of the warp and the weft, in contrast to the 

freedom the embroiderer was at liberty to exercise. The few 

dated ones on record run from 1819 to 1823. Although this Copp 

counterpane might be a little earlier, the compact feeling of the 

design would lead one to believe that it is of this period or a 

little later. 

tassel border in candlewicking in a knotted stitch 

with the initials E C in the center; seamed and 

hemmed with two-ply cotton thread. Possibly designed by John Brown Copp

 15

 and made in the first 

quarter of the nineteenth century. Cleaned T.69-43. 

H.6644-A 

Apron (Figure 19), 32 ^ inches long by 47 inches 

wide; plain weave sheer linen, single-ply Z-twist 

yarns in warp and weft, thread count 54 by 46. 

White on white embroidery in satin and stem stitch 

with pulled work, executed in two-ply S-twist linen 

15

 John Brown Copp is known to have drawn patterns for 

white counterpanes for the young ladies of Stonington. Grace 

Wheeler, Op. cit. (footnote 5). 
4v 

17 

<v\ i At 

llfl 

nw 

in / \i# 

S# 

if J &v<Wi 

I s 

s \m 

Vft'W 

V 

in F /4 I 

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>$W| u < W^< J?i \ A^i< 

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ill ^ 

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OLTC 

<*., 

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zstfi. •Hi^^^^^-^S£^,^M^-^-^^. .^.i:-^ ••- •-." 

2 ^4*p^^-'--;'-^^^^^w.^ i. ^ v ....t;^--. 

FIGURE 15.—Corner detail of counterpane shown in Figure 13. (Smithsonian photo 61288-E.) 
18 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

1 >-->-7§ i ;>-/rfei, V?^AA:• n ^ A^s^^iw••• Wl m r 1^& 

4I/4K E $ A'V, \v M #1% ^ «NA< .. ft &##^i j * 

*J © >;•!>> - ; , M..vnm4 , lift,,,:,"&* £ **,»! 

'! ffe§ 

\ 

, > ^- c >> i • . i ' • 

W \ I v

 l)J A . m:m\ 0 immii' # Aif*'"• & / -

••Iy^NA#.. i [t 

r ',„ AA, ,A *%i $ I y.lil 

i

j

# wmm -m^ •^••4% $&4 

if -yf i "-v...,..-.. * ,!l4; - < ;/i|t. ,iit - * ,,i „\v 

FIGURE 16.—Counterpane embroidered in candlewicking. (Smithsonian photo 61289-A.) 
NUMBER 7 19 

;^ifiS*SSiSBS£aB3Bfi«SBS&BiiS 

j g a 

•ma ijtrfir r^BarafiTilcw 

-., .-

FIGURE 17.—Detail of ground fabric from 

counterpane in Figure 16. (Smithsonian 

photo 61289-B.) 

Kf%~ ' 

m, fit ^Y^^^s^: 

FIGURE 18.—Side and corner detail of counterpane shown in Figure 16. 

(Smithsonian photo 61288-D.) 

FIGURE 19.—Embroidered apron. (Smithsonian photo 61289-C.) 
20 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

thread in an all-over floral sprig pattern with a 

running floral border on the bottom and two sides. 

Hemmed on four sides with two-ply S-twist linen 

thread; ground fabric probably imported, apron 

probably made and embroidered in the third quarter 

of the eighteenth century. Cleaned T.67-84. 

H.6650-A 

Muslin (Figure 21), probably originally the skirt 

of a dress but bearing the holes and tears that would 

result from its later use as a window curtain, 35 ^ 

inches long by 100 inches wide, two widths of fabric 

stitched to form width; plain weave sheer cotton, 

single-ply Z-twist yarns in warp and weft, thread 

count 62 by 58. White on white embroidery, flowers 

and other motifs in two-ply cotton chain stitch, 

small dots two-ply linen satin stitch, inner scalloped 

border two-ply cotton chain stitch, outer scalloped 

border two-ply linen buttonhole stitch, jagged border 

in two-ply cotton chain stitch with two-ply linen 

crescents and dots. Seamed with the same linen 

thread, later mends of six-cord cabled cotton thread; 

ground fabric probably imported from India, muslin 

probably embroidered about 1800. Cleaned T.67-83. 

H.6650-B 

BED FURNITURE 

In the eighteenth century the term "bed furniture" 

was used to mean the hangings and outer textiles 

used on a bed: valance, tester, curtains, head cloth 

or curtain, counterpane, and flounce. The curtains 

kept out drafts, and the full ensemble served as a 

status symbol and often brought color to the parlor 

in which it might be located, or to the simply appointed bed chamber. 

There are three sets, or partial sets, of eighteenthcentury bed furniture in the Copp collection. The 

earliest is a partial set made of a wool and linen 

fabric with an embossed design. The second and 

third sets are of linen; one a partial set of white and 

the other a full set of blue and white checks. In 1794, 

Henry Wansey, an Englishman visiting America, 

wrote, "At one house where I stopped, a young 

woman told me that . . . the check window curtains 

were her own making, of flax raised, dressed, and 

mi 

' A 

/'• \ •• 

A 

'<'• i 

'" '. 

( 

'•.\ A •'' • 

-

:j"V'4>A: 

%i"%: A ^fc 

•i 

FIGURE 20.—Corner detail of apron shown in Figure 

19. (Smithsonian photo 61291-E.) 

•; j| | t 

r::p'f AS ... 

|B|I| 

!

-.- A -s'"- - ^ - mm^atim^^ 

FIGURE 21. —Detail of a piece of embroidered muslii 

(Smithsonian photo 61287-F.) 
NUMBER 7 21 

MbJCn aBBZPWflKSO! 

FIGURE 22.—Bed hangings illustrated in woodcut from Little Ann, published in 1825 by The 

Religious Tract Society. (Smithsonian photo 74414.) 
22 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 24. — Detail of embossed fabric design on bed curtains 

in Figure 23. (Smithsonian photo 60792.) 

FIGURE 23.—Wool and linen bed curtains. (Smithsonian 

photo 65548.) 

spun by herself and sister, as well as the bed-furniture 

of the house."

 16 

Valance and four bed curtains (Figures 23 and 24) 

valance 76 inches long by 12 inches high (one side 

section), the curtains are from 78 to 79^ inches in 

length by 32, 32)4, 64, and 64 ^ inches in width; the 

fabric resembles a camlet in appearance but has a linen 

warp and a wool weft, rather than being all wool; 

the ribbed appearance is achieved by the use of 

thicker weft yarns; the width of the fabric is 32 to 

32/A inches. The surface is embossed

 17

 with a largescale, bisymmetrical, stylized floral motif arranged 

within ogival forms the full width of the fabric and 

with a 36-inch vertical repeat; the embossing produces dull-finish figures on a glazed ground. The 

original color—visible under the binding—was a 

bright coral but during use has faded to a dull gold 

or snuff" color. The edges are bound with a narrow 

silk ribbon also faded to a dull gold. All the pieces 

are stitched with two-ply, S-twist linen thread, the 

valance is lined with buckram; the wide curtains 

have fifteen hand-wrought metal rings (three missing 

on one) and the narrow curtains have seven and 

16

 Henry Wansey, "An Excursion to the United States of 

America in the Summer of 1794," England, 1798; as quoted in 

Cummings, Bed Hangings, p. 43. 

17

 Embossed designs were applied by the use of engraved 

cylinders, the fabric was termed "figured" or "flowered" depending on the design. An embossing machine with an engraved roller 

is illustrated in the Diderot Encyclopaedia, 1763, volume 4 of 

Plates, plate 2. 
NUMBER 7 23 

K n 

FIGURE 25.—Detail showing fringed valance from set of white 

linen bed curtains. (Smithsonian photo 61290-D). 

eight respectively. The style of the embossed design 

is reminiscent of a simplified version of a late seventeenth or early eighteenth-century damask; the 

fabric is judged to be mid-eighteenth-century imported from England and probably made into the 

bed furniture by the Copps at Stonington H.6648 

A-E 

Valance and three bed curtains (Figure 25), 

valance 22 ^ feet long made up of eight widths of 

34-inch white linen woven of single-ply Z-twist yarns; 

the bed curtains, of the same fabric, measure 80 to 

81 inches long —the single width curtain is 3234 

wide and the two double curtains are 64 and 65 

inches in width, each complete with linen tape loops. 

The 16><-inch valance is finished with a netted 

fringe of two-ply S-twist cotton knotted in groups of 

four with a looped trim of tied and cut yarns. The 

fringe is stitched to the linen fabric with two-ply 

S-twist linen thread, while single-ply Z-twist linen 

thread was used to stitch the overcast seams. The 

set is judged to be very late eighteenth century; the 

fabric may have been spun and woven by the Copp 

family. Cleaned T.68^. H.6649 A-C (Bed curtains). Cleaned T.67-160. H.6665 {Valance) 

Complete set of Bed Furniture (Figure 27), in blue 

and white linen check with a repeat approximately 

2^4 by 2^4 inches, each repeat consists of blue and 

white yarns arranged in the following order in both 

the warp and the weft: twelve blue, six white, two 

blue, two white, two blue, forty-eight white, two 

blue, two white, two blue, six white, and twelve 

blue, which balance the check and are the beginning 

of the next repeat; the solid white squares are approximately \yi inches and the solid blue squares 

about 2^ °f

 a n mc n m dimension. The fabric width 

is thirty-four inches, but of course varies slightly. 

It is woven of single-ply linen yarns; the thread 

count varying from a warp of forty-three in some 

pieces to a warp of fifty-two in others, the weft is 

more consistently in the mid-40s; such a variation in 

the warp count would indicate that more than one 

warp was set up—as would be the need for the 

approximately fifty yards of check to make the 

complete set. The unlined counterpane measures 101 

by \02}4 inches and is made up of three widths of 

the fabric, with a simple 2^-inch blue-and-white 

woven linen fringe on three sides. There are five 

pieces to the bed curtains: a head curtain approximately 68 inches square made of two widths, two 

side curtains approximately 86 by 51 inches, and 

two side-end curtains (that come together at the 

center foot of the bed) approximately 86 by 83 inches. 

There are six linen loops on the narrow side curtains 

FIGURE 26.—Detail of tape loop from white linen bed 

curtains. (Smithsonian photo 61981.) 
24 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 27. — Bed curtains, bed cover, valance and window curtain in room setting. 

(Smithsonian photo 74646.) 

and eleven on the wide ones. The head curtain has 

evidence of threads possibly from the stitching of 

eight loops, although it might have been tacked as it 

would not have been necessary to slide the head 

curtain. The valance is 15 inches deep and measures 

about 375 inches in length, which is just enough to 

give it a slight gathered fullness. There are casings 

one inch and seven inches from the top edge which 

has a one-quarter-inch hem (as does the bottom 

edge), which indicate that the valance was probably 

meant to be tacked from the tester frame of the bed. 

There are four pair of window curtains, each pair 

stitched together at the top for a length of about 

fourteen inches. The curtains vary in length from 

68 to 70}4 inches and in width from 48 to 50— 

each panel is therefore about 24 inches wide. There 

is a one-quarter-inch casing two inches from the top 

to carry the supporting cord, which probably was 

tied to nails on either side of the window. All the 

curtains are finished with one-eighth-inch hem 

except where a selvedge is left as the finished edge. 

The last piece (use unknown) measures 18 by 16 ^ 

inches and is made up of two pieces stitched together 

with a length of the fringe stitched to the surface to 

form a 16-inch circle. The edges of the piece are very 

poorly finished, indicating that they were probably 

not supposed to be seen. All the pieces are stitched 

with two-ply, S-twist linen thread. This set of bed 

furniture was probably made by the Copps in the 

late eighteenth century; the fabric may have been 

woven by them also. Cleaned T.68-30, T.68-31, 

T.68-32. H.6647 (A-L) 
NUMBER 7 25 

BED LINENS 

Sheets and billow Qases 

Before the machine spinning and weaving of 

cotton, linen was the fabric used for those items in 

the household that required frequent washing. 

Linen could be spread in the sun and bleached; it 

was strong and durable and more readily processed 

by hand. The sheets, pillow cases, bolster covers, 

mattress and pillow ticks—all made of linen until 

the late eighteenth century—constituted the "bed 

linens." Since these items are very simple in construction, except for markings of initials or numbers 

and variations in size, they are extremely difficult to 

date. Even the fiber content of the fabric or thread 

offers a limiting date only in one direction. With the 

goodly number in the Copp collection it was hoped 

that some positive evidence would emerge from the 

technical examination of the thirty sheets and seventeen pillow cases. Twenty-four of the thirty sheets 

were marked with cross-stitched initials. Five are 

illustrated in Figure 28. This helped, but still only 

in a limited way. If every female through the Copp 

generations had had a first name with a different 

initial, more positive conclusions might have been 

formed. The practice of naming girls after their 

mothers, grandmothers, and aunts limited the 

accuracy of positively attributing one set of crossstitched initials even to one generation. 

Although one cannot draw any positive dating 

conclusions from the style of the linen markings, some 

clues are offered. One author of the early nineteenth 

century suggests at least a half a dozen ways of 

marking linens. If similar instructions were followed 

by the Copp ladies, we can judge the significance of 

the initials from their position. "In placing the letters 

and figures 18 observe the following order: If only 

the initial (or first letter) of the surname is to be 

marked, place the figure directly under it; thus, 

If the initials of the surname and Christian name, 

B C 

place the figure below and in the middle, thus 

[Most of the Copp sheets and pillow cases are marked 

in this style, with and without the numbers.] 

If there are two Christian names and surname for 

one person, thus 

D E F. 

If table linen, sheets, etc., are 

to be marked with the names of a married pair, 

place the initial of the gentleman's Christian name 

to the left; that of the lady to the right; that of 

the surname at top, and the number below; thus 

I 

GH. 

4 

If the date is to be added, let it be placed below all, 

thus, 

J K L 0 

5 or M N."W 

1826 1826 

All the marked Copp linens fall within these instructions except one sheet which has the number above 

the letters. None are marked with three letters in a 

line. But two of the sheets and one pillow case are 

marked with three initials, in the style designated 

as bearing the gentleman's Christian name on the 

left, the lady's on the right and the surname above, 

thus 

C 

SD. 

In checking some Copp genealogies

 20

 we find that 

the Samuel Copp born in 1743 married Dolle (Dolly) 

Brown on 7 December 1769. This seems to be the 

only male S Copp that married a lady with a given 

name beginning with D. One can fairly safely assume, 

since none of the physical characteristics of the 

linens belie this, that these were made by Dolle 

Brown Copp, and most probably for her trousseau or 

early in her married life. 

Other sheets and pillow cases are marked with the 

initials D C, P C, E C, and M C. Our judgments as 

to whom these might have belonged are offered 

below. This is not a genealogical study, however, so 

there will be no attempt to give a family tree of the 

Copps. Several good references are included in the 

footnotes and bibliography, for those who wish to 

pursue this aspect. 

Four of the sheets are marked D C. Samuel and 

Dolle Brown Copp had a daughter Dolly (Dolle), 

born in 1772, who married Jacob Brewster in 1794. 

Sheets that she made before her marriage might have 

18

 It was quite common to embroider a number with the initials; 

this enabled the housewife to use the sheets in rotation,allowing 

the wear to be distributed throughout the holdings of the bed 

linens. 

19

 Esther Copley, "Marking Linens,'' The Young Servants' 

Friendly Instructor (London, 1827), p. 85. Books by this author 

were also published in America. 

20

 Copp genealogies listed in the bibliography. 

213-261 O - 76 
26 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 28.—Marked bed sheets. (Smithsonian photo 

61302.) 

been marked D C. One of the sheets might have been 

made before 1794 by her or her mother. The other 

three sheets are seamed with three-ply machine-spun 

cotton thread and, on two, the initials are worked 

in light blue machine-spun cotton thread. Cotton 

thread spun by hand was neither fine nor strong 

enough to be used as sewing thread. Machine-spun 

cotton was not produced in New England before the 

early 1790s. Although it was produced in England 

earlier, it was not twisted into sewing thread at that 

time. Machine-spun cotton was reported to have 

been twisted into sewing thread in Pawtucket, 

Rhode Island, by Samuel Slater's wife in 1794, but 

it was not commercially produced by the Slater 

Mills until early in the nineteenth century.21 

It would be too much to assume that daughter 

Dolle acquired some of Mrs. Slater's thread in 1794 

when it was first produced and seamed three sheets 

before she was married later in the year. Although 

it is possible that these sheets were made by Dolle 

Brown Copp, it is unlikely. They were probably 

made in the early nineteenth-century by another 

D C whose name has been lost. 

Six sheets are marked P C with and without 

numbers. Polly Copp was born in the 1780s. It is 

quite likely that these sheets were part of her dowry. 

Three of them are embroidered with the 4, 5, and 6; 

the other three are not numbered. One sheet is 

seamed and hemmed with two-ply linen thread; one 

sheet is seamed and hemmed with three-ply cotton 

thread; the other four sheets are seamed with threeply cotton and hemmed with two-ply linen. These 

are all judged to be of the early nineteenth century. 

Two sheets are marked E C. The initials are embroidered in blue linen. The hems and center seams 

are stitched in two-ply linen thread. Since there 

were a number of Copp girls with first names beginning with "E " (Elizabeth, Esther, and so forth), it 

is difficult to establish to which these sheets belonged 

originally. However, there is nothing in the component parts to prevent them from having been 

made by Esther Copp, born in 1754, who made the 

1765 sampler. The sheets would probably have been 

made about 1770. 

The ten sheets marked M C were attributed by 

the family as having been made by Mary Copp. 

There were many Mary Copps and an equal number 

of Margarets and Marthas. All but one of the sheets 

are seamed in the center with either two-ply or 2 /2-

ply linen thread. One is seamed with three-ply 

cotton. Two of the sheets, a pair, have the numbered 

M C 

monogram 22 

embroidered in blue linen thread. 

21

 Grace R. Cooper, Appendix "Cotton Thread, Historical 

Notes, " The Invention of the Sewing Machine (United States 

National Museum Bulletin 254, Washington, D.C, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968), p. 135. 

First, it is important to note that usually two sheets 

bore the same number, that is, the sheets were numbered by pairs; second, the number 22 indicates the 

quantity of sheets that a well-stocked linen closet 

would contain. The remaining sheets are embroidered 

in an orange-brown silk, and there are a marked 

pair of 5s, a 6, a 7, a pair of 8s, and a pair of lis. 

All the sheets, marked and unmarked, are included 

in the following chart. (Table 1). 

There are seventeen pillow cases in the collection 

M C . 

of bed linens. The pair of sheets have a pair of 

matching marked pillow cases. They are made of the 

same fine linen, but of even finer quality than the 

others, and are embroidered in the same blue linen 

thread. There are four linen twill tapes stitched at 

the open end of each pillow case, which were used as 

closing ties to keep the pillow in proper position. 
NUMBER 7 27 

TABLE 1. —Sheets. 

Center Seam Thread Hem Thread 

Ply File Ply Fibe 

Sheet 

Dimensions 

{in inches) 

9034 x 69 

93 x 6934 

9434 x 69% 

8634 x 72 

89% x 6534 

9334 x 69% 

92% x 69 

91 x 68% 

92 x 70 

91% * 68% 

90% x 66 

93 x 69 

93 x 68% 

92 x 71 

91 x 7034 

93 x 58% 

9034 x 70 

91 x 70 

91% x 70 

92% x 71 

93 x 70 

90% x 70% 

96 x 71 

92 x 71 

88 x 68% 

88 x 71 

89 x 68% 

9034 x 70 

92 x 70 

98 x 71M 

Thread 

Count 

{warp x weft) 

45 x 50 

51 x 53 

50 x 54 

43 x 43 

52 x 60 

43 x 49 

45 x 48 

46 x 44 

44 x 48 

45 x 50 

48 x 55 

60 x 69 

60 x 73 

44 x 45 

45 x 48 

37 x 45 

44 x 46 

45 x 49 

43 x 47 

43 x 47 

44 x 51 

50 x 50 

49 x 50 

49 x 50 

36 x 37 

44 x 43 

36 x 36 

44 x 46 

43 x 39 

50 x 51 

Identifying 

Marks 

M C 

6 

E C 

E C 

D C 

C 

S D 

C 

S D 

P C 

4 

— 

— 

7 

M C 

M C 

22 

M C 

22 

M C 

11 

M C 

8 

M C 

5 

M C 

M C 

11 

P C 

P C 

P C 

6 

P C 

5 

D C 

D C 

D C 

M C 

5 

P C 

Cleaned 

T.67.91 

T.67.122 

T.67.135 

T.67.123 

T.67.100 

T.67.101 

T.67.115 

T.67.142 

T.67.97 

T.67.128 

T.67.90 

T.67.85 

T.67.86 

T.67.131 

T.67.116 

T. 

T.67.90 

T.67.95 

T.67.129 

T.67.98 

T.67.121 

T.67.118 

T.67.132 

T.67.94 

T.67.119 

T.67.133 

T.67.89 

T.67.134 

T.67.137 

T.67.120 1 

Catalog 

Number 

6667-B 

6667-G 

6667-D 

6667-T 

6667-K 

6667-B 1 

6667-1 

6667-F 1 

6667-S 

6667-U 

6667-E 

6667-A 

6667-P 

6667-X 

6667-L 

6667-R 

6667-F 

6667-W 

6667-Q 

6667-V 

6667-H 

6667-C 

6667-M 

6667-N 

6667-E 1 

6667-D 

6667-A 1 

6667-J 

6667-0 

6667-C 

linen 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

2 

2 

2 

2/2 

2/2 

3 

linen 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2/2 

2 

2 

2 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

cotton 

There is one pillow case marked that matches 

the same number sheet in construction but not in 

fabric. It is stitched with two-ply linen thread in 

hem and seam and embroidered in brown-orange 

silk. The other M C pillow cases are numbered, one 

pair 12, one pair 14, and one pair 19. One pillow 

case is marked S D and matches the sheet so marked. 

PC 

A pair of cases are ruffled with a linen of finer 

6 

quality. Five of the pillow cases are not marked. The 

following table gives the related technical information (Table 2). 

Only one pillow case is stitched with 3 /2-ply 
28 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

TABLE 2. — Pillow cases. 

Seam Thread 

Ply 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3/2 

Fiber 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton' 

cotton 

Hem Thread 

Ply 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3/2 

Fiber 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

linen 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

cotton 

Case Dimensions 

{in inches) 

33% to 34% x 17 

33-34 x 1734 to 17% 

32% to 33% x 17 

32-33 x 16% to 17 

34-34% x 17% to 17% 

34 to 35 x 17% 

32% to 33 x 16% to 17 

33 to 33% x 16% to 17 

33 to 34 x 17 

34% to 35% x 16 

32% x 17% 

32% x 17% 

32% x 17% 

32% x 17% 

31% to 33 x 16% 

33% x 23% 

Thread 

Count 

{warp x weft) 

50 v 

49 x 

45 x 

45 x 

51 x 

51 x 

51 x 

60 x 

44 x 

51 x 

94 x 

94 x 

94 x 

94 x 

38 x 

50 x 

54 

48 

49 

49 

53 

54 

58 

69 

46 

56 

77 

75 

80 

79 

40 

40 

Identifying 

Marks 

c 

S D 

M C 

7 

M C 

12 

M C 

12 

M C 

14 

M C 

14 

M C 

19 

M C 

19 

— 

M C 

22 

M C 

22 

P C 

6 

P C 

6 

Cleaned 

T.67.44 

T.67.47 

T.67.43 

T.67.33 

T.67.35 

T.67.41 

T.67.42 

T.67.48 

T.67.49 

T.67.45 

T.67.149 

T.67.149 

T.67.68 

T.67.69 

T.67.46 

T.67.50 

T.67.147 

Catalog 

Number 

6664-A 

6664-B 

6664-G 

6664-F 

6664-K 

6664-E 

6664-D 

6664-C 

6664-J 

6664-1 

6664-M' 

6664-M 

6732-A 

6732-B 

6664-H 

6664 

6664-L 

thread and dates most probably from 1850.22 It is 

made of linen considerably coarser than the others 

which also varies in construction and size. It is 

finished with a hem of lj<4 inches rather than with 

a narrow rolled hem, as the others are. The end has 

five buttons and buttonholes, so the pillow can be 

held in place. The proportions are quite different 

from the earlier pillow cases and more like modern 

ones. 

Also included with the bed linens are two linen 

bolster covers. The first is 57^4 by 16%^ inches of 

tube construction, full fabric width 33 inches. It is 

embroidered M C in brown silk, and made of fabric 

22

 Ibid., p. 63. The terms 3/2-ply thread and six-cord thread 

are synonymous. The latter is the contemporary term and the 

former a descriptive term. It is, in effect, a cabling or twisting 

together of three two-ply yarns. 

with a thread count of 45 by 41. The sewing thread 

used was two-ply linen. The second bolster cover 

is 62y2 by 17 inches of tube construction, full width 

of fabric 34 inches. It is made of two fabric lengths 

stitched together, rather than of a single length as 

is the first. The thread count of the ground fabric is 

61 by 53. The inked name B. Chapman is written 

at each end, indicating that the bolster might have 

been constructed from a pair of pillow cases. Betsey 

Chapman of Norwich, Connecticut, married Samuel 

Copp in 1844. The original components, or pillow 

cases, were probably made prior to that date, 

probably in the early 1840s. 

There are a number of unused lengths of linen 

(Figure 29), of the type used for the sheets and 

pillow cases. These are charted for reference. The 

selvedge to selvedge dimension is given first. 
NUMBER 7 29 

TABLE 3.—Unused lengths of linen. 

Dimensions 

{inches 

32% 

34% 

29 

33 

34 

26 

34 

34 

29% 

30% 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

yards/inches) 

12 

10 

2 

6 

6 

5 

4 

4 

3 

6 

3 1 % 

34% 

20 

13 

17 

6 

6 

1 1 % 

9 % 

Thread Count 

{warp and weft) 

46 x 54 

62 x 66 

56 x 68 

40 x 42 

46 x 55 

46 x 54 

42 x 48 

42 x 48 

57 x 59 

17 x 34 

Cleaned 

T.67.114 

T.67.146 

T.68.3 

T.67.143 

T.67.170 

T.67.158 

T.67.171 

T.67.171 

T.67.169 

T.67.167 

Catalog 

Number 

6671-A 

661-B 

6671-C 

6671-D 

6671-E 

6671-F 

6671-G 

6671-G 

6671-H 

6671-1 

Finish 

Unbleached 

Bleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

Unbleached 

FIGURE 29.—Lengths of linen yardage 

showing variety of textures. 

(Smithsonian photo 62008.) 

'Bed Ticking 

The two lengths of bed ticking (Figure 30) are 

impressive, first because of their similarity to modern ticking and second because of the quantity of 

unused fabric in such good condition. Both of 

these examples probably date from the early nineteenth or very late eighteenth century. The use of 

cotton in the warp would indicate that it postdates 

the machine spinning of this fiber. The narrow, 

even stripe ticking is of dark blue cotton and white 

cotton warp with a weft of natural linen; the thread 

count is 58 by 56 and it is woven in a 3/1 twill 

weave.23 There are 55 yards of this 29-inch-width 

fabric. The second ticking of a balanced stripe of 

wide and narrow groupings has a warp of dark blue 

linen and white cotton with a weft of natural linen; 

the thread count is 63 by 61 and it is woven in a 

3/1 twill weave. There are \\}i yards of this 29^ -

inch-width fabric. 

23

 Gallatin, A Statement on the Arts, p. xxix. 
30 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 30. — Bed ticking. (Smithsonian photo 61290.) 

TABLE LINENS AND TOWELING 

The use of a patterned linen cloth on the table, 

restricted to the church and royalty in the earlier 

centuries, became a symbol of monetary success by 

the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. For those 

who could afford them, the complicated drawloom 

damasks were the most prized. But the simpler 

patterned linens were less expensive though none the 

less a luxury at this period in history. Some of these 

patterned linens were imported and some were 

woven by the professional weavers in America and 

even the more skilled housewives. The Connecticut 

Gazette and the Commercial Intelligencer (New 

London) advertised on 11 April 1804, page 2, "A 

variety of damask and diaper table cloths and napkins . . . cotton doyles, or small napkins." The 

"damask" here probably refers to a fabric having 

alternating warp and weft-faced twill pattern 

blocks, not to the drawloom damasks that were 

almost certainly produced on order at this time. The 

"diaper" mentioned in the ad refers to a small allover woven geometric pattern, such as the "M's 

and O's" weave. 

There are five tablecloths, ten napkins, one stand 

cover (?), and eight linen towels in this collection. 

The towels are included with the table linens as the 

same type and weight fabric was used for these 

items. Figure 31 shows these as they appeared in the 

special Copp exhibit. 

Tablecloth (Figure 32), 44;% by 44 inches, two 

22-inch widths stitched together; diaper pattern in 

M's and O's weave in linen, thread count 57 by 61; 

stitched with two-ply S-twist linen thread. Applied 

woven fringe on four sides, which has single-ply 

Z-twist cotton loops 1%8 inch long and a linen warp. 

The initials M C are embroidered in yellow-brown 

silk; probably made in the late eighteenth century 

by one of the M Copp ladies. Cleaned T.67.75. 

H.6682-B 

Napkins (one illustrated in Figure 33), of which 

there are ten, approximately 21 by 22 inches, in 

diaper pattern M's and O's weave in linen matching 

tablecloth, Figure 32. Cleaned T.67.53 to 62. 

Tablecloth (Figure 34), 66)4 by 62 inches, two 

31-mch widths stitched together, simple blockpatterned damask in linen, thread count 50 by 43; 

stitched with two-ply S-twist linen thread; applied 
NUMBER 7 31 

FIGURE 31.—Table linens on exhibition. (Smithsonian photo 65546.) 

woven, cut fringe of single-ply Z-twist linen. The 

initials M C are embroidered in brown silk. Reportedly made about 1750, certainly at least late eighteenth century, by one of the M Copp ladies. 

Cleaned T.67.156. H.6683-B 

Tablecloth (not illustrated), 60,% by 58,% inches, 

two 29X-inch widths stitched together, 2 over 2 

twill weave in linen, thread count 36 by 42; stitched 

with two-ply Z-twist linen thread. The initials M C 

are embroidered in brown silk, probably late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, by one of the 

M Copp ladies. Cleaned T.67.72. H.6682-A 

Tablecloth (Figure 35), 753%: by 71K inches, two 

353%^-inch widths stitched together, simple blockpattern damask in linen, thread count 46 by 48; 

stitched with two-ply S-twist linen thread. The 

initials 

P C 

8 

are embroidered in a warm brown silk 

in one corner; short, self-fringe X% inches long at 

each end; probably late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, by one of the P Copp ladies. Cleaned 

T.67.93. H.6683-A 

Table cloth (Figure 36), 32J< by 58K inches, two 

29^-inch widths stitched together, diaper pattern 

in M's and O's weave in linen, thread count 46 by 41; 

stitched with two-ply Z-twist cotton thread; probably made in the early nineteenth century. Cleaned 

T.67.28. H.6653-B 

Called a "huckaback stand cover" by the donor, 

this item (Figure 37) was most probably a towel that 

also may have been used to cover the wash stand. 

It is 42 by 22,% inches, woven in a simple pattern 

weave with a more elaborate side and end border 

with rose colored cotton used to set off the 2%^-inch 

end borders; with a two-inch self-fringe; thread count 

65 by 56; the initials at one end. The number 

suggests that this was one of a number of towels of 

the same type, probably purchased about the middle 

of the nineteenth century. Cleaned T.67.64. H.6684 

A group of eight linen towels in twill and birdseye 

weaves offer an interesting comparative study. Two 
32 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 32.—Corner detail of tablecloth showing fringe. 

(Smithsonian photo 61290-A.) 

FIGURE 33.—Napkin matching tablecloth in Figure 32. 

(Smithsonian photo 61302-H.) 

# • § 

SI 

FIGURE 34.—Corner of block-patterned linen damask 

tablecloth. (Smithsonian photo 61984.) 

FIGURE 35. — Detail of damask tablecloth with monogram 

(Smithsonian photo 61290-B.) 
NUMBER 7 33 

FIGURE 36.—Detail of linen tablecloth in diaper pattern M's 

and O's weave. (Smithsonian photo 61980.) FIGURE 37.—Towel with more elaborate woven side and end 

border design. (Smithsonian photo 61302-C.) 

of the three birdseye towels shown in Figure 38 

M C marked 1 and M C have interesting variations 

that would indicate that they were not of the same 

date. 

Towel (the folded towel on the right in Figure 38), 

34 by 24 inches, linen, birdseye weave, thread count 

46 by 56; hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen thread; 

embroidered initials E C in brown silk; probably 

woven in the late eighteenth century. Cleaned 

T .7.67. H.6666-A 

Towel (not illustrated), 34,%s by 19%^ inches, 

linen, birdseye weave, thread count 36 by 50; 

hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen thread; embroidered initials and number in light brown 

silk; probably made in the late eighteenth century. 

Cleaned T.67.40. H.6666-G 

Towel (the folded towel on the left in Figure 38), 

323%/ by 25 inches, linen, birdseye weave, thread 

FIGURE 38.—Three linen towels. (Smithsonian photo 

61291-H.) 
34 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 39.—Linen towel in diamond-patterned twill weave. 

(Smithsonian photo 61978.) 

count 59 by 58; hemmed with two-ply S-twist 

cotton thread;24 embroidered initials M C in dark 

brown silk; probably made in the early nineteenth 

century. Cleaned T.67.66. H.6666-B 

Towel (the full-width towel in the background of 

Figure 38), 35.%' by 19%^ inches, linen, twill weave 

in a small diamond pattern, thread count 54 by 46; 

hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen thread; trace of 

initials embroidered but not readable; one-half-inch 

plain woven linen tape loop in center of one end of 

towel; probably made in the late eighteenth century. 

Cleaned T.67.65. H.6666-C 

Towel (not illustrated), 36 by 20%{ inches, linen, 

twill weave in a large diamond pattern, thread 

count 43 by 40; hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen 

thread, the selvedge to selvedge width of the woven 

fabric is the 36-inch dimension; embroidered initials 

C P in light tan and orangish-brown silk. The following two towels are of the same type; probably made 

in the nineteenth century. Cleaned T.67.38. 

H.6666-E 

Towel (not illustrated), 36 by 21^6 inches, linen, 

twill weave in a large diamond pattern, thread 

count 42 by 49; hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen 

C P . 

thread; embroidered initials in light orangeo^y?^ " '^S^yW^^'^y 

Cooper, op. cit. (footnote 20). 

FIGURE 40.—Linen yardage, in M's and O's weave. 

(Smithsonian photo 61043-A.) 

brown silk, barely readable. The variation in thread 

count would not prevent it from having been cut 

from the same piece as towel above. Cleaned T.67.39. 

H.6666-F 

Towel (not illustrated), 36 by 22^8 inches, linen, 

twill weave in a large diamond pattern, thread count 

41 by 42; hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen thread; 

. . . C P . 

embroidered initials _ in orange-brown silk; 

probably made in the nineteenth century by the 

same person responsible for the two previous towels. 

Cleaned T.67.37. H.6666-D 

Towel (Figure 39), 36 by 21%( inches, linen, twill 

weave in large diamond pattern, thread count 

42 by 49; hemmed with two-ply S-twist linen; embroidered initials P C in brown two-ply S-twist silk; 

probably made in the late eighteenth century by a 

member of the Copp family. Cleaned T.67.150. 

H.6666-H 

A full width of yardage (Figure 40), 22%( by 

227^4 inches, linen, M's and O's weave in a block 

design, thread count 46 by 52; probably used in the 

late eighteenth or early nineteenth century to make 

towels or other household linens. Cleaned T.67.151. 

H.6653-A 
NUMBER 7 35 

TAPES AND FRINGES 

Narrow textile wares, both utilitarian and decorative, are so easily purchased today that little thought 

is given now to their early ancestry and the timeconsuming problem of providing such items 150 to 

200 years ago. The narrow linen tape, used as a 

drawstring, a bed curtain or towel loop, a tie for a 

bonnet, pocket, or as a garter, was a most important 

household article. Much of the tape needed to fill 

the family's need was woven at home, as evidenced 

by the frequent appearance of tape or garter looms 

in household inventories. These were very simple 

looms, sometimes consisting of no more than a rigid 

heddle — slots in a board for the odd warps and 

holes between the slots for the even warps. For tension, the ends of the warps were tied to a chair or a 

post. With these looms plain woven tapes y& to \}4 

inches wide could be woven. More sophisticated 

tape looms had the rigid heddle set into a box with 

a small beam or roller placed to the back to hold the 

unwoven warp. Frequently, these looms were 

beautiful pieces of craftsmanship and graced elegant 

parlors. The two shown in the exhibit photograph 

(Figure 41) are good examples; they are not from 

the Copp collection but are contemporary with the 

textiles. Woven fringes could also be made on these 

looms with the use of a fringe guide, as illustrated on 

the upper tape loom on left. Fringes were also made 

by netting and knotting techniques. 

There are no lengths of tape in the Copp collection. 

Two textiles show excellent examples of the tape and 

how it was used. These may be seen in the bedcurtain in Figure 26 and on the towel in Figure 38. 

The collection of fringes is excellent, not only in 

technique and variety, but also in quantity, both on 

finished articles and in unused lengths. 

Examples of woven fringes of similar type are 

found on the blue and white checked linen counterpane in Figure 27, on two tablecloths, and on four 

of the coverlets described in a following section. 

Woven Fringes 

Fringe (in the top row of Figure 42), one-inch 

deep, over ten yards in four pieces; uncut loops, 

two-ply S-twist linen yarn; plain and fine scale; 

minimum woven portion, weft inserted in pairs. 

Cleaned T.67.76. H.6673-E 

Fringe (in the center row of Figure 42), V/s, inch 

deep, over five yards in one piece; cut loops, two-ply 

S-twist linen yarn; narrow tape-like band in plain 

weave, four wefts in each pick, with weft forming 

fringe on every fourth throw. Cleaned T.67.36. 

H.6845 

Fringe (in the bottom row of Figure 42), 2;% 

inches deep, over eight yards in one piece; uncut 

loops, two-ply, S-twist cotton yarn; narrow woven 

band, four weft yarns in each pick. Cleaned T.67.81. 

H.6673-C 

jetted Fringes 

Netting, an ancient art and widely used as a craft 

evolving from the making of fish nets, was very 

popular in eighteenth and nineteenth-century America. It was used extensively for decorative fringes 

FIGURE 41. —Exhibit of tapes and fringes. (Smithsonian 

photo 65549.) 
36 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

iMmifmM&mm>mm s 

FIGURE 42.—Three woven fringes. (Smithsonian photo 

61290-C.) 

wmmmm 

FIGURE 44.—Two netted fringes, five inches wide. 

(Smithsonian photo 61289-D.) 

FIGURE 43.—Three netted fringes. (Smithsonian photo 

61289-E.) 

for bed and table furnishings and for complete items. 

Two implements are used in netting, one a bobbinlike instrument called a "needle" that carries the 

yarn and the other a smooth oval stick eight or ten 

inches long called the "mesh." In the initial row the 

needle carries the yarn around an anchored string; 

these yarns may be knotted or just looped. In the 

ensuing rows each is knotted to the one preceding 

it. The mesh determines the size of the diamondshaped openings, and the loops are slipped off as the 

work progresses. The tassels or fringed edges are 

formed by clipping the last row of netting between 

the knots or by adding yarns to the netting to form 

the tassels separately. An example of the netted 

fringe of the first type described may be seen on the 

embroidered counterpane in Figure 13. The more 

elaborate netted fringe on the valance in Figure 25 

should also be noted. 

In addition to the fringed edgings there is one 

complete piece of netted work, a table cover shown 

in Figure 45. 
NUMBER 7 37 

Fringe (at the top of Figure 43), 3 inches deep, 

thirty-five yards in three pieces; simple netted fringe 

with two rows of knots; single-ply Z-twist cotton 

yarns used in multiples as a single unit; looped 

around the anchor string, no footing; finished with 

added tassels formed by looping and knotting to 

bottom edge between knots. Cleaned T.67.77. 

H.6673-A 

Fringe (in the center row of Figure 43), 5 inches 

deep, over thirty yards in nine pieces; same as above 

but stitched to a narrow tape pre-woven of single-ply 

Z-twist linen yarns. Cleaned T.67.70, T.67.78, and 

T.67.80. H.6673-B 

Fringe (at the bottom row of Figure 43), 3 inches 

deep, twenty-five yards in four pieces; simple netted 

fringe with five rows of knots, knotted to the anchored string; single-ply Z-twist cotton yarns used 

in multiples as a single unit; last row knotted to form 

tassels with additional cut loops to make the tassels 

full. Cleaned T.67.79. H.6673 

Fringe (at the top of Figure 44), 5 inches deep, 

approximately ten yards in one piece; simple netted 

fringe with twenty-one rows of knots, looped around 

the anchor string; two-ply S-twist cotton yarns used 

in pairs for the net; finished with lengths of tufted 

ends of two-ply linen yarn used in pairs onto which 

are knotted short lengths of cotton yarns to give a 

chenille effect. Cleaned T.66.9- 11.6646 

Fringe (at the bottom of Figure 44), 5 inches deep, 

approximately six and a half yards in one piece; 

simple netted fringe with six rows of knots looped 

around the anchor string (the string that shows in 

the photograph is not the original); single-ply Z-twist 

cotton, with tight twist and used in multiples; finished with a fancy draped edge of two-ply S-twist 

cotton yarn to which has been tied fine tufts of single 

cotton to give a chenille effect. Cleaned T.67.63. 

H.6673-F 

Table cover (Figure 45), 53 by 45 inches. Center 

of plain netting in single-ply slight Z-twist cotton 

yarn; several pattern borders in the same weight 

"••" ; % v 

FIGURE 45.—Netted table cover on contemporary table. 

(Smithsonian photo 61043-C.) 

yarn and in a heavier three-ply S-twist cotton yarn; 

finished with a pointed border, each point with a 

tassel of tufted yarns with examples of both threeply cotton core and two-ply linen core yarns with 

cotton tufts, the lengths of yarn looped twice with 

the cut ends to form the tassels. The tassel and 

pointed border are very similar to the border of a 

table cover in the primitive painting "Alice Slade" 

by Ammi Phillips, 1816, in the Edgar William and 

Bernice Chrysler Garbisch collection in the National 

Gallery of Art. It would be safe to judge that this 

table cover is of the same period. Cleaned T.66.26. 

H.6685 

COVERLETS AND RUG 

Warm and durable bed coverings were a necessity 

for New England and all the northern colonies. 

These bed coverings took several forms—quilts, 

blankets, and a type of heavy, patterned woven 

textile commonly called a coverlet. The earliest 

coverlets were woven on a linen or wool warp with 

wool dominating the pattern weft. Very late eighteenth and nineteenth-century examples were 

woven on a cotton warp. The overshot weave was 

probably one of the most popular types, but birdseye 

and monks belt weave were also used in addition to 

the better known double weave and summer and 

213-261 O - 76 - 4 
38 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 46.—Overshot weave coverlet in linen and wool. (Smithsonian photo 61040-B.) 
NUMBER 7 39 

FIGURE 47.—Detail of coverlet in Figure 46, showing fringe. (Smithsonian photo 61291-B.) 

FIGURE 48.—Corner detail of birdseye weave coverlet. (Smithsonian photo 61291-A.) 
40 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

* mi mi- mi mi mi if « # I mi m $. A | | j| 

fcl*irt f J i f It i: 1 I* » 1 

FIGURE 49.—Monks belt weave coverlet in linen, cotton, and wool. (Smithsonian photo 32795.) 

winter weave. Although some weaving was done in was being woven. There are five excellent coverlet 

many early homes, most coverlets were probably the examples in the Copp collection, 

product of a professional weaver. It would not have Overshot weave coverlet (Figure 46), 95 by 85%? 

been uncommon for the handspun yarns to have inches (excluding fringe), woven in two sections each 

been produced by the family for whom the coverlet 42%^ inches wide; thread count 20 by 43; warp yarns 
NUMBER 7 41 

FIGURE 50.—Corner detail of coverlet shown in Figure 49. (Smithsonian photo 61040-D.) 

two-ply S-twist linen, weft yarns for the plain or 

tabby parts single-ply Z-twist linen, for the pattern 

parts, light blue and indigo blue two-ply S-twist 

wool. The pattern is similar to "White Mountain"

 25 

and also resembles a variant of "Granite State."

 26 

Finished with a five-inch knotted self-fringe made of 

the warp yarns, on the lower end only; the two pieces 

of coverlet stitched together with two-ply S-twist 

linen thread. Probably woven in the eighteenth 

century, it is an excellent example of a coverlet of 

this period. H.6677 

Birdseye weave coverlet (Figure 48), 95%? by 

86 inches (excluding fringe). Woven in two sections 

each 43 inches wide; thread count 21 by 20; warp 

yarns two-ply S-twist wool in gold and reddish rose, 

weft yarns in two-ply S-twist wool in brown; small 

diamond pattern created by the different-colored 

yarns in the warp and weft, while the whole is set 

25

 At water, Shuttlecraft Book, p. 51, fig. 23. 

26

 Heirlooms from Old Looms, p. 51. 

against a regular vertical striped design created by 

the two-color warp in alternating stripes of 31%$ 

inches of gold and 31%g inches of reddish rose; 

finished with a 2,3-4-inch handwoven, uncut loop 

fringe in alternating gold and brown wool yarns, 

stitched to three sides of the coverlet with two-ply 

S-twist yellow cotton thread. The two pieces of 

coverlet are stitched together with two-ply S-twist 

linen thread, which was also used for the end hems. 

Probably woven in the very late or early nineteenth 

century, it is an interesting example of a weave less 

commonly used for coverlets. H.6676 

Monks belt weave coverlet (Figure 49), 102%^ by 

94%^ inches (excluding fringe). Woven in three sections each 31%? inches wide; thread count 39 by 65; 

warp yarns single-ply Z-twist linen, weft yarns 

single-ply Z-twist white cotton and single-ply Z-twist 

red wool. Checked pattern in l%(-inch squares, small 

checkerboard sections with each check measuring 

%5 inch and striped sections measuring the same. 

Finished with a 2%^ inch handwoven, uncut loop 
42 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 51.—Overshot weave coverlet in cotton and green and garnet wool. (Smithsonian 

photo 61041-B.) 

fringe in alternating single-ply S-twist red wool and 

two-ply S-twist white cotton—the red is from a 

different dye lot than the coverlet—stitched to 

three sides of the coverlet with two-ply S-twist 

linen; the three sections of the coverlet are stitched 

together with the same thread. Probably woven in 

the late eighteenth century, it is a very interesting 

example of a little-seen and unusually time-consuming weave for coverlets. H.6675 

Overshot weave coverlet (Figure 51), 88^4 by 84 
NUMBER 7 43 

FIGURE 52.—Corner detail of coverlet shown in Figure 51. 

(Smithsonian photo 61042.) 

PltsT • S i 

r"tv-U;:-''-""."*— ".'.«'•• •»--'«.. 

ii;iiii:iilii'Mi!"«^;:^!.i';ii:i«Siii.li,,;ji;Ji5:1 IIIMP 

i jigiuK^i^ u

 i',

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 !l!-iS^W V'5-M55!'M5ln

 SS11*'•• 

ii 

FIGURE 53.—Corner detail of overshot weave coverlet in plain 

cotton and indigo and light blue wool. (Smithsonian photo 

61041-D.) 

inches (excluding fringe). Woven in two sections 

each 42 inches wide; thread count 24 by 48; warp 

yarns two-ply S-twist cotton, weft yarns for the 

plain or tabby parts single-ply Z-twist cotton, for 

the pattern parts two-ply S-twist olive green and 

garnet wool; woven in a wheel pattern similar to 

"World's Wonder."

 27

 Finished with a 2><-inch 

handwoven garnet and green uncut loop fringe; the 

two colors of wool are the same as the pattern weft 

and in 2^-inch alternating sections, while mixed 

with the red at one end are orange-red loops of 

single-ply Z-twist wool; the fringe is stitched to the 

coverlet with dark brown two-ply S-twist wool, 

while the center seam and hems are stitched with 

two-ply S-twist cotton. Probably woven in the early 

nineteenth century, this coverlet is a well-woven 

precisely-matched example in excellent condition. 

H.6674 

Overshot weave coverlet (Figure 53), 90 by 84 

inches (excluding fringe). Woven in two sections 

each 42 inches wide; thread count 20 by 33; warp 

yarns two-ply S-twist cotton, weft yarns for the 

plain parts single-ply Z-twist cotton, for the pattern 

parts two-ply S-twist indigo and light blue wool. A 

four-rose and table pattern; finished with a 2^-inch 

handwoven two-tone blue cut fringe; the two colors 

of wool are the same as the pattern weft and used 

in 2,^-inch alternating sections; the stitching of the 

seams, hems, and fringe are with two-ply S-twist 

cotton. This coverlet although of a different pattern 

is the same width and construction as the one in 

Figure 51. The fringe is the same with the exception 

that the loops are cut rather than being left as loops. 

Probably woven in the early nineteenth century,28 

this coverlet is another example of good workmanship. H.6678 

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, 

a rug on the floor was pure luxury. There were 

varying types; some were more expensive than 

others but a floor rug was the exception rather than 

27

 Atwater, Shuttlecraft Book, draft 67, p. 167. 

28

 Although two-ply cotton strong enough to be used as the 

warp was produced in the very late eighteenth century, the 

probability is that most coverlets with a cotton warp date from 

the nineteenth century. 
44 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

lilillM 

FIGURE 54.—Rug woven in a reversible block pattern, with portion at top turned over to show 

reverse coloring. (Smithsonian photo 65159.) 
NUMBER 7 45 

FIGURE 55.—Detail showing texture of rug in Figure 54. (Smithsonian photo 61012.) 

the rule 2 9 until after the invention of powered 

carpet looms in the second quarter of the nineteenth 

century.30 There is one rug in the Copp collection 

shown in Figure 54. It is an excellent example made 

up of widths of carpeting of the type generally 

classified as "common," that is, woven on a common 

or plain loom. It was most probably the work of a 

professional weaver. The carpeting is woven in a 

warp-faced plain weave, "Log Cabin" system,31 the 

block pattern is reversible with one side showing 

two sizes of yellow-red squares on blacks on green, 

while the reverse side appears as green on yellow-red. 

Since warp and weft elements do not necessarily 

have to be used singly in the plain weave, the elements of either or both can be used in pairs (or more), 

regularly or irregularly. If the order of interlacing is 

29

 Roth, Floor Coverings, p. 58. 

30

 There is a good account of carpets in early nineteenth century 

America in Manufactures of the United States in I860; Compiled 

from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census (Washington, 

D.C, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1865), pp. li-lix. 

31

 Black, New Key to Weaving. 

continuous alternation, the fabric is still a plain 

weave.32 In weaving this rug, the threading of the 

multiple color warp together with the use of both 

single and double wefts in combinations repeated at 

specific intervals made possible a reversible block 

pattern. The rug is an irregular shape made up of 

four widths of the carpeting, probably stitched to 

fit a specific room; the length at longest point is 26 

feet 1\4 inches; thread count is 13 by 8; warp yarns 

in yellow, red, and green of two-ply S-twist wool; 

weft in heavy natural brown wool of single-ply 

Z-twist yarns and brown linen of two-ply S-twist 

thread; the warp is threaded red, yellow, green, red, 

(once), green, yellow, green, red (seven times), 

yellow, green, yellow, green, (once), red, green, 

yellow, green, (twice), and the whole repeated; the 

weft of linen is inserted single, the weft of wool is 

inserted double in regular alternation, (single, single) 

once, (double, single) nine times, (single, double) 

Emery, The Primary Structures of Fabrics, pp. 76-77. 
46 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

three times, and the whole repeated; the large block 

of the pattern is approximately 3-Vi inches wide and 

3)4 inches high; the lengths of carpeting are stitched 

together with two-ply linen thread; the ends are 

bound with strips of both cotton and wool fabric. 

Probably woven in the early nineteenth century, 

this carpeting is another example of excellent workmanship. 

IMPORTED FABRICS 

We like to think of the early settlers in America as 

being ruggedly independent and self-sufficient. Many 

times our ideas of life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries seem to stem from our image of 

frontier life, where from necessity the family might 

produce all or most of their household goods. But, 

in the coastal ports, the cities, and even the small 

villages, professional specialization became a reality 

very early. Not only were services performed by 

skilled artisans but also when better goods could be 

DANIE L COPP, 

Has jufl received a frelh and general 

fupply of EUROPEAN and INDIA 

GOODS; 

Among 10ruck are. 

E

LEGANT light a d da i k Chintzes and 

Calicoes * corjded Dimities -, plain, 

book and Jaconet Muflins ; tauibor'd Do. 

Lawns; do. Handkerchief* ; Cambrics ; 

Linens j Humhums ; 'Ginghams ; plain, 

fhip'd atad clouded jNankeens ; a beautiful 

aiTprt incut of fafliionabfe Vert-patterns ; 

black Laces and Edgings ; white "Edgings; 

RufTels j Calnnancos ; Durants; Tainniies ; 

Shalloons j Moreens ; Threads ; Tapes ; 

a pleafing a^flortihent of Ribbons & Taftes, 

of all figures ; black India and changeable 

Lutefl: rings ; ladies' Satin,; chintz and 

purple Shawls j tauibor'd muflin Di*to ; 

mens'Neckcloth s ; bandanno, Barcelona 

and pocket .Handkerchiefs ; a variety of 

fafbionable Stockings. 

' iit ALSO H AS p N HAND , 

Groceries, of all kinds -, Snrjff, per 

bladder ; Flour, per bbl. a gnamiry of 

excellent flricd Codfifh ; Crockery ; and 

Salt, fuitabl'e for dairies, &c. &c. 

FIGURE 56.—Advertisement from The Connecticut Gazette, 6 June 

1798. Library of Congress collection. (Smithsonian photo 

60948.) 

imported, they were; or when goods of equal quality 

could be imported more cheaply than they could 

be produced at home, seldom did a nationalistic 

feeling keep the Americans—either as colonists or as 

independents—from considering their purse. Imported fabrics have always played an important part 

in the life of this country, even in colonial days, as 

illustrated by this news item in The New-York 

Gazette or the Weekly Post-Boy, 15 October 1767: 

Extract of a letter from a Gentleman in London, to one of the 

Members of the Society for Arts in this City, dated July 22, 1767. 

. . The People of New-York, seem to me, to be too infatuated 

with a foreign Trade, ever to make any great Progress in Manufactures; and unless you sell your Linnen, at least as cheap as they 

can have it from Silesia, Austria, Bohemia, and Russia, thro' 

England, Holland or Hamburg, I fear you will not establish an 

extensive Manufactury: You live in as plentiful a Country as any, 

and your People might work as cheap: I don't mean in the City 

of New-York; Cities are not calculated for Manufactures, since 

its always dearer living in them than in the Country. 

From the eighteenth-century newspapers we can 

glean a good idea of the many kinds of fabrics that 

were available. 

English Goods, a great Variety imported from London, in the 

last Ships; and to be Sold by Albert Dennie, by Wholesale or 

Retail, at his House on the Mill Bridge, upon the right Hand 

leading to Charlestown-Ferry, all for ready Cash, viz. Allum, 

Balladine sewing silk, raw silk, colour'd and waxed Threads, Pins, 

Ozenbrigs, India Dimetys, black Bombazeen and Alapene, silk 

Damask, Horse hair Buttons, Hair Shapes, Wadding, Linen and 

Cotton Checks, Velvet, and Everlasting for Wastcoats, worsted 

Stuff plain and flower'd, worsted Damasks, RufFels, Fearnothing 

Great Coats, Kerseys, Druggets, Swanikins, Broad Cloths, Serges, 

worsted & hair Plushes, Caps, Stockings, Cambricks, Shalloons, 

Camblets, Garlets, yard wide Linnens, bed Ticks, cotton Stockings, 

Chinees, Callicoes, Buttons and Mohair, Hats, Muslins, white 

Callicoes, Ribbands, Necklaces, Fans, Scots Snuff, Pewter, Nails, 

Buckles, Knives, Needles, Thimbles, short Cloaks, Taffieties, 

Persians, Velvets, Hangers or Cutlasses, Looking Glasses, Wigg 

Cauls, Shirt Buttons, Indigo, half Thick, bed Quilts, brass Wire, 

Horse Whips, bed Baskets, Saws, and sundry Sorts of brazery 

Ware, Paper for Room, Gloves, Sailors Cloths ready made, blue 

Callicoes (author's italics).33 

33

 Quoted from Boston Gazette, 27 May 1746 in Dow, The Arts 

and Crafts in New England, from 1704—1776, p. 160. Italicized 

items indicate cotton goods. 
NUMBER 7 47 

^g^!(f!!!^'Wmf,'

m

 iilM<\WM)\W ' W,, 

FIGURE 57.—Dimity yardage, probably of English manufacture. (Smithsonian photo 61043.) 

Fifty-two years after this was printed, in 1798, 

merchant Daniel Copp advertised that he had "just 

received a fresh and general supply of European and 

India GOODS" (Figure 56). Both before and after 

the American Revolution imported fabrics including 

cottons were in common use in this country. Certain 

classes of goods, such as fine worsteds, silk fabrics, 

and almost all cottons, can be identified as imported 

wares, as little or no manufacture of these textiles 

was being carried on here in the eighteenth century. 

Items such as "yard wide Linnens, bed Ticks," 

"Stockings," "Linen and Cotton Checks," although 

imported, could have been produced in eighteenthcentury America; therefore, it is exceedingly difficult 

to know which articles of this description were, in 

fact, of domestic and which of foreign manufacture. 

In the next chapter, more details will be given concerning the textile manufacture that was being 

carried on in America—in the home, in the mill, and 

by professional craftsmen—to offer some limited 

guide lines to the kinds of textiles that were produced. 

In addition to the wool fabric in the bed hangings, 

the glazed wool fabric in the quilted counterpane, 

the many chintzes, calicoes, and muslins in the 

quilts, there are three additional household fabrics 

of foreign manufacture in the Copp collection. 

Dimity, yardage (Figure 57), 25 inches by 7 yards 

6 inches, cotton, single-ply Z-twist warp, single-ply 

S-twist weft; thread count 74 by 85. Probably of 

English manufacture, family history records it as 

"bought in New York in 1800." Although the manufacture of dimities originated in the East, they were 

manufactured in France as early as the late sixteenth 

century.34 After the invention of the spinning 

machinery in England in the second half of the 

eighteenth century, many of the types of cotton 

M

 Hazel E. Cummin, "What Was Dimity in 1790?" The 

Magazine Antiques, volume 38, no. 1 (July), pp. 23-24. 
48 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

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FIGURE 58.—Border-printed cotton. (Smithsonian photo 61037-A.) 

goods originally produced in India could successfully 

be imitated by power spun cotton yarns, including 

dimities, calicoes, muslins, and so forth. This yardage might have been put to use by the Copps in 

making bed or window curtains or even for articles 

of clothing. Cleaned T.67.102. H.6654 

Printed Cotton (Figure 58), in a pair of simple 

curtains, probably remade from original style. Fabric 
NUMBER 7 49 

FIGURE 59. —Roller-printed cotton. (Smithsonian photo 61036-C.) 
50 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

width 26 inches; block printed, probably English, 

first decade nineteenth century; mustardy gold 

ground with dark red and brown in a border print, 

repeat of border design, 9)4 inches width by 9% 

inches vertical; small leaf pattern as the "filling."

 35 

35

 During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, 

many woodblock chintz designs were arranged not as an overall 

repeated pattern, but in vertical stripes about nine inches wide. 

This provided a flexibility unobtainable in the copperplate prints. 

The fabric could use the design as a single (border), double, or 

triple stripe. In each the blank areas could be printed with an 

overall small repeated design called a filling. 

Cleaned T.67.99. H.6651 

Printed Cotton (Figure 59), made into a small 

curtain, probably the original use. Fabric width 

2 4 ^ inches; roller printed, probably English about 

1830; brown on white; design of flowers and leaves 

in various "net" patterns; pattern repeat 11 inches. 

Size of curtain, 18 # by 47 inches, one full width of 

fabric and one width cut up the center and stitched 

to each side; seams and hem in three-ply cotton 

thread; narrow drawstring hem at the top of curtain. 

Cleaned T.67.112. H.6719 
Textile <^htanufacture in ^America in 

the Eighteenth Qentury 

DURING THE EARLIEST YEARS of the American 

Colonies, England provided the settlers with almost 

all their fabric needs, encouraging them to restrict 

their work to the production of raw materials. By 

1640, however, communication with the mother 

country almost ceased and the colonists found it 

necessary to supply most of their own wants, including the production of fabrics. One of the first 

mills, built in 1643 at Rowley, Massachusetts, was a 

fulling mill where wool cloth was washed, shrunk, 

and finished. In the mill, large wooden hammers 

supplanted the operation earlier performed by the 

feet in tramping the wool fabric placed in waterfilled troughs (Figure 60). 

As the need for more fabric increased, the local 

governments began to encourage and even order the 

manufacture of cloth, which was carried on primarily 

in the home with the finishing of the wool cloth in 

the fulling mill, just as the farmer depended on the 

miller to grind his grain. The records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1645 report: 

Forasmuch as wollen cloth is so usefull a comodity, without 

which wee cannot so comfortably subsist in these pts by reason of 

could winters, it being also at present very scarce & deare among 

us, & is likely shortly so to be in all those pts from whence wee 

can expect it, by reason of the warrs in Europe destroying, in a 

great measure, the flocks of sheepe amongst them, & also the 

trade & meanes it selfs of making woollen cloaths& stuffs,... knowing how usefull & necessary wollen cloths &stufs would be for our 

more comfortable clothing, & how profitable a marchandize it is 

like to be to transport to other parts, [the Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony] doth hereby desire all the townes in 

generall, & every one in particuler within the jurisdiction, seriously to weigh the promises & accordingly that you will carefully 

indeavor the preservation & increase of such sheape as they have 

already, as also to procure more, with all convenient speede, into 

their several townes, by all such lawfull wayes & meanes as God 

shall put into their hands.36 

A later development was the professional weaver 

(Figure 61), who together with other specialized 

craftsmen, became a part of the American scene. 

A Stonington, Connecticut, weaver, Manasseh 

Minor (also spelled Miner), left a diary that verified 

his professional activities in the late seventeenth 

and early eighteenth century. In addition to weaving 

for the people in the area, he also permitted them to 

use his loom and taught weaving. Although yarn 

was frequently furnished by the customer, Minor's 

entries report that he also produced yarn as a part 

of the farmer-weaver's yearly cycle. The wool36 "The Record of the Colony of The Massachusetts Bay in New 

England," entry 14 May 1645, in volume 2 of the published 

records. 

FIGURE 60.—Cutaway view of a fulling mill, as illustrated in a 

French encyclopedia published in 1786. This eighteenthcentury European fulling mill would not be technically different from an American one of the seventeenth century. The 

use of water power to drive the large wooden hammers, which 

dropped onto the fabric in the trough, did not change in 

general concept until the nineteenth century. (Smithsonian 

photo 74590.) 

51 
52 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 61.—Weaver. Engraving from The Book of Trades, 

published in White Hall, New York, in 1807. (Smithsonian 

photo 55509.) 

FIGURE 62.—Wool Comber. Engraving from The Book of 

Trades, published in 1807. (Smithsonian photo 55506.) 

producing activities began in May when the sheep 

were put out to the common to graze, a practice 

initiated as early as 1648.w Later the sheep were 

washed and sheared and if the wool were to be spun 

as worsted it was taken to the comber (Figure 62). 

In combing, the fibers were laid parallel to permit 

the spinning of a tighter, more compact yarn. The 

combing skill had become a common textile trade in 

America by the early eighteenth century. 

According to Minor the finished "wusted" was 

woven in October or November—after the harvest 

had been gathered. If a woolen yarn was to be spun, 

37

 ". . . for as much as all places are not fit (or) convenient for 

that end, it is therefore ordered that (hence) forth it shall be 

lawful for any man to keepe sheape in (any) common." Ibid., 

entry 18 October 1648. 

which called for a softer, less compact yarn than the 

worsted, the wool fibers were carded. To produce 

this spongier yarn, the shorter fibers were used and 

spun perpendicular to the direction in which they 

were carded. Carding, unlike combing, was done in 

the home until quite late in the eighteenth century 

when mechanical carding was introduced; but cardmaking was an important trade (Figure 63) and well 

established by the mid-eighteenth century.38 The 

wool combs used by the comber were made by the 

ironmonger. If the several operations relating to 

the preparation of wool were performed in one establishment, it was called a clothier shop or mill. A 

38

 Rogers, Scholfield Wool-Carding Machines, p. 8. 
NUMBER 7 53 

FIGURE 63.—Card Making. Cards used to prepare short fibers, such as cotton or wool, were made by 

embedding wire teeth into pieces of leather which, in turn, were mounted onto paddlelike pieces of 

wood. American card makers used a technique similar to that shown in this French engraving. From 

the Diderot Encyclopaedia, 1763. (Smithsonian photo 43995-B.) 

Boston clothier, Samuel Foster, was the master of a 

worsted comber in 1737.39 

The production of linen fabrics also was a cooperative venture. From the contemporary records we 

find that it was not uncommon for the family to 

grow their own flax; have it retted, swingled and 

hackled by the Flax Dresser (Figure 64); returned 

to them for spinning and reeling; woven at home or 

sent to a professional weaver; and then sent to the 

bleach fields and/or the dyer.40 To the question of 

whether such a textile is a home or a professional 

(or commercial) product, one must answer that it 

is both. 

Although used in more limited quantities, we 

know some cotton was processed, as we find a card 

maker advertising both "Wool and Cotton Cards" 

in Boston in 1746.41 But, until after the introduction 

of the cotton spinning machines, cotton yarn was 

used only for the weft. Warp yarns, which had to 

39

 "Worsted Comber by Trade, run-away from his master 

Mr. Samuel Foster, of Boston, Clothier," Boston News-Letter, 

28 April and 5 May 1737. 

40

 Dow, The Arts and Crafts in New England, 1704-1776,p. 189, 

and Gottesman, The Arts and Crafts in New York, 1726-1776, 

pp. 250, 251. 

« Dow, The Arts and Crafts in New England, 1704-1776,p. 258. 

be kept under tension in the loom, were of the 

stronger handspun linen; union fabrics of cotton and 

linen were frequently referred to as "cotton" adding 

confusion when such contemporary entries are found. 

We do find that the cotton fabrics imported from 

India were printed in the American Colonies. 

Francis Gray, "Callicoe Printer from Holland; 

Prints all sorts of Callicoes of several Colours to 

hold Washing, at his house in Loxbury near the 

Meeting-House," according to the Boston Gazette, in 

both the 16 June and the 23 June 1735 issues. And 

much later in 1773, in the 13 May issue of the 

Boston News-Letter an advertisement reported, "To 

be Sold, very cheap for Cash, by the Person who 

Prints the dark Callicoes, an excellent Sett of Prints 

(blocks) for the Same. The Person who has them to 

dispose of would Instruct the Purchaser in the Use 

of them if required." (Figure 65). 

The word calicoe, in its various spellings, originally 

referred to the particular type and weight of plain 

woven all-cotton cloth from India. By the 1770s, 

calicoe—handwoven of machine-spun cotton—was 

being produced and exported by the British. Painted 

(and printed) calicoe from India was termed "chint." 

But the entry "white Calico" in a 1749 advertisement would give us reason to believe that the term 

213-261 O - 76 - 5 
54 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 64.—Growing and Processing Flax. This French engraving shows the rippling (removing the 

flax seedpods), the breaking (of the outer stalk to free the fiber), and the swingling (beating the fibers 

to remove the chaff). The implements and techniques used in the American colonies were quite 

similar to those shown. From the Diderot Encyclopaedia, 1762. (Smithsonian photo 43993-C.) 

calicoe was at times used to mean a printed fabric as 

well as being used to mean the unprinted fabric.42 It 

was not uncommon for the American calicoe printers 

to print linens also and for the Linen Printers to 

include calicoes. 

Many attempts were made to produce raw silk 

but this never developed into a profitable commodity; the skilled labor required to reel the silk was too 

expensive. There were attempts to raise the silkworms and ship the cocoons to England for reeling, 

and also to reel the cocoons here and use the silk for 

stockings, thread gloves, lace and so forth. These are 

the products covered in contemporary references to 

"Silk Manufacture." One of the more common 

trades was concerned with silks already in use. This 

was the Scourer who "cleaned ladies and gentlemen's 

clothes, taking out spots and stains, lace and silk 

stockings." Sometimes they were listed as "Silk 

Dyer and Scourer"

 43

 and their work does not sound 

very different from the "Cleaners and Dyers" of 

today. 

Because of the textile manufacturing that was 

being carried on in the colonies, the British merchants and manufacturers began to complain in 1731 

about the colonists' effort to substitute articles and 

fabrics of their own manufacture for English goods 

on the grounds that it was injuring the commerce and 

industries of the mother country. The Governor of 

the Massachusetts Bay Colony answered that it was 

true that in some parts the people worked their wool 

and flax into an ordinary coarse cloth for their own 

use, but that the bulk of their woolen and linen 

clothing was imported from Great Britain and sometimes Ireland. Even while bounties were being offered 

for every piece of duck or canvas made in the prov-

« Ibid., p. 161. 

43

 Gottesman, The Arts and Crafts in New York, 1726-1776. 

p. 284. 
NUMBER 7 55 

FIGURE 65. —Calico Printer. From The Book of Trades, 

published in 1807. (Smithsonian photo 55511.) 

FIGURE 66. — Stocking Maker. From the Book of Trades. 

(Smithsonian photo 55514.) 

ince, the Governor wrote that the country people 

who used to make most of their clothing out of their 

own wool no longer made even as little as one-third 

of what they wore and they were mostly clothed 

with British manufacture. At this point, the modern 

reader begins to suspect that the Governor was trying to placate his superior in London. 

By the middle of the century a new movement was 

inaugurated for the promotion of manufacture both 

for the employment of the poor and to relieve the 

constant drain of money for the excess of imports 

over exports. In the Massachusetts Gazette, 19 November 1767, we find: 

Young ladies in town and those that live round, 

Let a friend, at this season, advise you, 

Since money's so scarce, and times growing worse, 

Strange things may soon hap and surprise you. 

First, then, throw aside your top-knots of pride, 

Wear none but your own country linen. 

Of economy boast, let your pride be the most 

To show cloaths of your own make and spinning. 

What if homespun, they say, is not quite so gay 

As brocades, yet be not in passion; 

For when it is known this is much wore in town, 

One and all will cry out, "Tis the fashion," 

And, as one and all, agree that you'll not married be 

To such as will wear London Factory; 

But, at first sight, refuse; tell 'em such you do chuse 

As encourage our own manufactory. 

The first news article in the Massachusetts Gazette 

of 7 January 1768, and printed in oversize type, 

read: 

The Senior class of scholars at the University in Cambridge have 

unanimously agreed to take their degrees next commencement 

dressed altogether in the manufacture of this country. 

Such encouragement was spreading. 
56 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

As a farther specimen of the Practicability of Manufacturing 

our own Cloaths in this country, we can assure the public of the 

following persons in Woodbridge in New Jersey, making in their 

Families, within the year past, both woollen and linen of their 

own raising, the Quantities of following Viz. Mr. Isaac Freeman, 

599 yards, Mr. James Smith, 567 yards and Mr. Nathaniel Heard, 

414 yards.44 

In Newport, Rhode Island, it was reported that 

"within Eighteen months past 487 yards of cloth 

and thirty-six Pairs of Stockings have been spun and 

knit in the family of Mr. James Nixon of this town. 

. . . These instances of Industry were mentioned with 

a view to demonstrate how easily it will be for those 

colonies, in a short time, to be independent of any 

other country for cloathing; and at the same time 

to excite others to imitate Examples so highly beneficial to themselves and the Community."

 45 

By 1770 a Newark, New Jersey, manufacturer 

proposed a scheme to surpass the "Family Weaving" 

establishment and employ a number of hands to 

spin, weave, dye, and full about "6000 Yards of 

different Sorts, such as Camblets, Callimancoes, 

Cambletees, plain, striped, and figured Stuffs, 

Druggets, Sagathies, German Serges, Everlastings, 

Plushes, etc." Whether this all-inclusive mill was 

successful at this time we have no record.46 

Spinning matches were encouraged and news 

items appeared, like this one in the Boston News 

Letter, 1 March 1770: 

Patriot ladies met at the house of John Gore [he had encouraged 

spinning]. . . The laudable practice of spinning is almost universally in vogue among the female children of the town, whereby 

they are not only useful to the community, but the poorer sort 

are able in some measure to assist their parents in getting a 

livelihood. The use of the spinning wheel is now encouraged, and 

the pernicious practice of tea drinking discountenanced by all the 

ladies of the town . . . excepting those whose husbands are Tories. 

But at the same time many importers were still 

bringing from Great Britain "The Best Wilton 

Carpeting, . . . stained [printed] bed quilts, . . . 

cotton counterpanes."

 47

 This commerce continued 

into the war years as shown by the fact that "a few 

pieces of the most elegant chintz, both for firmness 

and richness of pattern, that has been imported into 

this country" were advertised in the Pennsylvania 

Journal, 23 February 1782.48 

The American Revolution did not seem to de44

 Ibid., p. 259, The New York Gazette or the Weekly Post Boy, 

18 January 1768. 

« Ibid., p. 260. 

4

<s Ibid., p. 262. 

47

 Prime, The Arts and Crafts in Philadelphia, Maryland, and 

South Carolina, 1721-1786, p. 209. 

43

 Ibid., p. 213-214. 

crease the amount of goods coming from England. 

Lord Sheffield wrote that in the year 1778, when the 

revolt was at its height, over three million yards of 

broad woolens and over two million yards of narrow 

woolens were manufactured in England and several 

references were made to goods exported to the 

colonies. And by the year 1782, each category had 

increased by almost a million yards.49 The preference 

given by Americans to British manufactures, even 

during the war, displeased the French. To prevent 

the loss of French aid a law was passed prohibiting 

the importation of English goods. But as late as 

the year before the peace British goods imported 

through Holland were seized. It is quite evident 

that the Americans did not provide all their own 

textile needs even when their feeling of independence 

was running at its peak. 

In England, during the middle years of the eighteenth century, several important textile inventions 

occurred which were to have an important effect on 

the production of fabrics in the newly created United 

States of America. One was the idea for a handpowered multiple spinning machine, reportedly 

realized by James Hargreaves as he observed the 

actions of a wool spinning wheel that had been 

accidently overturned by his daughter. As the simple, straight-shaft spindle continued to turn while in 

an upright position, Hargreaves reasoned that in 

such a position many spindles could easily be turned 

by a like number of driving belts from a single power 

source. About 1764 he perfected his first machine, a 

spinning jenny, that was patented in England in 

1770. The Hargreaves jenny was intended for spinning wool or cotton and the principle of drawing, 

twisting, and winding was exactly the same as that 

in the common wheel. The spinning jenny was introduced into the American colonies quite early, in the 

improved form with the changes Hargreaves made 

after it was patented. An illustration and description 

of "a new invented machine for Spinning Wool or 

Cotton .. . By Christopher Tully, who first made 

and introduced this Machine in this Country" 

appeared in the Pennsylvania Magazine in 1775 

(Figure 67).so 

About the same time, Richard Arkwright of 

England patented a spinning machine employing a 

new concept in drawing out the fibers. The prepared 

roving, lengths of carded fiber, passed through two 

49

 Sheffield, Observations on the Commerce of the American 

States, p. 12. 

50

 Pennsylvania Magazine, 1775, p. 158 and the illustration 

opposite. In Library of Congress collection. 
NUMBER 7 57 

FIGURE 67.—The improved Hargreaves spinning jenny, for spinning wool or cotton, as introduced into 

the American colonies by Christopher Tully, in 1775. From the Pennsylvania Magazine, 1775. 

(Smithsonian photo 72549.) 

or more sets of rollers of which each succeeding pair 

turned a little faster. The fibers were thus drawn out 

faster than they were fed in, decreasing the diameter 

of the roving. The twist was applied by the use of a 

U-shaped flyer with a free-running bobbin like that 

of the flax wheel. Arkwright's machines, run by 

water power, were quickly adopted for mill use. 

One of the large cotton yarn mills using the Arkwright machines was that of Jedediah Strutt in 

Milford, England. 

A young man, Samuel Slater, was apprenticed to 

Mr. Strutt on 8 January 1783. By 1789, after six 

years of service he was well-qualified to supervise a 

mill. Less than a month after his training was complete Slater left England and arrived in New York 

in November 1789. Exactly why he decided to come 

to America rather than take one of the many opportunities in England is not known. Perhaps the overtures being made to attract men with technical skills 

to the new country held more promise. Perhaps his 

reason is expressed in the first sentence of a letter, 

which Slater received from an old schoolmaster 
58 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

FIGURE 68. —Forty-eight-spindle cotton spinning frame built by Samuel Slater in Pawtucket, Rhode 

Island, in 1790. In the collection of the National Museum of History and Technology. (Smithsonian 

photo 45363.) 

shortly after he arrived, "I am glad to have so 

favourable an account of your health when your 

letters left the western world, the seat of patriotism 

and independence." 61 

After Samuel Slater was in New York a very short 

time he learned of the concentrated efforts of Moses 

Brown to start a cotton mill in Rhode Island. He 

wrote to Brown as follows: 

New York, December 2d, 1789 

Sir, A few days ago I was informed that you wanted a manager 

of cotton spinning, etc. in which business I flatter myself that I 

can give the greatest satisfaction, in making machinery, making 

good yarns, either for stockings or twist, as any that is made in 

England; as I have had opportunity, and an oversight, of Sir 

Richard Arkwright's works, and in Mr. Strutt's mill upwards of 

eight years. If you are not provided for, should be glad to serve 

you; though I am in the New York manufactory, and have been 

for three weeks since I arrived from England. But we have but 

one card, two machines, two spinning jennies, which I think are 

not worth using. My encouragement is pretty good, but should 

much rather have the care of the perpetual carding and spinning. 

My intention is to erect a perpetual card and spinning [meaning 

the Arkwright patents]. If you please to drop a line respecting 

the amount of encouragement you wish to give, by favour of 

Captain Brown, you will much oblige, sir, your most obedient 

humble servant, 

SAMUEL SLATER 

Brown answered within a week.62 Thus began the 

51

 White, Memoir of Samuel Slater, p. 40-41. 52 Ibid., p. 72. 
NUMBER 7 59 

establishment of the first successful cotton mill in 

America, with Slater becoming the Father of the 

American cotton industry (Figure 68). 

Although the fabrics were still produced in the 

establishments of professional weavers and not in 

the mill, cotton spun on the Arkwright system was 

strong and fine enough to be used as the warp, 

therefore, sheetings, shirtings, checks, and ginghams 

of all cotton, could, for the first time, be manufactured cheaper in this country than they could 

be imported.53 But Slater's contribution was more 

than the cotton mills he established; many of the 

men trained in his mills went on to other mills and 

his knowledge spread. 

This increased demand for raw cotton encouraged 

young inventors like Eli Whitney to turn their 

thoughts to the planters' problem of ginning—separating the fiber from the seed. After this problem 

had been solved in 1793, the production and manufacture of cotton increased tremendously. In 1794, 

"American Manufactures from the town of Patterson 

[New Jersey, listed] calicoes, Furniture calicoes, 

chints shawls, Purple shawls, striped jeans, muslinet 

vest shapes, striped cotton for men's wear and 

[a small supply of] water and mule twist [cotton 

yarns]," all of which were cotton goods.54 The New 

York Manufactory in 1795 listed: 

American Manufactures, made at the New-York cotton and 

linen manufactory, and for sale by Andrew Stockholm . . . striped 

and plain nankeens . . . German stripes, thicksets, bridgetts, or 

rib deleurs sattinets, jeans, pillow fustians, dimities, cossoners, 

checks and bed ticken, stocking yarn of different qualities, and 

candle wick. Orders for cotton goods of any quality made to 

pattern, on the shortest notice.65 

Although the many important advances related 

to power weaving did not come until the nineteenth 

century, it was the power production of cotton 

yarns that enabled the eighteenth-century American 

manufacturers to begin to compete in the textile 

marketplace of the world. The examples of bed 

ticking (Figure 30) in the Copp collection may well 

represent this important beginning. 

53

 Ibid., p. 67. 

54

 Gottesman, The Arts and Crafts in New York, 1777-1799, 

p. 289. 

55 Ibid., p. 290. 
^Appendix 

METHODS USED TO CLEAN AND PREPARE THE TEXTILES 

Qleaning Techniques 

One hundred and eighteen of the Copp household 

textiles have been wet-cleaned in the Textile Laboratory. Most of these were of cellulose fibers—undyed 

cotton and/or linen — plain-woven textiles, including 

fringes, table covers, towels, pillow cases, sheets, and 

fabric yardage. A few of the textiles were dyed or 

printed. The same general procedure was followed 

for all undyed fabrics, with minor variations made 

as needed to suit individual needs. 

After the technical identifications were made and 

the visible appearance recorded, specific recommendations were made for handling each item to be 

wet-cleaned. All loose dust and dirt was removed 

from each fabric before any wet-cleaning process. 

The article was laid flat on a table. Using a layer of 

fiber-glass screen as a protective shield, a low-suction 

hand vacuum cleaner was used to remove the dust. 

In preparation for the wetting process, weak fabrics 

were sandwiched between two layers of screen. All 

fringes were also sewn between screens so that the 

loose ends would not tangle during the cleaning 

operation. When an article was not between screens 

it was supported on a single layer of fiber-glass 

screen. Only one item was processed at a time. 

Heavily soiled items, supported on a screen, were 

lowered into a preliminary soaking bath of roomtemperature, distilled water. This initial soaking 

removed some soil and penetrated the fibers to 

loosen some stains. Distilled water was used exclusively throughout the process for soaking, bleaching, and rinsing. Containers of molded fiber-glass 

were found to be the most satisfactory. 

Each article was cleaned by placing it in a nonionic detergent and water solution which was heated 

to 95° F. When the water appeared dirty, the textile 

was removed and rinsed in distilled water. If a Ph 

test indicated it was still in an acid state, the detergent soaking and rinsing process was repeated. The 

fabric was not squeezed or agitated in solution. 

Some articles appeared clean and white after this 

detergent soaking process. These were rinsed thoroughly and dried. The textiles mounted between 

screens were rinsed many more times, because dirt 

and detergent became trapped between the screens. 

Every precaution must always be exercised to assure 

thorough rinsing. 

After the washing process, if stains and discoloration were still present the article was further processed. A mild solution of 1% to 3 % hydrogen peroxide in water with a sodium perborate additive (1 oz. 

to 1 gal.) was made and the article soaked for five 

minutes. Then it was lifted onto a screen, drained, 

and wrapped in clear plastic for one to four hours, 

depending on the degree of discoloration. The article 

was then unwrapped and rinsed thoroughly. In the 

first rinse a few drops of acetic acid was added to 

neutralize the distilled water. 

Following the thorough rinsing process, in which 

the Ph of the water was repeatedly tested until it 

was neutral, the fabric was smoothed out on a onehalf-inch thick sheet of plexiglas. The warps and 

wefts were lined up perpendicularly. Towels were 

used to absorb the excess moisture and then were 

removed to allow the article to dry thoroughly. 

Fringes were removed from the screens and air 

dried. After drying they were hand straightened to 

separate each yarn.56 

Once dry, the fabrics were removed from the plexiglas surface and their appearance recorded. Flat 

articles were rolled on fabric-covered cylinders, 

which were placed on horizontal poles and supported 

56

 A more detailed description of this wet-cleaning process is 

available upon request to the Division of Textiles, in Information Leaflet 478, How to Wet-Clean Undyed Cotton and Linen by 

Maureen Collins McHugh. 

60 
NUMBER 7 61 

in special racks. Sheets were folded. Fringes were 

wrapped around fabric-covered cardboard supports, 

about 10 by 12 inches. 

The printed curtains and the dyed fabric lengths, 

bed hangings and counterpane were cleaned with 

the same procedure as above with the following 

changes. First, dyes were tested for fastness in the 

detergent solution. Second, the procedure using 

hydrogen peroxide was omitted entirely. The indigo 

dye in the blue and white linen check showed evidence of some bleeding in the test, but after rinsing 

and drying it had not visibly affected the white yarns. 

Since this type of furnishing was meant to be 

washed and had been during its use, the cleaning process was used successfully. 

zM"ounting Techniques for Exhibition of 

jQarge Textiles 

The procedures used to prepare textile articles for 

exhibition vary with the condition, size, and the 

manner in which the textiles are to be exhibited. 

Large pieces offer a much greater problem than the 

smaller ones. 

The eighteenth-century overshot coverlet (Figure 

46) in the Copp collection is in very good condition 

and offers an example of one of the simpler methods 

of preparation for exhibition. A muslin tube is made 

from a thirteen-inch width of muslin, the length of 

which is equal to the width of the coverlet. One inch 

is folded under at each end for the hem. The band of 

muslin is folded in half lengthwise and stitched to 

form a tube; it is turned to the right side and pressed. 

The muslin tube is pinned and stitched to the top of 

the coverlet at both the upper and lower edge of the 

muslin using a half-inch basting stitch and sewing 

between the yarns of the coverlet to prevent splitting 

the yarns of the old textile with the basting thread. 

With this type of preparation either a rod can be 

inserted or hooks can be pinned into the muslin and 

used to attach the coverlet to a supporting wall. 

If the textile is weak, a more substantial method of 

support must be used. The entire antique textile is 

backed or lined with a new fabric of a weight suitable 

to support it but not too heavy to detract from the 

original texture. This method allows the weight of 

the old fabric to be evenly supported throughout, 

rather than being supported by its own strength. 

One of the white embroidered Copp counterpanes 

(Figure 16) is prepared in this way. Widths of unbleached muslin are stitched together by machine 

to provide a backing the full width and length of the 

counterpane. 

Allowances are made on the two sides and the 

bottom of the lining for the hems. A three-inch 

allowance is provided in the muslin backing at the 

top, which is turned under and machine-stitched to 

itself to form a substantial hem through which a 

supporting rod can be run, if desired. The other 

three sides are hemmed. Before the counterpane is 

lined, it is laid on a large table, smoothed flat, and 

the lining fabric pinned to the wrong side. It is 

pinned at the embroidered areas also. The three 

sides are pinned only to within eight inches of each 

edge. Most large textiles, such as quilts or counterpanes, are stretched and therefore distorted while 

they are being made. Pinning or stitching the lining 

to the edges gives a puckered or pulled look. With 

a half-inch basting stitch the lining is handstitched 

to the counterpane across the full width at the top. 

A second row of stitching is inserted at the base of 

the top hem in lining. Additional stitching at both the 

seams of the counterpane ground fabric and following the embroidered design helps the lining carry 

the weight of the counterpane. Number fifty mercerized cotton thread with a suitable needle has proved 

satisfactory for stitching both cottons and linens of 

substantial weight. 

Extremely heavy or very fragile textiles of large 

dimensions can be given additional support by use 

of a frame or backing board. It should be constructed of plywood or any material that is manageable and will support the weight of the exhibited 

item and then is covered with a cotton flannel. The 

frame is installed in the exhibit case at a slight obtuse 

angle. This means a textile supported on this frame 

does not hang free but is supported by the nap of 

the cotton flannel together with the angle of the 

frame. Either lining strips or a full lining is stitched 

where needed and then stitched to the flannel covering of the frame. The quilted counterpane in Figure 

1 and the pieced quilt in Figure 4 were mounted in 

this way for the special Copp Family Textile Exhibit. 

These are a few suggested methods for mounting 

large textiles. However, each old textile to be exhibited is an individual problem and its specific 

characteristics must be taken into consideration 

when determining a safe method of mounting, 

especially for vertical exhibition. 

In addition to mounting precautions, the following 

check list is used in the Department of Textiles at 
62 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

the National Museum of History and Technology 

for textiles to be placed on exhibition. 

1. Cataloged textiles must be exhibited behind 

glass, or plastic, as a protection from visitors' hands 

and the dust in the air. The glass or plastic must not 

touch the textile. In rare instances, such as the 

exhibition of a tapestry, permission may be given to 

exhibit it in the open, providing adequate provision 

is made for a railing and the tapestry is hung out of 

reach. 

2. The textiles must be placed a minimum of 

eighteen inches from any artificial light source. The 

level of light should be kept as low as practicable. 

Filters must be provided on the light fixtures; 

incandescent light is less harmful than florescent. 

Natural sunlight should not be used to illuminate 

textile material. 

3. Before the textile is placed on exhibition, the 

interior of the case should be cleaned, especially the 

wall or surface onto which the textile will be placed. 

If the area has been painted, it should be checked 

to be certain that the paint is dry and that there is 

no chance that it will crock (rub off). If there is any 

doubt, or if the surface is raw wood, polished metal, 

or any reactive surface or if there are sharp edges 

on rigid plastic, or rough finishes, then a plastic liner 

with a fabric liner must be used. The fabric liner 

should be placed between the plastic and the original 

textile. Stained wood that does not have a varnish 

or other protective coating should never be used. 
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