Samuel Butterfield; coverlet; Figured and Fancy, double cloth; 1834; New York
date: label: Date made
content: 1834
name: label: maker
content: Butterfield, Samuel
label: owner
content: White, A.
notes: label: Description
content: Samuel Butterfield (b. 1792) wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double cloth coverlet in Oneida County, New York for A. White in 1834. The centerfield design features large “Double Tulip” carpet medallions common to many New York coverlet designs. The four-sided border depicts Great Seal Eagles with floral embellishments. The cornerblocks depict Gen. George Washington on horseback, the date, 1834, and a woven inscription naming Washington. Below this on one end the customer’s name, A. White appears and the date again. At the other end, Samuel Butterfield is listed as the weaver or owner of the manufactory along with the location of his establishment, North Hartfors, Oneida County, New York. The coverlet measures 86 inches by 68.5 inches and was constructed from two panels sewn together with a center seam. This coverlet is in like-new condition. It was almost certainly never used. Butterfield was an English immigrant who was in a partnership with fellow weaver, James Cunningham until at least 1832. The two weavers both used this exact pattern, the only difference being the weaver’s name. Butterfield along with Archibald Davidson both claim to be the first British weaver to introduce ingrain carpeting to New York in the early nineteenth century. There is some evidence that Cunningham and Butterfield were not only weavers, but also early American industrialists creating small, regional factories to produce both carpeting and coverlets. Many British immigrants were recruited by emerging coastal textile mills early in the nineteenth century, and that is almost certainly how Butterfield would have initially found his way to America. His entrepreneurial spirit is further reflected in the occupational choices of his two sons. William owned a successful lumber business in Oneida County, and his other son, Thomas was a master tanner.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Coverlets
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content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Artemesia H. Thomas
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T4263
label: catalog number
content: T4263
label: catalog number
content: T.4263
label: accession number
content: 67010
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, figured
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cotton, wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: figured and fancy (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 86 in x 68 1/2 in; 218.44 cm x 173.99 cm