James Cunningham; damask tablecloth; 1846; New York
date: label: date made
content: 1846
name: label: depicted (sitter)
content: Washington, George
label: maker
content: Cunningham, John
notes: label: Description
content: James Cunningham of North Hartford, Oneida County, New York wove this commemorative George Washington, Jacquard-woven, gold wool and cotton tablecloth in 1846. This tablecloth is a true damask where on one side the ground is a four-shaft “crowsfoot” weave structure and the pattern is woven in a weft-faced plain weave and vice versa on the opposite side. The pattern is interesting, because Cunningham is most often associated with coverlet weaving, particularly this pattern. He and his business partner, Samuel Butterfield exclusively wove this pattern, which features “Double Tulip” centerfields with Great Seal eagle borders. In each of the four corners, George Washington is depicted astride his horse. The date "1846" appears above Washington and below reads the woven inscription, “Washington/J. Cunningham/Weaver/N. Hartford/Oneida Co. N. York.” Under the Great Seal eagle borders can be found the inscription, “Under This We Prosper.” The coverlet was woven from white cotton and gold wool. The white cotton yarns are Z-spun singes and the gold wool weft is also a Z-spun single. The yarn count is 57 warp ends x 51-55 weft end per inch. The pattern is vertically and horizontally mirror images of one another, indicating how the weaver set up his patterning device, at this point, almost certainly a Jacquard mechanism. Coverlet weavers were not just producing ingrain carpeting and coverlets, but also attempting to branch out into other fancy goods for the household. This tablecloth was woven on a handloom, which is evidence from the very irregular selvedge edges found along the sides. This could also indicate that Cunningham was experimenting with tablecloths as a new product, hoping to expand his business. The cloth is one piece, there are no seams. There are two selvages and other edges are hemmed. James Cunningham (1797-1865) was born in Scotland and died in New Hartford, Oneida Co, New York. Cunningham’s extant coverlets date between the years 1837-1848. He and English-born weaver, Samuel Butterfield (b. 1792) partnered before 1835 and evidently shared patterns with one another as they both use this pattern in their coverlets. Cunningham was married three times and fathered eleven children. At least one son, Robert also trained as a weaver. This tablecloth is a rare example of coverlet design’s influence on other household textile production as well as evidence of the business practice of coverlet weavers in America.
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
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1981.0274.04
label: accession number
content: 1981.0274
label: catalog number
content: 1981.0274.04
objectType: label: Object Name
content: tablecloth
label: Object Name
content: tablecloth, damask
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: gold, white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: Double Tulip (overall pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton, wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: Jacquard, damask (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 58 1/2 in x 57 1/2 in; 148.59 cm x 146.05 cm