James Van Ness or Auburn State Prison Loomhouse; coverlet, Jacquard; double-cloth; c. 1845; New York
date: label: date made
content: 1845
label: date made
content: c. 1835-1850
label: date made
content: c. 1845
name: label: owner
content: Hammond, Emeline Rice
label: maker
content: unknown
notes: label: Description
content: New York weaver, James Van Ness, Jr. (1811-1872) or possibly the prisoners working at the loomhouse of Auburn State Prison in Cayuga County, New York wove this blue and white, double-cloth, Figured and Fancy coverlet. The centerfield pattern is composed of horizontal rows of scalloped carpet medallions. Around those can be found the “Birds of Paradise” pattern. The side borders feature foliate and floral motifs within cartouches. The lower border continues this arrangement in a slightly different variation. The cornerblocks name the overall pattern, “Birds of Paradise” and feature a trademark similar to the ones used by Van Ness and Auburn State Prison’s loom house. There is fringe along the bottom border. The coverlet was construced of two panels seamed down the middle. Each section is 41 inches wide. The coverlet measures 85 inches by 82 inches. Emailine Rich Hammond, an ancestor of the donors, originally owned this coverlet circa 1845. Van Ness was the son of another professional weaver of the same name. Van Ness wove in Columbia and Wayne Counties, New York. He is often cited as possibly being one of the weavers hired to train the prisoners and set up the looms at Auburn State Prison, but more research is needed to confirm this. In 1862, Van Ness and his family moved to Michigan. Van Ness was tragically killed by a falling limb in Michigan while helping a neighbor fight a forest fire.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Coverlets
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Lina H. Strong, Emaline Rich Hammond, and Anne Marie Hammond Hickey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T11789
label: catalog number
content: T11789.000
label: accession number
content: 225701
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, figured
label: Object Name
content: coverlet, Jacquard
label: Object Name
content: double-cloth
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cotton, wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: Jacquard (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: double cloth (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: "Birds of Paradise" (overall pattern)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 85 in x 82 in; 215.9 cm x 208.28 cm