Abram Allen; coverlet; Figured and Fancy, double-cloth; 1838; Ohio
date: label: Date made
content: 1838
notes: label: Description
content: Abram Allen (b. 1796) wove this blue and white, Figured and Fancy, double-cloth in Union Township, Clinton County, Ohio in 1838. The centerfield design is based on earlier geometric double-weave coverlets, and this pattern is traditionally known as “Whig Rose.” The three-sided border depicts pairs of confronted birds perched on fruit tree limbs which are emerging from sine lines. The lower corners of the coverlet contain the woven inscription, “1838 Ohio.” Abraham Allen was born May 3, 1796, in Ireland. He married Kate Cata Howlan (1800-1866) on June 25, 1818. Allen died June 7, 1867, in Clinton County, Ohio. The 1850 Federal Census recorded Allen’s occupation as wagonmaker, and in 1860 he was recorded as a farmer. It is possible that Allen only wove in his earlier professional life. His extant coverlets range in date from 1833-1844. It is also possible that Allen is among the growing group of coverlet weavers who were not weavers at all, but rather immigrant entrepreneurs investing capital earned through other means into small regional and local industry. This coverlet features no center seam, suggesting it was woven on a broadloom, not the equipment used by small-time weavers. The coverlet measures 84 inches by 74 inches.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Ohio, Clinton
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 John T. and Diana C. Middleton
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1980.0089.01
label: accession number
content: 1980.0089
label: catalog number
content: 1980.0089.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, figured
label: Object Name
content: coverlet
label: Object Type
content: coverlets
label: Object Type
content: double weave
label: Object Type
content: jacquard coverlets
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: jacquard (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: double weave (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: indigo (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: Whig Rose (center pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: birds (border pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 84 in x 74 in; 213.36 cm x 187.96 cm