Dennis Cosley coverlet; Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand; 1845; Pennsylvania
date: label: Date made
content: 1845
name: label: weaver
content: Cosley, Dennis
notes: label: Description
content: This Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand coverlet features a “Double Tulip and Carnation” carpet medallion and starburst centerfield. The borders along the sides and bottom all feature the "Rose Tree and Plume" pattern, and inscribed cornerblocks identifying the weaver as D. Cosley, the place woven as Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, and the date, 1845. The red, white, blue & green wool and cotton yarns interlace forming an integrated weave structure known as tied-Biederwand and identifiable because of the ribbed appearance of the finished textile. The coverlet has self-fringe on three sides and measure eighty-four by eighty inches. The lack of a center seam indicates that this coverlet was woven on a broadloom with a fly shuttle and possibly even a power loom.
label: Description
content: Dennis Cosley (1816-1904) was born in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and he was trained as a weaver along with his brother, George (1805-1884) in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The brothers were operating a mill in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania in 1837. Dennis opened a mill in Fayetteville in 1844. It is that mill in which this coverlet was woven. That mill in Fayetteville burned two years later, and the Cosley brothers relocated to Xenia, Greene County, Ohio. In Xenia, tax documents show Dennis Cosley owning a coverlet and carpet factory that employed at least three men. Cosley left Xenia in 1864, moved to Miami County, Ohio and opened a weaving mill there. He retired to Troy, Ohio and operated a store until his death in 1904. Dennis' first wife was Margaret Ann Comer Cosley (1817-1852). She was born in Pennsylvania. His second wife was Catherine Landis (Landess) Cosley (1833-1917). Catherine was born in Xenia, Ohio. Catherine and Dennis were married 1858. This coverlet was owned by the Cosley family and donated by one of Dennis' children. This coverlet is an early example of his factory's work in Fayetteville, PA and important because it shows that signed coverlets can be representative of factory production, not just artisan craft.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Fayetteville
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 Edwin M. S. Cosley
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T8431
label: catalog number
content: T08431.000
label: accession number
content: 157562
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coverlet, figured
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: jacquard (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: beiderwand (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: tree (border pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: medallion (center pattern)
label: Physical Description
content: red (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: green (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 84 in x 80 in; 213.36 cm x 203.2 cm