26 September 2016

The National Museum

of

American Coverlet

Our fascination of textiles continues with our visit to the National Museum of American Coverlet in historic Bedford, PA.

For centuries women in Europe and Early American, spun and wove all of their textiles – both those they wore and those they used in daily life. Prior to 1829, the looms were simple, with a horizontal and vertical threads creating plain or simple geometric patterns. In 1829, the Frenchman Jacquard invented a complex piece of machinery which enabled the weaver to create very specialized and complex patterns. This Jacquard loom transformed weaving into a male dominated business. Domestic weaving for the majority of homes was still performed by females, but the more affluent families could now afford the spectacular Jacquard coverlets. The reason females were excluded from the Jacquard looms resulted from its cost. Jacquard looms were very expensive and loans were almost always required for their purchase. Since property was about the only collateral available for a loan, this naturally excluded women. During this time, women could not own property.

Since Jacquard looms were very expensive, the coverlets they wove were expensive. As mentioned previously only the affluent could afford these coverlets. However, the life of the Jacquard looms lasted for only 30 years. This short period was not due to the quality of the loom or its product. It was due to the Industrial Revolution. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, coverlets were being produced in the tens of thousands (from the mills like we visited in Lowell, MA), not in the hundreds. This made them extremely inexpensive. The market for the Jacquard loom products dried up.

When viewing the photographs, you will see both simple geometric and the more complex Jacquard coverlets. This museum has the largest collection of coverlets as well as the earliest and latest Jacquard coverlet known to exist.

The square wooden device in one on the photographs (along with 2000 hand punched cards) is the Jacquard machine which drove the loom, created its wonderfully complex patterns.