Dear A.L.G.: Can you imagine what it would be like if we had to make our own bed coverings today? In all likelihood, with our busy schedules and general lack of domestic skills, most of us would be sleeping on bare mattresses or under old newspapers.
In the 17th, 18th and early to mid-19th centuries, most American homes had looms, and homemakers generally knew how to use them. In many cases, the weaving process began with the spinning of natural fibers such as cotton, linen and wool into thread. Then these filaments were tinted with natural dyes made from roots and berries, and finally, the softly colored strands were woven into useful items on a loom made from hand-hewn logs.
This was not a job, it was a commitment.
Also, it should be mentioned that there were professional weavers who either did the weaving on their own premises or mounted a loom on a wagon and went from farm to farm making whatever household linens were needed. In either event, the panels that were made on the looms were seldom wider then 40 inches, and this meant that to make a coverlet at least two of these panels had to be sewn together.
The coverlet in today's question is a type known as "double weave," and most of these were thought to be made between about 1725 and 1830. Unfortunately, no examples that can be dated definitely to the 18th century are known to exist, and the earliest documented American double woven coverlet is circa 1805.
"Double weave" coverlets are two-sided and they typically have a pattern against a dark background on one side and the mirror image of that pattern on a light background on the other.
They actually have two layers woven together and A.L.G. should be able to separate the two layers with her fingers in much the same way that the two layers of a pocket can be separated (today this sort of weave is actually called "pocket-weave").
The date that A.L.G. proposes in her letter is probably about right, and this piece does appear to be in much-above-average condition with bright colors and no visible rips or holes. Unfortunately, this sort of textile is not exceptionally valuable despite the fact that it is about 180 years old.
Current collectors are much more interested in the elaborate pictorial content of the slightly later Jacquard coverlets with their images of buildings, birds, railroad cars and animals.
Next to these, the geometric designs of the "double weaves" are a little prosaic, and for insurance replacement purposes, a red, white and blue coverlet such as this one should be valued in the $350-to-$450 range.
(Helaine Fendelman is feature editor at Country Living magazine and Joe Rosson writes about antiques at The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee. Questions can by mailed to them at PO Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)
)
